Miyu Kato (tennis) explained

is a Japanese professional tennis player.^[1]

She achieved her career-high singles ranking of world No. 122 in January 2018. On 1 January 2024, she peaked at No. 26 in the WTA doubles rankings.

Kato has won five doubles titles on the WTA Tour and two WTA Challenger doubles titles. In addition, she has won four singles and 13 doubles titles on the ITF Circuit.^[2]

Playing for Japan Fed Cup team, Kato has a win–loss record of 6–1 (5–1 in doubles), as of June 2024.^[3]

Career

2023 : Mixed doubles champion, back to top 30, new career high and Elite Trophy

Kato won her major title in the mixed doubles at the 2023 French Open, together with her German partner Tim Pütz.

She reached a new career-high ranking of No. 27 on 23 October 2023, the week she was selected to participate in the 2023 WTA Elite Trophy with Aldila Sutjiadi.

2023 French Open controversy

At the 2023 French Open, she and her partner Aldila Sutjiadi were defaulted in the women's doubles, after she accidentally hit a ball girl with a ball. She had to forfeit her points and prize money, although she made clear she would appeal the supervisor's decision.^{[4] [5]} Kato received ample support from fellow players, including from the Professional Tennis Players Association, who deemed the disqualification unfair.^[6] Kato and Sutjiadi's opponents, Sara Sorribes Tormo and Marie Bouzková, were criticized for pushing the supervisor to disqualify Kato and laughing after the pair were disqualified, but did not apologize to Kato.^[7]

2024: Thailand Open doubles title

Kato and Sutjiadi won the doubles title at the Thailand Open, defeating Guo Hanyu and Jiang Xinyu in the final.^[8]

Personal life and background

Kato has one brother named Yuki. She started playing tennis at the age of eight. She has stated that her tennis idols growing up were Justine Henin and Roger Federer. Her favorite surface to play on is hardcourt, but her favorite tournament is Wimbledon.^[9]

Performance timelines

Only main-draw results in WTA Tour, Grand Slam tournaments, Fed Cup/Billie Jean King Cup and Olympic Games are included in win–loss records and career statistics.

Doubles

Tournament	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	SR	W–L	Win%
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open	A	bgcolor=yellow	SF	2R	1R	1R	A	1R	3R	0 / 6	7–6
French Open	1R	2R	1R	1R	2R	1R	2R	3R	0 / 8	5–8
Wimbledon	2R	1R	1R	1R	style=color:#767676	NH	1R	1R	3R	0 / 7	3–7
US Open	3R	2R	1R	1R	A	2R	2R	3R	0 / 7	7–7
Win–loss	3–3	6–4	1–4	0–4	1–2	1–3	2–4	8–4	0 / 28	22–28
Year-end championships
WTA Elite Trophy	DNQ	RR	DNQ	NH		0 / 1	0–2
WTA 1000
Dubai / Qatar Open	A	A	QF	A	A	A	A	2R	0 / 2	3–2
Indian Wells Open	A	A	A	1R	NH	A	A	SF	0 / 2	3–2
Miami Open	A	A	A	1R	NH	A	A	1R	0 / 2	0–2
Madrid Open	A	A	1R	A	NH	A	A	2R	0 / 2	1–2
Italian Open	A	2R	1R	1R	A	A	A	QF	0 / 4	3–4
Canadian Open	A	1R	2R	2R	NH	A	A	2R	0 / 4	3–4
Cincinnati Open	2R	A	A	A	A	A	A	QF	0 / 2	3–2
Guadalajara Open	NH						A	QF	0 / 1	2–1
Wuhan Open	A	A	1R	A	NH				0 / 1	0–1
China Open	A	A	1R	A	NH				0 / 1	0–1
Career statistics
Titles	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	Total: 3
Finals	2	0	3	1	1	0	0	1	Total: 8
Year-end ranking	58	40	45	79	74	80	49		$787,056

Mixed doubles

Tournaments	2019	...	2023	2024	SR	W–L	Win%
Australian Open	A		A	1R	0 / 1	0–1
French Open	A		W	QF	1 / 2	7–1
Wimbledon	1R		1R	1R	0 / 3	0–3
US Open	A		A	A
style=text-align:left	Win–loss	0–1		5–1	2–3	1 / 6	7-5

Grand Slam tournament finals

Mixed doubles: 1 (title)

Other significant finals

WTA Elite Trophy

Doubles: 1 (runner-up)

WTA Tour finals

Singles: 1 (runner-up)

Legend Grand Slam WTA 1000 WTA 500 WTA 250 (0–1)

Finals by surface Hard (0–1) Clay (0–0) Carpet (0–0) Grass (0–0)

Doubles: 15 (5 titles, 10 runner-ups)

Legend WTA 1000 WTA 500 (1–1) WTA Elite Trophy (0–1) WTA 250 (4–8)

Finals by surface Hard (5–8) Clay (0–1) Carpet (0–0) Grass (0–1)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	0–1		Taipei Open, Taiwan	International	Hard	Eri Hozumi	Chan Hao-ching Chan Yung-jan	4–6, 3–6
Win	1–1		Katowice Open, Poland	International	Hard (i)	Eri Hozumi	Valentyna Ivakhnenko Marina Melnikova	3–6, 7–5, [10–8]
Loss	1–2		Auckland Open, New Zealand	International	Hard	Eri Hozumi	Sara Errani Bibiane Schoofs	5–7, 1–6
Loss	1–3		Japan Women's Open, Japan	International	Hard	Makoto Ninomiya	Eri Hozumi Zhang Shuai	2–6, 4–6
Win	2–3		Pan Pacific Open, Japan	Premier	Hard (i)	Makoto Ninomiya	Andrea Sestini Hlaváčková Barbora Strýcová	6–4, 6–4
Loss	2–4		Tianjin Open, China	International	Hard	Nao Hibino	Shuko Aoyama Ena Shibahara	3–6, 5–7
Loss	2–5		Monterrey Open, Mexico	International	Hard	Wang Yafan	Kateryna Bondarenko Sharon Fichman	6–4, 3–6, [7–10]
Loss	2–6		Hamburg European Open, Germany	WTA 250	Clay	Aldila Sutjiadi	Sophie Chang Angela Kulikov	3–6, 6–4, [6–10]
Loss	2–7		Jasmin Open, Tunisia	WTA 250	Hard	Angela Kulikov	Kristina Mladenovic Kateřina Siniaková	2–6, 0–6
Win	3–7		Auckland Classic, New Zealand	WTA 250	Hard	Aldila Sutjiadi	Leylah Fernandez Bethanie Mattek-Sands	1–6, 7–5, [10–4]
Win	4–7		Tennis in Cleveland, United States	WTA 250	Hard	Aldila Sutjiadi	Nicole Melichar-Martinez Ellen Perez	6–4, 6–7(4–7), [10–8]
Loss	4–8		WTA Elite Trophy, China	Elite	Hard	Aldila Sutjiadi	Beatriz Haddad Maia Veronika Kudermetova	3–6, 3–6
Win	5–8		Hua Hin Championships, Thailand	WTA 250	Hard	Aldila Sutjiadi	Guo Hanyu Jiang Xinyu	6–4, 1–6, [10–7]
Loss	5–9		Birmingham Classic, United Kingdom	WTA 250	Grass	Zhang Shuai	Hsieh Su-wei Elise Mertens	1–6, 3–6
Loss	5–10		Seoul, South Korea	WTA 500	Hard	Zhang Shuai	Nicole Melichar-Martinez Liudmila Samsonova	1–6, 0–6

WTA Challenger finals

Doubles: 3 (2 titles, 1 runner-up)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1–0		bgcolor=silver	Hawaii Open, United States	Hard	Eri Hozumi	Nicole Gibbs Asia Muhammad	6–7(3–7), 6–3, [10–8]
Loss	1–1		bgcolor=silver	Clarins Open Paris, France	Clay	Oksana Kalashnikova	Beatriz Haddad Maia Kristina Mladenovic	7–5, 4–6, [4–10]
Win	2–1		bgcolor=silver	Vancouver Open, Canada	Hard	Asia Muhammad	Tímea Babos Angela Kulikov	6–3, 7–5

ITF Circuit finals

Singles: 8 (4 titles, 4 runner–ups)

Legend $60,000 tournaments (1–0) $25,000 tournaments (3–3) $10,000 tournaments (0–1)

Finals by surface Hard (2–3) Clay (1–0) Grass (1–1)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	0–1	Aug 2013	ITF Fort Worth, United States	10,000	Hard	Lauren Embree	6–3, 1–6, 1–3 ret.
Win	1–1	May 2015	bgcolor=lightblue	ITF Karuizawa, Japan	bgcolor=lightblue	25,000	Grass	Makoto Ninomiya	7–6(7–5), 5–7, 6–1
Loss	1–2	May 2015	bgcolor=lightblue	ITF Balikpapan, Indonesia	bgcolor=lightblue	25,000	Hard	Lu Jiajing	4–6, 4–6
Win	2–2	Jul 2015	bgcolor=lightblue	ITF Bangkok, Thailand	bgcolor=lightblue	25,000	Hard	Nigina Abduraimova	7–5, 6–2
Loss	2–3	Oct 2015	bgcolor=lightblue	ITF Hamamatsu, Japan	bgcolor=lightblue	25,000	Grass	Shuko Aoyama	2–6, 1–6
Win	3–3	Mar 2016	bgcolor=lightblue	Clay Court International, Australia	bgcolor=lightblue	25,000	Clay	Anna Bondár	6–4, 7–6(7–3)
Loss	3–4	Nov 2022	bgcolor=lightblue	Yokohama Challenger, Japan	bgcolor=lightblue	25,000	Hard	Han Na-lae	5–7, 0–6
Win	4–4	Dec 2022	Indoor Championships, Japan	60,000	Hard (i)	Lily Miyazaki	6–4, 2–6, 6–2

Doubles: 26 (13 titles, 13 runner–ups)

Legend $100,000 tournaments (1–2) $75/80,000 tournaments (2–0) $50/60,000 tournaments (0–3) $25,000 tournaments (5–1) $10/15,000 tournaments (5–9)

Finals by surface Hard (7–6) Clay (2–6) Grass (2–0) Carpet (2–1)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1–0	Sep 2011	ITF Kyoto, Japan	10,000	Carpet (i)	Riko Sawayanagi	Kazusa Ito Tomoko Taira	6–4, 7–6(7–5)
Loss	1–1	Sep 2012	ITF Kyoto, Japan	10,000	Carpet (i)	Misaki Mori	Nao Hibino Emi Mutaguchi	4–6, 3–6
Win	2–1	Oct 2012	bgcolor=lightblue	ITF Makinohara, Japan	bgcolor=lightblue	25,000	Grass	Eri Hozumi	Monique Adamczak Caroline Garcia	7–6(8–6), 6–3
Loss	2–2	Jan 2013	ITF Hong Kong, China SAR	10,000	Hard	Eri Hozumi	Tian Ran Tang Haochen	2–6, 1–6
Loss	2–3	Jan 2013	ITF Hong Kong, China SAR	10,000	Hard	Eri Hozumi	Xin Wen Li Yihong	6–4, 1–6, [10–12]
Win	3–3	Sep 2013	ITF Kyoto, Japan	10,000	Carpet (i)	Hiroko Kuwata	Mana Ayukawa Emi Mutaguchi	6–4, 6–2
Loss	3–4	Sep 2013	ITF Cairns, Australia	15,000	Hard	Yurina Koshino	Isabella Holland Sally Peers	6–7(2–7), 6–4, [7–10]
Loss	3–5	Feb 2014	ITF Nonthaburi, Thailand	10,000	Hard	Yuuki Tanaka	Nungnadda Wannasuk Varunya Wongteanchai	2–6, 2–6
Loss	3–6	Apr 2014	ITF Melbourne, Australia	15,000	Clay	Yuuki Tanaka	Jessica Moore Aleksandrina Naydenova	5–7, 7–6(7–5), [7–10]
Win	4–6	Jul 2014	ITF Bangkok, Thailand	10,000	Hard	Akiko Omae	Kamonwan Buayam Nungnadda Wannasuk	6–0, 6–0
Loss	4–7	Aug 2014	ITF Wuhan, China	50,000	Hard	Makoto Ninomiya	Han Xinyun Zhang Kailin	4–6, 2–6
Win	5–7	Apr 2015	ITF Bangkok, Thailand	15,000	Clay	Nao Hibino	Miyabi Inoue Akiko Omae	6–4, 6–2
Win	6–7	May 2015	bgcolor=lightblue	ITF Karuizawa, Japan	bgcolor=lightblue	25,000	Grass		Mana Ayukawa Makoto Ninomiya	6–2, 6–0
Win	7–7	Jun 2015	bgcolor=lightblue	ITF Kashiwa, Japan	bgcolor=lightblue	25,000	Hard	Akiko Omae	Mana Ayukawa Makoto Ninomiya	6–2, 5–7, [10–8]
Win	8–7	Jun 2015	bgcolor=lightblue	ITF Incheon, South Korea	bgcolor=lightblue	25,000	Hard	Kotomi Takahata	Choi Ji-hee Kim Na-ri	4–6, 6–3, [10–7]
Loss	8–8	Mar 2016	bgcolor=lightblue	Clay Court International, Australia	bgcolor=lightblue	25,000	Clay	Eri Hozumi	Ashleigh Barty Arina Rodionova	7–5, 3–6, [7–10]
Win	9–8	May 2016	Kangaroo Cup Gifu, Japan	75,000+H	Hard	Eri Hozumi	Hiroko Kuwata Ayaka Okuno	6–1, 6–2
Win	10–8	May 2017	Kangaroo Cup Gifu, Japan (2)	80,000	Hard	Eri Hozumi	Katy Dunne Julia Glushko	6–4, 6–2
Win	11–8	May 2017	bgcolor=lightblue	ITF Rome, Italy	bgcolor=lightblue	25,000	Clay	Eri Hozumi	Ekaterine Gorgodze Melanie Stokke	6–1, 6–4
Loss	11–9	Oct 2017	Suzhou Ladies Open, China	60,000	Hard	Eri Hozumi	Jacqueline Cako Nina Stojanović	6–2, 5–7, [2–10]
Loss	11–10	Mar 2018	Clay Court International, Australia	60,000	Clay	Makoto Ninomiya	Priscilla Hon Dalila Jakupović	4–6, 6–4, [7–10]
Win	12–10	Aug 2019	Vancouver Open, Canada	100,000	Hard	Nao Hibino	Naomi Broady Erin Routliffe	6–2, 6–2
Loss	12–11	Jan 2021	ITF Antalya, Turkey	15,000	Clay	Haine Ogata	Victoria Bosio Gabriela Cé	4–6, 3–6
Loss	12–12	May 2021	ITF Charleston Pro, US	100,000	Clay	Eri Hozumi	Caty McNally Storm Sanders	5–7, 6–4, [6–10]
Loss	12–13	May 2021	Bonita Springs Championship, US	100,000	Clay	Eri Hozumi	Erin Routliffe Aldila Sutjiadi	3–6, 6–4, [6–10]
Win	13–13	Feb 2022	ITF Monastir, Tunisia	15,000	Hard	Kisa Yoshioka	Kristina Dmitruk Inès Ibbou	6–4, 7–5

Junior Grand Slam tournament finals

Girls' doubles: 1 (runner–up)

Notes and References

1. Web site: WTA Profile.
2. Web site: ITF Profile.
3. Web site: Miyu Kato at the Fed Cup.
4. Web site: Doubles pair of Miyu Kato and Aldila Sutjiadi disqualified at Roland Garros . Tennis.com . 4 June 2023 .
5. Web site: Kato lodges appeal after French Open women's doubles default . . 6 June 2023 .
6. Web site: Tennis: Players association calls Kato French Open default "unfair" . . 7 June 2023.
7. Web site: Sorribes Tormo defends herself against criticism following Kato default . 5 June 2023 . . Tumayni Carayol .
8. Web site: Shnaider, 19, stuns Zhu in Hua Hin to win first WTA title. Women's Tennis Association. 29 October 2024.
9. Web site: Bio.