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Inside the Rei Sakamoto Reivolution
ATPtour.com talks to Sakamoto and coach Federico Ricci
January 19, 2026
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Rei Sakamoto is competing in a major tournament for the first time at the Australian Open.
Written by Andrew Eichenholz
At the 2025 Australian Open, Rei Sakamoto won just two games in the first round of qualifying against Tristan Boyer. It’s not that the time has come for him, but that he has taken a big step up in the competition a year since claiming the boys’ singles title at Melbourne Park.
But it has been a year since Sakamoto returned and that makes it clear that he is not the same player. The rising Japanese star will be competing in a major tournament for the first time, and for good reason.
“How professional I am,” Sakamoto told ATPtour.com, before citing examples. “Stability of mind and body.”
Sakamoto’s coach, ATP member Federico Ricci, recalled a key moment last March, when the 19-year-old played an ATP Challenger event in Cap Cana, Dominican Republic. They had long conversations about their relationship, what Sakamoto wanted from Ricci, what he was and wasn’t willing to accept and what was not discussed in the coach.
“That’s been a bit of a change since then,” Ricci told ATPTour.com. “After that he did well and he hasn’t found his consistency all year. It’s something that probably comes from the juniors when they count only six results and count double. So, of course, when you go to the Tour, it’s much wider and more complicated. But I would say that the vision, the vision, is a little bit in line with what you have to look forward to.”
The results were immediate. In his next tournament, Sakamoto qualified for the ATP Masters 1000 event for the first time in Miami. At the time, he was No. 330 in the PIF ATP Rankings.
Sakamoto later won his second Challenger title in Cary, North Carolina and his third title at that level in Yokohama, Japan, reaching his career high of World No. 159.
“I think he’s matured a bit. As a person, first of all, he still has many, many steps to go in that direction, but he’s matured a bit and he’s also matured as a tennis player in his understanding of the game,” Ricci said. “I think, the first three, four months of 2025 were very important for his maturity and understanding of the game, how he understood being on the court and how to play tennis and what it’s all about.”
Off the court, Sakamoto is still fun and full of personality, something he shows through his YouTube channel, called the REIVOLUTION channel.
“I love it. I really like doing it,” said Sakamoto. “It’s a good platform to express my personality a little more than I can on the court. I like it.”
For example, Sakamoto often shows himself cooking, with a lot of humor. The Japanese actor has a dry sense of humor, which is evident when he talks about how much he enjoys cooking.
“I like to cook, but I hate washing dishes,” said Sakamoto. “I moved into a new flat at the end of last year and I made sure I got one with a dishwasher.”
But while the Rei-volution is happening online, the evolution of his game is clear on the court.
“Maybe he had an easy way of looking at tennis, maybe he was very young with good speed of the ball like the player he is,” said Ricci. “So for him, everything was one, two, three up, and a slap as hard as possible.” When I really tried to explain tennis to him in a different way, he took it like I wanted to comfort him.
“So, then we had to get the right understanding of both words – of course there’s a language and cultural difference – but the words and the concept of tennis and getting him to understand a little bit how tennis is really played and the risks and rewards and all that. So part of it was maturity, part of it was explaining tennis.”
Back in Melbourne, where he won just two qualifying matches last year, Sakamoto found his way into the main draw without losing a serve or a set.
“It’s special,” Sakamoto said. “I have good memories from childhood and I think the place I’m in suits me and the hospitality and everything, I feel it’s amazing here, so I love it.”
This is just the beginning of this 19-year-old’s journey. No matter what happens in the first round against #NextGenATP star Rafael Jodar and throughout the event, this is just another opportunity to grow.
“There have been significant steps forward,” Ricci said. “There are still many, many more to go.”
