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A former Grand Slam champion in mixed doubles has been arrested on suspicion of involvement in an online scam by police in Japan.
Rika Hiraki, who won the 1997 French Open title alongside Mahesh Bhupathi, is accused of involvement in scamming a woman out of 300,000 yen (around £1300-£1400) four years ago. According to the Kochi Prefectural Police, the woman was targeted by an online scam in which someone posed as a male orthopaedic surgeon at a hospital in Paris. The ‘surgeon’ said he required money to cover the cost of a certificate needed for customs to release his deceased wife’s belongings that had been shipped to Japan.
The date the money was transferred was May 30th 2022. On that same day, CCTV footage shows Hiraki withdrawing money from the account, which was registered in her name. The Kyodo News Agency is also reporting that police are investigating other incidents of members of the public being scammed into sending money to the same account.
Investigators came across the incident whilst looking into a fraud ring unrelated to this case. Prosecutors say that roughly 270,000 yen was ‘funnelled’ through a cryptocurrency account before being moved elsewhere. This account was also in Hiraki’s name.
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54-year-old Hiraki has denied any involvement in the scamming of a woman, telling police, ‘I have no memory of this.’
As a professional, Hiraki became the first player from her country in over two decades to win a major title when she triumphed at Roland Garros in 1997. She was ranked as high as 72nd in singles and 26th in doubles. Hiraki won six WTA Tour titles, all in doubles, between 1991 and 1997. At the Australian Open, she reached the third round of the singles draw three years in a row.
According to an official statement outlining the police case, Hiraki currently works as a office worker in Shiroi, a city located in Chiba Prefecture.
