History of Rinky Hijikata in Timeline

Rinky Hijikata is an Australian professional tennis player who is most known for his success in doubles. He achieved a world No. 23 ranking in doubles in October 2023 and a singles ranking of No. 62 in August 2024. His most significant accomplishment is winning the 2023 Australian Open doubles title alongside fellow Australian Jason Kubler.

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Full Timeline Career & Achievements

2013: Attended The King's School

In 2013, Hijikata began attending The King's School in Sydney.

2016: Left The King's School

In 2016, Hijikata finished attending The King's School in Sydney.

March 2018: ITF Debut at Australia F3

In March 2018, Hijikata made his ITF debut at the Australia F3 tournament in Mornington, Australia.

October 2018: Silver at Summer Youth Olympics

In October 2018, Hijikata won a silver medal in the Boys' doubles at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics, partnering with Adrian Andreev of Bulgaria.

2018: Alexei Popyrin Wins Challenger Title

In 2018, Alexei Popyrin won a Challenger title in Jinan, China. This makes Rinky Hijikata the youngest Australian to win a Challenger title since Popyrin.

2018: Newcombe Medal for Male Junior Athlete of the Year

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

January 2019: Australian Open Qualifying Wildcard

In January 2019, Hijikata received a wildcard into the 2019 Australian Open – Men's singles qualifying and lost in the first round to Hiroki Moriya.

2019: College Tennis at North Carolina

In 2019, Hijikata began playing college tennis for the North Carolina Tar Heels men's tennis team at the University of North Carolina.

2019: Newcombe Medal for Male Junior Athlete of the Year

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

2020: Australian Open Qualifying

In 2020, Hijikata received a wildcard into qualifying for the Australian Open, losing in the second round.

July 2021: ITF Titles

In July 2021, Hijikata won his second and third ITF titles.

November 2021: Singles Ranking of 369

As of November 22, 2021, Hijikata finished the year with a singles ranking of 369.

2021: Ended College Tennis at North Carolina

In 2021, Hijikata finished playing college tennis for the North Carolina Tar Heels men's tennis team at the University of North Carolina.

January 2022: ATP Tour Debut

In January 2022, Hijikata made his ATP tour debut at the 2022 Melbourne Summer Set 1 after qualifying for the main draw and defeating Henri Laaksonen. He lost in the first round to Maxime Cressy and also played doubles with Christopher O'Connell.

March 2022: Broke into ATP Top 300

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

August 2022: Los Cabos Open & US Open Debut

In August 2022, Hijikata qualified for the 2022 Los Cabos Open and reached the round of 16 recording his first ATP win after the retirement of Rodrigo Pacheco Méndez. He lost to Daniil Medvedev and he moved one position shy of the top 200 on August 8, 2022. He made his Grand Slam debut at the US Open as a wildcard.

October 2022: Maiden Challenger Title

In October 2022, Hijikata won his maiden Challenger title in Playford, Australia, moving up to world No. 159. He became the youngest Australian to win a Challenger title since 2018.

2022: Australian Open Qualifying Loss

In 2022, Hijikata lost in the second round of the Australian Open – Men's singles qualifying.

September 2023: US Open Fourth Round & Top 100 Debut

In September 2023, Hijikata reached the fourth round of the US Open, defeating Pavel Kotov, Márton Fucsovics, and Zhang Zhizhen, resulting in his top 100 debut at world No. 82 on September 11, 2023.

October 2023: Shanghai Masters & Japan Open Doubles Title

In October 2023, Hijikata qualified for the 2023 Rolex Shanghai Masters, defeating Laslo Djere. He also reached the semifinals partnering with Cameron Norrie. At the 2023 Japan Open Tennis Championships he won his second doubles title with Max Purcell, reaching the top 25 in doubles on October 23, 2023.

October 2023: ATP Doubles Ranking World No. 23

In October 2023, Rinky Hijikata achieved a career-high ATP doubles ranking of world No. 23.

2023: Delray Beach Open Semifinals

In 2023, at the Delray Beach Open, Rinky Hijikata reached the semifinals in doubles with Reese Stalder, defeating Jamie Murray and Michael Venus in the quarterfinals. They reached the final defeating Hans Hach Verdugo and Miguel Ángel Reyes-Varela.

August 2024: Singles Ranking of No. 62

In August 2024, Rinky Hijikata reached his best singles ranking of No. 62.

August 2024: National Bank Open and Winston-Salem Open

In August 2024, 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 over Taro Daniel, reaching the top 65 in the rankings on August 12, 2024. He reached No. 62 two weeks later, after advancing to his fourth ATP quarterfinal of the season at the 2024 Winston-Salem Open.

2024: Dallas Open and Delray Beach Open

In 2024, Hijikata made it to his fourth doubles final alongside William Blumberg at the Dallas Open, losing to Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson. He reached his third ATP quarterfinal at the 2024 Delray Beach Open with a defeat over Liam Broady and an upset over Matteo Arnaldi. At the 2024 Los Cabos Open he again upset the sixth seed, Miomir Kecmanović. At the 2024 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships he recorded his first clay court win over Christopher Eubanks.

2024: Brisbane International Quarterfinal

In 2024, Hijikata started the year with a quarterfinal appearance at the 2024 Brisbane International, defeating Thanasi Kokkinakis and Tomáš Macháč before losing to Grigor Dimitrov.

2024: Libéma Open & Queen's Club Championships

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

2024: Wimbledon Championships Doubles

In doubles at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships, Hijikata partnered with John Peers and defeated Jamie Murray and Andy Murray in the first round, which was the latter's final appearance at Wimbledon.

2025: Wimbledon Championships Final

At the 2025 Wimbledon Championships Hijikata reached the final with David Pel as alternate pair, defeating Kevin Krawietz and Tim Pütz and Marcelo Arévalo and Mate Pavić en route. They lost the championship match to Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool.

2026: Current through the 2026 Australian Open

As of 2026, it's current through the 2026 Australian Open.

2026: BNP Paribas Open

At the 2026 BNP Paribas Open Hijikata qualified for the main draw and reached the third round of a Masters 1000 for the first time in his career defeating Luciano Darderi.