Rui Hirokami (廣上 瑠依, Hirokami Rui, born 26 July 2002) is a Japanese badminton player who specializes in women's doubles.[2] Partnering with Yuna Kato, she achieved a career-high world ranking of No. 18 on 23 May 2023. They won their first BWF World Tour title together at the Indonesia Masters Super 100 and were runners-up at three Super 300 tournaments: the Taipei Open, the Korea Masters, and the Orléans Masters.[3] Hirokami was also a member of the Japanese team that won a bronze medal at the Asia Team Championships. In March 2025, Hirokami joined the Yonex badminton team and began a new partnership with Sayaka Hobara.[4]
For the 2022 season, Hirokami partnered with Yuna Kato in women's doubles. On the BWF World Tour, they were runners-up at two tournaments: the Taipei Open Super 300, where they were defeated by Ng Tsz Yau and Tsang Hiu Yan of Hong Kong, and the Canada Open Super 100, where they lost to fellow Japanese pair Rena Miyaura and Ayako Sakuramoto.[5][6][7] Hirokami and Kato secured their first BWF World Tour title at the Indonesia Masters Super 100, defeating Rena Miyaura and Ayako Sakuramoto in the final (23–21, 21–18).[8]
In addition to their World Tour achievements, Hirokami and Kato won two International Challenge titles. They defeated Japanese compatriots Ayako Sakuramoto and Hinata Suzuki at the Mexican International (15–21, 21–19, 21–17) and overcame Chang Ching-hui and Yang Ching-tun of Chinese Taipei at the Belgian International (21–7, 21–15).[9] Hirokami also contributed to Japan's bronze medal finish at the Asia Team Championships in Selangor. Unranked as a pair at the start of the year, their performances led to a significant rise in their world rankings, reaching World No. 25 by 26 December 2022.
For the 2023 season, Hirokami and Kato continued their partnership on the BWF World Tour. The pair achieved a career-high world ranking of No. 18 on 23 May 2023. Their best result was runner-up at the Super 300 Korea Masters in November, where they were defeated by the South Korean pair Jeong Na-eun and Kim Hye-jeong.[3] Hirokami and Kato also reached the quarterfinals at two other Super 300 tournaments: the Thailand Masters early in the year and the Spain Masters in March. They competed in higher-level World Tour events (Super 500, Super 750, and Super 1000 tournaments), but were eliminated in the early rounds. Despite reaching one final and achieving a new career-high ranking, Hirokami did not win any World Tour titles.
For the 2024 season, Hirokami primarily partnered with Kato. Their best result was a runner-up finish at the Orléans Masters Super 300 in March, where they were defeated by Indonesian pair Meilysa Trias Puspita Sari and Rachel Allessya Rose.[10] They also reached the semifinals of the U.S. Open in June and the quarterfinals of the Swiss Open in March. In higher-tier events early in the year, they were eliminated in the first round at the Super 1000 Malaysia Open and the Super 750 India Open in January.
Mid-year, Hirokami formed a temporary partnership with Rui Kiyama. Together, they reached the quarterfinals of the Indonesia Masters Super 100 and the second round at the Macau Open.[11] Towards the end of the season, she reunited with Kato to compete at the Japan Masters in November, reaching the second round. Despite reaching one Super 300 final, Hirokami remained without a World Tour title for the second consecutive year.
In March, Hirokami transferred from the Saishunkan Pharmaceutical badminton team to the Yonex badminton team. Upon joining Yonex, she expressed her goal to compete in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.[4] She then formed a women's doubles partnership with Sayaka Hobara. This new pair debuted at the Taipei Open in May, reaching the semifinals before losing to Hsieh Pei-shan and Hung En-tzu.[12] The following week, at the Thailand Open Super 500 tournament, Hirokami and Hobara advanced to the semifinals as qualifiers, marking a career-best performance at this level for both players. Their run included defeating third-seeded Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand of India in straight games (22–20, 21–14). They were the first doubles pair in any discipline since 2013 to advance from the qualifying rounds to the semifinals at the Thailand Open.[13] They lost in the semifinals to eventual champions Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan of Malaysia.[14] As of 20 May 2025, their world ranking was No. 123.
The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018,[15] is a series of elite badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). The BWF World Tour is divided into levels of World Tour Finals, Super 1000, Super 750, Super 500, Super 300 (part of the HSBC World Tour), and the BWF Tour Super 100.[16]
Women's doubles