PULLMAN, Wash. – Washington State University Head Tennis Coach Lisa Hart announced Wednesday that Hikaru Sato has signed a national letter of intent to join the Cougar tennis program and will enroll at WSU in August 2018. Additionally, Jovana Knezevic will join Cougar tennis this fall after transferring from the University of Pittsburgh.
 
"We are thrilled that Hikaru is joining our program," said Hart. "She was considering multiple Pac-12 schools and we are so excited that she feels we are the best fit for her. We expect Hikaru to contribute right away in singles and doubles and are confident that she will excel in the classroom and in our community service projects. Hikaru has the perfect personality to complement our team and look forward to her having a great collegiate experience in Pullman."

Sato, a native of Tokyo, Japan, arrives at WSU following a stellar International Tennis Federation (ITF) junior career where she reached a career-best ranking of 197. She has captured three tournament titles, all coming in 2016, including G5 championships in South Korea and Vietnam, both doubles titles, and the singles championship at the Chinese Taipei G4 event. Also in 2016, she reached the finals of two G4 doubles events, in Japan and Chinese Taipei. In 2017, Sato was a two-time finalist in doubles, repeating at the G3 Chinese Taipei event and also at the G2 event in Nagoya, Japan.
 
Knezevic, from Limassol, Cyprus, will begin her Cougar career following two seasons at the University of Pittsburgh, where she was hampered by injury. This season Knezevic has been limited to just seven matches, going 3-4, after playing in just seven matches during the 2016-17 season.
 
"We are so excited to finally have the opportunity to coach Jovana," said Hart. "We recruited her initially when she was in high school and we are thrilled that our paths have crossed again. Jovana is an extremely talented and dedicated tennis player. Her drive, personality and work ethic will mesh perfectly with our team. "
 
As a junior, she achieved a career-best ranking of 993 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), as well as 969 in doubles in 2015. That year she reached the main draw quarterfinals at La Reunion, France and the round of 16 at Les Contamines, also in France, after advancing to the main draw through three rounds of qualifying. Knezevic has held the No. 1 ranking in Cyprus at the U10, U12, and most recently, the U18 level in 2014.