Mandatory Credit: Susan Mullane-Imagn Images

Ben Shelton vs. Rinky Hijikata Head-to-Head, Preview, Prediction, and Betting Odds for Wimbledon 2025 Second Round

Shelton’s firepower meets Hijikata’s grit in a second-round showdown at Wimbledon.

Mandatory Credit: Susan Mullane-Imagn Images

Tenth seed Ben Shelton will take on unseeded Rinky Hijikata in the second round of Wimbledon 2025. Shelton advanced with a straight-sets win over qualifier Alex Bolt, though he had to battle through two tight tiebreaks to close it out. Hijikata, on the other hand, looked in commanding form as he dispatched David Goffin in straight sets, dishing out two breadsticks in the final two sets.

Given their history and their contrasting styles, with Shelton’s explosive serve versus Hijikata’s court craft, this matchup promises to be one of the more intriguing second-round battles at SW19.

Shelton d. Alex Bolt 6-4 7-6 7-6

After losing his last 3 matches, Ben gets a nice straight set win to start his Wimbledon campaign.

✅20th win of 2025

He reached the 2nd week here last year.

Looking ready to go even further.

🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/jHw2hvv5bj
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) July 1, 2025

Ben Shelton vs. Rinky Hijikata Preview

World No. 10 Shelton has had a mixed 2025 season so far, starting with a first-round exit in Auckland but bouncing back with a semifinal run in Melbourne, where he lost to Jannik Sinner. He also reached the Indian Wells quarterfinals, the Munich final, and the Stuttgart semifinal, falling to Alexander Zverev in both latter events. Stat-wise, Shelton has hit 295 aces, won 74% of first-serve points, 26% on first-serve returns, and converted 43% of 163 break points.

We'll take being one of your favourites, Ben 😁

No.10 seed Ben Shelton is delighted to be back at #Wimbledon having started his campaign with a strong win against Alex Bolt 💪 pic.twitter.com/AeX2e4SVUW
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 1, 2025

Hijikata’s season has been inconsistent. After a strong start with a quarterfinal in Adelaide, he struggled in main draw events but found success at the Challenger level with semifinal runs in Bordeaux and Birmingham. A shoulder injury forced him to withdraw from Queen’s, and he lost in Mallorca’s first round to Bernard Tomic. He’s hit 65 aces so far, with a 65% first-serve win rate, 28% first-serve return points won, and a 41% break point conversion rate of 101 opportunities.

Starting Strong 💪

Rinky Hijikata deafeats Adrian Mannarino 7-5 6-3 in a great opener 🎉#DallasOpen pic.twitter.com/xytw1FYJXe
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 3, 2025

Ben Shelton vs. Rinky Hijikata Head-to-Head Record

Ben Shelton leads the head-to-head against Rinky Hijikata 1-0 at the tour level, having won their only main-draw meeting last year in Mallorca in straight sets, handing the Aussie a bagel in the second.

While that was their first official ATP encounter, the two had already crossed paths twice in 2022 on the Challenger circuit. Hijikata won in Orlando, while Shelton responded with a straight-sets win in Indianapolis, putting their overall rivalry still in the American’s favor.

Year	Event	Round	Winner	Score
2024	Mallorca	Round of 16	Ben Shelton	6-4, 6-0

Ben Shelton vs. Rinky Hijikata Comparison

Ben Shelton	Category	Rinky Hijikata
10	Current Ranking	87
90-67	Career W-L	32-50
19-14	YTD W-L	5-14
2	Career Titles	0
0	Grand Slams	0
0	YTD Titles	0

Ben Shelton vs. Rinky Hijikata Prediction

Shelton’s big serve and recent deep runs give him the upper hand against an inconsistent Hijikata, who’s still searching for rhythm after injury setbacks. Expect the American to control proceedings and advance in straight sets.

Ben Shelton after beating Bolt at Wimbledon

“I had a lot of 5 set matches here last year. My first 3 matches were all wins in 5 sets. It almost killed me” 😂 pic.twitter.com/WCx2gNbXyk
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) July 1, 2025

Prediction: Ben Shelton in straight sets

Ben Shelton vs. Rinky Hijikata Wimbledon 2025 Betting Odds

With Shelton the 1/5 favorite and Hijikata at 10/3, the bookmakers expect a clear win for the 10th seed. While the Aussie has shown flashes of form, the odds reflect a likely straight-sets win for Shelton unless Hijikata produces something special.

Here are the betting odds according to BetMGM:

Ben Shelton: 1/5

Rinky Hijikata: 10/3

Here are the odds for total games as well as total sets for both players (sourced via BetMGM):

Total Games Over 38.5: 9/10

Total Games Under 38.5: 22/25

Total Games won by Shelton Over 20.5: 4/5

Total Games won by Hijikata Over 17.5: 17/20

Total Sets Over 3.5: 4/6

Total Sets Under 3.5: 23/20

(All Odds According to BetMGM: BetMGM offers exclusive promo codes, bonus deals, and accurate odds for users upon signing up. Use BetMGM to ace your betting game in all sports!)

Mandatory Image Credit: Susan Mullane-Imagn Images

Ben Shelton

Rinky Hijikata

Wimbledon 2025

Rudra Dubey

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I’m an academic turned sports writer from Raipur, India, specializing in the NFL, MMA, and tennis at The Playoffs. I previously wrote for Sportskeeda and hold a B.A. and M.A. in History. My journey into sports media began far from the field, rooted in the arts and sciences. Funny enough, I didn’t grow up a sports fan; I used to see it all as just noise. But a fateful writing job introduced me to the world of sports, and what began as a gig quickly became a passion. I understood those voices aren’t noise; they’re emotions of true sports fans, and now I am one of them, writing with the same energy I once questioned.