Source: Oriental Image / Jiang Xu
[Saba Sports News] On July 7, Hirota Sayaka announced on her personal social media account that the Fukuoka Yuki / Hirota Sayaka pair has officially “split”! Earlier two months ago, Fukuoka Yuki had already posted a message to inform fans that the pair would end their 12-year career with a friendly match on July 6. Many fans were heartbroken and even teared up upon hearing the news. Due to Hirota’s injury issues, the pair failed to fulfill their dreams in the last two Olympic Games. Before the Tokyo Olympics, Hirota suffered an injury to her right anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) during training. She still competed in the Olympics and advanced from the group stage as second place. However, she lost to China’s Chen Qingchen / Jia Yifan in the quarterfinals and was eliminated in the round of 16. Before the Paris Olympics, the Fukuoka / Hirota pair aimed to accumulate more points by competing in the Syed Modi International in India. During the event, Hirota injured her left ACL. Although she returned to competition, her performance was unsatisfactory, and the pair eventually missed the Paris Olympics. According to records, the Fukuoka / Hirota pair first reached the number one ranking in women’s doubles in June 2018, becoming the second Japanese women’s pair to achieve this. They have won many high-level titles: the All England Open (2020), the Indonesia Open (2018 and 2019), the Denmark Open (2018 and 2020), and twice won the Asian Championships (2018 and 2023). In 2018, they also helped Japan win the Uber Cup and the team championship at the Asian Games. Unfortunately, the pair never managed to win a single-world championship title.