Journey To The Pros: 18-Year-Old Prizmic Making Challenger Rise

Dino Prizmic’s standout season on the ATP Challenger Tour is promising news for the future of Croatian tennis. While what lies ahead may excite fans, his background is a story of its own. The 18-year-old started playing tennis at Tenis Klub Split, where Goran Ivanisevic, Mario Ancic and Mate Pavic also learned the game.

The #NextGenATP star Prizmic recalls being age nine when Ivanisevic told him he was impressed with his game and encouraged him to keep working on his forehand and serve. Not too bad to hear from a former World No. 2.

At age 14, Prizmic started to take his tennis more seriously and moved to the capital city Zagreb, where there were more players to practise with. 

Now, the teen is boasting positive results at the Challenger level that has helped lift him to a career-high No. 175 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, a vast improvement from a year ago, when he was outside the Top 800.

“Challenger tournaments are very important for me to learn about players,” Prizmic told ATPTour.com. “You need to play really good and be mentally ready to physically fight.”

The teen is transitioning to Challengers following an impressive junior career. At this year’s Roland Garros boys’ singles event, Prizmic dropped just one set across six matches to win the title. He has only continued his ascent since triumphing in Paris.

Eight days after his 18th birthday, Prizmic won his maiden ATP Challenger Tour crown in Banja Luka to become the youngest Croatian champion since a 17-year-old Borna Coric in 2014.

Dino Prizmic wins his first ATP Challenger Tour trophy in Banja Luka.” />
^{Dino Prizmic wins the Challenger 100 event in Banja Luka. Credit: Banja Luka Open}

“It’s been a surprise because I think seven or eight months ago, I couldn’t really believe that I would win a junior Grand Slam and a Challenger title,” Prizmic said. “For me it’s a big experience and I think I will continue like this.

“I feel amazing because I know I’ve worked hard this year. I just want to know for myself that this level of tennis is very important. I also want to learn more and play better tennis in the future.”

Prizmic is the first player to win a Grand Slam junior crown and a Challenger title in the same season since Wu Yibing in 2017. The Croatian is also the first player to win the Roland Garros boys’ singles title and a Challenger trophy in the same season since Stan Wawrinka in 2003.

Shortly after Prizmic won on the Parisian clay, Novak Djokovic, who is coached by Ivanisevic, posted an Instagram story congratulating the teen, writing, ‘Čestitke Dino’, which translates to, ‘Congratulations Dino’.

“My reaction was like, ‘I can’t believe it!’ because Novak shared this post on Instagram story,” Prizmic said. “It’s a big thing for me of course because he is my idol and I’m very happy about that.”

Dino Prizmic wins the 2023 Roland Garros boys’ singles title.” />
^{Dino Prizmic in action at the 2023 Roland Garros boys’ singles event. Credit: Julian Finney/Getty Images}

Prizmic has drawn inspiration from the 94-time tour-level titlist, who claimed his record-breaking 23rd major crown just 24 hours after the teen lifted the junior title.

Motivated by the 36-year-old Djokovic’s physical and mental strength, Prizmic even adopted an all-natural diet akin to the Serbian’s. Prizmic allows one cheat day a year: his birthday.

“I started that when I was 15 because I saw Novak and other players don’t eat sweet things and I just wanted to also do that,” Prizmic said. “On court, I feel very good, not tired. Big difference on energy levels on court.

“I also want to eat right for myself. Beef, eggs, vegetables every day are so important for me. Every time I see [sweets], I don’t want to look there! It’s tough but I know it’s for my tennis, because tennis is my life. I need to do that.”

Prizmic earned his maiden tour-level victory on home soil in Umag last month, when he reached the quarter-finals before falling to eventual champion Alexei Popyrin.

The Croatian is aiming for a maiden appearance at the Next Gen Finals, which features the world’s top 21-and-under players. Currently 16th in the Pepperstone ATP Live Next Gen Race, Prizmic is using the Challenger Tour to develop his game before rising to the world’s biggest stages.

“I want to play with the best players on the ATP Tour and so for me, this is just the beginning,” said Prizmic.

Youngest Croatian Challenger Champions