Rinky Hijikata

1.1. Childhood and Education

Hijikata was born in Sydney, Australia on 23 February 2001. He began playing tennis at the age of three or four. From 2013 to 2016, he attended The King's School in Sydney. He stands at 70 in ^{(178 cm)} and weighs 159 lb ^{(72 kg)}.

1.2. Family and Early Influences

Both of Hijikata's parents are Japanese immigrants who moved to Australia before his birth. His father works as a tennis coach, which provided a natural early exposure to the sport. Growing up, his favorite tennis player was fellow Australian Lleyton Hewitt, and he later admired Japanese star Kei Nishikori.

3.1. 2018-2021: Pro beginnings

In March 2018, Hijikata made his ITF debut at the Australia F3 in Mornington, Australia. He secured his first professional match win the following week at the Australia F4 event. In October 2018, he notably won a silver medal at the Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires, Argentina, partnering with Bulgaria's Adrian Andreev in the boys' doubles.

Hijikata received wildcards into the qualifying rounds for the Australian Open in 2019, 2020, and 2021. He lost in the first qualifying round in 2019 to Hiroki Moriya, and in the second qualifying round in both 2020 and 2021.

In September 2019, Hijikata claimed his first professional singles title at the M15 Fayetteville tournament in Arkansas, United States. He continued his success by winning his second and third ITF titles in July 2021, accumulating a total of four ITF World Tennis Tour singles titles throughout 2021. He concluded the 2021 season with a singles ranking of world No. 369 as of 22 November 2021.

3.2. 2022: ATP & Major debut, Maiden win & Challenger title, top 200

January 2022 marked Hijikata's ATP Tour debut at the 2022 Melbourne Summer Set 1, where he qualified for the main draw after defeating world No. 98 Henri Laaksonen, which was his first win against a top 100 player. He was subsequently defeated by eventual finalist Maxime Cressy in the first round. Later, he lost in the second qualifying round of the 2022 Australian Open.

In April, Hijikata broke into the ATP top 300 rankings following consecutive ITF tournament victories in California in March 2022. In August, he qualified for the 2022 Los Cabos Open and achieved his first ATP Tour win by reaching the round of 16 after his opponent, Mexican wildcard debutant Rodrigo Pacheco Méndez, retired. He then faced top seed and world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev, who recorded his 250th career match win against Hijikata. As a result of this performance, Hijikata climbed to world No. 201 on 8 August 2022.

He made his Grand Slam main draw debut at the US Open as a wildcard entry, losing in the first round. In October 2022, he won his maiden Challenger title at the Playford Tennis International in Australia, which propelled him 33 positions up to world No. 159 on 31 October 2022. This made him the youngest Australian to win a Challenger title since 2018, when Alexei Popyrin achieved the feat in Jinan, China, at 19 years old.

3.3. 2023: First Major singles win & doubles title, Masters & top 70 debuts, top 25 in doubles

Hijikata received a wildcard into the 2023 Australian Open where he recorded his first Grand Slam singles victory by defeating Yannick Hanfmann in a come-from-behind match. He was eliminated in the second round by the third seed, Stefanos Tsitsipas.

A significant highlight of his year was his performance in the men's doubles event at the Australian Open, where he partnered with Jason Kubler as wildcards. They secured the title, defeating three seeded teams along the way: sixth seeds Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliövaara in the second round, top seeds and world No. 1 doubles pair Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski in the quarterfinals, and eighth seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos in the semifinals. In the third round, they saved a match point against Tomislav Brkić and Gonzalo Escobar. In the final, they triumphed over Hugo Nys and Jan Zieliński, becoming the second consecutive all-Australian champions at the event.

At the 2023 Delray Beach Open, Hijikata reached the doubles semifinals alongside American Reese Stalder, notably defeating second-seeded pair Jamie Murray and Michael Venus in the quarterfinals. They went on to reach the final, overcoming the Mexican duo of Hans Hach Verdugo and Miguel Ángel Reyes-Varela.

He made his Masters 1000 debut as a qualifier at the Indian Wells Masters, defeating Mikael Ymer in the first round in straight sets before falling to 30th seed Sebastián Báez in the second round.

At the Rosmalen Grass Court Championships, he entered the main draw as a lucky loser for his grass court debut and won his first match against wildcard Gijs Brouwer. He then defeated Marc-Andrea Hüsler from a set down to reach his first ATP Tour-level quarterfinal. Continuing his impressive run, he again came from a set down to beat Mackenzie McDonald, securing a spot in his first ATP Tour-level semifinal.

Hijikata's strong form continued at the 2023 US Open, where he received a wildcard and reached the fourth round. On his path, he defeated Pavel Kotov, Márton Fucsovics, and Zhang Zhizhen. His performance at the US Open led to his debut in the top 100 of the singles rankings, climbing 28 spots to world No. 82 on 11 September 2023.

He qualified for his debut at the 2023 Rolex Shanghai Masters and defeated Laslo Djere in the first round. In the same tournament, he reached the doubles semifinals partnering with Cameron Norrie. At the 2023 Japan Open Tennis Championships, he won his second doubles title with fellow Australian Max Purcell. As a result, he entered the top 25 in doubles on 23 October 2023.

3.4. 2024: First win on clay, ATP 500 debut & quarterfinal, top 65

Hijikata started 2024 with a quarterfinal appearance at the 2024 Brisbane International, where he defeated fellow Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis and Tomáš Macháč before being defeated by eventual champion Grigor Dimitrov.

At the 2024 Dallas Open, Hijikata reached his fourth doubles final alongside William Blumberg, ultimately losing to an all-Australian pair of Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson. He then reached his third ATP quarterfinal of the year at the 2024 Delray Beach Open, securing victories over Liam Broady and an upset win against sixth seed Matteo Arnaldi. At the 2024 Los Cabos Open, he again upset a sixth seed, this time Miomir Kecmanović.

He recorded his first clay court win at the 2024 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships, defeating fifth seed Christopher Eubanks.

At the 2024 Libéma Open, he lost to compatriot Alexei Popyrin. Hijikata made his ATP 500 main draw debut as a qualifier at the 2024 Queen's Club Championships, where he reached his second grass court quarterfinal after defeating Frances Tiafoe by retirement and Matteo Arnaldi.

In doubles at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships, Hijikata partnered with fellow Australian John Peers. The pair notably defeated Jamie Murray and Andy Murray in the first round, which marked Andy Murray's final appearance at Wimbledon.

On his debut at the 2024 National Bank Open in Montreal, he qualified for the main draw and recorded his first win at the tournament, which was only his second at a Masters level event, over qualifier Taro Daniel. This performance led to his entry into the top 65 in the rankings on 12 August 2024. He further improved to world No. 62 two weeks later, following his advancement to his fourth ATP quarterfinal of the season at the 2024 Winston-Salem Open.

4.1. Singles

Current through the 2024 Shanghai Masters.

4.2. Doubles

Current through the 2024 US Open.

5.1. Grand Slam Tournament Finals

5.2. ATP Tour Finals

5.3. ATP Challenger and ITF World Tennis Tour Finals

5.4. ITF Junior Circuit Finals