Hirano became the youngest player to appear in senior competition in Tuesday’s mixed doubles and matched her early exit with a quick departure from the women’s doubles yesterday.
The tiny Hirano can barely see over the net at just 137 centimetres tall, but she left with her pride intact after setting the new mark but still burst into tears after losing.
On Tuesday, Hirano played mixed doubles with a player 35 years her senior and older than both her parents but fell at the first hurdle, the record being her only consolation.
Last year, she became the youngest player to appear at the event in the junior competition, beating the record held by Ai Fukuhara, who was 10 when she first competed in 1998.
Hirano had been unwilling to leave her mother’s side to play her match last year but there were fewer tantrums this time and an extra six centimetres in height helped her confidence.
“I wasn’t glued to the edge of the table,” she told Wednesday’s Japanese media before losing in the second round of the junior singles. “I was able to play adult table tennis.
