RUI TAKAHASHI, born on this date, is a Japanese volleyball player who plays as an outside hitter for Suntory Sunbirds in the SV.League. He played college volleyball at Nihon University.

After graduating from high school, Takahashi enrolled at Nihon University, where he became a regular starter in his first year. Ran enrolled at Nippon Sport Science University, thus the brothers did not play together, although a match between them did happen. In his third year, he contributed to the team’s third place finish at the All Japan Intercollegiate Championship, their first in 45 years. In his fourth year, he was appointed team captain. However, he injured his lower back during summer practice, rendering him unable to compete in his final Intercollegiate Championship. He stated that working behind the scenes at the Intercollegiate Championship made him realize the importance of the support he received from players who couldn’t play.

Althought Takahashi was unable to play due to lower back pain, he was offered a contract by the Suntory Sunbirds for the 2021–22 season and signed with them in 2022 after graduating from university. During his first season with the club, the Sunbirds beat Indonesia’s Bhayangkara in the final to become the first Japanese club to win the Asian Men’s Club Volleyball Championship title. This led them to qualify for the FIVB Volleyball Men’s Club World Championship, where they won bronze after they reverse swept Halkbank Spor Kulübü for the 3rd place match. In the 2024–25 season, his team were the inaugural SV.League Men’s champions and finished runners-up the following season.

Takahashi’s given name derives from the word “sōrui”, meaning base running, because his father was a baseball fan. Coincidentally, his younger brother’s name Ran is in reference to the word “home run”.

In September 2026, Takahashi came out as gay, becoming the first male professional athlete in Japan to do so.