What happened in Kei Nishikori’s first match since he was forced to deny retirement rumors

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Kei Nishikori has taken to the court for the first time since rumors circulated about him retiring from tennis.

Nishikori has missed the last four Grand Slam tournaments, as the former US Open champion has continued to struggle with injury.

This has caused him to fall outside the top 400 in the world, with Nishikori playing exclusively ATP Challenger tournaments this year.

After the 36-year-old received a wildcard for the Challenger in Sarasota, Florida, Nishikori was forced to deny retirement rumors that were circulating, but revealed that he would make an update on the topic in the ‘near future’.

Kei Nishikori wins first match since denying retirement

Nishikori has played his first match at the Challenger in Sarasota, where he faced Argentinian Nicolas Kicker.

The former world number four would win just his fourth match of the 2026 season by beating Kicker 6-3, 6-2.

Nishikori now moves on to the second round, where he will play top seed Yibing Wu.

While Wu is the highest ranked player in the tournament, Nishikori won their only previous meeting.

At the Shanghai Masters in 2018, Nishikori came from a set down to beat a then 18-year-old Wu 3-6, 6-0, 6-3.

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What other tournaments is Kei Nishikori scheduled to play after the Sarasota Open?

Supporting his statement that he is not planning on retiring just yet, Nishikori is entered into more tournaments after the Sarasota Challenger.

While most of the ATP Tour is in Europe for the clay court season, Nishikori is remaining in the States to play Challengers.

Following the Sarasota Challenger, Nishikori is entered to play qualifying at Challenger tournaments in Tallahassee and Savannah.

Although Nishikori is down in the rankings at the moment, he only has 77 ranking points to defend throughout the rest of the 2026 season.

It remains unclear as to what is in store for Nishikori after the aforementioned tournaments, but it seems as though we can expect an announcement about his future soon.