Miyu Kato (; born 21 November 1994) is a Japanese professional tennis player who specializes in doubles. She reached career-high WTA rankings of world No. 26 in doubles on 1 January 2024 and No. 122 in singles on 15 January 2018. Kato has won six doubles titles on the WTA Tour and three at WTA 125 level. She has also won four singles and 13 doubles titles on the ITF Circuit. In mixed doubles, she won the 2023 French Open with Germany's Tim Pütz, her first Grand Slam title.
Three of Kato's six WTA Tour doubles titles were won with Indonesia's Aldila Sutjiadi: at Auckland and Cleveland in 2023, and Hua Hin in 2024. The pair also finished runners-up in the doubles event at the 2023 WTA Elite Trophy. In 2025, Kato reached the women's doubles finals at two WTA 1000 events: the 2025 Miami Open with Cristina Bucșa and the 2025 China Open with Fanny Stollár.
Representing Japan, she won the bronze medal in women's doubles at the 2018 Asian Games with Makoto Ninomiya and has represented her country in the Billie Jean King Cup.
Career 2023 : Mixed doubles champion, 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: WTA 1000 finals in Miami and Beijing Kato and Sutjiadi won the doubles title at the 2024 Thailand Open, defeating Guo Hanyu and Jiang Xinyu in the final.
In March 2025, 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.
Teaming up with Fanny Stollár, she reached another WTA 1000 final at the 2025 China Open, losing to second seeds Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in a champions tiebreak.
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 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 Tournament20162017201820192020202120222023202420252026SRW–LWin%Grand Slam tournaments Australian OpenASF2R1R1RA1R3R1RQF3R0 / 912–9 French Open1R2R1R1R2R1R2R3RQF1R1R0 / 118–11 Wimbledon2R1R1R1RNH1R1R3R2R1R2R0 / 105–10 US Open3R2R1R1RA2R2R3R1R2R0 / 98–9Win–loss3–36–41–40–41–21–32–48–44–44–43–30 / 3933–39Year-end championships WTA Elite TrophyDNQRRDNQNHFNH0 / 22–3WTA 1000Dubai / Qatar OpenAAQFAAAA2R2R1R1R0 / 54–5Indian Wells OpenAAA1RNHAASF2R1R1R0 / 54–5Miami OpenAAA1RNHAA1R2RF2R0 / 56–5Madrid OpenAA1RANHAA2R2R1RA0 / 42–4Italian OpenA2R1R1RAAAQF1R1R1R0 / 73–7Canadian OpenA1R2R2RNHAA2R1RA0 / 53–5Cincinnati Open2RAAAAAAQF1R1R0 / 43–4Guadalajara OpenNHAQFAA0 / 12–1Wuhan OpenAA1RANH1RA0 / 20–2China OpenAA1RANH1R2RF0 / 44–4Career statisticsTitles1010000210Total: 5Finals2031102332Total: 17Year-end ranking58404579748049273745$1,979,116
Mixed doubles Tournaments2019...20232024SRW–LWin% Australian OpenAA1R0 / 10–1 French OpenAWQF1 / 27–1 Wimbledon1R1R1R0 / 30–3 US OpenAAA0 / 00–0Win–loss0–15–12–31 / 67–5
Grand Slam tournament finals Mixed doubles: 1 (title) ResultYearTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreWin2023French OpenClay Tim Pütz Bianca Andreescu Michael Venus4–6, 6–4, [10–6]
Other significant finals WTA Elite Trophy Doubles: 1 (runner-up) ResultYearTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreLoss2023Elite Trophy, ZhuhaiHard Aldila Sutjiadi Beatriz Haddad Maia Veronika Kudermetova3–6, 3–6
WTA 1000 tournaments Doubles: 2 (runner-ups) ResultYearTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreLoss 2025Miami Open Hard Cristina Bucșa Mirra Andreeva Diana Shnaider 3–6, 7–6(7–5), [2–10]Loss 2025China Open Hard Fanny Stollár Sara Errani Jasmine Paolini 7–6(7–1), 3–6, [2–10]
WTA Tour finals Singles: 1 (runner-up) LegendWTA 250 (0–1)Finals by surfaceHard (0–1) ResultDateTournamentTierSurfaceOpponentScoreLoss Japan Women's Open, Japan International Hard Zarina Diyas 2–6, 5–7
Doubles: 18 (6 titles, 12 runner-ups) LegendWTA 1000 (0–2)WTA 500 (1–1)Elite Trophy (0–1)WTA 250 (5–8)Finals by surfaceHard (6–10)Clay (0–1)Grass (0–1) ResultW–LDateTournamentTierSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreLoss 0–1 Taipei Open, Taiwan International Hard Eri Hozumi Chan Hao-ching Chan Yung-jan 4–6, 3–6Win 1–1 Katowice Open, Poland International Hard (i) Eri Hozumi Valentyna Ivakhnenko Marina Melnikova 3–6, 7–5, [10–8]Loss 1–2 Auckland Open, New Zealand International Hard Eri Hozumi Sara Errani Bibiane Schoofs 5–7, 1–6Loss 1–3 Japan Women's Open, Japan International Hard Makoto Ninomiya Eri Hozumi Zhang Shuai 2–6, 4–6Win 2–3 Pan Pacific Open, JapanPremier Hard (i) Makoto Ninomiya Andrea Sestini Hlaváčková Barbora Strýcová 6–4, 6–4Loss 2–4 Tianjin Open, China International Hard Nao Hibino Shuko Aoyama Ena Shibahara 3–6, 5–7Loss 2–5 Monterrey Open, Mexico International Hard Wang Yafan Kateryna Bondarenko Sharon Fichman 6–4, 3–6, [7–10]Loss 2–6 Hamburg European Open, Germany WTA 250 Clay Aldila Sutjiadi Sophie Chang Angela Kulikov 3–6, 6–4, [6–10]Loss 2–7 Jasmin Open, Tunisia WTA 250 Hard Angela Kulikov Kristina Mladenovic Kateřina Siniaková 2–6, 0–6Win 3–7 Auckland Classic, New Zealand WTA 250 Hard Aldila Sutjiadi Leylah Fernandez Bethanie Mattek-Sands 1–6, 7–5, [10–4]Win 4–7 Tennis in Cleveland, United States WTA 250 Hard Aldila Sutjiadi Nicole Melichar-Martinez Ellen Perez 6–4, 6–7(4–7), [10–8]Loss 4–8 WTA Elite Trophy, ChinaElite Hard Aldila Sutjiadi Beatriz Haddad Maia Veronika Kudermetova 3–6, 3–6Win 5–8 Hua Hin Championships, Thailand WTA 250 Hard Aldila Sutjiadi Guo Hanyu Jiang Xinyu 6–4, 1–6, [10–7]Loss 5–9 Birmingham Classic, United Kingdom WTA 250 Grass Zhang Shuai Hsieh Su-wei Elise Mertens 1–6, 3–6Loss 5–10 Seoul, South KoreaWTA 500 Hard Zhang Shuai Nicole Melichar-Martinez Liudmila Samsonova 1–6, 0–6Loss 5–11 Mar 2025Miami Open, United StatesWTA 1000 Hard Cristina Bucșa Mirra Andreeva Diana Shnaider 3–6, 7–6(7–5), [2–10]Loss 5–12 Oct 2025China Open, ChinaWTA 1000 Hard Fanny Stollár Sara Errani Jasmine Paolini 7–6(7–1), 3–6, [2–10]Win6–12Jul 2026Athens Open, GreeceWTA 250Hard Chan Hao-ching Maia Lumsden Tang Qianhui7–6(7–3), 4–6, [10–7]
WTA 125 finals Doubles: 4 (3 titles, 1 runner-up) ResultW–LDateTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreWin 1–0 Hawaii Open, United States Hard Eri Hozumi Nicole Gibbs Asia Muhammad 6–7(3–7), 6–3, [10–8]Loss 1–1 Clarins Open, France Clay Oksana Kalashnikova Beatriz Haddad Maia Kristina Mladenovic 7–5, 4–6, [4–10]Win 2–1 Vancouver Open, Canada Hard Asia Muhammad Tímea Babos Angela Kulikov 6–3, 7–5Win 3–1 Mar 2026Austin Challenger, United States Hard Chan Hao-ching Isabelle Haverlag Sabrina Santamaria 6–2, 6–3
ITF Circuit finals Singles: 8 (4 titles, 4 runner-ups) Legend$60,000 tournaments (1–0)$25,000 tournaments (3–3)$10,000 tournaments (0–1)Finals by surfaceHard (2–3)Clay (1–0)Grass (1–1) ResultW–LDateTournamentTierSurfaceOpponentScoreLoss 0–1 Aug 2013ITF Fort Worth, United States10,000 Hard Lauren Embree 6–3, 1–6, 1–3 ret.Win 1–1 May 2015ITF Karuizawa, Japan25,000 Grass Makoto Ninomiya 7–6(7–5), 5–7, 6–1Loss 1–2 May 2015ITF Balikpapan, Indonesia25,000 Hard Lu Jiajing 4–6, 4–6Win 2–2 Jul 2015ITF Bangkok, Thailand25,000 Hard Nigina Abduraimova 7–5, 6–2Loss 2–3 Oct 2015ITF Hamamatsu, Japan25,000 Grass Shuko Aoyama 2–6, 1–6Win 3–3 Mar 2016Clay Court International, Australia25,000 Clay Anna Bondár 6–4, 7–6(7–3)Loss 3–4 Nov 2022Yokohama Challenger, JapanW25 Hard Han Na-lae 5–7, 0–6Win 4–4 Dec 2022Indoor Championships, JapanW60 Hard (i) Lily Miyazaki 6–4, 2–6, 6–2
Doubles: 26 (13 titles, 13 runner-ups) Legend$100,000 tournaments (1–2)$75/80,000 tournaments (2–0)$50/60,000 tournaments (0–3)$25,000 tournaments (5–1)$10/15,000 tournaments (5–7)Finals by surfaceHard (7–6)Clay (2–6)Grass (2–0)Carpet (2–1) ResultW–LDateTournamentTierSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreWin 1–0 Sep 2011ITF Kyoto, Japan10,000 Carpet (i) Riko Sawayanagi Kazusa Ito Tomoko Taira 6–4, 7–6(7–5)Loss 1–1 Sep 2012ITF Kyoto, Japan10,000 Carpet (i) Misaki Mori Nao Hibino Emi Mutaguchi 4–6, 3–6Win 2–1 Oct 2012ITF Makinohara, Japan25,000 Grass Eri Hozumi Monique Adamczak Caroline Garcia 7–6(8–6), 6–3Loss 2–2 Jan 2013ITF Hong Kong, China SAR10,000 Hard Eri Hozumi Tian Ran Tang Haochen 2–6, 1–6Loss 2–3 Jan 2013ITF Hong Kong, China SAR10,000 Hard Eri Hozumi Xin Wen Li Yihong 6–4, 1–6, [10–12]Win 3–3 Sep 2013ITF Kyoto, Japan10,000 Carpet (i) Hiroko Kuwata Mana Ayukawa Emi Mutaguchi 6–4, 6–2Loss 3–4 Sep 2013ITF Cairns, Australia15,000 Hard Yurina Koshino Isabella Holland Sally Peers 6–7(2–7), 6–4, [7–10]Loss 3–5 Feb 2014ITF Nonthaburi, Thailand10,000 Hard Yuuki Tanaka Nungnadda Wannasuk Varunya Wongteanchai 2–6, 2–6Loss 3–6 Apr 2014ITF Melbourne, Australia15,000 Clay Yuuki Tanaka Jessica Moore Aleksandrina Naydenova 5–7, 7–6(7–5), [7–10]Win 4–6 Jul 2014ITF Bangkok, Thailand10,000 Hard Akiko Omae Kamonwan Buayam Nungnadda Wannasuk 6–0, 6–0Loss 4–7 Aug 2014ITF Wuhan, China50,000 Hard Makoto Ninomiya Han Xinyun Zhang Kailin 4–6, 2–6Win 5–7 Apr 2015ITF Bangkok, Thailand15,000 Clay Nao Hibino Miyabi Inoue Akiko Omae 6–4, 6–2Win 6–7 May 2015ITF Karuizawa, Japan25,000 Grass Rika Fujiwara Mana Ayukawa Makoto Ninomiya 6–2, 6–0Win 7–7 Jun 2015ITF Kashiwa, Japan25,000 Hard Akiko Omae Mana Ayukawa Makoto Ninomiya 6–2, 5–7, [10–8]Win 8–7 Jun 2015ITF Incheon, South Korea25,000 Hard Kotomi Takahata Choi Ji-hee Kim Na-ri 4–6, 6–3, [10–7]Loss 8–8 Mar 2016Clay Court International, Australia25,000 Clay Eri Hozumi Ashleigh Barty Arina Rodionova 7–5, 3–6, [7–10]Win 9–8 May 2016Kangaroo Cup Gifu, Japan75,000+H Hard Eri Hozumi Hiroko Kuwata Ayaka Okuno 6–1, 6–2Win 10–8 May 2017Kangaroo Cup Gifu, Japan (2)80,000 Hard Eri Hozumi Katy Dunne Julia Glushko 6–4, 6–2Win 11–8 May 2017ITF Rome, Italy25,000 Clay Eri Hozumi Ekaterine Gorgodze Melanie Stokke 6–1, 6–4Loss 11–9 Oct 2017Suzhou Ladies Open, China60,000 Hard Eri Hozumi Jacqueline Cako Nina Stojanović 6–2, 5–7, [2–10]Loss 11–10 Mar 2018Clay Court International, Australia60,000 Clay Makoto Ninomiya Priscilla Hon Dalila Jakupović 4–6, 6–4, [7–10]Win 12–10 Aug 2019Vancouver Open, CanadaW100 Hard Nao Hibino Naomi Broady Erin Routliffe 6–2, 6–2Loss 12–11 Jan 2021ITF Antalya, TurkeyW15 Clay Haine Ogata Victoria Bosio Gabriela Cé 4–6, 3–6Loss 12–12 May 2021ITF Charleston Pro, USW100 Clay Eri Hozumi Caty McNally Storm Sanders 5–7, 6–4, [6–10]Loss 12–13 May 2021Bonita Springs Championship, USW100 Clay Eri Hozumi Erin Routliffe Aldila Sutjiadi 3–6, 6–4, [6–10]Win 13–13 Feb 2022ITF Monastir, TunisiaW15 Hard Kisa Yoshioka Kristina Dmitruk Inès Ibbou 6–4, 7–5
Junior Grand Slam tournament final Girls' doubles: 1 (runner-up) ResultYearTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreLoss 2011 Australian Open Hard Eri Hozumi Demi Schuurs An-Sophie Mestach 2–6, 3–6
Notes
References
External links