Carlos Alcaraz aims to join elite list of champions on Tokyo debut

Tournament Feature

Can Alcaraz join elite list of champions on Tokyo debut?

Spaniard aims to become sixth player to lift trophy while World No. 1

Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour & Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images

Carlos Alcaraz will aim to join Roger Federer and four others as reigning World No. 1s to triumph in Tokyo. By Andy West

There has been no shortage of iconic winners throughout the history of the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships.

Of the 29 No. 1s in PIF ATP Rankings history, 12 have lifted the trophy at the Tokyo hard-court event since it was first held in 1972. Five members of the ATP No. 1 Club — Stefan Edberg, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic — triumphed at least once in the Japanese capital while competing as World No. 1.

Recently returned to top spot following his US Open triumph, Carlos Alcaraz will this year aim to join that stacked list when he makes his Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships debut. Ahead of the 2025 edition of the ATP 500, ATPTour.com reflects on the No. 1s that have gone all the way in Tokyo.

Record Holder Edberg

No man has had more success on the hard courts of Tokyo than Stefan Edberg. The Swede racked up a record four titles and 27 match wins across six appearances at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships. After his victories in 1987, 1989 and 1990, Edberg competed as World No. 1 in Japan for the first time in 1991, and he lived up to his newfound status with another commanding run to the trophy.

The then-25-year-old Edberg defeated two fellow members of the ATP No. 1 Club in three sets — Jimmy Connors (in the third round) and Ivan Lendl (in the final) — to clinch his fourth and final Tokyo crown. He also overcame Michael Stich and Michael Chang in straight sets en route to becoming the first reigning No. 1 to win the title in tournament history.

Sampras Takes Over

Tokyo holds a special place in Pete Sampras’ career. In 1993, the American's maiden title run in Japan sealed his rise to No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings for the first time. Sampras made just two other appearances at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships, in 1994 and 1996, both as World No. 1. He lifted the trophy each time and remains the only man to have won the Tokyo event twice while atop the PIF ATP Rankings.

Sampras defeated a fellow American in each of his three Tokyo finals. In 1993 he downed Brad Gilbert to ensure he would become World No. 1 the next day, 12 April. A year later, Sampras defended his title by sinking then-No. 9 Michael Chang, while in 1996 he saw off Richey Reneberg in the championship match to close his Tokyo career with a perfect 15-0 record.

World No. 1 Pete Sampras in action during his 1994 Tokyo title run. Photo Credit: Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP via Getty Images

Federer’s Tokyo Moment

Federer may have only made one appearance in Tokyo, but the Swiss icon certainly made the most of his time in the Japanese capital in 2006. He dropped just one set — to Japanese wild card Takao Suzuki in the quarter-finals — en route to his ninth title of a standout year.

Competing in the heart of his still-record 237 consecutive weeks as No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Federer eased past Tim Henman in the championship match to seal the trophy. It was the last of 13 Lexus ATP Head2Head meetings between the two players, and Federer’s Tokyo triumph ensured he held a 7-6 lead when Henman retired in late 2007.

Rafa Reigns

Like his great rival Federer, Nadal made quite an impact upon arriving for his maiden Tokyo campaign as World No. 1. The Spaniard lit up the 2010 edition of the ATP 500 with a series of commanding performances and he began by downing Go Soeda, Milos Raonic and Santiago Giraldo in straight sets.

His semi-final against Viktor Troicki was a different story. Nadal was forced to save two match points in the third-set tie-break before escaping with a 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-6(7) triumph. That proved to be the lefty’s biggest hurdle that week in Tokyo, where he subsequently eased past Gael Monfils 6-1, 7-5 to claim the trophy. A year later, the then-No. 2-ranked Nadal again reached the championship match, where he fell to Andy Murray, in what would prove to be his final Tokyo appearance.

Rafael Nadal triumphs on his Tokyo debut, 2010. Photo Credit: Koji Watanabe/Getty Images

Djokovic Shines

Djokovic ensured that each member of the ‘Big Three’ triumphed on Tokyo debut with an imperious run in 2019. The Serbian World No. 1 only dropped more than four games in a set once across five matches in Japan to bounce back impressively from the shoulder injury that had forced him to withdraw during his fourth-round match at the US Open a month earlier.

Quickly acclimatising to conditions at the Ariake Coliseum, Djokovic motored past Alexei Popyrin, Soeda, Lucas Pouille, David Goffin and John Millman to claim his Tokyo title.

Novak Djokovic holds aloft the Tokyo trophy in 2019. Photo Credit: Koji Watanabe/Getty Images

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