Miyu Kato (加藤 未唯, Katō Miyu, born 21 November 1994) is a Japanese professional tennis player who specializes in doubles. On 1 January 2024, she peaked at world No. 26 in the WTA doubles rankings. She also achieved her career-high singles ranking of No. 122 in January 2018.
Kato has won five doubles titles on the WTA Tour and two WTA Challenger doubles titles. In addition, she has won four singles and 13 doubles titles on the ITF Circuit.
Playing for Japan Fed Cup team, Kato has a win–loss record of 6–1 (5–1 in doubles), as of June 2024.
Career
2023 : Mixed doubles champion, back to top 30, new career high and Elite Trophy
Kato won her major title in the mixed doubles at the 2023 French Open, together with her German partner Tim Pütz.
She reached a new career-high ranking of No. 27 on 23 October 2023, the week she was selected to participate in the 2023 WTA Elite Trophy with Aldila Sutjiadi.
French Open controversy
At the 2023 French Open, she and her partner Aldila Sutjiadi were defaulted in the women's doubles, after she accidentally hit a ball girl with a ball. She had to forfeit her points and prize money, although she made clear she would appeal the supervisor's decision. Kato received ample support from fellow players, including from the Professional Tennis Players Association, who deemed the disqualification unfair. Kato and Sutjiadi's opponents, Sara Sorribes Tormo and Marie Bouzková, were criticized for pushing the supervisor to disqualify Kato and laughing after the pair were disqualified, but did not apologize to Kato.
2024-2025: Thailand title, Miami final
Kato and Sutjiadi won the doubles title at the 2024 Thailand Open, defeating Guo Hanyu and Jiang Xinyu in the final.
In March 2025, partnering with new partner Cristina Bucșa, Kato reached the doubles final of the WTA 1000 Miami Open with an upset over the top seeds and world No. 1 and No. 2 players Kateřina Siniaková and Taylor Townsend. They lost the championship match to Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider.
Personal life and background
Kato has one brother named Yuki. She started playing tennis at the age of eight. She has stated that her tennis idols growing up were Justine Henin and Roger Federer. Her favorite surface to play on is hardcourt, but her favorite tournament is Wimbledon.
Performance timelines
Only main-draw results in WTA Tour, Grand Slam tournaments, Fed Cup/Billie Jean King Cup and Olympic Games are included in win–loss records and career statistics.
Doubles
Mixed doubles
Grand Slam tournament finals
Mixed doubles: 1 (title)
Other significant finals
WTA Elite Trophy
Doubles: 1 (runner-up)
WTA Tour finals
Singles: 1 (runner-up)
Doubles: 16 (5 titles, 11 runner-ups)
WTA Challenger finals
Doubles: 3 (2 titles, 1 runner-up)
ITF Circuit finals
Singles: 8 (4 titles, 4 runner–ups)
Doubles: 26 (13 titles, 13 runner–ups)
Junior Grand Slam tournament finals
Girls' doubles: 1 (runner–up)
Notes
References
External links
- Miyu Kato at the Women's Tennis Association
- Miyu Kato at the International Tennis Federation
- Miyu Kato at the Billie Jean King Cup (archived)
- Miyu Kato at Wimbledon
- Miyu Kato at ESPN.com
