Who is Emma Raducanu’s Miami Open Round 1 opponent? Japanese prodigy Sayaka Ishii
Emma Raducanu will be looking to kickstart her troubled 2025 campaign when she takes to court at the Miami Open later this week.
The world No 60 could face world No 10 and eighth seed Emma Navarro in the second round, though first has to overcome an opening encounter versus rising Japanese star Sayaka Ishii.
A former junior world No 5, Ishii is slowly beginning to transition onto the WTA Tour and offers the 2021 US Open champion an intriguing first match at the WTA 1000 event.
2024: WTA breakthrough
The past seven months have proven hugely significant for Ishii, with the 19-year-old making her WTA Tour debut last summer.
Ishii qualified for a WTA event for the first time at the Tennis in the Land in Cleveland in August 2024, defeating Zheng Saisai and Elvina Kalieva in the qualifying draw.
The Japanese gave a good account of herself on her tour-level debut, pushing third seed and then-world No 36 Katerina Siniakova to the brink in a 6-7(5), 6-3, 7-6(5) triumph for the Czech.
After losing in the opening round of qualifying at the Japan Open in Osaka, Ishii bounced back to embark on the best run of her career at the Toray Pan Pacific Open last October.
She successfully progressed through the qualifying draw in Tokyo, defeating compatriot Sae Noguchi before knocking out top qualifying seed Clara Tauson – beating the Dane 1-6, 7-5, 7-5.
Ishii would go on to pick up the first tour-level win of her career, beating fellow Japanese star Sara Saito 6-1, 6-1 in the opening round.
The 19-year-old would then rally from a set down to beat qualifier Zeynep Sonmez 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 and reach her first WTA 500 quarter-final, though had to withdraw due to injury.
Ishii did not play for a month after that, returning with a run to the quarter-final of the ITF W50 event in Yokohama last November.
2025 season so far
It was not an easy start to the 2025 season for the teenager, who was beaten in qualifying at the WTA 125 event in Canberra before a second-round Australian Open qualifying loss to Sachia Vickery.
Ishii was then beaten in the second round of an ITF W75 event in Brisbane, though made the quarter-finals of another event in Brisbane – at the same level – the following week.
She defeated Lea Ma and Guo Hanyu to progress to the last eight, before a 6-4, 7-5 defeat to second seed Maddison Inglis.
Heading to Europe, Ishii came through qualifying to lose in the opening round of a W75 in Trnava at the end of February – only to reach the semi-final of a second event in the Slovakian city a week later.
Ishii rallied to beat second seed Jana Fett 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in round one, before wins over qualifier Camilla Rosatello and and home wildcard Renata Jamrichova.
The 19-year-old was then beaten 6-3, 7-5 in the last four by Valentina Ryser, though her run was enough to seal a huge rankings leap.
Ishii has jumped 18 spots to a new career-high of world No 188 ahead of her Miami campaign.
WTA Tour News
Miami Open draw: Emma Raducanu and Iga Swiatek handed ‘very tough’ tests
Sporting connection
Though Ichii is making her way up the tennis pecking order, she is not the first sports star in her family.
Her father, Takuro Ishii, was a professional baseball player for 23 years and is considered one of the greatest baseball players in Japanese history.
He represented the Yokohama BayStars from 1989-2008 before a three-year spell with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp from 2009-12.
In Japan, the 54-year-old was a six-time All-Star, a four-time Gold Glove winner, and a five-time winner of the Best Nine Award.
Miami wildcard
Ishii was born in Shibuya, a suburb of Tokyo, though would later move to the US to train at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.
The Miami Open is owned by IMG and her connection to the group is a likely factor for her wildcard, with the likes of Alex Eala and Tyra Caterina Grant also benefitting.
It will be Ishii’s first match at WTA 1000 level, having lost in the opening round of Miami qualifying a year ago.
Read Next: Why Emma Raducanu’s return to Instagram was always inevitable
