[2] In her senior year of junior high school (9th grade) in 2018, she made a professional tournament debut by participating in the LPGA of Japan StepUp Tour "Kyushu Mirai Construction Group Ladies," but unfortunately fell two strokes short of the cut-line.

[9] Managing only 117th place in the QT (qualifying test) rankings, Sakurai played the 2022 season on the LPGA of Japan StepUp Tour, which is the lower developmental circuit for players without LPGA of Japan Tour exemptions, as the main field of professional competition.

[12] In August, at the Hokkaido Meiji Cup, only in her second entry of a tournament of the LPGA of Japan Tour after becoming a pro, she was tied for 1st place till the 17th hole but lost out to the winner Min-Young Lee on the final hole to finish at a 2nd-place tie.

After placing a 26th-place tie in the next match, she won the Kanehide Miyarabi Open[19] and then the Japan-Taiwan Friendship Udon-Ken Ladies Golf Tournament[20] for another two straight titles, making it 4 wins in a span of 5 weeks.

[28] At the Shiseido Ladies Open in July, Sakurai started off the final day one stroke behind the leaders.

[29][30] Four weeks later at the Rakuten Super Ladies, Sakurai started off the final day in second place, two strokes behind the leader, and she shot a 66 to come from behind to win her second tournament.

She birdied the final hole to take over the sole lead and win her third tournament, again as a come-from-behind victory.

In October, at the Fujitsu Ladies Golf Tournament, with a forecast for heavy rain suggesting rainout on the third and final day, Sakurai scored a birdie on the crucial final hole on the second day to finish off with a self-record tie of 63 with nine birdies and no bogeys, taking the sole lead starting from a three-stroke deficit.

On the final day, the tournament was suspended immediately after start-off due to heavy rainfall and later rained out, and thus she earned her fourth win.

[43] She shot 82, her worst since becoming a pro, then 78 for a total of 160 (+16), and missed the cut, finishing in last place (143rd) for players playing out two rounds.

[44] In October, at the Fujitsu Ladies Golf Tournament, competing as the defending champion, Sakurai entered play on the final day in first place (tied) for the first time on the LPGA of Japan Tour with a score of -10.

Although she had a slow start, she showed a strong second half to catch up with Miyū Yamashita who eventually won the tournament by winning the playoff and Ayaka Furue who finished in 2nd place to briefly tie for the lead at -13.