Koolhof also finished runner-up in men's doubles at the 2020 and 2022 US Opens, alongside Nikola Mektić and Skupski respectively. He has won 21 doubles titles on the ATP Tour, including the 2020 ATP Finals with Mektić and six at Masters 1000 level. Koolhof became world No. 1 for the first time in November 2022, becoming the fourth Dutchman to attain the top ranking in doubles after Tom Okker, Paul Haarhuis and Jacco Eltingh, and ending the year as joint No. 1 alongside Skupski. In singles, he reached his career-high ranking of world No. 462 in August 2013.
He is the son of the late Dutch international footballer Jurrie Koolhof, and the elder brother of Dean Koolhof.
Koolhof is in a long-term relationship with former WTA tennis player Julia Görges.[3]
Career
2015–16: Partnership with Middelkoop, First ATP & 11 Challengers titles
Koolhof won his maiden ATP tour doubles title at the 2016 Sofia Open on indoor hardcourts in Bulgaria, partnering compatriot Matwe Middelkoop. The pair defeated Adil Shamasdin and Philipp Oswald in a third set tie-breaker 5–7, 7–6(11–9), [10–6] in the championship match to capture the title.
2017–18: New partnership with Sitak, Five ATP finals
Sitak and Koolhof then went to Newport Beach in California where, as top seeds, they lost in the first round in straight sets to Treat Huey and Denis Kudla. They then lost in the quarterfinals at Montpellier before going all the way to the final in the New York Open, being beaten by Max Mirnyi and Philipp Oswald in a match tie-break. They followed that up with a first-round loss at Delray Beach to Scott Lipsky and Divij Sharan.
Their next tournament was at Estoril where they went all the way to the final before losing to the British pair of Kyle Edmund and Cameron Norrie. They then lost in the first round of the Bordeaux Challenger tournament after Sitak had been hit in the right ear by a smash from Radu Albot, and also in the first round in Geneva, the last tournament before the French Open.
2020: ATP Finals title & US Open final with Mektic, World No. 5
2020 was the most successful year for Koolhof in his career thus far. He won the 2020 ATP Finals in doubles partnering Nikola Mektić. He also reached the doubles semifinal of the 2020 French Open and the final at the 2020 US Open partnering again with Nikola Mektić. As a result, he finished the year at world No. 5 in the top 10 rankings in doubles and No. 3 in the doubles race with his partner Nikola Mektić.
2021: Seventh title, Second mixed doubles semifinal, Olympics debut
2022: Partnership with Skupski, three Masters & mixed doubles titles, World No. 1
Partnering with Neal Skupski he won two ATP 250 titles during the Australian Summer swing, before the 2022 Australian Open. The pair reached the quarterfinals at the first Grand Slam of the year for the first time at this Major. They won their third title at the 2022 Qatar ExxonMobil Open dropping only one set en route to the final where they defeated Rohan Bopanna and Denis Shapovalov in straight sets.[6] He reached the final of the 2022 Miami Open with Skupski where they lost to John Isner and Hubert Hurkacz.
Seeded seventh, they reached their second Masters 1000 final at the 2022 Mutua Madrid Open after defeating John Isner and Hubert Hurkacz.[7] In the final they defeated fifth seeds Robert Farah and Juan Sebastián Cabal to win their first Masters 1000 title in their career and as a pair.[8] As a result Koolhof returned to the top 10 in the rankings on 9 May 2022.
At the 2022 French Open he won his first Grand Slam title in mixed doubles in his career partnering Ena Shibahara.[9] He also reached the quarterfinals with Skupski for the second time at this Major defeating unseeded pair of Americans Tommy Paul and Mackenzie McDonald. [10]
He reached a new career high doubles ranking of World No. 4 on 8 August at the start of the 2022 National Bank Open where he reached with Skupski the semifinals of a Masters 1000 for the third time in the season defeating Lloyd Glasspool/Harri Heliövaara.[11] Next the pair advanced to the eight final of the season defeating Krawietz/Mies.[12] They won their sixth title defeating Dan Evans (tennis) and John Peers (tennis).[13]
As a result he moved to world No. 3 in the doubles rankings on 15 August 2022.
Seeded 2nd at the US Open the pair reached the quarterfinals defeating Wimbledon champions Australian pair of Ebden/Purcell in three sets.[14] Next they defeated Marcelo Demoliner and Joao Sousa to reach the semifinals. They reached the finals after defeating Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer in the semifinals for a chance to become World No. 1.[15] In the finals, they lost in straight sets to Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury.[16] At the 2022 Rolex Paris Masters the pair Koolhof/Skupski reached the semifinals defeating ninth seeds Rohan Bopanna/Matwe Middelkoop climbing to World No. 1 and World No. 2 respectively, and solidifying the No. 1 position as a pair in the doubles race.[17] They reached their 10th final and fourth at a Masters level for the season defeating seventh seeds Lloyd Glasspool /Harri Heliövaara.[18] They won their third Masters title and seventh for the season defeating eight seeds Ivan Dodig/Austin Krajicek in the final.[19] They also clinched the No. 1 year-end ranking as a team.[20][21]
He finished his last season ranked in the top 10, at the 2024 ATP Finals, where he partnered with Nikola Mektić, losing his last ATP match in the round robin stage.[32]
Partnering Botic van de Zandschulp Koolhof won the decisive match and helped the Netherlands team reach the semifinals at the 2024 Davis Cup, with a win over Spanish duo Carlos Alcaraz and Marcel Granollers.[33] The Netherlands subsequently reached the final after defeating Germany in the two singles matches.[34]
(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.