Tomoaki Murasawa is likely one of the most beloved players of the Japan Padel Tour. Born in Tokyo, Tomoaki Murasawa spent his childhood and adolescence between Japan and Los Angeles (USA). Back in Tokyo, he started studying Business and Commerce at Keio University and during his university years he moved to London (UK) for a year in order to study Development Studies at SOAS University of London. Once he finished his studies, he settled down back in Tokyo where he is currently living.
Tomoaki Murasawa started playing tennis at the age of 12 because of his elder brother. It has been 17 years since then where Tomoaki Murasawa has never stopped playing it. Nevertheless there is a new a sport that it has almost replaced his tennis practice and this is no other than PADEL.
TOMOAKI MURASAWA & PADEL
HI TOMOAKI, FIRST OF ALL WE WOULD LIKE TO ASK YOU WHY DO PEOPLE CALL YOU JACK? WHERE DOES THIS NICKNAME COME FROM?
Tomoaki Muraswa: Hi, the nickname is from one of my Sempai in Junior/High school tennis team (Sempai is the way people in Japan call their older friends from the same school). At that time, I was a returnee (a returnee is a person who has come back to Japan after living overseas) and so he called me Jack! And that has lasted until now! Lol!
WHEN DID YOU START PLAYING PADEL?
Tomoaki Muraswa: I first played in July 2016 and started playing competitively from the beginning of 2017. I have been playing with my current partner Eiichiro Okuyama since then.
HOW DID YOU KNOW ABOUT THIS SPORT?
Tomoaki Muraswa: I saw a padel video clip on Facebook and I remember that Miguel Lamperti was playing on it. After a while I found out that he was one of the best players worldwide.
WHAT DO YOU LIKE THE MOST ABOUT PADEL?
Tomoaki Muraswa: I like how speedy and tactical this sport is and also how people create a community around this sport. This sport is probably more social than tennis because it is a sport where you always play doubles.
YOU EXPLAINED BEFORE THAT YOU ARE BARELY PLAYING TENNIS NOWADAYS. WHY DID YOU CHANGE FROM TENNIS TO PADEL?
Tomoaki Muraswa: Well, I have mainly change to this sport because it is very fun but there was also a clear goal at the beginning of 2017, to win the All Japan Padel Championships and to represent Japan in the national team. Also, I liked playing doubles and being at the net in tennis, so it was natural for me switching to Padel. Lol!
TOMOAKI MURASAWA’S GOALS
AFTER A 2018 WHERE YOU MISSED MOST PART OF THE SEASON DUE TO WORK ISSUES, YOU WERE ABLE TO BE ON THE NATIONAL TEAM IN THE LAST ASIAN CUP HELD ON MARCH AND TO ARRIVE AT QUARTER FINALS OF ALL JAPAN CHAMPIONSHIPS. FOR THE CURRENT SEASON, WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS?
Tomoaki Muraswa: My goal for this season is to come back to the Japan Padel Tour and to win several tournaments including the All Japan Padel Championships. As a long term goal, I would like to continue playing for Japan and would like to play and win if possible at the World Padel Championships. It would also be a dream to participate at the Olympic Games but first padel should be included as an official sport on it.
EVEN THOUGH YOU COULD HARDLY PLAY LAST YEAR’S JAPAN PADEL TOUR, YOU SIGNED FOR STARVIE & UI SPORTS AT THE BEGINNING OF 2019.WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT BEING A STARVIE PLAYER? WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE BRAND?
Tomoaki Muraswa: I am honoured to be a part of the team. The brand has top quality products and I am happy to represent and to work with the brand and its dedicated team.
DO YOU THINK STARVIE CAN HELP YOU TO REACH OUT YOUR GOALS?
Tomoaki Muraswa: Absolutely. StarVie is one of the brands with more tradition supporting padel players. About 20% of the top 100 players ranked on the World Padel Tour are supported by this brand. Additionally it is probably the brand which is supporting more international players worldwide. They provide all the support we need to be exclusively focused on competition, offering us coaching and training in Spain at their High Performance Centre located in Madrid (Spain), where I would love to go in the near future.
TOMOAKI MURASAWA’S RACQUET
THIS SEASON YOU WILL BE PLAYING WITH AQUILA. WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THIS RACQUET?
Tomoaki Muraswa: StarVie Aquila has an excellent balance of control and power. I also love the design and the feeling of the racket. As a drive position player, both control and power are essential to control and to set up the point. The racket helps me on both sides.
WHAT WEIGHT ARE YOU USING? WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THIS WEIGHT?
I chose a racket around 370g weight. For me, it is easy to control without sacrificing the power.
THANKS TOMOAKI FOR YOUR TIME! BEST OF LUCK ON THE FORTHCOMING SEASON!
