Alex T. Michelsen (born August 25, 2004) is an American professional tennis player. He has a career high ATP singles ranking of world No. 47, achieved on 9 September 2024 and a doubles ranking of No. 118, achieved in August 2024.[1] He is currently the youngest player in the top 50.
Junior career
Michelsen won the singles and doubles title at the 2022 Easter Bowl, becoming the first American champion in both disciplines since Donald Young in 2006.[2] He also won the 2022 Wimbledon Boys' doubles title with Sebastian Gorzny. He was committed to play college tennis at the University of Georgia, but then decided to turn pro.[3]
Professional career
2022: Grand Slam doubles debut
In August 2022, Michelsen made his Grand Slam doubles debut at the US Open playing alongside Sebastian Gorzny, losing in the first round.
In November 2022, Michelsen won his first title on the ITF Tour in East Lansing.
2023: Turning Pro, ATP, Major & Top 100 debuts, First ATP final & Challenger title
In June, he made his ATP debut at the 2023 Mallorca Championships as a lucky loser, losing in the first round to eventual champion Christopher Eubanks.[5]
In July, Michelsen won his first Challenger title in Chicago, defeating Yuta Shimizu in the finals.
Later that month, he reached his first final on the ATP Tour at the 2023 Hall of Fame Open in Newport,[4] where he lost to second seed Adrian Mannarino.[6]
Michelsen turned professional two weeks later, foregoing his college eligibility[3] and in August, he made his debut at a Major when he received a wildcard into the men's singles event at the US Open.[7] He defeated Albert Ramos Viñolas in straight sets to progress to the second round where he lost to 23rd seed Nicolás Jarry.[8] As a result, he reached a new career high of No. 117 on 11 September 2023. At the same tournament, he also enters the mixed doubles competition with Robin Montgomery and reached the second round on his debut.
2024: Major third round, Masters debut & first wins & top 10 win, top 50, Masters doubles final
He reached the third round at the 2024 Australian Open defeating wildcard James McCabe and 32nd seed Jiří Lehečka on his debut at this Major. As a result, he reached the top 75 in the singles rankings.[13]
At the 2024 Dallas Open he defeated qualifier Tennys Sandgren but lost to top seed Frances Tiafoe.[14][15] The following week at the 2024 Delray Beach Open,[16][17] he defeated Thanasi Kokkinakis in straight sets.[18][19] He lost to Dallas champion Tommy Paul in a tight match with a third set tiebreak.[20] At the next tournament, the 2024 Los Cabos Open, in the following week, he entered as an alternate and defeated another alternate player Constant Lestienne. He recorded the biggest win and first top 10 win of his career, defeating newly arrived top 10 player and the fourth seed, previous year runner-up Alex de Minaur in straight sets, losing only five games, to reach the quarterfinals.[21][22] He lost to eventual champion Jordan Thompson after winning the first set 6-0 and having three match points.[23] At the 2024 BNP Paribas Open, he recorded his first Masters win over Jaume Munar on his debut. At the age of 19, he became the youngest American player to win a match at this level since Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe were both winners at that same age in Miami in 2017.[24][25] He lost again to fellow American, 17th seed Tommy Paul. He also made his debut at the 2024 Miami Open and recorded his first win over qualifier Lukáš Klein in straight sets.
He recorded his first ATP clay court win at the 2024 BMW Open in Munich with a win over wildcard Max Hans Rehberg.[26] He reached the top 65 on 20 May 2024, following his first round losses at the 2024 Mutua Madrid Open and at the Italian Open and a second round loss at the Challenger 2024 Open de Oeiras II. A week later he entered the top 60 after reaching his first ATP clay court quarterfinal with a win over third seed and compatriot Taylor Fritz at the 2024 Geneva Open, his second top 15 win.[27]
With his first grass court win of the season over Nuno Borges in Mallorca, he became the youngest player to win a match at the tournament. As a result, he reached the top 55 in the singles rankings.[5]
Michelsen reached a consecutive final at the 2024 Hall of Fame Open, defeating Reilly Opelka in the semifinals[28][29] before losing to Marcos Giron.[30]
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United States
Mackenzie McDonald
Marcelo Arévalo
Mate Pavić
Adrian Mannarino
Lorenzo Sonego
Jordan Thompson
Yuta Shimizu
Toby Samuel
Lucas Renard
Finn Reynolds
Adolfo Daniel Vallejo
Coleman Wong
