'PURE ELATION': HIJIKATA AND PEL’S DREAM WIMBLEDON RUN CONTINUES IN REMARKABLE FASHION

Tennis Australia, Wimbledon

Rinky Hijikata and David Pel are into the Wimbledon men’s doubles final, after one of the most remarkable runs we’ve ever seen.

On Thursday afternoon at Wimbledon, in front of more than 10,000 fans on Court 1, the pair came back from a set, and match points down, to defeat top seeds Mate Pavic and Marcelo Arevalo 6-7(2), 7-6(5), 7-6(9).

“Crazy…just pure elation at the end there,” Hijikata told the media post-match.

“It was so much fun to be a part of…the crowd was going nuts and playing on Court 1 at Wimbledon, it doesn't get much better than that.”

Having “barely spoken” and never played together before the tournament, Hijikata and Pel have now beaten five higher-ranked pairs consecutively to reach the final.

On a perfect Thursday in London, they faced their most difficult test yet, against the best doubles duo on the planet, who have won three of the five Masters 1000 titles in 2025.

From the outset, Hijikata and Pel were under pressure on serve, fending off a series of break points, before finally creating one of their own at 4-5 (set point), which was quickly erased with a booming Pavic serve.

Heading to a tiebreak, the class of the doubles specialists shone through, and they took it 7-2 to take what felt like a commanding lead.

As they have all week, the Australian-Dutch pairing hung around, again fending off break points and eventually forcing another breaker: their seventh of the week.

Holding a set point chance at 5-6, the most clutch man on the court delivered a perfect chip lob return which didn’t come back, and ‘Rinky’ called on the entire Court 1 crowd to get on their feet as we headed to a decider.

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As with the first two sets, the third was again tight and void of a service break, but this time, Hijikata and Pel had the bulk of opportunities.

Unable to capitalise, the semifinal extended into a deciding super tiebreak, taking place simultaneously with the climax of the first women’s singles semifinal on Centre Court (but you wouldn't know it inside Court 1).

The alternates instantly went up a double mini break on the back of a remarkable one-handed backhand passing winner from Hijikata.

Pavic and Arevalo then took control, reeling off nine of 13 points to create a 9-7 advantage, and put the Aussie-Dutch hopes on the ropes.

They saved one on serve, then an incredible Hijikata exchange took it to 9-9, before Pel stepped up with his moment, a piercing down-the-line forehand return winner to set up match point.

Now holding one of their own, it could only end one way. The best player throughout the contest, Hijikata, came up with another incredible forehand winner off a ball that, for a second, looked unretrievable.

Pel threw his racquet in the air and collapsed to the floor. Hijikata hit the 'ice in the veins' celebration toward his box, and then the Court 1 crowd. Pel then picked up his smaller partner in a moment of jubilation. They’re into the Wimbledon final.

“It was just pure emotion,” Pel said of the celebratory moment.

“I wanted to celebrate together, and I picked him up. It was great.”

A Remarkable Run

Hijikata – seeking a partner on late notice – simply signed in with Pel for a decent combined ranking: one which still didn’t initially make the main draw cut.

“I left it pretty late to find a partner. I remembered David from playing in s-Hertogenbosch. I saw his name in the rankings, lefty, big serve, good on grass, figured I’d reach out…and here we are,” Hijikata said of the pairing.

“It’s pretty crazy that I’m sharing this run with someone I didn’t know two weeks ago.”

After a couple of late withdrawals, they managed to sneak in as alternates to play the 14th seeds, Goransson and Verbeek.

Down a set, they rallied through a second-set tiebreak, then a third-set match tiebreak, saving match points just to reach round two.

Again, in the second round, they came through a deciding tiebreak late into the Wimbledon evening, saving more match points just to reach round three.

They then dropped just six games to advance past third-seeded German pair Putz and Krawietz, before a straight-sets quarterfinal triumph over Brazilians Matos and Melo saw them into the semis.

That leaves today, against the No. 1 seeds: a third victory from match point down to reach the 2025 final as alternates.

“We saved match points again…it’s a funny sport,” Hijikata said of the incredible week.

“Sometimes you feel like you're playing with house money, and you free up. It happened at the AO (with Kubler in the early rounds) and happened here. It's silly how often you see it.”

For Hijikata, it’s a second major doubles final at 24 years old, having developed his doubles game through college at the University of North Carolina.

For 34-year-old Pel, it’s the week of his tennis life. In his previous seven grand slam appearances, he’d won just three matches and he'd never been ranked above world No.70.

Now, he rises inside the world’s top 40, reaches just a second tour-level final, and guarantees himself a place at the majors for the coming year.

They’ll face British pair Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool in the final, who came through the experienced Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos 6-3, 6-4.

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