For Brandon Nakashima, the number 17 beside his name in the PIF ATP Rankings is more than a career high. It’s the latest marker in a journey that has taken the San Diego native from promising junior to hometown champion, through injury and a difficult fall down the rankings, and now back to the biggest stages in professional tennis.

His rise adds another remarkable chapter to Southern California tennis. With Nakashima at No. 17, Southern California now has three natives in the ATP Top 20, joining Rancho Santa Fe’s Taylor Fritz (No. 10) and Irvine’s Learner Tien (No. 15). It is the first time in the Open Era that three Southern California born men have simultaneously ranked inside the Top 20.

As the US Open approaches, Nakashima arrives in New York playing some of the best tennis of his career.

After a tough loss at Wimbledon, where he fell to Jan Lennard Struff in a fifth set rollercoaster tiebreak, he returned to hard courts and quickly found his rhythm. 

In July, he made his Ultimate Tennis Showdown debut in Rio de Janeiro, defeating 17 year old Guto Miguel 3-0 in the final. From there, he carried that momentum into the North American hard court swing, reaching the semifinals at the Mubadala DC Open in Washington, D.C. before advancing to his first Masters 1000 final in Montreal.

Looking back, Nakashima believes the UTS experience helped set the tone for what followed: “Winning the UTS Rio first of all was super fun. It wasn’t like anything else I’ve ever experienced on a tennis court, but in a good way. I think certain situations in that kind of event definitely help you for the real tournaments.”

That confidence carried into Washington, where he felt his game beginning to click.

“Once I got to Washington, I was feeling really confident in my game,” he recalled. “I was practicing well and winning a bunch of matches in a row helped me prepare for Montreal and Cincinnati. Once you kind of get on a roll of winning a bunch of matches you just ride the wave and don’t think too much and just go out there and play.”

In Cincinnati, he continued the run with one of the most dramatic wins of his season, saving three match points against Daniil Medvedev before winning 6-7(3), 7-6(4), 6-1.

Then came Fritz.

Fritz had defeated Nakashima in the Dallas Open earlier this year and again in the Washington D.C. semifinals just 20 days before their Cincinnati meeting. This time, Nakashima overcame a break deficit in the third set and won the final four games to close out a 7-6(9), 4-6, 6-3 victory.

He ultimately fell to Frances Tiafoe in the semifinals, but the run cemented Nakashima as one of the defining players of the American hard court summer. “B-Nak” was no longer simply one of the young Americans with promise and potential. He became the first American man since 2010 to reach back-to-back Masters 1000 semifinals and, in the process, climbed 16 spots since the start of the 2026 season.

He also leads the ATP Tour with 22 hard court wins this season.

The numbers tell the story of an extraordinary summer, but they do not tell the whole story. Nakashima has been building toward this moment for years.

The First Signs

The road to this moment began long before Nakashima turned professional. He reached as high as No. 3 in the ITF junior rankings and won the 2018 ITF Junior Masters. After one season at the University of Virginia, where he was named ACC Freshman of the Year, he made the leap to the ATP Tour.

By 2021, Nakashima had already reached back to back ATP Tour finals in Los Cabos and Atlanta as a teenager, becoming the youngest American to reach multiple tour level finals since Andy Roddick.

The following season, he reached the fourth round of Wimbledon, where he pushed eventual finalist Nick Kyrgios to five sets on Centre Court. He also reached the third round at both Roland Garros and the US Open, collecting the first Top 20 victories of his career along the way.

But the defining moment of 2022 came much closer to home. At the San Diego Open, Nakashima reached his third ATP Tour final and defeated fellow Southern California player Marcos Giron of Thousand Oaks in straight sets to win his first ATP Tour title.

The hometown title was followed just weeks later by a victory at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan.

Nakashima finished 2022 ranked No. 47 in the world, having established himself as one of the most promising young players in American tennis.

It appeared the next step was inevitable. Instead, the road would take him somewhere much harder.

The Setback

In 2023, a left knee injury disrupted Nakashima’s momentum. His ranking fell from the Top 50 to No. 151, forcing him to rebuild both his ranking and his confidence.

Looking back, Nakashima says the experience taught him something he now carries with him every time he steps on court: “I learned how important it is to stay healthy and take care of your body because when you’re out of competition for a while, it’s tough to get back the confidence and also the rhythm of playing matches. Nothing really compares to playing matches and those pressure situations.”

Rather than rushing his return, he spent time competing on the ATP Challenger Tour, winning 27 of 35 matches and gradually rediscovering the consistency that had made him so difficult to beat as a rising player.

By 2024, the progress was becoming visible again.

Nakashima reached the fourth round of the US Open for the first time, defeating Holger Rune and Lorenzo Musetti along the way. Against Musetti, he erased a 0-4 deficit in the fourth set before forcing a tiebreak and closing out a three hour, three minute battle.

A Different Kind of Breakthrough

Nakashima entered 2026 with the experience of having already broken through once. Earlier in the season, he reached the final in Brisbane, giving him his first ATP Tour final appearance since winning San Diego in 2022.

He also entered this latest chapter with a new voice in his corner. Nakashima began working with Wayne Ferreira in June, the former South African professional who reached No. 6 in the world and won 15 ATP singles titles during his playing career. Ferreira has also coached some of the game’s top young players, including Tiafoe, whom he guided from 2020 to 2023 and helped reach the Top 10 and win two ATP titles.

For Nakashima, Ferreira’s impact has gone beyond the technical side of his game.

“Wayne has been a great addition to the team,” Brandon explained. “He obviously has had a great career and a lot of knowledge with coaching a lot of top players and for me he’s definitely helped me a lot with the mentality out there when I’m on the court. Obviously little technical things with my strokes we’ve been working on, but more just the mentality of trusting my game and playing my type of tennis when it really matters out there.”

The results that followed have been impossible to ignore.

From Rio to Washington, Montreal and Cincinnati, Nakashima reached deeper into each tournament, culminating in his first Masters 1000 final and then another semifinal the following week.

And as the wins piled up, so did his belief.

“Once you have a lot of confidence and you get on a roll of winning a bunch of matches, you kinda just ride the wave and don’t think too much and just go out there and play,” Brandon said.

More than the results themselves, though, was the way he was winning. He was finding ways through difficult moments, beating high level opponents and consistently closing out matches when the pressure was highest.

The Cincinnati victory over Fritz was perhaps the clearest example. After losing to him twice earlier in the season, Nakashima overcame the break deficit in the third set and won the final four games. He was no longer waiting for opportunities, he was creating them.

The Next Chapter

Now Nakashima heads to New York with a career high ranking, a Masters 1000 final on his record, and the confidence that comes from spending the summer consistently competing deep into tournaments.

His US Open history gives him another reason for optimism.

Nakashima reached the fourth round in 2024, the best Grand Slam result of his career to date. His 2023 campaign ended in the opening round, while he reached the second round in 2025.

The player arriving in New York this year, however, believes he is more experienced and mature than the one who made that fourth round run two years ago.

“Since 2024, I’ve definitely matured and gained more experience. I feel like each year is a new opportunity to enjoy the US Open and showcase the level I can play at the highest level,” he explained.

Each trip to Flushing Meadows has offered something different. Now, he arrives as one of the highest ranked American men in the world.

That does not mean the expectations disappear. If anything, they become greater.

Nakashima knows better than most that confidence and expectations cannot guarantee what happens once the tournament begins: “This year at the US Open I’m coming in with a lot of confidence, but at the same time it’s a brand new tournament. There are many tough players and I’m just trying to take one match at a time.”

Nakashima has already spent years learning how to handle those expectations, from highly touted junior to hometown champion, injured player and Challenger grinder. Now, back among the world’s elite, No. 17 is not a destination. It is another step in a process he has learned to appreciate.

“It’s obviously a huge achievement for me,” he shared of his recent success. “It’s something that I’ve been working towards the last few years. It’s definitely been a long road and plenty of ups and downs along the way, but in the end I think it just makes it much more special.”

He is already looking ahead, while keeping the same measured approach that has helped carry him through the highs and lows of his career.

“Of course I keep trying to work hard to keep striving for more, but yeah, everyone has their own path and goals. I just try to enjoy the process and keep working to improve,” he shared.

That makes this US Open about more than simply how far Nakashima can advance. It is an opportunity to see what happens when years of potential, setbacks, patience and hard work finally converge.

For a player who has spent years climbing, falling, rebuilding and climbing again, No. 17 is a reminder of how far he has come. And after everything it took to get here, Nakashima is no longer wondering whether he belongs among the world’s best. He is finding out just how high he can go.