Rinky Hijikata
Hijikata at the 2023 Cary Challenger II
Country (sports) Australia
Born (2001-02-23) 23 February 2001 (age 22)
Sydney, Australia[1]
Height1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Turned pro2021
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
CollegeUNC
Prize money$1,548,421
Singles
Career record15–18 (at ATP Tour level, Grand Slam level, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 70 (16 October 2023)
Current rankingNo. 74 (29 January 2024)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open2R (2023)
French OpenQ1 (2023)
WimbledonQ3 (2022)
US Open4R (2023)
Doubles
Career record22–19 (at ATP Tour level, Grand Slam level, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles2
Highest rankingNo. 23 (30 October 2023)
Current rankingNo. 59 (29 January 2024)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian OpenW (2023)
French Open1R (2023)
Wimbledon2R (2023)
Other doubles tournaments
Tour FinalsRR (2023)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian Open2R (2023)
Medal record
Boys' Tennis
Representing a International Olympic Committee mixed-NOCs team
Youth Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2018 Buenos Aires Doubles
Last updated on: 30 January 2024.

Rinky Hijikata (リンキー・ヒジカタ, born 23 February 2001) is an Australian professional tennis player. Following a successful career at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he went professional and achieved career high ATP rankings in singles of world No. 70 on 16 October 2023 and in doubles of No. 23 on 30 October 2023.

Early life and education

Hijikata was born in Sydney, Australia to Japanese immigrant parents.[2] He began playing tennis at age three or four. He attended The King's School in Sydney from 2013 to 2016.[3][4] His father is a tennis coach. His favourite player growing up was Lleyton Hewitt and later, Kei Nishikori.[5] Hijikata played college tennis for North Carolina Tar Heels men's tennis from 2019 to 2021.[6]

Career

2018–2021: Career beginnings

Hijikata in 2018

In March 2018, Hijikata made his ITF debut at the Australia F3 in Mornington, Australia. He won his first match the following week at the Australia F4.

In October 2018, Hijikata won silver at the Tennis at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics – Boys' doubles, teaming with Bulgaria's Adrian Andreev.[7]

In January 2019, Hijikata was given a wildcard into the 2019 Australian Open – Men's singles qualifying. He lost in the first round to Hiroki Moriya. In March, Hijikata reached the quarter-final and semi-finals in the ITF events in Mornington, Australia. Later that year, in September, Hijikata won his first professional singles title at the M15 Fayetteville, in Arkansas, United States.[8]

Hijikata received wildcards into qualifying for the Australian Open in both 2020 and 2021, losing in the second round both times.

Hijikata won his second and third ITF titles in July 2021 and claimed a total of four ITF World Tennis Tour singles titles during 2021. He finished 2021 with a singles ranking of 369 as of 22 November 2021.

2022: ATP & Major debut, Maiden win & Challenger title, top 200

In January 2022, Hijikata made his ATP tour debut at the 2022 Melbourne Summer Set 1 after qualifying for the main draw. It was also Hijikata's first top 100 win, defeating world number 98 Henri Laaksonen in the final qualifying round.[9] He lost in the first round to eventual finalist, Maxime Cressy. He also played doubles with Christopher O'Connell.

Hijikata lost in the second round of the 2022 Australian Open – Men's singles qualifying.[10][11]

In April, Hijikata broke into the ATP top 300 after winning consecutive ITF tournaments in California in March 2022.[12]

In August, he qualified for the 2022 Los Cabos Open and reached the round of 16 recording his first ATP win after the retirement of the Mexican wildcard debutant Rodrigo Pacheco Méndez. He lost to top seed and World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev who recorded his 250th match win.[13] As a result he moved one position shy of the top 200 on 8 August 2022. He made his Grand Slam debut at the US Open as a wildcard.

He won his maiden Challenger title in Playford, Australia and moved 33 positions up into the top 160 at world No. 159 on 31 October 2022. He became the youngest Australian to win a Challenger title since 2018, when the-then 19-year-old Alexei Popyrin won in Jinan, China.[14]

2023: First Major singles win & doubles title, ATP singles semifinal & Masters & top 70 debuts, top 25 in doubles

Hijikata was given a wildcard into the Australian Open, where he recorded his first Grand Slam win by defeating Yannick Hanfmann in a come-from-behind victory.[15] He lost in the second round to third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas. Pairing with Jason Kubler in the men's doubles event, they won the title after defeating three seeded teams en route; sixth seeds Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliövaara in the second round, saved a match point in the third round against Tomislav Brkić and Gonzalo Escobar,[16][17] top seeds and world No. 1 doubles pair Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski in the quarterfinals,[18] and eighth seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos in the semifinals.[19][20] They went on to defeat Hugo Nys and Jan Zieliński in the final, becoming the second consecutive all-Australian champions at the event.[21][22]

At the 2023 Delray Beach Open he reached the semifinals in doubles partnering American Reese Stalder and defeating second seeded pair of Jamie Murray and Michael Venus in the quarterfinals.[23][24] He reached the final defeating Mexican duo Hans Hach Verdugo and Miguel Ángel Reyes-Varela.

He made his Masters 1000 debut in Indian Wells as a qualifier, and defeated Mikael Ymer in the first round in straight sets. He lost in the second round to 30th seed Sebastián Báez.[25]

At the Rosmalen Grass Court Championships he entered the main draw as a lucky loser for his debut on grass and won his first match defeating wildcard Gijs Brouwer.[26] He then defeated Marc-Andrea Hüsler from a set down to reach his first ATP tour level quarterfinal.[27] Again from a set down, he beat Mackenzie McDonald to reach his first semifinal at ATP tour level.[28][29]

He reached the fourth round of the 2023 US Open having received a wildcard, defeating Pavel Kotov, Márton Fucsovics[30] and Zhizhen Zhang.[31][32] As a result he made his top 100 debut in the rankings at world No. 82 climbing 28 spots on 11 September 2023.[33][34] He qualified on his debut at the 2023 Rolex Shanghai Masters and defeated Laslo Djere in the first round. At the same tournament he reached the semifinals partnering Cameron Norrie.[35][36] At the 2023 Japan Open Tennis Championships he won his second doubles title with compatriot Max Purcell. As a result he reached the top 25 in doubles on 23 October 2023.[37][38][39]

Performance timelines

Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# P# DNQ A Z# PO G S B NMS NTI P NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (P#) preliminary round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (S) silver or (B) bronze Olympic/Paralympic medal; (NMS) not a Masters tournament; (NTI) not a Tier I tournament; (P) postponed; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.

Singles

Current through the 2024 Australian Open.

Tournament 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 SR W–L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open Q1 Q2 Q2 Q2 2R 1R 0 / 2 1–2
French Open A A A A Q1 0 / 0 0–0
Wimbledon A NH A Q3 Q2 0 / 0 0–0
US Open A A A 1R 4R 0 / 2 3–2
Win–loss 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–1 4–2 0–1 0 / 4 4–4
ATP Masters 1000
Indian Wells Masters A NH A A 2R 0 / 1 1–1
Miami Open A NH A A Q1 0 / 0 0–0
Cincinnati Masters A A A A Q1 0 / 0 0–0
Shanghai Masters A NH 2R 0 / 1 1–1
Win–loss 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 1–1 0 / 2 2–2
Career statistics
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Career
Tournaments 0 0 0 3 10 3 16
Titles 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Finals 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Overall win–loss 0–0 0–0 0–0 1–3 11–10 2–3 14–16
Year-end ranking 742 685 375 164 73 47%

Doubles

Current through the 2023 ATP Finals.

Tournament 2022 2023 SR W–L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open 2R W 1 / 2 7–1
French Open A 1R 0 / 1 0–1
Wimbledon A 2R 0 / 1 1–1
US Open A A 0 / 0 0–0
Win–loss 1–1 7–2 1 / 4 8–3
Year-end championship
ATP Finals DNQ RR 0 / 1 0–3
ATP Masters 1000
Indian Wells Masters A 1R 0 / 1 0–1
Miami Open A 1R 0 / 1 0–1
Cincinnati Masters A 1R 0 / 1 0–1
Shanghai Masters A SF 0 / 1 3–1
Win–loss 0–0 3–4 0 / 4 3–4
Career statistics
Tournaments 2 14 16
Titles 0 1 1
Finals 0 2 2
Overall win–loss 1–2 20–14 21–16
Year-end ranking 278 22 57%

Grand Slam finals

Men's doubles: 1 (1 title)

Result Year Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 2023 Australian Open Hard Australia Jason Kubler Monaco Hugo Nys
Poland Jan Zieliński 		6–4, 7–6(7–4)

ATP career finals

Doubles: 3 (2 titles, 1 runner-up)

Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (1–0)
ATP Tour Finals (0–0)
ATP Tour Masters 1000 (0–0)
ATP Tour 500 Series (1–0)
ATP Tour 250 Series (0–1)
Finals by surface
Hard (2–1)
Clay (0–0)
Grass (0–0)
Finals by setting
Outdoor (2–1)
Indoor (0–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1–0 Jan 2023 Australian Open, Australia Grand Slam Hard Australia Jason Kubler Monaco Hugo Nys
Poland Jan Zieliński 		6–4, 7–6(7–4)
Loss 1–1 Feb 2023 Delray Beach Open, USA 250 Series Hard United States Reese Stalder El Salvador Marcelo Arévalo
Netherlands Jean-Julien Rojer 		3–6, 4–6
Win 2–1 Oct 2023 Japan Open, Japan 500 Series Hard Australia Max Purcell United Kingdom Jamie Murray
New Zealand Michael Venus 		6–4, 6–1

ATP Challengers and ITF World Tennis Tour finals

Singles: 13 (9–4)

Legend
ATP Challenger Tour (2–1)
ITF World Tennis Tour (7–3)
Finals by surface
Hard (8–4)
Clay (1–0)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Win 1–0 Sep 2019 M15 Fayetteville, USA World Tour Hard United States Nick Chappell 2–6, 6–2, 6–1
Win 2–0 Jul 2021 M15 Monastir, Tunisia World Tour Hard Monaco Valentin Vacherot 6–3, 6–1
Win 3–0 Jul 2021 M15 Edwardsville, USA World Tour Hard United States Strong Kirchheimer 6–3, 6–1
Win 4–0 Sep 2021 M25 Sierre, Switzerland World Tour Clay United States Oliver Crawford 7–6, 6–1
Loss 4–1 Oct 2021 M25 Setúbal, Portugal World Tour Hard France Arthur Cazaux 5–7, 0–6
Win 5–1 Oct 2021 M25 Calabasas, USA World Tour Hard United States Tristan Boyer 3–6, 7–6, 6–2
Loss 5–2 Mar 2022 M25 Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic World Tour Hard France Geoffrey Blancaneaux 6–3, 2–6, 2–6
Win 6–2 Mar 2022 M25 Bakersfield, USA World Tour Hard United States Keegan Smith 6–1, 7–5
Win 7–2 Mar 2022 M25 Calabasas, USA World Tour Hard United Kingdom Charles Broom 7–5, 6–2
Loss 7–3 Aug 2022 M25 Columbus, USA World Tour Hard United States Murphy Cassone 3–6, 0–6
Win 8–3 Oct 2022 Playford, Australia Challenger Hard Japan Rio Noguchi 6–1, 6–1
Win 9–3 Feb 2023 Burnie, Australia Challenger Hard Australia James Duckworth 6–3, 6–3
Loss 9–4 Sep 2023 Cary, USA Challenger Hard United States Zachary Svajda 6–7(3–7), 6–4, 1–6

Doubles: 3 (2–1)

Legend
ATP Challenger Tour (0–0)
ITF World Tennis Tour (2–1)
Finals by surface
Hard (2–1)
Clay (0–0)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 0–1 Jul 2021 M15 Monastir,
Tunisia 		World Tour Hard Australia Kody Pearson United States Jacob Brumm
Denmark August Holmgren 		5–7, 6–7
Win 1–1 Oct 2021 M25 Loulé,
Portugal 		World Tour Hard Netherlands Mick Veldheer Portugal Gonçalo Falcão
Slovenia Tomás Lipovšek Puches 		6–2, 6–3
Win 2–1 Feb 2022 M25 Santo Domingo,
Dominican Republic 		World Tour Hard United Kingdom Henry Patten Chinese Taipei Hsu Yu-hsiou
Chinese Taipei Wu Tung-lin 		2–6, 7–6(7–4), [10–3]
Win 3-1 Sep 2023 Cary, USA Challenger Hard Australia Andrew Harris United States William Blumberg
Venezuela Luis David Martinez 		6–4, 3–6, [10–6]

ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors

Singles: 4 (2 titles, 2 runners-up)

Legend
Category GA (0–0)
Category G1 (0–2)
Category G2 (1–0)
Category G3 (1–0)
Category G4 (0–0)
Category G5 (0–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Category Surface Opponent Score
Win 1–0 Oct 2017 30th Sarawak Chief Minister's Cup, Malaysia Category G3 Hard India Digvijay Pratap Singh 7–6(7–5), 6–3
Win 2–0 Aug 2018 Oceania Closed Junior Championships, Fiji Category G2 Hard Australia Tristan Schoolkate 6–2, 6–4
Loss 2–1 Sep 2018 Les Internationaux de Tennis Junior Banque Nationale du Canada, Canada Category G1 Hard France Hugo Gaston 3–6, 4–6
Loss 2–2 Nov 2018 2018 Seogwipo Asia/Oceania Closed Junior Championships, South Korea Category G1 Hard China Bu Yunchaokete 3–6, 1–6

Doubles: 10 (6 title, 4 runners-up)

Legend
Category GA (0–1)
Category G1 (3–2)
Category G2 (1–0)
Category G3 (1–1)
Category G4 (1–0)
Category G5 (0–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Category Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 0–1 Feb 2017 NZ ITF Summer Championships 2017, New Zealand Category G3 Hard Australia Kody Pearson Australia Thomas Bosancic

Australia Benard Bruno Nkomba

3–6, 0–6
Win 1–1 Aug 2017 AS Open 2017, Slovenia Category G4 Clay Australia Dane Sweeny Switzerland Brian Bencic

Bosnia and Herzegovina Nemanja Malesevic

6–4, 6–3
Win 2–1 Sep 2017 3rd Torneo Internazionale Junior "Citta' Di Palermo", Italy Category G3 Clay Australia Dane Sweeny Estonia Daniil Glinka

Latvia Roberts Grinvalds

6–1, 6–4
Loss 2–2 Jan 2018 AGL Loy Yang Traralgon Junior International, Australia Category G1 Hard Japan Taisei Ichikawa Poland Wojciech Marek

Chinese Taipei Tseng Chun-hsin

6–7(1–7), 4–6
Loss 2–3 Jun 2018 54th Astrid Bowl Charleroi, Belgium Category G1 Clay Japan Naoki Tajima Ukraine Pavel Shumeiko

Germany Henri Squire

6–7(5–7), 3–6
Win 3–3 Jun 2018 26th Internat. Nürnberger Versicherungs-ITF-Junior Tournament, Germany Category G1 Clay Switzerland Yannik Steinegger Romania Filip Cristian Jianu

China Tao Mu

6–3, 2–6, [10-7]
Win 4–3 Aug 2018 Oceania Closed Junior Championships, Fiji Category G2 Hard Australia Ken Cavrak Australia Cihan Akay

Australia Nikita Volonski

6–4, 6–3
Loss 4–4 Oct 2018 Youth Olympic Games, Argentina Category GA Clay Bulgaria Adrian Andreev Argentina Sebastián Báez

Argentina Facundo Diaz Acosta

4–6, 4–6
Win 5–4 Nov 2018 2018 Seogwipo Asia/Oceania Closed Junior Championships, South Korea Category G1 Hard Australia Chen Dong Australia Stefan Storch

Australia Dane Sweeny

6–3, 6–4
Win 6–4 Jan 2019 J1 Traralgon, Australia Category J1 Hard Finland Otto Virtanen Czech Republic Jiří Lehečka

Poland Wojciech Marek

6–0, 6–3

Record against other players

Hijikata's record against players who have been ranked in the top 10, with those who are active in boldface. Only ATP Tour main draw matches and Davis Cup matches are considered:

Player Record Win % Hard Clay Grass Last match
Number 1 ranked players
Russia Daniil Medvedev 0–1 0% 0–1 – – Lost (4–6, 3–6) at 2022 Los Cabos
Spain Rafael Nadal 0–1 0% 0–1 – – Lost (6–4, 2–6, 3–6, 3–6) at 2022 US Open
Number 3 ranked players
Bulgaria Grigor Dimitrov 0–1 0% 0–1 – – Lost (1–6, 4–6) at 2024 Brisbane
Greece Stefanos Tsitsipas 0–2 0% 0–2 – – Lost (2–6, 4–6) at 2023 Shanghai
Number 8 ranked players
United States John Isner 0–1 0% 0–1 – – Lost (2–6, 6–7(4–7)) at 2023 Los Cabos
Number 10 ranked players
United States Frances Tiafoe 0–1 0% 0–1 – – Lost (4–6, 1–6, 4–6) at 2023 US Open
Canada Denis Shapovalov 0–1 0% 0–1 – – Lost (6–2, 4–6, 3–6) at 2023 Adelaide 1
Total 0–8 0% 0–8
(0%) 		0–0
( – ) 		0–0
( – ) 		* Statistics correct as of 5 January 2024.

Awards

In 2018 and 2019, Hijikata won the Newcombe Medal for Male Junior Athlete of the Year.[40]

References

  1. ^ "Rinky Hijikata Bio at ATP". ATP. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  2. ^ "Rinky Hijikata Relishing Rafael Nadal Clash At US Open | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour.
  3. ^ "Rinky Hijikata". LinkedIn. Archived from the original on 22 September 2022. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  4. ^ Howlett, Scott (3 April 2013). "Junior Sports Star Rinky Hijikata serving it up to the bigger boys".
  5. ^ "GETTING TO KNOW: RINKY HIJIKATA". Tennis Australia. 25 August 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  6. ^ "2020-2021 Men's tennis Roster". University of North Carolina Athletics. 2019. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  7. ^ "HIJIKATA WINS SILVER AT YOUTH OLYMPIC". Tennis Australia. 15 October 2018. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  8. ^ "AUSTRALIAN TEEN CELEBRATES FIRST TITLE". ITF. 23 September 2019. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  9. ^ "HIJIKATA SCORES FIRST TOP-100 WIN TO QUALIFY AT MELBOURNE SUMMER SET". Tennis Australia. 4 January 2022. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  10. ^ "Fourteen Aussie Men to Contest Australian Open 2022 Qualifying". Tennis Australia. 10 January 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  11. ^ "Eight Aussies Ready to Continue Australian Open 2022 Qualifying Quests". Tennis Australia. 12 January 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  12. ^ "RANKING MOVERS: SAVILLE, KOKKINAKIS AND KYRGIOS CONTINUE RESURGENCES". Tennis Australia. 4 April 2022. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  13. ^ "Daniil Medvedev Earns 250th Win in los Cabos Debut | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  14. ^ "Former College Standouts Gojo, Hijikata Win Maiden Challenger Titles | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  15. ^ "Inside the Hijikata Experience: Roaring Rinky | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  16. ^ "Aussie wildcards advance to Australian Open quarterfinals". Tennis Australia. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  17. ^ "Aussies Hijikata/Kubler Save MP, Reach Melbourne QFS with Stadium Win | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  18. ^ "Hijikata/Kubler Stun Koolhof/Skupski for Australian Open SF Spot | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  19. ^ "Hijikata and Kubler proud to inspire at Australian Open 2023".
  20. ^ "Nys/Zielinski Channel Bryan Brothers for Australian Open SF Win | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  21. ^ "Local Sydney superstar, Rinky Hijikata, crowned Australian Open Doubles Champion". Tennis NSW. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  22. ^ "Rinky Hijikata and Jason Kubler Capture Australian Open Crown | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  23. ^ "De Minaur moves into Rotterdam quarterfinals".
  24. ^ "Dodig/Krajicek Advance to Rotterdam SFS | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  25. ^ "Aussies bow out in Indian Wells second round".
  26. ^ "Hijikata scores milestone win at 's-Hertogenbosch".
  27. ^ "Hijikata advances to first ATP-level singles quarterfinal".
  28. ^ "Hijikata to face Thompson in first ATP semifinal".
  29. ^ "Rinky Hijikata: Aussies Are 'Manufactured' to Play Well on Grass | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  30. ^ "Hijikata charges into third round at US Open 2023". Tennis Australia. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  31. ^ "Hijikata bows out in fourth round at US Open 2023". Tennis Australia. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  32. ^ https://www.usopen.org/en_US/news/articles/2023-09-01/who_is_rinky_hijikata_the_aussie_wild_card_making_his_best_singles_grand_slam_run_on_record.html
  33. ^ "Ben Shelton Set For Top 20 Breakthrough Behind US Open Run | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  34. ^ "Dominic Stricker Headlines Four Top 100 Breakthroughs | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  35. ^ "Cameron Norrie & Rinky Hijikata Beat Rajeev Ram & Joe Salisbury In Shanghai | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  36. ^ "Marcel Granollers/Horacio Zeballos Reach Shanghai SFs | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  37. ^ "Purcell and Hijikata defeat third seeds to reach Japan Open doubles final". Tennis Australia. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  38. ^ "Purcell and Hijikata crowned doubles champions in Tokyo". Tennis Australia. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  39. ^ "Rinky Hijikata & Max Purcell Clinch Tokyo Title, Stefanos Tsitsipas Wins Antwerp Doubles Title | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  40. ^ "Honour Roll". Tennis Australia. Retrieved 3 January 2022.

External links

Australian Open men's doubles champions
Association of Tennis Professionals Top Australian male singles tennis players
Categories