Tennis News

Five ATP Challenger players to watch in 2026

From college standouts to young stars making a professional breakthrough, here are five ATP Challenger players to watch in 2026:

Michael Zheng
Zheng is a proven winner and his rise onto the ATP Tour is not a question of if, but when. The reigning two-time NCAA singles champion, who is a senior at Columbia University, tallied a 24-7 match record at ATP Challenger level in 2025, including three title runs.

Zheng made the best possible use of an ATP Next Gen Accelerator spot at the Chicago Challenger in August, going all the way to the winner’s circle as World No. 416 in the PIF ATP Rankings. Zheng then added to his title haul in September with consecutive trophies in Columbus and Tiburon. Celebrating his 22nd birthday later this month, Zheng begins the season at No. 182 in the PIF ATP Rankings.

Nicolai Budkov Kjaer
One of the fastest-rising teenagers on the ATP Challenger circuit, the Norwegian is coming off a standout season in which he was one of six players to claim a season-leading four titles at that level. That success helped Budkov Kjaer qualify for the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, where he reached the semi-finals. At No. 135 in the PIF ATP Rankings, the 19-year-old will aim for a second consecutive qualification for the 20-and-under event.

In 2025, the teenager won his maiden Challenger title in Glasgow in February and returned to the winner’s circle in July with back-to-back triumphs in Tampere and Astana, becoming the youngest Norwegian to claim multiple Challenger titles. The 2024 Wimbledon boys’ singles champion won the Mouilleron le Captif Challenger in October for his fourth triumph of the year.

Rafael Jodar
Few Challenger players made a more eye-catching, late-season surge than Jodar, who won three titles in as many months en route to qualifying for the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF. On New Year’s Eve, the 19-year-old announced that he is turning pro, forgoing his remaining eligibility at the University of Virginia, where he spent two seasons.

The Spaniard entered the Hersonissos Challenger in September as World No. 540 and was in the main draw as an alternate, yet in just his ninth Challenger appearance, he went all the way to the title. Jodar won the Lincoln and Charlottesville Challengers across a three-week span in October, the latter taking place at his home campus in Virginia. He earned two group-stage wins in Jeddah and is set to begin 2026 at a career-high No. 165.

Trophy time for Rafa Jodar 😎#ATPChallenger | @RFETenis pic.twitter.com/cvODPSHx8H

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) October 19, 2025

Federico Cina
Fresh off his first full season on the Challenger circuit, Cina is rapidly announcing himself on that stage and knocking on the door of his maiden title. The Italian competed in three Challenger finals in 2025, including a tight two-set defeat to fellow #NextGenATP star Justin Engel — the youngest Challenger championship match since 2003. The 18-year-old will be one to keep an eye on as he aims to qualify for the 2026 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF.

Elmer Moller
Power and momentum are firmly on Moller’s side as he approaches his Top 100 debut. Boasting a thunderous, damage-dealing backhand, the Dane closed his 2025 season in triumphant fashion, winning the Maia Challenger in the final week. It marked the 22-year-old’s third Challenger title of the year in his fourth final appearance. He also won the clay-court Challengers in Oeiras, Portugal and Iasi, Romania. Moller begins the year at No. 119 in the PIF ATP Rankings.

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'Not quite physically ready' – Djokovic out of Adelaide

Novak Djokovic withdraws from his planned Australian Open warm-up tournament as he is “not quite physically ready to compete”.

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Djokovic withdraws from Adelaide

Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from the Adelaide International. The Serbian announced the news on social media on Monday.

The Serbian wrote on Instagram: “To all my fans in Adelaide, unfortunately, I am not quite physically ready to compete in the Adelaide International next week. It’s personally very disappointing to me as I have such great memories of winning the title there two years ago. I was really excited about returning as it truly feels like playing at home.

“My focus is now on my preparation for the Australian Open and I look forward to arriving in Melbourne soon and seeing all the tennis fans in Australia.”

Djokovic has fond memories in Adelaide, having lifted the trophy at the ATP 250 event in 2007 and 2023. The No. 4 player in the PIF ATP Rankings will now start his season at the Australian Open, where he has lifted the trophy a record 10 times. The 38-year-old has reached the semi-finals in Melbourne in the past two years, falling to two-time defending champion Jannik Sinner in 2024 and Alexander Zverev in 2025.

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Returning Raducanu unable to prevent GB's United Cup exit

Emma Raducanu loses on her return from a foot injury as Great Britain are eliminated from the United Cup with a group-stage defeat by Greece.

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Draper set to return from injury for GB in Davis Cup

Jack Draper, who has played one singles match since July, is set to return from injury in Great Britain’s Davis Cup tie against Norway in February.

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Tsitsipas moves Greece closer to United Cup QFs

Stefanos Tsitsipas moved Greece to within one win of reaching the United Cup quarter-finals on Monday in Perth. The 27-year-old defeated Great Britain’s Billy Harris 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(4).

In a hard-fought battle, Tsitsipas rallied after a slow start to give Greece a 1-0 lead. The 27-year-old struggled to find his range on his backhand throughout the two-hour, 15-minute clash, but inflicted enough damage on his forehand and held his nerve in the third-set tie-break to triumph.

“I got fed up losing matches like that [last year],” Tsitsipas said. “I lost one in September and I just tried everything in my power to not have the same thing happen again. I am grateful to overcome that. It had a crazy energy out here.

“I would like to congratulate Billy. He put up an incredible performance. I haven’t played such a high quality match in such a long time. He did great, pushing me to my limits. I think matches like that are great for the sport.”

Tsitsipas helped Greece beat Japan in its opening United Cup tie with a win against Shintaro Mochizuki and now holds an 8-2 singles record at the mixed-teams event. It is the first time the No. 36 player in the PIF ATP Rankings has earned consecutive wins since Barcelona last April, when he reached the quarter-finals.

Maria Sakkari will face Emma Raducanu in the second match of the Group E tie. If Sakkari triumphs, Greece will qualify for the quarter-finals as group winners.

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Kokkinakis: ‘I didn’t care if I never played again, I wasn’t doing that cycle anymore’

Thanasi Kokkinakis did not expect a first-round doubles match at the Brisbane International presented by ANZ could move him to tears.

But it did just that. The 29-year-old Australian, who underwent a radical and unprecedented pectoral surgery in February, is back competing on home soil in Brisbane, where he teamed with Nick Kyrgios to earn a three-set win over Matthew Ebden and Rajeev Ram.

“I’ve never really teared up from a doubles match, even when we won,” Kokkinakis said. “What I have gone through the past 12 months is crazy, speaking to a lot of surgeons, a lot of doctors. I spoke to Rafa’s doctor and he wasn’t quite sure what was going on. It was pretty crazy.”

For much of the past year, Kokkinakis had been trapped in a frustrating medical grey area. Chronic issues around his shoulder and chest left him in pain but without a clear diagnosis or treatment plan, forcing him to bounce between specialists while his season slipped away.

“No physio or doctor that I saw was really comfortable and confident of which was the right way to go,” he said. “But I said I didn’t want to keep doing what I was doing. In the past I’d play one match and maybe have a big win, and my arm was shot for the next couple of rounds. I was almost like ‘I don’t care if I don’t play again, I’m not doing that again’, because it’s almost like a tease of what I can do and then I just have to pull out.”

That cycle — flashes of form followed by forced withdrawals — ultimately pushed Kokkinakis toward a drastic decision. After years of managing damaged tissue, he agreed to undergo a surgery few tennis players had ever attempted.

“I essentially cut half my pec off,” explained the former No. 65 player in the PIF ATP Rankings. “I had a bald scar tissue that I was playing with for five or so years. I saw a bunch of surgeons that didn’t want to operate on it. They thought it’s risky, never been done in tennis. Essentially I have an Achilles allograft — or a dead person’s Achilles — in my arm trying to attach my pec to my shoulder.”

The unprecedented nature of the procedure made the comeback process even more daunting. Unlike common knee or ankle injuries, there was no established route back in, no familiar timelines, and no peers who had walked the same path.

“It’s really hard coming back from that process, because you don’t really have anyone to speak to because no one’s done it,” said Kokkinakis. “A lot of people do ACLs and Achilles ruptures, which are brutal, terrible injuries. But with those, a lot of people have had them, so you know who to speak to and what to do.”

Even reaching the start line in Brisbane required careful management. Kokkinakis acknowledged that simply being fit enough to contest doubles felt like a milestone after months of stop-start progress.

Throughout the long rehabilitation, the Australian summer remained his motivation. Kokkinakis has fond memories of this period, having won his sole ATP Tour title in 2022 in Adelaide, the city where he was born.

“There’s a lot of unknowns, but I have just done a lot of training to try and get myself in a position where I can even play a doubles match,” Kokkinakis said. “It’s been very stop/start. I don’t know how my future is going to go, what it holds, but I’ve done everything I can to give myself at least a chance. I’m taking it day by day.”

The Aussie endured isolated winter training sessions in Melbourne with the vision of returning to court in front of home fans.

“I was so sick of training, and just being in Melbourne in the winter with no one to really train with and trying to motivate myself for the Aussie summer,” Kokkinakis said. “That was always the carrot at the end, just trying to look forward to that moment, not knowing if I can actually play.

“Just doing everything I can. Endless injections, cortisones, trying to get myself to a spot where I can take the court. It’s a feeling that is very hard to replicate. I’m not taking it for granted, and I know that’s what I will miss the most when eventually I stop playing.

“All my rehab and everything I was doing was focused on trying to get back in front of a crowd in Australia and being competitive. So I’m really, really happy.”

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Jones 'didn't make it easy' but gets biggest win

Britain’s Francesca Jones opens her 2026 season with the biggest win of her career, beating world number 15 Emma Navarro in Auckland.

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Hurkacz stuns Zverev at United Cup for first win in seven months

Hubert Hurkacz has left no doubt — the Polish star is back.

After missing nearly seven months due to a right knee injury for which he underwent arthroscopic surgery on 2 July, Hurkacz made a statement return to action at the United Cup Monday evening. The 28-year-old stunned World No. 3 Alexander Zverev 6-3, 6-4 to give Team Poland a 1-0 lead against Team Germany in Sydney.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been competing. Seven months I’ve been going through difficult times with the team and it was very challenging,” Hurkacz said. “They were all supporting me, they were all behind me. We went through definitely a long period of time not competing and not knowing when we [would] be able to be back on court again. I was just trying to cherish and enjoy every moment here on the court today.”

Hurkacz had not played a match since June in ’s-Hertogenbosch, leading to a fall to No. 83 in the PIF ATP Rankings. But the former World No. 6 played well above his ranking inside Ken Rosewall Arena, facing just one break point in his one-hour, 23-minute victory.

The two-time Nitto ATP Finals competitor held up well under pressure against Zverev, beautifully redirecting a backhand up the line to secure the critical break at 3-3 in the second set. Hurkacz faced just one break point in the match according to Infosys ATP Stats, hitting 21 aces to allow his opponent few opportunities to work his way into points.

“I was serving quite well. I was finding nice spots, so that’s definitely a nice feeling to really have good rhythm on the serve,” Hurkacz said. “Just so pleased with the performance and just also so much fun to see the fans again.”

Zverev walked on court with a 3-1 Lexus ATP Head2Head series lead against Hurkacz, but was unable to consistently make Hurkacz uncomfortable the way he did Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor on Sunday.

Iga Swiatek will try to close out the tie for Poland when she takes the court against Eva Lys. The German earned a straightforward victory against Suzan Lamens of The Netherlands.

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Why Mensik made Krejcikova shout at the television

When Jakub Mensik was 16, he reached the 2022 Australian Open boys’ singles final. The Czech pushed his match against Bruno Kuzuhara deep into a third set, but ultimately suffered full-body cramp in the final game of the match, losing a heartbreaker. Watching at the time was Barbora Krejcikova, now a two-time major singles champion and Mensik’s United Cup teammate.

“I was definitely following him since he was cramping in Australia a couple of years ago,” Krejcikova told ATPTour.com, cracking a laugh. “I was following him since then, and I’m really happy that he’s making such progress and that he’s doing great, and he’s very talented.”

Nearly four years later, Krejcikova and Mensik are trying to claim the United Cup trophy for their country for the first time. The Czechs made a perfect start Monday, easing past Norway 3-0.

After Krejcikova earned her opening victory, she was watching a television feed of Mensik’s match. The 20-year-old battled past Casper Ruud in two tight sets.

“We were sitting in our little office in there. We were shouting at the TV and really pumping him up,” Krejcikova said. “I’m really happy that he won.”

Krejcikova is a big tennis fan who enjoys watching many matches. She was happy to get a close look at Mensik, the 2025 Miami ATP Masters 1000 champion.

“What I definitely love about his tennis is the serve,” Krejcikova said. “Overall today I was able to watch him a little bit more, because I mean, the Tours are separate, and we don’t really have the opportunities to spend as much time together.

“Today was amazing. I think he was playing unbelievable, and he was serving really well during the important points. He was passing so many times. It was unbelievable.”

Mensik hit 16 aces against Ruud according to Infosys ATP Stats, helping him take a 2-0 Lexus ATP Head2Head lead against the Norwegian.

“I think just the way how he hits it, how compact his serve is,” Krejcikova said. “I feel like he’s tossing the ball every single time the same way, so that’s something unique. It’s something that is very tough for me, so actually, I would love to have his serve.”

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