The 21st century
United States · born San Diego, 2001 · right-handed · Wimbledon fourth round 2022
All playersBack to the rankings
4R
Best Wimbledon result, 2022
2
Grass-court semi-finals, Stuttgart 2024 and Queen's 2026
7-5, 6-3
Win over top seed de Minaur, Queen's 2026
41
Aces in his 2026 Wimbledon defeat
Born in San Diego on 3 August 2001 to a Japanese-American father and a mother born in Vietnam, Nakashima was first taken on court by his maternal grandfather at about three and a half. He played one semester for the University of Virginia in 2019, winning 17 of 22 singles matches, then turned professional. He made his major debut as a wildcard at the 2020 US Open, won the San Diego Open in 2022 and the Next Gen ATP Finals the same year, and reached his first Masters final at the 2026 Canadian Open, losing to Ben Shelton. In the 2026 grass season he beat the top seed Alex de Minaur on the way to the Queen's semi-finals, then lost in the second round at Wimbledon to Jan-Lennard Struff in a fifth-set tiebreak.
| Wimbledon singles | Fourth round 2022; third round 2024 and 2025; second round 2026; first round 2021 and 2023 |
|---|---|
| Wimbledon 2022 | Unseeded at 20, reached the fourth round and lost on Centre Court to Nick Kyrgios, the eventual runner-up, 6-4, 4-6, 6-7 (2), 6-3, 2-6 |
| Wimbledon defeats to remember | 2023: lost to Jordan Thompson in five sets in the first round after winning the first two sets 6-2, 6-2. 2026: lost to Jan-Lennard Struff 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-7 (5), 7-6 (6), 6-7 (7), the last tiebreak 10-7 |
| Other grass events | Stuttgart semi-final 2024, lost to the champion Jack Draper. Queen's semi-final 2026, beating Alex de Minaur 7-5, 6-3, then losing to the champion Francisco Cerúndolo 7-6 (5), 3-6, 4-6 |
| Grass titles | None yet |
"He's really calm all the time. But also when he's focused, he's a machine."
The person behind the player.
San Diego, 2000s
Nakashima credits his mother's father, who came from Vietnam, with starting it all: "He first started to get me out on the court when I was about three and a half years old." As a teenager he said he had always liked to watch Federer, but that his own game was more like Djokovic's.
Source: UbitennisUS Open 2020
His first match at a major came as a wildcard in New York, the year after his semester at Virginia. He beat Paolo Lorenzi 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (3). "I think I would want to have [my first win] at the US Open because I'm American," he said.
Source: Tennis.comWimbledon 2023 and 2024
In 2023 he led Jordan Thompson 6-2, 6-2 in the first round and lost in five sets, the start of a year in which he lost in the first round at all four majors. A year later he met Thompson in the second round, led 6-2, 6-2 again, and this time finished it in straight sets. "It's a completely different player," he said of himself.
Source: ATP TourQueen's 2026
Against Alex de Minaur, the world No. 6, he saved both break points he faced and won 7-5, 6-3 in 90 minutes for his third career win over a top-10 player. "I have been feeling pretty good on the grass with all the matches here," he said. Francisco Cerúndolo stopped him in the semi-final.
Source: ATP TourWimbledon 2026 · Court 18
His second-round match against Jan-Lennard Struff produced 45 aces from Struff and 41 from Nakashima. It was halted by darkness at two sets all on the Wednesday and resumed at midday on Thursday, when Struff won the last of four tiebreaks 10-7.
Source: VolksstimmeFree membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
Join freePage updated 3 November 2026. Spotted an error? Send a correction.
_01_(cropped).jpg){kind=link}