Rudolf Molleker

Rudolf Molleker
Molleker at the 2019 French Open Qualifying
Country (sports) Germany
ResidenceOranienburg, Germany
Born (2000-10-26) 26 October 2000 (age 24)
Sievierodonetsk, Ukraine
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Turned pro2017
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
CoachBenjamin Thiele
Prize money$662,316
Singles
Career record5–13
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 146 (29 July 2019)
Current rankingNo. 218 (19 August 2024)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open1R (2019)
French Open1R (2019)
WimbledonQ2 (2024)
US OpenQ1 (2019, 2024)
Doubles
Career record1–8
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 376 (21 March 2022)
Current rankingNo. 1008 (19 August 2024)
Last updated on: 20 August 2024.

Rudolf Molleker (born 26 October 2000) is a German tennis player. Molleker achieved a career high ATP singles ranking of World No. 146 on 29 July 2019 and a doubles ranking of World No. 376 on 21 March 2022.

Personal information

He was born in Sieverodonetsk in Ukraine to Roman and Tanja Molleker and moved to Oranienburg in Germany when he was three years old. He is of Russian–German descent.[1][2]

He trained at Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in Sophia Antipolis (France) starting in 2018.[3]

Career

2017: ATP debut

Molleker made his ATP main draw debut at the German Open in Hamburg after defeating Casper Ruud and Leonardo Mayer, who later won the tournament as a lucky loser, in the qualifying rounds.

2018: First Challenger title & ATP and top-10 wins

Molleker won his first ATP Challenger Tour title as a wildcard at the Heilbronner Neckarcup, defeating Jiří Veselý in the final.[4]

He won his first match at ATP-level at the Stuttgart Open, defeating compatriot Jan-Lennard Struff in the first round.[5]

At the German Open in Hamburg, as a wildcard, he beat former world No. 3 David Ferrer in the first round.[6]

2019: Grand Slam and top 150 debut

Molleker made his Grand Slam debut at the 2019 Australian Open, battling through three qualifying rounds before falling to world No. 16 Diego Schwartzman in four sets.[7]

At the 2019 BMW Open he recorded his third ATP win over Marius Copil. He also entered the doubles event with Andre Begemann as an alternate pair.

At the 2019 French Open, he performed a similar feat to the Australian Open, twice coming back from a set down to qualify for the main draw. He again lost in four sets in the first round, this time to Alexander Bublik.[7]

He received a wildcard in singles and in doubles for the main draw of the 2019 Hamburg European Open. He defeated Leonardo Mayer to record his fourth ATP singles win.

2021–2024

In 2021, he received a wildcard in Stuttgart but lost to Marin Čilić. He received a wildcard in doubles at the 2021 Hamburg European Open partnering Daniel Altmaier.

He received a wildcard for the main draw at the 2023 Hamburg European Open but lost to compatriot and wildcard Maximilian Marterer.

Ranked No. 179, he also received a wildcard for the main draw at the 2024 BMW Open and defeated qualifier Francesco Passaro for his fifth ATP win.

Singles performance timeline

Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (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.

Current through the 2024 US Open.

Tournament 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 SR W–L Win%
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A A 1R A Q1 A A Q2 0 / 1 0–1 0%
French Open A A 1R Q1 A A A Q1 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Wimbledon A A A NH A A A Q2 0 / 0 0–0  – 
US Open A A Q1 A A A A Q1 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Win–loss 0–0 0–0 0–2 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0 / 2 0–2 0%
Career statistics
Tournaments 1 3 5 0 1 0 1 2 Career total: 13
Overall win–loss 0–1 2–3 2–5 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–1 1–2 0 / 13 5–13 28%
Year-end ranking 566 207 164 217 379 333 201

ATP Challenger finals

Singles: 3 (2–1)

Finals by surface
Hard (0–0)
Clay (2–1)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Win 1–0 May 2018 Heilbronn, Germany Clay Czech Republic Jiří Veselý 4–6, 6–4, 7–5
Loss 1–1 Jun 2019 Poznan, Poland Clay Spain Tommy Robredo 7–5, 4–6, 1–6
Win 2–1 Aug 2023 Prague, Czech Republic Clay France Gabriel Debru 6–2, 6–2

ITF Futures/World Tennis Tour finals

Singles: 9 (4–5)

Finals by surface
Hard (0–1)
Clay (4–4)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss 0–1 Sep 2017 Tunisia F25, Hammamet Clay France Elliot Benchetrit 4–6, 0–2 ret.
Loss 0–2 Apr 2018 Turkey F15, Antalya Clay Croatia Nino Serdarušić 5–7, 2–6
Loss 0–3 May 2022 M25 Split, Croatia Clay Ukraine Viacheslav Bielinskyi 2–6, 3–6
Win 1–3 Jun 2022 M15 Kamen, Germany Clay Austria David Pichler 6–1, 6–4
Win 2–3 Aug 2022 M25 Wetzlar, Germany Clay Dominican Republic Nick Hardt 7–6(7–3), 6–1
Win 3–3 Dec 2022 M15 Antalya, Turkey Clay Bulgaria Yanaki Milev 6–3, 6–4
Loss 3–4 Feb 2023 M15 Oberhaching, Germany Hard (i) Germany Daniel Masur 6–7(3–7), 6–7(4–7)
Loss 3–5 Mar 2023 M25 Palma Nova, Spain Clay Spain Pablo Llamas Ruiz 3–6, 2–6
Win 4–5 May 2023 M25 Bodrum, Turkey Clay United Kingdom George Loffhagen 6–1, 7–6(7–4)

Doubles: 1 (1–0)

Finals by surface
Hard (0–0)
Clay (1–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1–0 Sep 2017 Tunisia F25, Hammamet Clay France Elliot Benchetrit Tunisia Aziz Dougaz
Tunisia Anis Ghorbel
7–5, 6–3

Junior Grand Slam finals

Doubles: 1 (1 runner-up)

Result Year Tournament Surface Partner Opponent Score
Loss 2018 Australian Open Hard Germany Henri Squire France Hugo Gaston
France Clément Tabur
2–6, 2–6

References

  1. ^ "Rudi Molleker (16) erfüllt sich in Wimbledon seinen Kindheitstraum" (in German). B.Z.
  2. ^ Reich, Anja. "Tennistalent Rudolf Molleker aus Oranienburg: Ist das der neue Boris Becker?" (in German). Berliner Zeitung.
  3. ^ "Roland-Garros : Les dessous de l'" usine à champions " Mouratoglou". Le Monde.fr. 28 May 2019.
  4. ^ "At 17, Molleker Joins Exclusive Club With Maiden Title". ATP World Tour. 21 May 2018.
  5. ^ "ATP Stuttgart: Zverev sets Federer clash. First ATP win for Rudolf Molleker". Tennis World USA. 12 June 2018.
  6. ^ "17-Year-Old Molleker Stuns Ferrer In Hamburg". ATP World Tour. 23 July 2018.
  7. ^ a b "Rudolf Molleker Player Activity". ATP Tour. Retrieved 7 March 2023.