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At the recent 2025 WTT Star Contender Ljubljana, Japan’s Miyu Nagasaki delivered a sensational performance. She defeated three Chinese players—Han Feier, He Zhuojia, and Chen Yi—on her way to the final, and then claimed the women’s singles title with a dominant win over her teammate Miyuu Kihara.
Now 23 years old, Miyu Nagasaki was once dubbed a “prodigy” of Japanese table tennis. At just 16, she was already capable of beating Chinese world champions and was seen as a potential future leader of Japan’s women’s team. However, her rise stalled in the years that followed. Rumors of underage pregnancy and declining results saw her drop out of the top five in the national team, and she gradually faded from the spotlight.
Her triumphant performance in Ljubljana has now sparked hope of a comeback—but can she truly rise again?
Early Glory, Sudden Decline
Born in 2002, Miyu Nagasaki burst onto the scene with outstanding results. She beat Chinese ace Zhu Yuling twice in singles and, together with Miyuu Kihara, won the Grand Finals women’s doubles title, defeating top Chinese pairs like Sun Yingsha / Wang Manyu. The pair even rose to World No.1 in women’s doubles.
Because she and Tomokazu Harimoto (born in 2003) were close in age, the Japanese Table Tennis Association once planned for them to pair up in mixed doubles. However, that plan was quietly abandoned. Why?
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Struggles with Form and Consistency
While Harimoto remained a consistent performer and Japan’s top male player, Nagasaki’s singles results declined sharply. Her performance in both domestic and international events became inconsistent, which hurt her chances in doubles as well. Eventually, even her long-standing partnership with Kihara was broken up several times.
There were also online rumors in Japan suggesting a relationship with a male player and an alleged pregnancy. Though unconfirmed, such rumors certainly affected her public image. From a technical standpoint, her playing style—fast-paced with insufficient power and spin—was also seen as a limiting factor.
This has led many to compare her with China’s Kuai Man, who has a similar style: left-handed, two-winged looper, relying heavily on speed. Both have seen mixed success in singles and doubles but have struggled to reach the very top.
Rising and Falling—A Shared Pattern
In early 2025, Kuai Man unexpectedly reached the World Cup women’s singles final, but was then excluded from the singles roster for the World Championships and eliminated in the mixed doubles quarterfinals. Ironically, the event where she had the weakest record—women’s doubles—turned out to be her biggest success, as she claimed the title.
Nagasaki, similarly, saw early career highs followed by stagnation. But this time, she captured a title in Ljubljana by beating both Chinese and Japanese players. Does this signal a real comeback?
A Step Forward, But Questions Remain
While Miyu Nagasaki emerged as champion at this WTT Star Contender, it’s worth noting that the Chinese players she defeated were not part of the core national team, and her final opponent Miyuu Kihara has also been on a downward trajectory in recent years. Top Japanese players such as Miu Hirano, Hina Hayata, Mima Ito, and Satsuki Odo did not compete in this event. So although her win is a positive sign, the competition level wasn’t the highest.
Looking ahead, both Kuai Man and Miyu Nagasaki face steep challenges in breaking into the top tier of their respective national teams. Right now, Kuai Man appears to have a slight edge. But as always in elite table tennis, things can change quickly.
Let’s wait and see—will Miyu Nagasaki rise again to become a core player for Team Japan? The next chapters are yet to be written.
