Some tennis stories start with a name you can’t forget, and Rinky Hijikata’s does — part Sydney prospect, part “The Prince of Tennis” talking point — but the career behind the name is the more serious plot. He turned professional in 2021 and by August 2024 his singles ranking had reached a career-high No. 62 (ESPN, international sports broadcaster).
Age: 25 (born February 23, 2001) ·
ATP Ranking: No. 85 (singles, live) ·
Career Prize Money: $982,483 ·
Height: 5’10” (178 cm) ·
Nationality: Australia ·
Turned Professional: 2021
Quick snapshot
- Born February 23, 2001, in Sydney, Australia (ESPN, international sports broadcaster)
- Career-high singles ranking: No. 62 (Tennis.com, ATP tour media)
- No ATP singles titles; two ATP doubles titles (Roland-Garros, Grand Slam tournament official)
- Number and names of siblings: absent from public profiles (Kahawa Tungu, secondary profile outlet)
- Origin of the name: the “Prince of Tennis” link is a talking point, not a documented fact (Kahawa Tungu, secondary profile outlet)
- Whether the 2024 singles peak will hold into a top-50 career (Kahawa Tungu, secondary profile outlet)
- 2023 Australian Open: doubles title with Jason Kubler, according to Wikipedia (collaborative encyclopedia)
- 2023 US Open: fourth-round singles run as a wildcard, reportedly (Kahawa Tungu, secondary profile outlet)
- Doubles peak: No. 23, reached October 30, 2023 (Tennis.com, ATP tour media)
- The 2026 Australian summer is his next ranking checkpoint (ESPN, international sports broadcaster)
- Can he convert doubles-proven instincts into a stable top-50 singles run? (ESPN, international sports broadcaster)
- The 2025 singles dip — 8 wins, 18 losses — makes the 2026 turnaround the number to watch (ESPN, international sports broadcaster)
Eleven rows of key facts, one pattern: the doubles résumé is already decorated, and the singles column is still catching up.
| Label | Value |
|---|---|
| Age | 25 (born February 23, 2001) |
| Birthplace | Sydney, Australia |
| Nationality | Australia |
| Turned professional | 2021 |
| Current ATP ranking | No. 85 singles (live; updates weekly) (Wimbledon, Grand Slam tournament official) |
| Career-high rankings | Singles No. 62 · Doubles No. 23 |
| Career prize money | $982,483 |
| 2025 singles record | 8–18 |
| Plays | Right-handed, two-handed backhand |
| Titles | 0 ATP singles · 2 ATP doubles (Roland-Garros, Grand Slam tournament official) |
| College | University of North Carolina, 2019–2021 |
Who is Rinky Hijikata?
Rinky Hijikata’s professional story starts in Sydney and runs through Chapel Hill. He was born on February 23, 2001, played junior tennis in Australia, then spent two college seasons at the University of North Carolina before the pro tour came calling.
The name, meanwhile, does its own marketing. Fans of the manga “The Prince of Tennis” recognize the surname instantly, and that coincidence has followed him through features, broadcasts, and a thousand comment sections.
What is the origin of Rinky Hijikata’s name?
- The “Prince of Tennis” association is a widely repeated talking point — a nod to the sport’s most famous manga — not a confirmed family story.
- His surname points to a Japanese-Australian background; he represents Australia on the ATP Tour.
- Whatever the etymology, the name gives him one of the highest-recognition handles in Australian tennis.
When did Rinky Hijikata turn professional?
- 2021: official transition to the pro tour, per ESPN’s player profile.
- Pre-pro structure: ITF debut in March 2018, then two seasons at North Carolina from 2019 to 2021 (Wikipedia, collaborative encyclopedia).
The implication: Hijikata’s path blended Australian development with the U.S. college system — a route that gave him match volume in his late teens and kept the pro transition deliberate rather than rushed.
How old is Rinky Hijikata?
He is 25 years old in the current season. His birthdate, February 23, 2001, makes him part of a strong Australian generation born around the turn of the millennium.
What are Rinky Hijikata’s physical measurements?
- Height: 5’10” (178 cm), per Tennis Majors (tour-level tennis publication).
- Weight: listed around 159 lbs (72 kg) in player profiles.
- Plays right-handed with a two-handed backhand, according to Wikipedia (collaborative encyclopedia).
Where did Rinky Hijikata grow up?
- Sydney, New South Wales — the same city that has produced a long line of Australian tour players.
- College chapter: two seasons in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, from 2019 to 2021.
What this means: at 25, he is entering the typical prime window for a male singles player. The physical data is unremarkable at tour level; the ranking curve is what makes the next two seasons worth watching.
Does Rinky Hijikata have siblings?
Publicly, almost nothing is confirmed. Player profiles list his birthdate, his ranking, and his tournament results; they do not list the number or names of his siblings.
What the profiles do share is a consistent detail about his father: he was the one who put a racket in Rinky’s hand. Beyond that, the family stays private.
Who are Rinky Hijikata’s parents?
- Father: described as the person who introduced him to tennis, with a Japanese-Australian family background noted across profile coverage (Kahawa Tungu, secondary profile outlet).
- Mother: no public details or name available in major profile databases.
- Siblings: not named or counted in any verified public source — the absence itself is the finding.
The catch: the most personal facts about Hijikata are also the least documented. What we have is the outline — father, racket, Sydney — and the rest stays out of public view.
What is Rinky Hijikata’s current ATP ranking?
The honest answer is that it depends on the day you look. Live ranking pages refresh weekly; a Wimbledon overview snapshot places him around No. 85 in singles at the time of writing (Wimbledon, Grand Slam tournament official). The career-high line is more stable: No. 62 in singles from August 2024, and No. 23 in doubles from October 2023, both tracked by Tennis.com’s rankings hub.
Doubles came first, and it showed. The 2023 Australian Open title gave him a Grand Slam moment before his singles game found traction. Career totals in the profile data also wobble between update cycles — 49–71 in one snapshot, 50–73 in a parallel ESPN Deportes profile (ESPN Deportes, sports broadcaster) — which is why a single search-page number should always carry a date.
What has been Rinky Hijikata’s ranking trajectory?
- 2021–2022: builds a base on the ATP Challenger circuit.
- 2023: doubles breakthrough — Australian Open title with Jason Kubler — plus a reported fourth-round singles run at the US Open.
- 2024: singles peak arrives; doubles peak already sits higher.
How does Rinky Hijikata’s ranking compare year-over-year?
- 2023 was the breakthrough season in doubles, with singles results still building.
- 2024 delivered the singles high-water mark.
- 2025 has been about holding top-100 ground rather than climbing.
Three seasons, one pattern: the match volume is now main-tour grade, and the win total is the slow-moving part of the story.
| Season | Singles record | Key result |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 11–11 | Australian Open doubles title; US Open fourth round (reported) |
| 2024 | 15–22 | Career-high singles ranking (August) |
| 2025 | 8–18 | Held a top-100 singles position through most of the season |
Ranking and win-loss data here come from player-profile snapshots that update on different schedules. ESPN’s profile lists season splits of 11–11 (2023), 15–22 (2024), and 8–18 (2025), while career totals range from 49–71 to 50–73 depending on the update cycle. Treat any single number as a point-in-time figure.
Hijikata’s doubles résumé — two ATP titles and a world No. 23 peak — currently outpaces his singles collection. The next two seasons decide whether singles catches up, and the 2026 Australian Open is the best early test.
The pattern: his singles ranking is real but unproven at the top end. The 85-to-62 corridor is respectable; the next corridor — 62 to 50 — is where careers either lock in or stall.
Who are the top Australian tennis players?
The current Australian ATP conversation is led by established names like Alex de Minaur and Nick Kyrgios, with Thanasi Kokkinakis and Jason Kubler in the supporting cast — a group spanning two generations and very different styles.
Hijikata fits into that picture as the next-generation profile: younger than the established core, with a career-high singles ranking inside the top 65 and a Grand Slam trophy he won before turning 22.
How does Rinky Hijikata fit among Australian tennis talent?
- Next-gen label: profiles and rankings lists routinely place him among Australia’s rising tour players, not just its doubles specialists.
- Signature result: the 2023 Australian Open doubles title with Jason Kubler — a home Grand Slam on his résumé before age 22.
- Ranking gap: his singles peak puts him in the conversation with the country’s next tier, behind the national leaders.
Four Australian reference points, one pattern: the established names still lead, but the next slot in the conversation is open.
| Australian player | Role in national tennis | Where Hijikata stands |
|---|---|---|
| Alex de Minaur | Established ATP mainstay; the current benchmark of Australian men’s tennis | A generation behind, with the singles ranking still climbing toward that tier |
| Nick Kyrgios | Established Australian player; a fixture of the national tennis conversation | Hijikata represents the quieter, results-first lane of Australian tennis |
| Thanasi Kokkinakis | Australian ATP player in the same tour generation | Both sit in the competitive middle band of Australian men’s tennis |
| Jason Kubler | 2023 Australian Open doubles champion alongside Hijikata | Their doubles title remains Hijikata’s signature result |
| Rinky Hijikata | Rising next-generation player; 2023 Australian Open doubles champion | Singles peak No. 62; doubles peak No. 23 |
Career timeline
The milestones below trace a player who moved through college tennis, the Challenger circuit, and then a home Grand Slam breakthrough.
- : Born in Sydney, Australia (ESPN, international sports broadcaster).
- 2018–2021: Makes ITF debut, then plays college tennis at North Carolina (Wikipedia, collaborative encyclopedia).
- 2021: Turns professional, per ESPN’s player profile.
- 2022–2023: Develops on the ATP Challenger circuit.
- 2023: Australian Open doubles title with Jason Kubler; a reported US Open fourth-round singles run.
- 2023 (October 30): Career-high doubles ranking of No. 23 (Tennis.com, ATP tour media).
- 2024 (August 26): Career-high singles ranking of No. 62 (Tennis.com, ATP tour media).
- 2025–2026: Holds a top-100 position while prize money continues to grow.
The signal: the doubles title arrived before the singles rankings did. That order is unusual — and it means his biggest singles chapters may still be ahead.
Confirmed facts and open questions
Here is the cleanest way to separate what readers can bank on from what is still guesswork.
Confirmed facts
- Born February 23, 2001, in Sydney (ESPN, international sports broadcaster).
- Turned professional in 2021 (ESPN, international sports broadcaster).
- Career-high singles No. 62; career-high doubles No. 23 (Tennis.com, ATP tour media).
- Two ATP doubles titles; no ATP singles titles (Roland-Garros, Grand Slam tournament official).
What’s unclear
- Sibling count and names (Kahawa Tungu, secondary profile outlet).
- Whether the “Prince of Tennis” name link is the true origin of his name.
- The 2023 US Open fourth round, sourced from a secondary profile and not independently verified (Kahawa Tungu, secondary profile outlet).
- How high the singles ceiling goes: top 50, top 30, or steady top 100.
- Details of his father’s background and role (Kahawa Tungu, secondary profile outlet).
The “Prince of Tennis” name story is the most shareable thing about Hijikata, but sharing it as fact says more about the internet than about his biography. The documented record is the tennis.
Why this matters: separating the two lists is the difference between a profile and a rumor page. The facts are enough — they don’t need the garnish.
Perspectives on Hijikata’s career
Two voices frame the public read on Hijikata: his own, in rare interview moments, and the analysts who track Australian tennis.
In his podcast appearance, Hijikata discussed the mental side of professional tennis at length, describing how he maintains focus during matches and tunes out the ranking noise.
Rinky Hijikata, podcast interview EP057
The analyst view runs in a similar direction.
Analysts watching the Australian men’s game see a player whose doubles credentials — a No. 23 peak and two ATP titles — have already outrun his singles ranking, with clear headroom toward the top 50.
Tennis analysts and commentators
The takeaway from both voices: nobody describes Hijikata as a finished product. The interesting question is how much headroom remains.
The takeaway
Hijikata has already given Australian tennis something most prospects never get: a home Grand Slam title, even if it came in doubles. The singles ranking has followed, reaching world No. 62 at age 23. For Australian tennis fans scanning the next generation, the 2026 Australian swing is the decision point: a couple of main-draw wins and he becomes the country’s clearest top-50 candidate in the next wave; another early exit and the window quietly narrows. The name will keep opening doors; only the results will decide what is behind them.
Frequently asked questions
Is Rinky Hijikata in a relationship?
Not publicly documented. Hijikata keeps his personal life off the record, and no major profile or interview confirms a current relationship.
What racket does Rinky Hijikata use?
His racket model is not listed in the major player profiles. Official tournament pages publish his statistics and ranking, but not his equipment specifications.
Does Rinky Hijikata play in the Australian Open?
Yes. He competes in the Australian swing as an Australian tour player, and his most notable Melbourne result is the 2023 men’s doubles title with Jason Kubler.
What is Rinky Hijikata’s playstyle on the court?
He plays right-handed with a two-handed backhand. His doubles success suggests real comfort at the net, while his singles record remains the larger sample for judging his game.
Has Rinky Hijikata won any ATP Tour titles?
Yes — two ATP doubles titles, including the 2023 Australian Open with Jason Kubler. He has not yet won an ATP singles title.
Who are Rinky Hijikata’s main sponsors?
Sponsorship details are not disclosed in the public player profiles. Endorsement information is rarely confirmed until a player reaches the upper ranking tiers.
How can I watch Rinky Hijikata’s matches live?
Official tournament sites such as Wimbledon and Roland-Garros publish player pages with live-score links, and broadcast partners carry his matches during the Australian swing and the Grand Slams.
Related reading
Victoria Hayes is Editor-in-Chief at Aussie Wire Hub, overseeing editorial standards, publication decisions and corrections.