Issue link: http://itf.uberflip.com/i/366594
6 ITFWORLD SUMMER 2014 INSIDE OUT JAPAN Soft tennis has rules similar to tennis but is played with a softer ball and a different scoring system, and can be played on artificial grass. This has led to a proliferation of artificial grass courts, which some people — notably Date-Krumm — have criticised as holding back Japan's tennis development. And like many people with little historical exposure to the global tennis tour, the Japanese are still learning what it means to reach the Top 10. "Nishikori's run to the quarterfinals in Australia two years ago was a huge story," says Uchida, "and the coverage is getting bigger, but the recognition is still low. He deserves more credit. I think the problem is that people don't understand the tennis tour, so they don't appreciate what he's done. He has to play 20-25 tournaments a year, but people only know Wimbledon and the US Open. Then they hear he's injured again, that's the story, but they don't understand why he's injured." Both Yoshimatsu and Uchida also point out that the Japanese character, with its emphasis on team- building and shunning the cult of an individual, isn't ideally suited to tennis. "The Japanese character doesn't lend itself to individual sports," says Yoshimatsu. "We don't like a specific guy who's special. We are not so competitive." Uchida adds, "I interviewed Tony Roche a few years ago because he has a lot of Japanese players at his academy in Australia. He said the strength of the Japanese was their dedication and hard work, but the weakness was that they were one-dimensional and not creative and competitive enough. He said we were good at doing the basics well, but were not good when it came to having to change plans because of a different challenge, for example during a match." In trying to create a lasting legacy from the Nishikori era, the Japanese Tennis Association (JTA) is focusing its efforts on strengthening the national team, and on the ITF's Play and Stay initiative for introducing people to tennis and getting them to play regularly. Nao Kawatei, who is a member of the JTA's executive board, chairman of their Davis Cup and Fed Cup committee and tournament director of the Japan Open, says, "We have a limited time to promote tennis through Kei, so we are helping him, and in return he plays for the Davis Cup team and promotes Play and Stay. He is the face of Play and Stay in our brochures — he says it's important, and that helps make tennis more popular in Japan." Something else that helps is a comic strip called Tennis no Ohjisamaj — 'The Prince of Tennis' — which features stories of young tennis players making their way in the global tennis world. Launched a few years ago, this is proving remarkably popular, and is boosting the 'coolness' of tennis among the younger generation in Japan. INSIDE OUT Yui Kamiji joined Shingo Kunieda as a wheelchair Grand Slam singles champion at this year's Roland Garros, where the pair scored a double victory for Japan The Japanese Davis Cup team celebrates reaching the quarterfi nals for the fi rst time with a 4-1 defeat of Canada in February