*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14:10, 13 July 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 14:10, 13 July 2024 (UTC)
Ueki was born in Kanagawa Prefecture on 30 July 1999. She started playing football in 2011 at the age of 12.[1][2] From the day she first started football, Ueki has always played as a forward, never playing in any other position in her career so far. She had stated that her role model growing up was fellow Japanese forward Mana Iwabuchi[3][4] She joined Tokyo Verdy Beleza youth team in 2012.
Ueki joined Nadeshiko League club Tokyo Verdy Beleza from the youth team in 2015, and was first called up to the senior team in June 2016. She marked her debut with a goal as a substitute in a League Cup match against Speranza Osaka.[7] She was part of the squad which won four consecutive Nadeshiko League title from 2016 to 2019. In the inaugural 2021–22 WE League season, Ueki was chosen amongst the recipients of the Most Outstanding Players award.[8] She had her breakout season the 2022–23 WE League season, as she finished as the league's top scorer with 14 goals and was named to the 2022–23 WE League Best Eleven.[9] in In total, she has scored 81 goals in 152 appearances in all competitions for Tokyo Verdy Beleza.[10]
West Ham United
On 12 September 2023, Ueki joined West Ham United ahead of the 2023–24 Women's Super League season.[11][12] She made her debut in the opening league match defeat to Manchester City on 1 October 2023.[13] She would score her first goal for the club in a 2–0 victory against Brighton & Hove Albion on 8 October 2023.[14][15]
On 4 April 2019, Ueki debuted for the senior Japan national team against France.[20] Later that year, Ueki was named to Japan's squad for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup; however, she was forced to withdraw due to injury on 31 May.[21][22] Ueki experienced a breakout year with the national team in 2022, as she began to establish herself as a starting striker and finished the 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup as Japan's top scorer with five goals, and joint second-highest goalscorer of the tournament as a whole.[23]
One of Ueki's main hobbies is reading manga, also known as Japanese comics or graphic novels, and she revealed that she has a collection of over 1000 copies of such books at home.[26] She was even invited to make a cameo appearance in a television drama adaptation of the manga series Shiyakusho that aired on TV Tokyo from October to December 2019.[27]
Career statistics
Club
As of match played 18 May 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition