SHIMADZU Breakers Tennis Team
Both Team and Individual Players Show Their Fighting Spirit in Tournament
Shimadzu’s tennis team, the SHIMADZU Breakers (“the Breakers”), took part in the final tournament of the 39th Japan Tennis League in February and the 60th Shimadzu All Japan Indoor Tennis Championships in March. The players put on thrilling performances in both the team and individual competitions.
Match for the Best Corporate Team in Japan
Breakers Runners-up in the 39th Tennis Japan League
The final tournament of the 39th Tennis Japan League, held at the Tokyo Gymnasium from February 14th to 16th, saw the six women’s teams that had advanced through the qualifying rounds in December 2024 and January 2025 compete for the top in the corporate division.
The Breakers finished as runners-up of the 39th Japan Tennis League.
Back row, from left: Assistant Coach Eiko Chisaka, Haruka Kaji, Anri Nagata, Ikumi Yamazaki, External Relations Manager and Assistant General Manager Hiroko Komori, Front row, from left: Coach Suzuho Oshino, Karen Tsutsumi, Ari Matsumoto, Hiroko Kuwata, Head Coach Megumi Nishimoto
*Titles at the time of the tournament
After winning 2-1 against Hashimoto Sogyo in the semi-finals on February 15, the Breakers faced Hashimoto Sogyo Holdings in the final on the following day. In the singles 2 match, Ikumi Yamazaki faced Himeno Sakatsume. Despite putting up a strong fight against Sakatsume’s tenacious play, Yamazaki was unable to make it to the final, losing narrowly 6-7(3), 6-7(2).
Singles 2: Ikumi Yamazaki
Singles 1: Haruka Kaji
In the singles 1 match, which was a game of aces between Haruka Kaji and Kyoka Okamura, Kaji triumphed 6-2, 6-4 over Okamura after a fierce rally. In the doubles that followed, Hiroko Kuwata and Ari Matsumoto put up a good fight against Kanako Morisaki and Momoko Kobori but lost 3-6, 4-6.
Doubles: Hiroko Kuwata (left) and Ari Matsumoto
In the individual awards, Kaji won the Most Valuable Player award, Yamazaki won the Most Valuable Rookie award and the Outstanding Player award, and Kuwata won the platinum medal for achieving 50 wins in singles matches.
Kuwata in the Doubles Quarterfinals
The 60th Shimadzu All Japan Indoor Tennis Championships
The 60th Shimadzu All Japan Indoor Tennis Championships, of which Shimadzu is a special sponsor, was held at the Shimadzu Arena Kyoto (Kyoto Prefectural Gymnasium) from March 4 to 16. The men’s competition was a major Japanese tournament, and the women’s competition was an international tournament with a total prize money of $40,000. All six Breakers players took part.
The doubles best 4 pair of Kuwata (right) and Giavara
In the Breakers, the best 4 doubles pair of Hiroko Kuwata and Haley Giavara (USA) achieved the best result.
The pair of Matsumoto (right) and Tsutsumi
The pair of Nagata (left) and Funa Kozaki (professional free player)
Yamazaki
Kaji
On the final day of the tournament, before the women’s singles final, a tennis clinic was held featuring former professional tennis player Shuzo Matsuoka as coach. In 1995, Matsuoka reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, one of the four major tennis tournaments in the world. After retiring from the professional circuit, he established the Shuzo Challenge project to revitalize tennis and is working on the development of junior players and the tennis world.
Over 100 people took part in the tennis clinic run by Matsuoka. The first part of the clinic was an intensive coaching session on strengthening doubles for 20 members of hard-court tennis clubs from four junior high schools and high schools selected in advance. The second part of the clinic was a fun session for 93 people from elementary school students to adults with some tennis experience, which taught tips on improving their tennis skills.
After the tennis clinic, the Kyoto Ryoyo High School brass band gave a powerful performance of familiar classical tunes. About 2,500 people came to watch the tournament throughout the duration of the event.
The winners of the 60th Shimadzu All Japan Indoor Tennis Championships are as follows.
| Singles winner | Doubles winner | |
|---|---|---|
| Men | Yu Tanaka (University of Tsukuba) | Shunsuke Nakagawa and Yusuke Kusuhara (Iyo Bank) pair |
| Women | Sara Saito (Fuji Yakuhin) | Saki Imamura (EM SYSTEMS) and Sohyun Park (KOR) pair |
Ari Matsumoto: A New Chapter in Her Tennis Career
The 60th Shimadzu All Japan Indoor Tennis Championships marked the final appearance of Ari Matsumoto as an active player. She joined Shimadzu Corporation in 2020. Since then, as an employee-athlete, she has been in charge of public relations and environmental management-related work while continuing to improve her tennis skills daily.
Comment from Matsumoto
Thank you so much for all the support you have shown me. The warm words of encouragement from fans at the tournaments and on social media gave me the strength to keep going, no matter what the circumstances. I am very proud to have been able to play for the SHIMADZU Breakers for five years. From April, I will coach the team, pass on my experience to younger players, and work even harder than before to make the team number one in Japan again. I would like to ask you to continue supporting the SHIMADZU Breakers.
The 59th Shimadzu All Japan Indoor Tennis Championships (2024)
Runner-up in the doubles event with Oshino (now a coach)
39th Tennis Japan League Preliminary Block (December 2024). She won a match in doubles with Tsutsumi.
39th Tennis Japan League Final Tournament (February 2025)
"It was my first time playing in its final tournament, but thanks to my partner Kuwata, I was able to enjoy playing tennis on the big stage" (Matsumoto)
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