Former World No. 26 in doubles and 1997 Roland Garros mixed doubles champion Rika Hiraki enjoyed a successful career representing Japan on the international stage. Over the course of her career, she won six WTA titles and earned more than $852,000 in prize money. However, years after stepping away from professional tennis, the former Japanese star now finds herself in legal trouble after being charged in connection with an alleged online fraud and theft case.

As per Kochi Prefectural Police, Hiraki conspired with unidentified accomplices to defraud a woman from Kagoshima Prefecture in an online scam. Hiraki was a part of a group of an unknown number of individuals who stole money from a Japanese resident by using a false identity on social media back in 2022.

The woman was approached by an individual who posed as an orthopedic surgeon on social media. According to police, the alleged scam started when a man posing as a doctor told the woman, “I have named you as the recipient of compensation money from my late wife.”

Following this, the swindler persuaded the victim to make a payment of 300,000 yen (roughly $1,850) for the release of the surgeon’s supposedly deceased wife from Japanese Customs.

Hiraki became a person of interest when the authorities found that the account to which the aforementioned sum of money was sent was in her name, and the former WTA Pro was seen on camera footage at an ATM, withdrawing money from the same account at the same time the transaction was made.

As additional evidence, the authorities have disclosed that there have been other instances of fraud, in which the supposed victims sent money to another cryptocurrency account under Hiraki’s name.

However, the 54-year-old Hiraki, who currently works as an office worker in Shiroi, a city located in east of Tokyo, has denied all allegations related to the case.

“I’ve no memory of this”, stated Hiraki. But, authorities are trying to figure out if the former Grand Slam champion was a willing participant in the scam or if her account details were used by a third-party individual who attempted to cover their tracks.

Amid the investigation of the online fraud, the former Japanese tennis star, who once celebrated for her accomplishments on court, now finds herself at the center of a legal case.

In fact, during her professional career, Hiraki made history by becoming the first Japanese player to win a Grand Slam title, capturing the mixed doubles crown at the 1997 Roland Garros. She also climbed as high as World No. 72 in singles and No. 26 in doubles. At the Australian Open, she enjoyed consistent success as well, reaching the third round of the singles draw in three consecutive editions.

Hiraki, along with Mahesh Bhupathi, got her place in tennis folklore, as the Japanese-Indian duo had a fairytale run in Paris back in 1997.

Rika Hiraki and Mahesh Bhupathi shocked the tennis world at the 1997 French Open

Having never played before together, Rika Hiraki and Mahesh Bhupathi teamed up for the 1997 mixed doubles campaign at the French Open. The two had never even met each other before their chance encounter at the Roland Garros premises, and the duo took a quick decision to team up for the event.

Getting the last seeded position of 16th, the duo got a first-round bye, which gave them some time to get acquainted with each other’s game styles. They opened their campaign with a three-set win over the team of Scott Davis and Kristine Kunce in the second round, following which they won against the sixth-seeded pair of David Adams and Alexandra Fusai in the third round.

The draw kept getting tougher for the Hiraki and Bhupathi, who had to get past the ninth-seeded team of Anna Kournikova and Mark Knowles in the quarterfinals, following which they caused another upset in the semifinals against the fourth-seeded pair of Helena Sukova and Cyril Suk. The Indo-Japanese pair were up against it in the final against the top-seeded American team of Patrick Galbraith and Lisa Raymond, but played an excellent match, toppling the top seeds in a 6-4, 6-1 win.

The title at Roland Garros was huge for both players, as it was Hiraki’s only Major title of her career, whereas Bhupathi’s win at the French Open meant India had its first-ever Grand Slam title.

But now, years after being celebrated for her accomplishments on court, Hiraki has found herself in the spotlight for an entirely different reason.