PROFESSIONAL LUNCHEON
Ai Sugiyama,
Japanese Tennis Legend

The speech and Q & A will be in Japanese with English interpretation.

Is Ai Sugiyama Japan's greatest ever tennis player? The former world junior No. 1 reached a high of eighth in the world rankings as a singles player and won six titles, but nothing higher than a Tier II event. She was unfortunate in that she lived in the shadow of Kimiko Date, who was a major force on the WTA circuit in singles in the early '90s.

Unquestionably, it was as a doubles specialist that Sugiyama will be remembered. She captured three women's doubles titles and was ranked as the No. 1 doubles player in the world. She also established a record at the U.S. Open this year, which was her 62nd consecutive appearance in the main draw of a Grand Slam event (the previous record for men or women was 56). On the way, she also earned $7 million in prize money.

At 34, the resident of Kanagawa Prefecture has now retired from playing. Sugiyama will come to the Club to talk about tennis, her career and her future at a lunch event on Dec. 7.

Menu
Sandwich Plate: Bacon, ham, chicken, lettuce, tomato, avocado, mayonnaise on campagne, salad & pickles.
Hot Plate: Baked cod with coriander & mikan crust, bok choy, broccoli & vegetable rice, seasonal salad.

Ai Sugiyama, Japanese Tennis Legend