Jakub Menšík (Czech pronunciation: [ˈjakup ˈmɛnʃiːk]; born 1 September 2005) is a Czech professional tennis player. He has a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 48 achieved on 28 October 2024 and a doubles ranking of No. 402 achieved on 12 June 2023. He is currently the No. 3 Czech[1] and the youngest player in the top 50.

Jakub Menšík
Menšík at the 2023 US Open
Country (sports) Czech Republic
Born (2005-09-01) 1 September 2005 (age 19)
Prostějov, Czech Republic
Height1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Turned pro2022
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
CoachTomáš Josefus
Prize moneyUS $1,403,394
Singles
Career record28–18 (in ATP Tour and Grand Slam main draw matches, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 48 (28 October 2024)
Current rankingNo. 49 (4 November 2024)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open2R (2024)
Wimbledon1R (2024)
US Open3R (2023, 2024)
Other tournaments
Olympic Games2R (2024)
Doubles
Career record2–4 (in ATP Tour and Grand Slam main draw matches, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 402 (12 June 2023)
Last updated on: 8 November 2024.

On the junior tour, Menšík had a career-high ITF junior combined ranking of World No. 3 achieved on 31 January 2022. He reached the final of the 2022 Australian Open Junior singles event.

Career

edit

Juniors

edit

He lost in the final of the Junior 2022 Australian Open to Bruno Kuzuhara after suffering from thigh muscle cramps.[2][3]

2023: Maiden Challenger, Grand Slam debut and third round

edit

In May 2023 he won his first Challenger, the 2023 Sparta Prague Open defeating Dominik Koepfer in just his sixth Challenger main-draw appearance, becoming the youngest Czech Challenger champion in history at 17 years old. The only previous 17-year-old Czech champion was former World No. 4 Tomáš Berdych, who captured two Challenger titles in 2003.[4][5]

He competed in the first qualifying round of the US Open, beating Fabio Fognini 1–6, 6–1, 6–1. He then defeated Leandro Riedi in the second round, and then qualified on his debut for the main draw of a Grand Slam for the first time with a two-set victory against compatriot Zdeněk Kolář.[6] He then won his first Major match defeating Grégoire Barrère, becoming the youngest man since Borna Ćorić in 2014 to win a main draw match at the US Open.[7] He then defeated fellow first-time Major qualifier Titouan Droguet a day before his 18th birthday, before losing to Taylor Fritz in straight sets in the third round.

2024: ATP final & top-10 win, Masters debut & quarterfinal, top 50

edit

He qualified for the 2024 Australian Open, making his debut at this Major,[8][9] and defeated former top 10 player Denis Shapovalov in straight sets. He moved to a new career-high of No. 127 on 29 January 2024.

He was selected under the new #NextGen programme to compete at an ATP 250 event, the 2024 Qatar ExxonMobil Open. Ranked No. 116, he defeated Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in straight sets to advance to the second round.[10] Next, he defeated Andy Murray in three sets with three tiebreaks to advance to his first ATP quarterfinal.[11] It was the longest match in the history of the tournament lasting 3 hours and 23 minutes.[12][13] [14] He defeated top seed Andrey Rublev in straight sets, his first ATP top-10 and top-5 win, to advance to his first ATP semifinal.[15] He was the youngest player to defeat a top-5 player since Carlos Alcaraz overcame Stefanos Tsitsipas at the US Open in 2021.[16] He defeated Gaël Monfils in three sets to advance to his first ATP final. As a result he moved close to 30 positions up in the rankings, becoming the youngest player in the top 100.[17] He lost to second seed Karen Khachanov in the final.[18] He entered the next Middle East swing tournament, the 2024 Dubai Tennis Championships with a special exempt (SE) status where he defeated Borna Ćorić.[19][20]

He also received a wildcard for the 2024 BNP Paribas Open for his Masters debut[21] and recorded his first main draw Masters win over qualifier Hong Seong-chan at this level. [22] At the 2024 Mutua Madrid Open, he reached the third round of a Masters 1000 for the first time defeating top 10 player Grigor Dimitrov but lost to eventual finalist Félix Auger-Aliassime by retirement.[23]

At the 2024 US Open, he reached the third round for a consecutive year, with upsets over 19th seed Félix Auger-Aliassime, for his third top 20 win,[24] and wildcard Tristan Schoolkate in five sets with a super tiebreak in the fifth set.[25] He reached his first Masters quarterfinal at the 2024 Rolex Shanghai Masters defeating two top 10 players en route Andrey Rublev and Grigor Dimitrov and moved into the top 55 in the rankings. He became the youngest quarterfinalist in the tournament history.[26]

Performance timeline

edit
Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# P# DNQ A Z# PO G S B NMS NTI P NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (P#) preliminary round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (S) silver or (B) bronze Olympic/Paralympic medal; (NMS) not a Masters tournament; (NTI) not a Tier I tournament; (P) postponed; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.

Singles

edit

Current through the 2024 Paris Masters.

Tournament 2023 2024 SR W–L Win %
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A 2R 0 / 1 1–1 50%
French Open A A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Wimbledon A 1R 0 / 1 0–1 0%
US Open 3R 3R 0 / 2 4–2 67%
Win–loss 2–1 3–3 0 / 4 5–4 56%
National representation
Summer Olympics NH 2R 0 / 1 1–1 50%
ATP Masters 1000
Indian Wells Open A 2R 0 / 1 1–1 50%
Miami Open A Q2 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Monte-Carlo Masters A A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Madrid Open A 3R 0 / 1 2–1 67%
Italian Open A 1R 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Canadian Open A Q2 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Cincinnati Open A Q1 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Shanghai Masters A QF 0 / 1 4–1 80%
Paris Masters A Q2 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Win–loss 0–0 7–4 0 / 4 7–4 64%
Career statistics
2023 2024 SR W–L Win %
Tournaments 1 16 17
Titles 0 0 0
Finals 0 1 1
Hard win–loss 3–1 17–9 0 / 9 20–10 67%
Clay win–loss 0–0 6–4 0 / 4 6–4 60%
Grass win–loss 0–0 2–4 0 / 4 2–4 33%
Overall win–loss 3–1 25–17 0 / 17 28–18 61%
Win % 75% 60% 60.87%
Year-end ranking 167 $1,390,240

ATP Tour finals

edit

Singles: 1 (1 runner-up)

edit
Legend
Grand Slam (0–0)
ATP Masters 1000 (0–0)
ATP 500 (0–0)
ATP 250 (0–1)
Finals by surface
Hard (0–1)
Clay (0–0)
Grass (0–0)
Finals by setting
Outdoor (0–1)
Indoor (0–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Loss 0–1 Feb 2024 Qatar Open, Qatar ATP 250 Hard   Karen Khachanov 6–7(12–14), 4–6

ATP Challenger Tour finals

edit

Singles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)

edit
Legend
ATP Challenger Tour (1–1)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Win 1–0 May 2023 Prague, Czech Republic Challenger Clay   Dominik Koepfer 6–4, 6–3
Loss 1–1 Jan 2024 Canberra, Australia Challenger Hard   Dominik Koepfer 3–6, 2–6

ITF World Tennis Tour finals

edit

Singles: 5 (5 titles)

edit
Legend
ITF WTT (5–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Win 1–0 Sep 2022 M15 Allershausen, Germany WTT Clay   Peter Heller 7–5, 3–6, 6–1
Win 2–0 Nov 2022 M25 Heraklion, Greece WTT Hard   Oleksandr Ovcharenko 6–4, 7–6(7–4)
Win 3–0 Nov 2022 M15 Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt WTT Hard   Saba Purtseladze 6–4, 6–2
Win 4–0 Dec 2022 M15 Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt WTT Hard   Robert Strombachs 6–4, 6–0
Win 5–0 Apr 2023 M25 Trnava, Slovakia WTT Hard (i)   Karl Friberg 7–6(8–6), 6–3

Doubles: 1 (1 title)

edit
Legend
ITF WTT (1–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1–0 Jun 2022 M15 Bytom, Poland WTT Clay   Olaf Pieczkowski   Matthew Romios
  Brandon Walkin
7–6(7–3), 7–5

Junior Grand Slam finals

edit

Singles: 1 (1 runner-up)

edit
Result Year Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss 2022 Australian Open Hard   Bruno Kuzuhara 6–7(4–7), 7–6(8–6), 5–7

Head-to-head records

edit

Wins against top 10 players

edit
  • He has a 4–3 record against players who were, at the time the match was played, ranked in the top 10.[27][28]
Season 2024 Total
Wins 4 4
# Player Rk Event Surface Rd Score Rk Ref
2024
1.   Andrey Rublev[a] 5 Qatar Open, Qatar Hard QF 6–4, 7–6(8–6) 116 [30]
2.   Grigor Dimitrov 10 Madrid Open, Spain Clay 2R 6–2, 6–7(4–7), 6–3 74 [31]
3.   Andrey Rublev[a] 6 Shanghai Masters, China Hard 2R 6–7(7–9), 6–4, 6–3 65 [32]
4.   Grigor Dimitrov 10 Shanghai Masters, China Hard 4R 6–3, 3–6, 6–4 65 [33]
  • Key: (Rk) first use, opponent rank; (Rd) round; (Rk) 2nd use, player rank; (Ref) reference; (F) final; (SF) semifinal; (QF) quarterfinal; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage

Notes

edit
  1. ^ a b Russian and Belarus players are not allowed to compete under the name or flag of their country following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[29]

References

edit
  1. ^ "Rankings | Singles".
  2. ^ "Terrifying end to Aus Open final as 16yo wheelchaired off court after Boys' Singles final". Fox Sports. January 29, 2022.
  3. ^ "'Tough to watch': Australian Open rocked by 'devastating' scenes". au.sports.yahoo.com. 29 January 2022.
  4. ^ "Jakub Mensik, 17, Claims Prague Challenger in Just 6th Outing | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  5. ^ "Mensik, Nishikori Among Five Challenger Player Storylines From 2023 | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  6. ^ "Meet the 2023 US Open men's qualifiers". 26 August 2023.
  7. ^ "Meet Jakub Mensik, the 17-Year-Old Taking the US Open by Storm | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  8. ^ "#NextGenATP stars Mensik & Prizmic qualify for Australian Open, Goffin books spot".
  9. ^ "Melbourne memories drive Mensik to main draw berth".
  10. ^ "Mensik: 'I have the confidence that I can beat the big guys'".
  11. ^ @ATPTour (21 February 2024). "FIRST QUARTER-FINAL ON THE ATP TOUR 🔓💎 Jakub Mensik's dream run in Doha continues in dramatic fashion!@QatarTennis #QatarExxonMobilOpen" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  12. ^ @TennisTV (21 February 2024). "WONDERKID 🫶 18-year-old Jakub Mensik overcomes Andy Murray in 3 hours and 23 minutes - the longest match in Doha history!#QatarExxonMobilOpen" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  13. ^ Jurejko, Jonathan (22 February 2024). "Qatar Open: Andy Murray loses to teenager Jakub Mensik in lengthy battle". BBC.
  14. ^ Carayol, Tumaini (21 February 2024). "Andy Murray succumbs in three-hour Qatar Open loss to Jakub Mensik". The Guardian.
  15. ^ Drozd, Martin (22 February 2024). "Senzace. Menšík porazil světovou pětku. Vondroušová po kolapsu končí v Dubaji". sport.cz (in Czech). Borgis.
  16. ^ "Mensik upsets top seed Rublev in Doha, reaches first ATP Tour SF".
  17. ^ "#NextGenATP Czech Mensik advances to first ATP Tour final in Doha".
  18. ^ "Khachanov ends Mensik's run, captures Doha crown".
  19. ^ "NEXTGENATP MENSIK SAVES MP, OVERHAULS CORIC IN DUBAI".
  20. ^ "Jakub Mensik Makes The Leap From Next Gen To ATP Seem As Easy As ABC". Forbes.
  21. ^ "Mensik, Fognini among Indian Wells WCs". 1 March 2024.
  22. ^ "Mensik's momentum continues, captures first Masters 1000 win".
  23. ^ "Félix races into round of 16 of Madrid as Mensik retires due to injury". TennisCanada. 29 April 2024.
  24. ^ "#NextGenATP Mensik earns standout win, Kokkinakis upsets Tsitsipas at US Open". 27 August 2024.
  25. ^ "Mensik's 2024: Injury, recovery, studying, tinkering & thriving". ATPTour. 29 August 2024.
  26. ^ "Mensik proving a Top 10 conqueror; Will Djokovic be next in Shanghai? Czech advances to first ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final". ATPTour. 9 October 2024.
  27. ^ Jakub Menšík Win/Loss
  28. ^ "Jakub Mensik Match Results, Splits, and Analysis". Tennis Abstract. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  29. ^ "Joint Statement by the International Governing Bodies of Tennis". WTA Tennis. 1 March 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  30. ^ "Qatar Open: Czech teenager Mensik stuns top seed Rublev to reach maiden ATP semifinal". Sportstar. 22 February 2024. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  31. ^ "Mensik scores another top 10 win". Tennis Majors. 27 April 2024. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  32. ^ "Shanghai Masters: Mensik makes third round, knocks out Rublev". Tennis Majors. 5 October 2024. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  33. ^ "Mensik confirms his role as an emerging star by beating Dimitrov". Puntodebreak.com. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
edit