Rui Machida, who challenges WNBA, the American women's professional basketball league, left for the United States on the 23rd and said, "I want to play to give energy and excitement to those who support me."
Machida is 29 years old from Hokkaido.
He contributed to winning the silver medal as the command tower of the Japanese national team at the Tokyo Olympics last year, and was also selected as the All-Star Five announced by the FIBA = International Basketball Federation.
She then signed a contract this February after she received an offer from WNBA's "Washington Mystics," the world's premier women's basketball.
This is the fourth Japanese player to play in the WNBA.
Ahead of the opening next month, Machida departed from Narita Airport to the United States on the 23rd to join the team, and responded to media coverage prior to departure.
Machida said, "I'm getting nervous and anxious little by little just before. I have to learn the rules and formations of the team from scratch. I'm worried if I can catch up quickly, but I think my weapon is speed, so as a team It would be great if we could develop something that could speed things up. "
She also said about the WNBA challenge, "I don't think it's easy, but I think it's a good experience and I want to have fun and be myself. I want to play something that inspires and impresses the people who support me. "He said his enthusiasm.