Yui Ueno (上野 結生, Ueno Yui, born December 17, 2002) is a Japanese curler. She is a former World Junior champion.
Career
Junior
Ueno first represented Japan at the 2016 World Junior B Curling Championships, where she was the alternate for the team, which was skipped by Ayano Tsuchiya. There the team finished in second place,[2] though Ueno did not play in any games. This qualied Japan for the 2016 World Junior Curling Championships, where Ueno played second, replacing her sister Miyu who could not play due to having high school entrance exams.[3] At the World Juniors, the team finished in last place with an 0–9 record.[4]
Ueno played second on the Japanese team (skipped by Yamamoto, who threw lead rocks) at the 2022 World Junior Curling Championships. There, the team finished the round robin with a 6–3 record. In the playoffs, the team won both of their games, including beating Sweden (skipped by Moa Dryburgh) in the final, to win the gold medal.[7] It was the first time Japan won a gold medal in any curling discipline.[8]
Ueno played for Japan again at the 2024 World Junior Curling Championships, this time as the alternate, on a team skipped by Momoha Tabata. There, the team finished round robin play with a 7–2 record. In the semifinals, they beat Norway's Torild Bjørnestad rink. In the final, they faced-off against Xenia Schwaller and Switzerland again, but this time could not beat her, settling for another silver medal. Even though she was the team's alternate, Ueno played in seven matches.[10]
Women's
In her last season of juniors, Ueno also played women's curling, playing lead for her sister Miyu's team. In just their first season together,[11] the rink won the 2024 Japan Curling Championships, beating Miky Nihira in the final.[8] The win earned the team the right to represent Japan at the 2024 World Women's Curling Championship, where they went 3–9.[12]
