Go Soeda

As a junior, he compiled a 49–48 win–loss record in singles (and 47–47 in doubles), achieving a singles ranking of No. 20 in December 2002 and doubles ranking of No. 43 in September 2002.^[3]

Soeda began playing professional tournaments regularly in 2002 before turning professional in 2003. He played primarily on Asian ITF Futures event. Soeda rose steadily through his ATP ranking over the next three years. He ended 2004 as ranked world No. 493.

In 2005, Soeda won two Futures tournament in Japan and Sri Lanka, and he made his debut in an ATP World Tour event in Ho Chi Minh City, losing to top seed Mariano Puerta in the first round. The following year, Soeda had a very steady year at the Challenger level, reaching the quarterfinals or better seven times, including his first Challenger final in Aptos. He also won the Japan F4 Futures. Soeda entered the world's top 200 in August and finished 2006 ranked No. 182.

Go made his first Grand Slam main-draw appearance at the 2007 Australian Open in January and lost to ninth seed Mario Ančić in the first round. In August 2007, Soeda defeated Eduardo Schwank to win his first Challenger title in Manta, and he reached the Brisbane Challenger final in November.

In 2008, Soeda won four Challenger titles at Kyoto, Busan, New Delhi, and Toyota. He also won the most singles title in the ATP Challenger Series (tied with three players). In September, he beat wildcard Bai Yan in the China Open first round to record his first ATP main-draw win. He lost to third seed Fernando González in three sets. In October 2009, Soeda earned his sixth Challenger title in Tiburon by beating Ilija Bozoljac in the final.

In 2010, Soeda won his second Manta Challenger title in April. In the grass-court swing, he advanced to the Nottingham Challenger final before losing to Ričardas Berankis. He participated in the Wimbledon Championships main draw as a lucky loser, but he fell in the first round to Martin Fischer. Two weeks later, he reached the second round in Newport, beating eighth seed Taylor Dent in three sets.

Soeda reached the second round of the SA Tennis Open, beating seventh seed Rainer Schüttler. In March, he claimed his eighth Challenger title in Pingguo by beating Matthias Bachinger in the final. This result launched him into the world top 100 for the first time in his career, climbing to No. 91. Soeda took part in the French Open, losing to 12th seed Mikhail Youzhny in the first round. At the Wimbledon Championships, he received entry from a lucky loser spot, but lost to eventual semifinalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

After winning the Wuhai Challenger title, Soeda qualified for the US Open, losing to Kevin Anderson in the first round. In the Asian swing, Soeda reached his first quarterfinal of an ATP World Tour event at the Thailand Open, beating Karol Beck and Tobias Kamke. His run was ended by Donald Young in straight sets. The following week, he received a wildcard and faced world No. 2, Rafael Nadal, in the Japan Open first round, losing in straight sets.^[4]

2012 started for Soeda at the Chennai Open, coming through qualifying. He beat Frederico Gil and fifth seed Ivan Dodig respectively to reach the quarterfinals, and he upset defending champion Stan Wawrinka in straight sets.^[5] His first semifinal in an ATP event came to an end, losing to top seed Janko Tipsarević in straight sets. Following the tournament, Soeda moved up in rankings to world No. 99 and back into the top 100 for the first time since April 2011. He won three Challenger titles from January to April, at Honolulu, Pingguo, and Kaohsiung. In the French Open, Soeda was eliminated in first round by Dmitry Tursunov.

In the grass-court season, Soeda reached the second round in the Queen's Club championships. Then he was into the Wimbledon Championships and advanced to the second round of a Grand Slam for the first time, beating Igor Kunitsyn in straight sets. He was beaten by ninth seed Juan Martín del Potro in four sets. In July, Soeda reached the semifinals of the Atlanta Open, knocking out Xavier Malisse and Igor Kunitsyn on the way. Then he faced his country's No. 1, Kei Nishikori, and upset him soundly. This was the first pairing of two players from Japan in an ATP quarterfinal since the Open era began.^[6] He eventually lost to Gilles Müller in straight sets. Soeda broke him into world's top 50 for the first time in his career, ranked No. 47 after the tournament.

Soeda represented Japan at his maiden Olympics in London 2012.^[7] He competed in singles and doubles, partnering Nishikori. In singles, he fell in the first round to Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus, and lost to defending champions Swiss pairing of Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka in the first round of doubles. In the US Open, Soeda lost in first round to 23rd seed Mardy Fish with two tiebreakers. In the later season, he reached the second round of the Thailand Open and the Stockholm Open.

Soeda began the 2013 season in Chennai, reaching the quarterfinals for the second straight year. He defeated Evgeny Donskoy and Prakash Amritraj in the first two rounds, but he lost to eventual champion Janko Tipsarević. He then participated in the Australian Open and won over wildcard Luke Saville in the first round, before losing to world No. 8, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Following this event, Soeda successfully defended his title in the Maui Challenger, defeating Mischa Zverev in the final, and he reached the second round in Delray Beach by beating Marinko Matosevic in three sets.

Soeda bounced back from a first-round loss in the French Open by qualifying for the Wimbledon Championships without losing a set, and he beat Andreas Haider-Maurer to reach the second round for two consecutive years in this event. He was then defeated by world No. 9 Richard Gasquet in four sets.^[8] He managed to qualify for the US Open, but fell in the first round to Marcos Baghdatis. In the Asian swing, Soeda reached the second round in the Thailand Open, beating fellow qualifier Santiago Giraldo.

Soeda faced world No. 4 and the previous year's finalist, Andy Murray, in the Australian Open first round, losing in straight sets.^[9] In September, he advanced to the second round in the Malaysian Open, before losing to Marinko Matosevic. Soeda recorded nine semifinal or better results at Challenger events in the year. These included winning the title in Busan, Nanchang, and Toyota. He ended 2014 ranked within the top 100 for the second time in his career.

Soeda started 2015 season by playing in Australia and won through the opening round of the Australian Open, beating qualifier Elias Ymer. He was beaten by 31st seed Fernando Verdasco in the second round. In Houston, Soeda defeated former world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt in the first round.^[10] After winning another Challenger title in Seoul, he was into the main draw at the French Open and Wimbledon Championships, but he faced seeded players in the first round, losing to Philipp Kohlschreiber and John Isner. During the American hard-court season, Soeda made it into the quarterfinals in Atlanta, knocking out Alexandr Dolgopolov and fourth seed Adrian Mannarino on the way, but was beaten by Gilles Müller.

He retired on 31 October 2022 having played his last match at the Japan National Championships.^[11][12]

Soeda made his Davis Cup debut for Japan in 2005, Asia/Oceania Zone Group I relegation play-offs against Thailand. He played in the singles rubber and beat Sanchai Ratiwatana in straight sets. To date, Soeda has compiled a 26–12 win–loss record overall (24–10 in singles and 2–2 in doubles). He received the Davis Cup Commitment Award in April 2014.

In the first round of 2012 Davis Cup World Group against Croatia, Soeda faced Ivan Dodig in the first singles rubber and defeated him in a 4 hour, 5 minute match.^[13] This victory was Japan’s first win in a World Group match (In their previous two World Group matches, Japan lost 0–5). He was beaten by Ivo Karlovic in reverse singles, and Japan lost 2–3. He scored another notable win in the 2013 Davis Cup World Group play-offs against Colombia. He lost to Santiago Giraldo in five sets, but defeated Alejandro Falla in the deciding rubber to put Japan back in the World Group for 2014.^[14]

Soeda is an offensive counterpuncher. Due to his relatively small size (5'10"), Soeda lacks the power and stature to effectively dictate points. Instead, he relies on quickness to retrieve opponent's shots, as well as a relatively flat, penetrating two-handed backhand. As noted by commentator Nick Lester in the BB&T Atlanta Open, Soeda plays a conventional style of tennis, approaching and finishing points at the net when possible.^[15]

• indicates the outcome of the Davis Cup match followed by the score, date, place of event, the zonal classification and its phase, and the court surface.

Rubber outcome	Rubber	Match type (partner if any)	Opponent nation	Opponent player(s)	Score
4–1; 15–17 July 2005; Namihaya Dome, Osaka, Japan; Group I Asia/Oceania first round play-offs; carpet surface
Victory	V	Singles (dead rubber)	Thailand	Sanchai Ratiwatana	6–3, 6–3
5–0; 10–12 February 2006; Namihaya Dome, Osaka, Japan; Group I Asia/Oceania first round; carpet surface
Victory	II	Singles	China	Sun Peng	6–3, 6–3, 7–6(7–5)
Victory	IV	Singles (dead rubber)		Wang Yu	6–1, 6–1
2–3; 7–9 April 2006; Bangkok, Thailand; Group I Asia/Oceania second round; hard surface
Defeat	II	Singles	Thailand	Danai Udomchoke	5–7, 6–3, 7–6(7–4), 4–6, 3–6
4–1; 9–11 February 2007; Beijing International Tennis Center, Beijing, China; Group I Asia/Oceania first round; hard surface
Victory	II	Singles	China	Sun Peng	6–4, 6–4, 7–6(9–7)
Victory	IV	Singles (dead rubber)		Yu Xinyuan	6–3, 6–4
5–0; 6–8 April 2007; Namihaya Dome, Osaka, Japan; Group I Asia/Oceania second round; carpet surface
Victory	I	Singles	Thailand	Kittipong Wachiramanowong	6–1, 6–2, 6–2
Victory	IV	Singles (dead rubber)		Weerapat Doakmaiklee	6–1, 6–2
2–3; 21–23 September 2007; Namihaya Dome, Osaka, Japan; World Group play-offs; carpet surface
Defeat	II	Singles	Romania	Andrei Pavel	3–6, 7–6(9–7), 5–7, 3–6
Defeat	V	Singles		Victor Hănescu	3–6, 7–5, 6–7(6–8), 6–7(3–7)
5–0; 8–10 February 2008; Rizal Memorial Tennis Center, Manila, Philippines; Group I Asia/Oceania first round; hard surface
Victory	I	Singles	Philippines	Patrick John Tierro	6–1, 4–6, 6–2, 2–6, 6–4
Victory	III	Doubles (with Takao Suzuki)		Cecil Mamiit Eric Taino	6–7(5–7), 7–6(10–8), 7–6(7–5), 6–4
Victory	IV	Singles (dead rubber)		Johnny Arcilla	6–3, 6–2
2–3; 11–13 April 2008; R K Khanna Tennis Stadium, New Delhi, India; Group I Asia/Oceania second round; grass surface
Defeat	II	Singles	India	Prakash Amritraj	6–4, 7–6(7–5), 4–6, 4–6, 6–8
5–0; 6–8 March 2009; Namihaya Dome, Osaka, Japan; Group I Asia/Oceania first round; carpet surface
Victory	I	Singles	China	Zheng Shaoxuan	6–2, 7–6(7–4), 6–3
Victory	V	Singles (dead rubber)		Zhang Ze	4–6, 6–3, 6–2
5–0; 5–7 March 2010; Namihaya Dome, Osaka, Japan; Group I Asia/Oceania first round; carpet surface
Victory	II	Singles	Philippines	Cecil Mamiit	6–7(4–7), 6–3, 6–3, 6–3
Victory	V	Singles (dead rubber)		Francis Alcantara	6–1, 6–0
0–5; 7–9 May 2010; Queensland Tennis Centre, Brisbane, Australia; Group I Asia/Oceania second round; clay surface
Defeat	III	Doubles (with Takao Suzuki)	Australia	Paul Hanley Lleyton Hewitt	5–7, 4–6, 0–6
3–1; 4–6 March 2011; Plantation Bay Resort & Spa, Lapu-Lapu City, Philippines; Group I Asia/Oceania first round; clay surface
Victory	II	Singles	Philippines	Johnny Arcilla	6–3, 6–3, 6–3
Victory	IV	Singles		Cecil Mamiit	7–6(7–5), 6–2, 3–6, 6–3
4–1; 8–10 July 2011; Bourbon Beans Dome, Kobe, Japan; Group I Asia/Oceania second round; hard surface
Victory	III	Doubles (with Kei Nishikori)	Uzbekistan	Murad Inoyatov Denis Istomin	7–5, 7–6(7–5), 7–5
Victory	V	Singles (dead rubber)		Sarvar Ikramov	7–5, 6–0
4–1; 16–18 September 2011; Ariake Coliseum, Tokyo, Japan; World Group play-offs; hard surface
Victory	V	Singles (dead rubber)	India	Rohan Bopanna	4–5 ret.
2–3; 10–12 February 2012; Bourbon Beans Dome, Kobe, Japan; World Group first round; hard surface
Victory	I	Singles	Croatia	Ivan Dodig	6–7(3–7), 3–6, 6–4, 6–3, 7–5
Defeat	V	Singles		Ivo Karlović	6–7(4–7), 1–6, 4–6
2–3; 14–16 September 2012; Ariake Coliseum, Tokyo, Japan; World Group play-offs; hard surface
Victory	I	Singles	Israel	Dudi Sela	6–2, 6–4, 3–6, 6–4
Defeat	V	Singles		Amir Weintraub	3–6, 6–7(5–7), 6–4, 3–6
5–0; 1–3 February 2013; Ariake Coliseum, Tokyo, Japan; Group I Asia/Oceania first round; hard surface
Victory	II	Singles	Indonesia	Wisnu Adi Nugroho	6–0, 6–0, 6–1
3–2; 5–7 April 2013; Ariake Coliseum, Tokyo, Japan; Group I Asia/Oceania second round; hard surface
Victory	II	Singles	South Korea	Cho Min-hyeok	5–7, 2–6, 6–4, 6–4, 6–2
Defeat	IV	Singles		Lim Yong-kyu	7–5, 6–7(5–7), 4–6, 3–6
3–2; 5–7 April 2013; Ariake Coliseum, Tokyo, Japan; World Group play-offs; hard surface
Defeat	II	Singles	Colombia	Santiago Giraldo	4–6, 6–3, 5–7, 6–3, 1–6
Victory	V	Singles		Alejandro Falla	4–6, 6–4, 6–3, 6–3
4–1; 31 January–2 February 2014; Ariake Coliseum, Tokyo, Japan; World Group first round; hard surface
Defeat	II	Singles	Canada	Frank Dancevic	4–6, 6–7(2–7), 1–6
Victory	V	Singles (dead rubber)		Peter Polansky	6–1, 6–4
2–3; 6–8 March 2015; Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre, Vancouver, Canada; World Group first round; hard surface
Defeat	III	Doubles (with Yasutaka Uchiyama)	Canada	Daniel Nestor Vasek Pospisil	5–7, 6–2, 3–6, 6–3, 3–6
Defeat	V	Singles		Vasek Pospisil	5–7, 3–6, 4–6
3–1; 15–17 September 2017; Utsubo Tennis Center, Osaka, Japan; World Group play-offs; hard surface
Victory	II	Singles	Brazil	Thiago Monteiro	3–6, 6–4, 6–3, 6–7(1–7), 6–4
0–3; 6–7 March 2020; Bourbon Beans Dome, Miki, Japan; Davis Cup qualifying round; hard surface
Defeat	I	Singles	Ecuador	Emilio Gómez	5–7, 6–7(3–7)

Current through the 2022 Cincinnati Masters.

¹ Held as Hamburg Masters (clay) until 2008, Madrid Masters (clay) 2009–present.

² Held as Madrid Masters (indoor hardcourt) from 2002 to 2008, Shanghai Masters (outdoor hardcourt) 2009–present.

Current through the 2022 US Open

Kwon's record against players who have been ranked in the top 10, with those who are active in boldface. Only ATP Tour main draw, Davis Cup and Olympic matches are considered:

Player	Record	Win %	Hard	Clay	Grass	Carpet	Last Match
Number 1 ranked players
Rafael Nadal	0–1	0%	0–1	0–0	0–0	0–0	Lost (3–6, 2–6) at 2011 Tokyo
Andy Roddick	1–0	100%	0–0	1–0	0–0	0–0	Won (7–5, 7–6(7–4)) at 2012 World Team Cup
Andy Murray	0–1	0%	0–1	0–0	0–0	0–0	Lost (1–6, 1–6, 3–6) at 2014 Australian Open
Lleyton Hewitt	1–0	100%	0–0	1–0	0–0	0–0	Won (4–6, 7–6(7–3), 6–3) at 2015 Houston
Novak Djokovic	0–1	0%	0–1	0–0	0–0	0–0	Lost (3–6, 5–7) at 2019 Tokyo
Number 3 ranked players
Ivan Ljubičić	0–1	0%	0–1	0–0	0–0	0–0	Lost (4–6, 2–6) at 2006 Beijing
Juan Martín del Potro	0–3	0%	0–2	0–0	0–1	0–0	Lost (2–6, 3–6, 6–1, 4–6) at 2012 Wimbledon Championships
Stan Wawrinka	1–0	100%	1–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	Won (6–4, 6–4) at 2012 Chennai
Milos Raonic	0–1	0%	0–1	0–0	0–0	0–0	Lost (4–6, 6–7(0–7)) at 2013 Tokyo
Number 4 ranked players
Tomáš Berdych	0–2	0%	0–1	0–1	0–0	0–0	Lost (1–6, 6–3, 1–6) at 2012 World Team Cup
Kei Nishikori	1–1	50%	1–1	0–0	0–0	0–0	Lost (6–4, 2–6, 3–6) at 2012 Tokyo
Number 5 ranked players
Rainer Schüttler	1–2	33%	1–2	0–0	0–0	0–0	Won (3–6, 6–4, 6–4) at 2011 Johannesburg
Fernando González	0–1	0%	0–1	0–0	0–0	0–0	Lost (6–3, 6–7(4–7), 1–6) at 2008 Beijing
Lukáš Dlouhý	0–1	0%	0–1	0–0	0–0	0–0	Lost (6–3, 2–6, 4–6) at 2009 Chennai
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga	0–3	0%	0–2	0–0	0–1	0–0	Lost (3–6, 6–7(1–7), 3–6) at 2013 Australian Open
Kevin Anderson	0–1	0%	0–1	0–0	0–0	0–0	Lost (1–6, 3–6, 0–6) at 2011 US Open
Number 6 ranked players
Gaël Monfils	0–1	0%	0–1	0–0	0–0	0–0	Lost (6–7(10–12), 4–6) at 2010 Tokyo
Gilles Simon	0–1	0%	0–1	0–0	0–0	0–0	Lost (4–6, 4–6) at 2012 Bangkok
Matteo Berrettini	0–1	0%	0–1	0–0	0–0	0–0	Lost (6–7(5–7), 1–6, 4–6) at 2020 US Open
Number 7 ranked players
Mario Ančić	0–1	0%	0–1	0–0	0–0	0–0	Lost (4–6, 3–6, 2–6) at 2007 Australian Open
Richard Gasquet	0–2	0%	0–1	0–0	0–1	0–0	Lost (0–6, 3–6, 7–6(7–5), 3–6) at 2013 Wimbledon Championships
Mardy Fish	0–1	0%	0–1	0–0	0–0	0–0	Lost (6–7(3–7), 6–7(2–7), 3–6) at 2012 US Open
Fernando Verdasco	0–3	0%	0–3	0–0	0–0	0–0	Lost (7–6(7–2), 3–6, 3–6) at 2016 Tokyo
David Goffin	0–1	0%	0–1	0–0	0–0	0–0	Lost (4–6, 2–6) at 2015 Shanghai Masters
Number 8 ranked players
Mikhail Youzhny	0–1	0%	0–0	0–1	0–0	0–0	Lost (5–7, 2–6, 4–6) at 2011 French Open
Radek Štěpánek	0–1	0%	0–0	0–0	0–1	0–0	Lost (1–6, 3–6) at 2011 Queen's Club
Janko Tipsarević	0–2	0%	0–2	0–0	0–0	0–0	Lost (2–6, 4–6) at 2013 Chennai
Marcos Baghdatis	0–2	0%	0–1	0–0	0–1	0–0	Lost (4–6, 3–6, 1–6) at 2013 US Open
John Isner	0–2	0%	0–1	0–0	0–1	0–0	Lost (6–7(5–7), 4–6, 4–6) at 2015 Wimbledon Championships
Jack Sock	0–1	0%	0–1	0–0	0–0	0–0	Lost (3–6, 4–6) at 2015 Miami Masters
Simone Bolelli	0–1	0%	0–0	0–0	0–1	0–0	Lost (3–6, 2–6) at 2015 Nottingham
Number 9 ranked players
Mariano Puerta	0–1	0%	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–1	Lost (4–6, 7–6(7–5), 4–6) at 2005 Ho Chi Minh
Nicolás Almagro	0–1	0%	0–1	0–0	0–0	0–0	Lost (6–7(5–7), 2–6) at 2013 Shanghai Masters
Roberto Bautista Agut	0–1	0%	0–1	0–0	0–0	0–0	Lost (2–6, 4–6) at 2020 ATP Cup
Total	5–43	10.42%	3–33 (8.33%)	2–2 (50%)	0–7 (0%)	0–1 (0%)	* Statistics correct as of 10 October 2022[update].

Active players are in boldface.

*As of 10 October 2022^[update]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Go Soeda.

• Official website
• Go Soeda at the Association of Tennis Professionals
• Go Soeda at the International Tennis Federation
• Go Soeda at the Davis Cup
• Soeda World Ranking history