Himeno Sakatsume

Himeno Sakatsume is a 25-year-old Japanese player who spent 2026 pressing toward the top 100. On Sept. 14, 2026 she stood at WTA No. 115 with 634 points, the best mark in our ranking records, after starting the season at No. 151 and sitting near No. 197 in those same records a year earlier.

Her strongest result on record came at the 2026 US Open, where she beat Anhelina Kalinina, then WTA No. 49, 6-3, 6-3. That stands as both the highest-ranked win and the deepest Grand Slam run in our records.

The second round turned into three tiebreaks against Cristina Bucsa. Sakatsume won the middle one without losing a point and lost the other two by two points each.

Earlier in the year she beat Alycia Parks, then WTA No. 96, at Indian Wells, before Aryna Sabalenka ended her run there 6-4, 6-2. She lost her opener at the Australian Open to Caty McNally and fell in the round of 32 at the Nottingham Open to Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, which leaves her 2026 at 2-4 in recorded matches.

Free points are scarce on her serve. Across the six tour-level matches with stat lines in 2026, her ace rate was 2.2% and she held 64% of her service games, while she won 36.5% of return points and converted 41% of break points. It is a thin sample, but the pressure in her matches runs through the return.