Inspired by Hsieh, Aoi Ito takes her 'unique game' into Osaka semifinals

Note: This article was published following Aoi Ito's second-round win in Osaka. She has backed that up by beating Eva Lys 6-7(8), 6-2, 6-3 to reach the semifinals.

Aoi Ito's WTA debut this week at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open has been eye-catching in more ways than one.

Osaka: Scores | Draws | Order of play

The 20-year-old Japanese qualifier has delivered two impressive upsets to book her place in her first tour-level quarterfinal. In the first round, she overturned a 5-2 third-set deficit to stun former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin. She backed that up with a 6-4, 6-3 win against No.8 seed Elisabetta Cocciaretto, the first Top 50 victory of her career. Ito is now on a nine-match winning streak, following her ITF W50 title in Nanao three weeks ago.

The way Ito has been pulling off those wins has been pretty unconventional. Her game is an unorthodox mix of nonchalant forehand slices, sneak net attacks and changes of speed and direction that catch her opponents off guard. Against Kenin, she chipped forehands deep in the court then, without warning and using the same motion, pulled off a drop-shot winner. Cocciaretto's frustration at getting tied up in Ito's web of spins was visible throughout the match.

Ito’s style puts her in the same category as past non-conformists like Monica Niculescu and Hsieh Su-Wei. It’s fitting, then, that back in 2022, while still in high school, she shared with The Digest how much she drew inspiration from Hsieh’s unconventional game.

"The player I admire is Hsieh Su-Wei," Ito said. "Even though I'm skinny, I can beat foreign players. I'm aiming to play tennis like Hsieh, and I'm trying to become unique."

In Osaka this week, Ito expanded on how she developed her style.

"I don't have any power, so I try to compete by technique," she explained. "By slicing, by drop shots, by figuring out how to beat power."

While Ito is thrilled to be holding her own at the tour level, keeping her expectations modest has served her well this week. After defeating Kenin, she shared in her on-court interview that her goal against such a formidable opponent had simply been to win two games per set. She plans to stick to this approach heading into her quarterfinal match against lucky loser Eva Lys.

"First round, I tried to get two games," she said after her win over Cocciaretto. "Second round this time, I wanted to get four games. So next round, I'll try to get six games!"

Note: After Ito's quarterfinal win, she joked that, naturally, her goal for the semifinals was "to get eight games."