TUCSON, Ariz. – Head oach Clancy Shields and the Arizona Wildcats have continued their success on the recruiting trail this season with the signing of Hiroki Sakagawa to a National Letter of Intent for the Fall of 2019.
 
Sakagawa, a native of Inzai, Chiba, Japan, brings an accomplished record of international success to the Wildcats.
 
"We are very excited to welcome Hiroki to the Wildcat family," Shields said. "He is an accomplished player with a good tennis résumé, and an even better person. One of the many things I admire about Hiroki is his tremendous work ethic. He has demonstrated this quality this past year with his diligent work becoming proficient in the English language. Hiroki has tallied multiple singles wins over top 100 junior players in the world, and he has shown that he is a force to be reckoned with on the doubles court. He is a perfect fit for our team, and I believe he will add a lot to our program in the future."
 
During his junior career, Sakagawa reached a career-high ITF Junior ranking of 185th and a career Universal Tennis Rating (UTR) of 13.28. In his native Japan, Sakagawa was a three-time national runner-up and a two-time national doubles champion.
 
"I am honored to be a member of the Wildcats tennis team and play in the Pac-12 conference with such great teammates," Sakagawa said.  "On the official visit, I found that the University of Arizona will give me the ideal environment to devote myself both to tennis and my studies. Lastly, but most importantly, I was impressed by coach Shields' passion for excellence. With wonderful teammates, excellent tennis programs and outstanding coaches, I strongly believe I can improve my tennis at the University of Arizona."
 
Sakagawa is the third Japanese player to compete for the University of Arizona in the past five years. He follows in the footsteps of Naoki Takeda, the second winningest player in program history and former top-30 collegiate player. 
 
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