University of North Carolina Athletics
Rinky Hijikata will join the Tar Heels in August of 2019.
Top Australian Player Signs With UNC
November 27, 2018 | Men's Tennis
Rinky Hijikata, a standout junior player from Sydney, Australia, has signed a letter of intent to join the UNC men's tennis program. Hijikata, who will enroll at North Carolina in August of 2019, has established himself as one of the elite junior tennis players in the world and is currently ranked No. 14 in the ITF world rankings.
"Rinky is a great fit for our program and we're excited to have him join us," UNC coach Sam Paul said. "He's definitely one of the best juniors in the world, and he is a very complete player in both singles and doubles. A lot of credit for that goes to his incredible work ethic and passion to be a great player, which will also make him fit in very well with the culture of our team. He has been very well coached by Jarrad Bunt, and the foundation in his game makes the sky the limit for what he's capable of. In addition, he is a very strong student and will be a big asset to our team and the university in the classroom as well. We are very excited to welcome Rinky and his family into the Tar Heel tennis family."
Hijikata had a banner year in 2018 in both singles and doubles. In singles, he reached the quarterfinals at the junior Australian Open in January. In June, he made the second round at the junior French Open. In August, he won the title at the G1 Oceana Closed Junior Championships in Fiji. In the last warm-up event for the U.S. Open, he reached the singles final at a Grade 1 event in Repentigny, Canada. He capped off his fall by making another G1 singles final in Korea.
His doubles play was just as prolific. He was a finalist at G1 events in Australia and Belgium before making the semifinals of Junior Wimbledon in July. He continued his strong play by winning the G1 title in Fiji, and bringing home a silver medal at the Junior Olympic games in Argentina. He finished off this fall with another G1 doubles title in Korea.
Hijikata will join a Tar Heel squad that finished the 2018 season ranked No. 6 nationally. It marked the third year in a row and the fourth time in the past five years that Carolina has ranked among the top seven teams at the season's end.
"Rinky is a great fit for our program and we're excited to have him join us," UNC coach Sam Paul said. "He's definitely one of the best juniors in the world, and he is a very complete player in both singles and doubles. A lot of credit for that goes to his incredible work ethic and passion to be a great player, which will also make him fit in very well with the culture of our team. He has been very well coached by Jarrad Bunt, and the foundation in his game makes the sky the limit for what he's capable of. In addition, he is a very strong student and will be a big asset to our team and the university in the classroom as well. We are very excited to welcome Rinky and his family into the Tar Heel tennis family."
Hijikata had a banner year in 2018 in both singles and doubles. In singles, he reached the quarterfinals at the junior Australian Open in January. In June, he made the second round at the junior French Open. In August, he won the title at the G1 Oceana Closed Junior Championships in Fiji. In the last warm-up event for the U.S. Open, he reached the singles final at a Grade 1 event in Repentigny, Canada. He capped off his fall by making another G1 singles final in Korea.
His doubles play was just as prolific. He was a finalist at G1 events in Australia and Belgium before making the semifinals of Junior Wimbledon in July. He continued his strong play by winning the G1 title in Fiji, and bringing home a silver medal at the Junior Olympic games in Argentina. He finished off this fall with another G1 doubles title in Korea.
Hijikata will join a Tar Heel squad that finished the 2018 season ranked No. 6 nationally. It marked the third year in a row and the fourth time in the past five years that Carolina has ranked among the top seven teams at the season's end.
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