Twelve months on from her first World Event title success at the Optasia Championships, Japanese No.1 Satomi Watanabe returns to The Wimbledon Club in London riding a wave of momentum.
Earlier this month, the 26-year-old Yokohama-born player made history, becoming the first Japanese player, male or female, to reach the top ten in the world rankings following a string of highly impressive performances on the PSA Squash Tour.
The now-World No.11 has already reached three finals in the 24/25 season, recording runner-up finishes at the Silicon Valley Open and the New Zealand Open, while claiming the biggest title of her career to date at the Silver-level Squash in the Land.
The catalyst for Watanabe’s upturn in fortunes seemingly dates back to her surprise run to the title at the 2024 Optasia Championships – a tournament which saw her deliver a sublime performance to overcome then-World No.4 Nele Gilis-Coll in the title decider.
Looking back at the event and the lasting impact it had on her game and, almost as importantly, her mentality, Watanabe said:
“I think Optasia was one of the biggest wins and biggest titles of my career for me at the time. I remember it was almost a home crowd for me because I base myself in London. At that point, I just could not believe that I had actually won that tournament. Yeah, it was a great memory.
“My win at Optasia last year gave me a lot of self-belief and confidence in what I was working on in my training and the direction I was heading in. Obviously, Nele [Gilis-Coll] was World No.4 at that point, so it gave me hope about winning against those top ten players. That actually motivated me to push more and get better.”
What is noticeable in Watanabe’s game this season is her improved consistency across the entirety of the season. So far this campaign, Watanabe has managed to secure top-20 wins with regularity, defeating the likes of Amanda Sobhy and Amina Orfi twice apiece as well as Salma Hany and Georgina Kennedy – a level of consistency she feels she was struggling to claim in prior years.
“Beforehand, I was more worried about my performance, about what if I could not cope well or didn’t get the win. I was worrying more in my head,” she said.
“My coach helped me to believe that I’ve been working and training hard enough to be able to execute my tasks, which I write down in my notes. So I’m not really worried about if I don’t perform that well.
“I obviously don’t like losing, like every squash player, but at the same time I don’t worry as much about winning or losing, it’s more trying to have more fun on court. I find it really enjoyable when I can execute my tasks.
“That’s what I find really fun to do these days. I think that kind of mindset gives me more consistency. When I was worried beforehand, I was more focused on myself in a way where I was so strict on myself – if I hit the side wall with my straight drive, I was really annoyed and thought this was really bad.
“I’m now more just focussed on my opponent. I put my opponent where I want them to be; then you know that your game plan is still working.”
Despite her substantial rise up the world rankings in the last year – having climbed from the fringes of the top 20 all the way into the top ten – Watanabe has no intentions of stopping just yet.
The current women’s world rankings in and around Watanabe’s position are extremely tight, with just 100 ranking points separating Watanabe at World No.11 from England’s Georgina Kennedy at World No.8 – the equivalent of a string of strong finishes over upcoming events such as the Optasia Championships, El Gouna International and PSA World Championships.
“I was telling people that my goal this season was to get into the top ten in the rankings, and I’m really happy that I have reached that now,” Watanabe said.
“This season is nearly in the second half, but I’m still hoping that I can aim even higher in the rankings. Maybe to get single digits for my ranking. I would probably ideally be aiming for the top five. Realistically, though, probably around seven, eight or nine, with the points that I have, I think.
“There’s no way I’m going to stop at World No.10 and be satisfied. I will try and aim higher.”
Watanabe will return to the site of her breakthrough success on the PSA Squash Tour as the No.3 seed this coming week, with the Optasia Championships being played as a Gold-level event across the men’s and women’s draws for the first time ever.
Despite World No.3 Hania El Hammamy topping the draw, Watanabe will certainly fancy her chances of another strong run at the London-based event, especially given the fact she will be playing in front of many of her friends and supporters from her time studying at the University of Roehampton.
Every second of the Optasia Championships will be available to watch live on SQUASHTV,
with play getting underway on Tuesday, 25 March at 12:00.
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