Sara Saito
Birth date3 October 2006 (age 20)
PlaysRight-handed
Careerprizemoney$299,003
Singlestitles4 ITF
HighestsinglesrankingNo. 150 (16 December 2024)
CurrentsinglesrankingNo. 307 (18 May 2026)
AustralianopenresultQ1 (2025)
FrenchopenresultQ3 (2024)
WimbledonresultQ1 (2025)
UsopenresultQ1 (2024)
Doublestitles2 ITF
HighestdoublesrankingNo. 215 (20 April 2026)
CurrentdoublesrankingNo. 247 (18 May 2026)
Updated24 May 2026

Sara Saito (斎藤咲良, Saitō Sara, born 3 October 2006) is a Japanese tennis player. She has a career-high singles ranking of 159 WTA, achieved on 16 December 2024. On 20 April 2026, she peaked at No. 215 in the WTA doubles rankings.[1]

Career

2023: Juniors

She has a career-high ITF junior combined ranking of 2, achieved on 29 May 2023.[2] She had a disappointing performance in the singles draw of the 2023 Australian Open, losing in the first round to Australian wildcard Stefani Webb.[3] She reached the final of the doubles with fellow Japanese Hayu Kinoshita, losing to Renáta Jamrichová and Federica Urgesi.[4] She was top seeded in the girls' singles tournament at the 2023 French Open, after winning two titles in South America.[5]

2024: First quarterfinal on WTA Tour debut

Saito made her WTA Tour main-draw debut as a wildcard at the 2024 Japan Women's Open,[6] defeating Jéssica Bouzas Maneiro[7] and fifth seed Elina Avanesyan[8][9] to reach her first WTA Tour quarterfinal. Her run was ended in straight sets by Kimberly Birrell.[10] She entered the WTA 500 Pan Pacific Open as a lucky loser, making her debut at this WTA level but lost to qualifier and compatriot Sayaka Ishii.[11]

ITF Circuit finals

Singles: 6 (4 titles, 2 runner-ups)

Legend
W100 tournaments (1–0)
W75 tournaments (0–1)
W50 tournaments (1–1)
W25/35 tournaments (2–0)
Finals by surface
Hard (1–2)
Clay (1–0)
Carpet (2–0)
ResultW–LDateTournamentTierSurfaceOpponentScore
Win1–0Oct 2023ITF Makinohara, JapanW25CarpetThasaporn Naklo6–4, 6–3
Loss1–1Jan 2024ITF Nonthaburi, ThailandW50HardAntonia Ružić1–6, 3–6
Loss1–2Jan 2024Burnie International, AustraliaW75HardPriscilla Hon3–6, 0–6
Win2–2Jun 2024Open de Biarritz, FranceW100ClayMargaux Rouvroy5–7, 6–3, 6–3
Win3–2Mar 2025ITF Kyoto, JapanW50Hard (i)Himeno Sakatsume6–4, 7–6(2)
Win4–2Oct 2025ITF Makinohara, JapanW35CarpetBack Da-yeon6–1, 6–2

Doubles: 3 (2 titles, 1 runner-up)

Legend
W75 tournaments (1–1)
W25/35 tournaments (1–0)
Finals by surface
Hard (1–1)
Carpet (1–0)
ResultW–LDateTournamentTierSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Win1–0Oct 2025ITF Makinohara, JapanW35CarpetAyano ShimizuChen Mengyi
Tiana Tian Deng		6–2, 6–4
Win2–0Feb 2026Queensland International,
Australia		W75HardNatsumi KawaguchiGabriella Da Silva-Fick
Tenika McGiffin		6–2, 6–4
Loss2–1Mar 2026All Japan Indoor ChampionshipsW75Hard (i)Hayu KinoshitaSofia Costoulas
Sofya Lansere		2–6, 4–6

Junior Grand Slam tournament finals

Doubles: 3 (3 runner-ups)

ResultYearTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Loss2023Australian OpenHardHayu KinoshitaRenáta Jamrichová
Federica Urgesi		6–7(5–7), 6–1, [7–10]
Loss2023French OpenClayAlina KorneevaTyra Caterina Grant
Clervie Ngounoue		3–6, 2–6
Loss2023US OpenHardNanaka SatoAnastasiia Gureva
Mara Gae		6–1, 5–7, [8–10]

References

  1. ^ "Sara Saito | Player Stats & More – WTA Official". Women's Tennis Association
  2. ^ "Sara Saito". International Tennis Federation. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  3. ^ "Local girl, 17, arrives on big stage with ‘surreal’ Aus Open win over No.1 seed". 7NEWS. January 22, 2023.
  4. ^ "Blockx, Korneeva win Australian Open junior titles". theScore.com. Associated Press. January 28, 2023.
  5. ^ "Saito, Pacheco Mendez headline juniors draws – Roland-Garros – The 2023 Roland-Garros Tournament official site". www.rolandgarros.com
  6. ^ "Photos: Aoi Ito and all of 2024's WTA main-draw debuts". WTATennis. 20 October 2024.
  7. ^ "On WTA debut, Japanese wild card Saito, 18, upsets Bouzas Maneiro in Osaka". Women's Tennis Association. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  8. ^ "Wild card Saito upsets Avanesyan to reach Osaka quarters on WTA debut". Women's Tennis Association. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  9. ^ "Japan Open: Fifth seed Avanesyan upset by Saito in second round". Tennis Majors. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  10. ^ "Birrell halts Saito run in Osaka to reach first WTA semifinal". Women's Tennis Association. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  11. ^ "2024 TOKYO; Teenage qualifier Ishii earns first career tour-level win in Tokyo". 22 October 2024.