Character Profile: Sakuno Ryuzaki

Sakuno Ryuzaki is the granddaughter of the 8th grade math teacher & boy's tennis coach, Sumire Ryuzaki.

So far her home life isn't officially known so many are led to believe that she lives with her grandmother and that her parents are either dead or divorced.

In the beginning of either the manga or anime Sakuno is actually the first character you will see..., yes, even before Ryoma. It starts with Sasabe showing off to his friends (in the manga there was a girl with them actually) by showing them how to swing a racket. Unfortunately for Sakuno, he's too close to her and his racket hits her.

Enter the protagonist, Ryoma Echizen. He unintentionally saves her by telling Sasabe to shut up. Afterwards Ryoma asks her for directions to the Kakinokizaki Tennis Gardens... and she gives him the wrong directions. She realizes this fact after her grandmother, Sumire, shows up late picking her up from the station.

From there Sakuno learns that if a player is late they're disqualified and so she goes off to find Ryoma to apologize for the mistake she made. In short she finds him, Sasabe shows up, the two play a set, Sumire shows up, Ryoma beats Sasabe (ultimately humiliating him), and they get shooed off the courts. And so begins Sakuno's interest in playing tennis to impress Ryoma, her role-model and crush.

Sad to say that in the manga Sakuno isn't really seen often since she's mostly hanging around the girl's team training to become a great player (not sure how far she'll go). But in the anime she's seen with Tomoka Osakada, her best friend, cheering with three boys from the tennis team (specifically: Satoshi Horio, Katsuo Mizuno, and Kachiro Kato).

Tomoka Osakada is Sakuno's best friend. Unlike Sakuno, Tomoka is loud, in-your-face, and outgoing. But that may be why they're best friends.