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is an Australian professional
tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...
player. He has been ranked world No. 23 in men's doubles by the
Association of Tennis Professionals The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) is the governing body of the men's professional tennis circuits – the ATP Tour and the ATP Challenger Tour. It was formed in September 1972 by Donald Dell, Jack Kramer, and Cliff Drysdale to p ...
(ATP), and No. 62 in men's singles. Hijikata is a
major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...
champion, claiming the
2023 Australian Open The 2023 Australian Open was a Grand Slam level tennis tournament held at Melbourne Park, from 16–29 January 2023. It was the 111th edition of the Australian Open, the 55th in the Open Era, and the first major of the year. The tournament ...
in men's doubles partnering Jason Kubler.


Early life

Hijikata was born in
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
, Australia to Japanese immigrant parents. He began playing tennis at age three or four. He attended The King's School in
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
from 2013 to 2016. His father is a tennis coach. His favourite player growing up was
Lleyton Hewitt Lleyton Glynn Hewitt (born 24 February 1981) is an Australian former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) fo ...
and later,
Kei Nishikori is a Japanese professional tennis player. He is the only Japanese man in the Open Era to have been ranked in the top five in singles, reaching his career-high ranking of world No. 4 in March 2015, and the second man in history to do so after ...
.


College career

Hijikata had a successful career at the
University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...
where he played college tennis for the North Carolina Tar Heels men's tennis from 2019 to 2021.


Professional career


2018–2021: Pro beginnings

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. 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 is a Japanese tennis player. He has won three ATP Challenger Tour singles titles and achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 143 on 5 January 2015. Tennis career Juniors As a junior, Moriya compiled a singles win–loss record of ...
. 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. Hijikata received wildcards into qualifying for the Australian Open in both
2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...
and
2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...
, 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. 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. In April, Hijikata broke into the ATP top 300 after winning consecutive ITF tournaments in California in March 2022. 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. 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 Alexei Popyrin (born 5 August 1999) is an Australian professional tennis player. He has a career-high Association of Tennis Professionals, ATP singles ranking of world No. 21 achieved on 9 June 2025. He also has a career-high ATP doubles rankin ...
won in Jinan, China.


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

Hijikata was given a wildcard into the
Australian Open The Australian Open (stylized ΛO) is a tennis tournament organised by Tennis Australia annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. It is chronologically the first of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Sl ...
, where he recorded his first Grand Slam win by defeating Yannick Hanfmann in a come-from-behind victory. He lost in the second round to third seed
Stefanos Tsitsipas Stefanos Tsitsipas (, ; born 12 August 1998) is a Greek professional tennis player. He has been ATP rankings, ranked as high as world No. 3 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), first achieved in August 2021 – mak ...
. 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 Lloyd Glasspool (born 19 November 1993) is a British professional tennis player who specialises in doubles. He has a career-high doubles ranking of No. 7 reached in June 2023 and a singles ranking of No. 282 reached in July 2016. Glasspool has w ...
and
Harri Heliövaara Harri Heliövaara (born 4 June 1989) is a Finnish professional tennis player. He has been ATP rankings, ranked by the Association of Tennis Professionals, ATP as high as world No. 3 in doubles, achieved on 31 March 2025. He also attained his care ...
in the second round, saved a match point in the third round against Tomislav Brkić and Gonzalo Escobar, top seeds and world No. 1 doubles pair
Wesley Koolhof Wesley Koolhof (; born 17 April 1989) is a Dutch former professional tennis player who was ranked World No. 1 in doubles. He is a two-time Grand Slam champion, having won the 2023 Wimbledon Championships in men's doubles with Neal Skupski an ...
and Neal Skupski in the quarterfinals, and eighth seeds
Marcel Granollers Marcel Granollers Pujol (; ; born 12 April 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He reached a career-high doubles ranking of world No. 1 on 6 May 2024, becoming the second Spanish man to achieve the feat (after Emilio Sánchez Vicari ...
and
Horacio Zeballos Horacio Zeballos Jr. (, ; born 27 April 1985) is an Argentine professional tennis player. He reached a career-high doubles ranking of world No. 1 on 6 May 2024, becoming the first Argentinian man to achieve the feat. He is a Grand Slam champion ...
in the semifinals. They went on to defeat Hugo Nys and
Jan Zieliński Jan Zieliński (Polish: ; born 16 November 1996) is a Polish professional tennis player who specializes in doubles. He has an ATP career-high doubles ranking of world No. 7, which he attained on 19 June 2023. His highest ranking in singles has b ...
in the final, becoming the second consecutive all-Australian champions at the event. At the 2023 Delray Beach Open he reached the semifinals in doubles partnering American Reese Stalder and defeating second seeded pair of
Jamie Murray Jamie Robert Murray (born 13 February 1986) is a British professional tennis player who specialises in doubles. He is a seven-time Grand Slam (tennis), major doubles champion (five in mixed doubles and two in men's doubles), a Davis Cup winne ...
and Michael Venus in the quarterfinals. He reached the final defeating Mexican duo Hans Hach Verdugo and
Miguel Ángel Reyes-Varela Miguel Ángel Reyes-Varela Martínez (; born June 21, 1987) is a Mexican professional tennis player who specializes in doubles. He has a career-high ATP doubles ranking of world No. 49, achieved on 20 August 2018. In singles his best ranking is N ...
. He made his Masters 1000 debut in Indian Wells as a qualifier, and defeated
Mikael Ymer Mikael Ymer (born 9 September 1998) is a Swedish professional tennis player. He had a career high Association of Tennis Professionals, ATP singles ranking of world No. 50, achieved on 17 April 2023. In the ATP doubles ranking his career high is N ...
in the first round in straight sets. He lost in the second round to 30th seed
Sebastián Báez Sebastián Báez (; born 28 December 2000) is an Argentine professional tennis player. He has a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 18, achieved on 24 June 2024 and a doubles ranking of world No. 189, achieved on 29 July 2024. Báez ha ...
. 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. He then defeated Marc-Andrea Hüsler from a set down to reach his first ATP tour level quarterfinal. Again from a set down, he beat
Mackenzie McDonald Michael Mackenzie Lowe McDonald (born April 16, 1995) is an American professional tennis player. He has a career-high singles ATP rankings, ranking of world No. 37, achieved on October 16, 2023 and a doubles ranking of No. 49, achieved on Octobe ...
to reach his first semifinal at ATP tour level. He reached the fourth round of the 2023 US Open having received a wildcard, defeating Pavel Kotov,
Márton Fucsovics Márton Fucsovics (, ; born 8 February 1992) is a Hungarian professional tennis player. He achieved a career-high ATP singles ranking of No. 31 on 4 March 2019. He is currently the No. 2 Hungarian player. Early life Fucsovics started playing t ...
and Zhang Zhizhen. As a result he made his top 100 debut in the rankings at world No. 82 climbing 28 spots on 11 September 2023. 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 Cameron Norrie (; born 23 August 1995) is a British professional tennis player. He has reached career-high ATP Rankings, rankings of world No. 8 in singles (on 12 September 2022) and No. 117 in doubles (on 13 June 2022). Norrie has won five ATP ...
. At the 2023 Japan Open Tennis Championships he won his second doubles title with compatriot
Max Purcell Max Purcell (born 3 April 1998) is an Australian professional tennis player. He has reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 40 on 16 October 2023 and a doubles ranking of No. 8 on 9 September 2024. In doubles, he won his first Gran ...
. As a result he reached the top 25 in doubles on 23 October 2023.


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

Hijikata started the year off with a quarterfinal appearance at the 2024 Brisbane International, defeating fellow Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis and Tomáš Macháč before being defeated by eventual champion
Grigor Dimitrov Grigor Dimitrov Dimitrov (, ; born 16 May 1991) is a Bulgarian professional tennis player. He has been ATP rankings, ranked as high as world No. 3 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals, ATP, making him the highest-ranked Bulgari ...
. At the 2024 Dallas Open, Hijikata made it to his fourth doubles final alongside
William Blumberg William Blumberg (born January 26, 1998) is a former American professional tennis player. He has a career-high ATP doubles ranking of world No. 74 achieved on 12 September 2022. He has a career-high singles ranking of No. 438 reached on 18 Febru ...
, losing to
Max Purcell Max Purcell (born 3 April 1998) is an Australian professional tennis player. He has reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 40 on 16 October 2023 and a doubles ranking of No. 8 on 9 September 2024. In doubles, he won his first Gran ...
and Jordan Thompson. He reached his third ATP quarterfinal at the 2024 Delray Beach Open a defeat over
Liam Broady Liam Tarquin Broady ( ; born 4 January 1994) is a British professional tennis player who competes mainly on the ATP Challenger Tour. He reached a career high ranking of world No. 93 on 25 September 2023. Early and personal life Broady, the young ...
and an upset over sixth seed Matteo Arnaldi. At the 2024 Los Cabos Open he again upset the sixth seed, this time Miomir Kecmanović. At the 2024 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships he recorded his first clay court win over fifth seed Christopher Eubanks. At the 2024 Libéma Open he lost to compatriot
Alexei Popyrin Alexei Popyrin (born 5 August 1999) is an Australian professional tennis player. He has a career-high Association of Tennis Professionals, ATP singles ranking of world No. 21 achieved on 9 June 2025. He also has a career-high ATP doubles rankin ...
. At the 2024 Queen's Club Championships, where he made his ATP 500 main draw debut as a qualifier, he defeated Frances Tiafoe by retirement and Matteo Arnaldi to reach his second grass court quarterfinal. In doubles at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships, Hijikata partnered fellow Australian
John Peers John William Peers (born 25 July 1988) is an Australian professional tennis player who specializes in doubles. He reached a career-high ATP doubles ranking of world No. 2 on 3 April 2017, and a singles ranking of No. 456 in June 2012. He has ...
. The pair defeated
Jamie Murray Jamie Robert Murray (born 13 February 1986) is a British professional tennis player who specialises in doubles. He is a seven-time Grand Slam (tennis), major doubles champion (five in mixed doubles and two in men's doubles), a Davis Cup winne ...
and
Andy Murray Sir Andrew Barron Murray (born 15 May 1987) is a British former professional tennis player and coach. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professio ...
in the first round, which was the latter'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 and only his second at a Masters level over qualifier
Taro Daniel is an American-Japanese professional tennis player. He achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 58 on 15 January 2024. He has won one ATP Tour singles title at the 2018 Istanbul Open, as well as nine ATP Challenger Tour singles ti ...
. As a result he reached the top 65 in the rankings on 12 August 2024 and No. 62 two weeks later, after advancing to his fourth ATP quarterfinal of the season at the 2024 Winston-Salem Open.


Performance timelines


Singles

''Current through the 2025 French Open.''


Doubles

''Current through the 2025 Australian Open.''


Grand Slam tournament finals


Doubles: 1 (1 title)


ATP Tour finals


Doubles: 4 (2 titles, 2 runner-ups)


ATP Challenger and ITF World Tennis Tour finals


Singles: 15 (10 titles, 5 runner-ups)


Doubles: 5 (3 titles, 2 runner-ups)


ITF Junior Circuit


Singles: 4 (2–2)


Doubles: 10 (6–4)


Awards

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


References


External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hijikata, Rinky 2001 births Living people Australian male tennis players Olympic tennis players for Australia Tennis players at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics Tennis players at the 2024 Summer Olympics Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's doubles Australian Open (tennis) champions North Carolina Tar Heels men's tennis players People educated at The King's School, Parramatta Australian people of Japanese descent Sportspeople of Japanese descent Tennis players from Sydney Sportsmen from New South Wales 21st-century Australian sportsmen