Wakana Sonobe is making headlines for all the right reasons after an impressive run at the Abu Dhabi Open.

Born in January 2008, the Japanese star only turned 17 just a few weeks ago but is on a stellar run and could well be a name to watch in the coming months.

Amid her biggest breakthrough to date, we look back at her greatest triumphs to date – and the platform she has set up over the past few days.

Junior Australian Open triumph

Sonobe’s Abu Dhabi success comes off the back of a significant triumph Down Under, lifting the girls’ singles title at the Australian Open less than two weeks ago.

The fourth seed in Melbourne, the 17-year-old won her opening match against qualifier Zhang Ruien in a third-set tiebreak – but then did not drop another set on her way to the title.

She defeated top seed and home favourite Emerson Jones 6-3, 6-4 in the semi-finals, before thrashing sixth seed Kristina Penickova 6-0, 6-1 to win the title.

That triumph did not come out of nowhere for Sonobe, who had reached the final of the US Open girls’ singles just months before.

The Japanese was the seventh seed in Flushing Meadows and beat three seeds – including Penickova – on her way to the final, where she was beaten by Mika Stojsavljevic.

Partnering with Stojsavljevic, Sonobe made the quarter-final of the girls’ doubles at both the 2024 French Open and last month’s Australian Open.

Abu Dhabi run

Fresh off her run to the title in Melbourne, Sonobe was handed a wildcard into the qualifying draw in Abu Dhabi – a WTA 500 event with some of the biggest names in the women’s game in action.

However, the 17-year-old has so far defied the odds and shown a maturity beyond her years with three straight victories to date.

Sonobe stunned 12th qualifying seed Hailey Baptiste 6-3, 6-1 in the opening round, and then defeated Cristina Bucsa 6-3, 6-3 to seal her maiden appearance in the main draw of a WTA event.

The Japanese was not done there, shocking world No 55 Yuan Yue in round one of the main draw – claiming a convincing 6-4, 6-3 victory against the Chinese player.

Now, Sonobe faces a blockbuster clash against one of Ons Jabeur or seventh seed Jelena Ostapenko.

Currently ranked 837th, she is already projected to leap 375 places to world No 462 in the WTA Rankings – having only ever been ranked as high as world No 786 previously.

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Key influences

Sonobe is a big-hitting left-hander who many were comparing to Petra Kvitova during her opening-round win – and the 17-year-old admits that the Czech has been a figure of inspiration.

“Hopefully I can play her one day,” Sonobe said, in quotes reported by the WTA.

“When I was young, I was hitting hard and my coach never told me: ‘Don’t miss, just play.’ So I feel like I can play freely from the baseline.”

Sonobe has also taken inspiration from compatriots Naomi Osaka and Kei Nishikori and has a special connection with the latter.

She has followed in Nishikori’s footsteps by heading to IMG’s Academy Programme in Florida having progressed with Japan’s famed Morita Foundation.

The former ATP world No 4 shared a video of himself hitting with Sonobe back in 2023 – and it is fair to say that the move to train in US has paid dividends.

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