That is it. One of the toughest, most consistent and most underestimated fighters of the last decade has stepped off the tatami for good. Paris Olympic champion Natsumi Tsunoda has officially announced her retirement from competition, closing the book on a career that peaked exactly when it mattered most.

Speaking at a press conference in her home prefecture of Chiba, Tsunoda left no room for doubt about her decision.
“In my heart, this is retirement,” she said.

At the Paris Olympic Games, Tsunoda made history by becoming Japan’s oldest ever Olympic judo champion, winning the women’s U48kg title just weeks before her 32nd birthday. Her gold medal was also Japan’s first judo medal of the Paris Games, instantly putting her name into a very exclusive club.

Late peak, perfect timing

Tsunoda’s road to Olympic gold was anything but conventional. After years competing at U52kg, she made the risky decision to drop to under 48kg in 2019. It changed everything. From that point on, she became the division’s most reliable winner, collecting three consecutive world titles in 2021 in Budapest, 2022 in Tashkent and 2023 in Doha.

By the time Paris arrived, Tsunoda was not the loudest favourite, but she was the most prepared. In the Olympic final, she edged Mongolian world champion Baasankhuu Bavuudorj on the scoreboard, a clinical performance that summed up her career: efficient, ruthless and emotionally controlled.

She leaves the sport as a world champion, Olympic champion and one of the most decorated Japanese lightweights of the modern era.

No Los Angeles, no hesitation

Interestingly, Tsunoda did not disappear immediately after Paris. She returned to competition once more, winning the Grand Slam in Baku in February 2025. That victory would be her final international appearance.

Despite the win, the fire was gone. “I didn't have the motivation and couldn't see myself competing until Los Angeles,” she admitted.
“I realised how difficult it is to compete. The Olympics are not something you can approach half-heartedly.”

For those close to the Japanese team, the decision was not a shock. The Paris cycle took everything out of her, physically and mentally, and Tsunoda has always been brutally honest about the demands of elite judo.

A career built on results

The numbers tell the story. Tsunoda won six Grand Slam titles across her career, starting with Tokyo in 2016 at U52kg and later adding victories in Paris and Ulaanbaatar in 2022, Antalya in 2024 and Baku in 2025. She also claimed the World Masters title in Guangzhou in 2018 and picked up three Grand Prix victories along the way.

Domestically, she was a powerhouse, winning the All Japan Championships three times in 2018, 2019 and 2021, twice at U52kg. Her path at home was never easy, constantly crossing with elite names like Ai Shishime, Wakana Koga, Uta Abe and Nina Tatsukawa.

Not leaving judo behind

While competition is over, Tsunoda is not walking away from the sport. She plans to remain active, promoting judo and running clinics across Japan.

“I want to live my life as a member of the judo family,” she said.

For Japanese judo, her retirement marks the end of an era in the lighter weights. For fans, it is a reminder that some careers burn brightest right at the end.

Tsunoda did not chase longevity. She chased perfection. And in Paris, she caught it.