Joran Vliegen
Belgian tennis player
Joran Vliegen OLY (born 7 July 1993) is a Belgian professional tennis player who specializes in doubles. He has a career high ATP doubles ranking of World No. 17 achieved on 7 August 2023.[ 1] He also has a career high singles ranking of World No. 508 achieved on 1 August 2016. Vliegen has claimed 8 ATP tour doubles titles with partner Sander Gillé ,[ 2] including an ATP Masters 1000 title at 2024 Monte-Carlo Masters . He has also won two singles titles on the ITF Men's Circuit .
He is not related to fellow Belgian tennis player Kristof Vliegen .[ 3]
Early life and background
Vliegen was born in Maaseik , Belgium to parents Ivo Vliegen and Annick Desender. He has a brother named Warre. He started playing tennis at the age of five.[ 4] In 2011 he moved to the United States to play college tennis at East Carolina University . He was named 2014 Conference USA Player of the Year.[ 5] He earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in business.[ 4]
Career
2018: Davis Cup debut
Vliegen made his debut with the Belgium Davis Cup team in 2018. In the quarterfinals against the United States , he and fellow Belgian Sander Gillé lost against Ryan Harrison and Jack Sock .[ 6]
2019: Grand Slam debut and first quarterfinal, Three ATP doubles titles
In 2019 he and Gillé managed to pull off a surprise win over Brazil 's Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares in the Belgium-Brazil Davis cup tie contributing to Belgium qualifying for the 2019 Davis Cup Finals held in November.[ 7]
Vliegen made his Grand Slam debut in the 2019 French Open . Partnering Mikhail Kukushkin from Kazakhstan he managed to reach the quarterfinals.[ 5] At Wimbledon 2019 , Vliegen made his debut in a mixed doubles event, and reached the third round with Zheng Saisai from China.[ 8]
Vliegen won his first ATP Tour doubles title at the 2019 Swedish Open with fellow Belgian Sander Gillé .[ 9] One week later, again partnering with Gillé, he also won the title at the Swiss Open .[ 10] The duo continued their winning streak by reaching the final of the Austrian Open , losing to Philipp Oswald and Filip Polášek .[ 11] Two months later, Vliegen and Gillé picked up their third title of 2019 at the Zhuhai Championships .[ 2]
2020–2021: Two titles, Second Major quarterfinal, first Masters semifinal, Olympics & top 30 debut
Vliegen won two more titles with his partner Sander Gillé at the 2020 Astana Open and at the 2021 Singapore Open .
They also reached the quarterfinals at the 2020 US Open (tennis) losing to the eventual runners-up Mektic/Koolhof, their best showing at the Grand Slam thus far.
The pair made their first Masters 1000 semifinal at the 2021 Mutua Madrid Open losing to the 2nd seeded pair of Pavic/Mektic. As a result, Vliegen reached a career-high of No. 31 on 10 May 2021.
2022: First Grand Slam mixed doubles final
At the 2022 French Open , Vliegen and Gillé caused an upset by eliminating the defending champions and home favorites Pierre Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut in three tight sets without dropping one service game. In the second round they saw off the Australian pairing of Luke Saville and Jordan Thompson before falling to the unseeded pairing of Rafael Matos and David Vega Hernández in a third super match tie-break.
He also entered the mixed doubles event for the first time, partnering Norwegian Ulrikke Eikeri . In the first round they won against the Kazakh pairing of Anna Danilina and Andrey Golubev in three sets. In the second round they progressed past the home team of Clara Burel and Hugo Gaston in straight sets. In the third round they faced 2021 Wimbledon champions Desirae Krawczyk and Neal Skupski and lost the first set comprehensively before bouncing back to win the second set in the tie-break and the third set match tie-break.[ 12] Their semifinal followed a similar pattern, this time against 2018 Wimbledon champion Nicole Melichar and twice French Open Men's doubles champion Kevin Krawietz , with them again bouncing back from a poor first set to win the second in the tie-break and the third set match tie-break to reach their first Grand Slam final. They lost in the final to Ena Shibahara and Wesley Koolhof .[ 13] [ 14] This made Vliegen the first Belgian man to reach the final of a mixed doubles event of a Grand Slam tournament.[citation needed ]
2023: First Grand Slam men's doubles final, second mixed doubles final, top 20 debut
At the 2023 French Open , Vliegen having never get passed the quarterfinals at this Major, partnering Gillé as an unseeded pair, they reached their first Major semifinal defeating fourth seeds Croatians Nikola Mektić /Mate Pavić , Roman Jebavý /Luis David Martínez , ninth seeds Santiago González /Édouard Roger-Vasselin , 14th seed Argentines Andrés Molteni /Máximo González [ 15] and 12th seeds Andreas Mies /Matwé Middelkoop .[ 16] [ 17] In the final they lost to Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek in straight sets.[ 18] At Wimbledon, he and Gillé lost in the third round of the men's doubles event, while Vliegen paired with Xu Yifan in mixed doubles to reach his second career final. This made him the first Belgian man in a Wimbledon mixed doubles final.[citation needed ] He made his top 20 debut on 7 August 2023 at world No. 17.
2024: First Masters title
At the 2024 Monte-Carlo Masters with Gille, they defeated wildcard pair of Jannik Sinner and Lorenzo Sonego , defending champions and second seeds Austin Krajicek and Ivan Dodig in the second round, and sixth seeds Tim Pütz and Kevin Krawietz to reach the semifinals.[ 19] They reached their first Masters 1000 final upsetting third seeds Horacio Zeballos and Marcel Granollers .[ 20] They won their first Masters title defeating alternate pair of Alexander Zverev and Marcelo Melo . They became just the second and third Belgians to win a Masters 1000 doubles title after Xavier Malisse won in Indian Wells in 2010.[ 21]
Significant finals
Grand slam finals
Doubles: 1 (runner-up)
Mixed doubles: 2 (2 runner-ups)
Masters 1000 finals
Doubles: 1 (title)
ATP career finals
Doubles: 13 (8 titles, 5 runner-ups)
Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–1)
ATP World Tour Finals (0–0)
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (1–0)
ATP World Tour 500 Series (0–1)
ATP World Tour 250 Series (7–3)
Titles by surface
Hard (4–1)
Clay (4–4)
Grass (0–0)
Titles by setting
Outdoor (6–5)
Indoor (2–0)
Result
W–L
Date
Tournament
Tier
Surface
Partner
Opponents
Score
Win
1–0
Jul 2019
Swedish Open , Sweden
250 Series
Clay
Sander Gillé
Federico Delbonis Horacio Zeballos
6–7(5–7) , 7–5, [10–5]
Win
2–0
Jul 2019
Swiss Open , Switzerland
250 Series
Clay
Sander Gillé
Philipp Oswald Filip Polášek
6–4, 6–3
Loss
2–1
Aug 2019
Austrian Open , Austria
250 Series
Clay
Sander Gillé
Philipp Oswald Filip Polášek
4–6, 4–6
Win
3–1
Sep 2019
Zhuhai Championships , China
250 Series
Hard
Sander Gillé
Marcelo Demoliner Matwé Middelkoop
7–6(7–2) , 7–6(7–4)
Win
4–1
Nov 2020
Astana Open , Kazakhstan
250 Series
Hard (i)
Sander Gillé
Max Purcell Luke Saville
7–5, 6–3
Win
5–1
Feb 2021
Singapore Open , Singapore
250 Series
Hard (i)
Sander Gillé
Matthew Ebden John-Patrick Smith
6–2, 6–3
Loss
5–2
May 2021
Bavarian Championships , Germany
250 Series
Clay
Sander Gillé
Wesley Koolhof Kevin Krawietz
6–4, 4–6, [5–10]
Win
6–2
Jan 2023
Maharashtra Open , India
250 Series
Hard
Sander Gillé
Sriram Balaji Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan
6–4, 6–4
Win
7–2
Apr 2023
Estoril Open , Portugal
250 Series
Clay
Sander Gillé
Nikola Ćaćić Miomir Kecmanović
6–3, 6–4
Loss
7–3
Jun 2023
French Open , France
Grand Slam
Clay
Sander Gillé
Ivan Dodig Austin Krajicek
3–6, 1–6
Loss
7–4
Jul 2023
Hamburg European Open , Germany
500 Series
Clay
Sander Gillé
Kevin Krawietz Tim Pütz
6–7(4–7) , 3–6
Loss
7–5
Jan 2024
Hong Kong Open , Hong Kong
250 Series
Hard
Sander Gillé
Marcelo Arévalo Mate Pavić
6–7(3–7) , 4–6
Win
8–5
Apr 2024
Monte-Carlo Masters , Monaco
Masters 1000
Clay
Sander Gillé
Marcelo Melo Alexander Zverev
5–7, 6–3, [10–5]
Challenger and Futures Finals
Singles: 3 (2–1)
Legend (singles)
ATP Challenger Tour (0–0)
ITF Futures Tour (2–1)
Titles by surface
Hard (1–0)
Clay (1–1)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Result
W–L
Date
Tournament
Tier
Surface
Opponent
Score
Win
1–0
Aug 2015
Belgium F8, Middelkerke
Futures
Hard
Julien Cagnina
4–6, 6–3, 7–6(7–2)
Loss
1–1
Sep 2015
Belgium F14, Middelkerke
Futures
Clay
Jeremy Jahn
3–6, 4–6
Win
2–1
Aug 2016
Belgium F11, Huy
Futures
Clay
Romain Barbosa
6–4, 6–4
Doubles: 51 (37–14)
Legend (doubles)
ATP Challenger Tour (14–7)
ITF Futures Tour (23–7)
Titles by surface
Hard (10–3)
Clay (25–10)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (2–1)
Result
W–L
Date
Tournament
Tier
Surface
Partner
Opponents
Score
Win
1–0
Jul 2013
Belgium F6, Heist
Futures
Clay
Cedric De Zutter
Bobbie De Goeijen Scott Griekspoor
7–5, 6–2
Win
2–0
Aug 2013
Belgium F8, Eupen
Futures
Clay
Sander Gillé
Gustavo Gómez Buyatti Antoine Hoang
6–3, 6–3
Win
3–0
Aug 2014
Belgium F11, Koksijde
Futures
Clay
Sander Gillé
Jake Eames David Pérez Sanz
3–6, 6–3, [12–10]
Win
4–0
Jun 2015
Belgium F2, Damme
Futures
Clay
Sander Gillé
Antoine Hoang Ugo Nastasi
6–2, 6–3
Loss
4–1
Jun 2015
Belgium F3, Havré
Futures
Clay
Sander Gillé
Deiton Baughman Fabrício Neis
6–2, 4–6, [2–10]
Win
5–1
Jul 2015
Belgium F7, Duinbergen
Futures
Clay
Sander Gillé
Julien Cagnina Jonas Merckx
6–7(5–7) , 6–4, [10–6]
Loss
5–2
Aug 2015
Belgium F8, Middelkerke
Futures
Hard
Sander Gillé
Sander Arends Ariel Behar
7–6(7–1) , 4–6, [7–10]
Loss
5–3
Aug 2015
Belgium F9, Eupen
Futures
Clay
Sander Gillé
Billy Harris Evan Hoyt
6–7(5–7) , 3–6
Win
6–3
Aug 2015
Belgium F10, Koksijde
Futures
Clay
Sander Gillé
Evan Hoyt Toby Martin
6–2, 6–1
Win
7–3
Aug 2015
Belgium F11, Jupille-sur-Meuse
Futures
Clay
Sander Gillé
Evan Hoyt Toby Martin
6–1, 6–4
Win
8–3
Aug 2015
Belgium F12, Ostend
Futures
Clay
Antoine Hoang
Kevin Benning Jonas Merckx
6–2, 7–5
Win
9–3
Sep 2015
Belgium F14, Middelkerke
Futures
Clay
Gonçalo Oliveira
Timon Reichelt George von Massow
6–3, 3–6, [10–4]
Win
10–3
Oct 2015
Norway F2, Oslo
Futures
Hard (i)
Sander Gillé
Ivan Sabanov Matej Sabanov
6–7(4–7) , 7–6(7–5) , [10–8]
Win
11–3
Nov 2015
Norway F3, Oslo
Futures
Hard (i)
Sander Gillé
Ivan Sabanov Matej Sabanov
7–6(7–3) , 6–1
Win
12–3
Jan 2016
France F2, Bressuire
Futures
Hard (i)
Sander Gillé
Benjamin Bonzi Grégoire Jacq
7–6(7–1) , 7–5
Win
13–3
Jan 2016
France F3, Veigy-Foncenex
Futures
Carpet (i)
Sander Gillé
Scott Clayton Richard Gabb
6–7(4–7) , 7–6(8–6) , [10–7]
Loss
13–4
Mar 2016
Egypt F7, Sharm El Sheikh
Futures
Hard
Sander Gillé
Dominik Kellovský Jaroslav Pospíšil
6–3, 3–6, [11–13]
Win
14–4
Mar 2016
Egypt F8, Sharm El Sheikh
Futures
Hard
Sander Gillé
Tom Schönenberg Matthias Wunner
6–3, 7–6(7–2)
Win
15–4
Apr 2016
Uzbekistan F2, Bukhara
Futures
Hard
Sander Gillé
Evgeny Elistratov Vitaly Kozyukov
6–4, 6–3
Win
16–4
May 2016
Ukraine F1, Cherkasy
Futures
Clay
Sander Gillé
Antoine Bellier Vladyslav Manafov
6–3, 4–6, [11–9]
Win
17–4
Jun 2016
Belgium F2, Havré
Futures
Clay
Sander Gillé
Adam Taylor Jason Taylor
6–2, 6–4
Win
18–4
Jul 2016
Belgium F3, Nieuwpoort
Futures
Clay
Sander Gillé
Stijn Meulemans Laurens Verboven
6–2, 6–3
Win
19–4
Jul 2016
Belgium F6, Knokke
Futures
Clay
Sander Gillé
Hunter Johnson Yates Johnson
6–4, 6–4
Win
20–4
Jul 2016
Belgium F7, Duinbergen
Futures
Clay
Sander Gillé
Michael Geerts Jeroen Vanneste
6–7(4–7) , 6–3, [10–4]
Win
21–4
Aug 2016
Trnava , Slovakia
Challenger
Clay
Sander Gillé
Tomasz Bednarek Roman Jebavý
6–2, 7–5
Loss
21–5
Aug 2016
Meerbusch , Germany
Challenger
Clay
Sander Gillé
Mikhail Elgin Andrei Vasilevski
6–7(6–8) , 4–6
Loss
21–6
Aug 2016
Belgium F11, Huy
Futures
Clay
Sander Gillé
Jarryd Bant Tom Farquharson
3–6, 2–6
Loss
21–7
Jan 2017
Germany F2, Kaarst
Futures
Carpet (i)
David Pel
Jannis Kahlke Oscar Otte
3–6, 7–5, [8–10]
Win
22–7
Jan 2017
France F3, Veigy-Foncenex
Futures
Carpet (i)
Julien Dubail
Antal van der Duim Tim van Terheijden
4–6, 6–4, [10–4]
Loss
22–8
Mar 2017
Turkey F10, Antalya
Futures
Clay
Sander Gillé
Tuna Altuna Cem İlkel
6–0, 2–6, [8–10]
Win
23–8
May 2017
Italy F12, Naples
Futures
Clay
Sander Gillé
Antal van der Duim Boy Westerhof
6–4, 6–2
Win
24–8
May 2017
Romania F1, Bucharest
Futures
Clay
Sander Gillé
Andrei Ștefan Apostol Nicolae Frunză
7–6(7–5) , 6–2
Win
25–8
Jun 2017
Lyon , France
Challenger
Clay
Sander Gillé
Gero Kretschmer Alexander Satschko
6–7(2–7) , 7–6(7–2) , [14–12]
Win
26–8
Jun 2017
Blois , France
Challenger
Clay
Sander Gillé
Máximo González Fabrício Neis
3–6, 6–3, [10–7]
Win
27–8
Jul 2017
Scheveningen , Netherlands
Challenger
Clay
Sander Gillé
Jozef Kovalík Stefanos Tsitsipas
6–2, 4–6, [12–10]
Win
28–8
Jul 2017
Tampere , Finland
Challenger
Clay
Sander Gillé
Lucas Gómez Juan Ignacio Londero
6–2, 6–7(5–7) , [10–3]
Loss
28–9
Sep 2017
Sibiu , Romania
Challenger
Clay
Sander Gillé
Marco Cecchinato Matteo Donati
3–6, 1–6
Loss
28–10
Sep 2017
Rome , Italy
Challenger
Clay
Sander Gillé
Martin Kližan Jozef Kovalík
3–6, 6–7(5–7)
Win
29–10
Jan 2018
Rennes , France
Challenger
Hard (i)
Sander Gillé
Sander Arends Antonio Šančić
6–3, 6–7(1–7) , [10–7]
Loss
29–11
Feb 2018
Quimper , France
Challenger
Hard (i)
Sander Gillé
Ken Skupski Neal Skupski
3–6, 6–3, [7–10]
Loss
29–12
May 2018
Rome , Italy
Challenger
Clay
Sander Gillé
Kevin Krawietz Andreas Mies
3–6, 6–2, [4–10]
Win
30–12
Jul 2018
Prague , Czech Republic
Challenger
Clay
Sander Gillé
Fernando Romboli David Vega Hernández
6–4, 6–2
Win
31–12
Aug 2018
Liberec , Czech Republic
Challenger
Clay
Sander Gillé
Filip Polášek Patrik Rikl
6–3, 6–4
Win
32–12
Aug 2018
Pullach , Germany
Challenger
Clay
Sander Gillé
Daniele Bracciali Simone Bolelli
6–2, 6–2
Win
33–12
Oct 2018
Ortisei , Italy
Challenger
Hard (i)
Sander Gillé
Purav Raja Antonio Šančić
3–6, 6–3, [10–3]
Win
34–12
Oct 2018
Brest , France
Challenger
Hard (i)
Sander Gillé
Leander Paes Miguel Ángel Reyes-Varela
3–6, 6–4, [10–2]
Win
35–12
Nov 2018
Mouilleron-le-Captif , France
Challenger
Hard (i)
Sander Gillé
Romain Arneodo Quentin Halys
6–3, 4–6, [10–2]
Loss
35–13
Jan 2019
Punta del Este , Uruguay
Challenger
Clay
Sander Gillé
Guido Andreozzi Guillermo Durán
2–6, 7–6(8–6) , [8–10]
Loss
35–14
Mar 2019
Marbella , Spain
Challenger
Clay
Sander Gillé
Kevin Krawietz Andreas Mies
6–7(6–8) , 6–2, [6–10]
Win
36–14
Jun 2019
Bratislava , Slovakia
Challenger
Clay
Sander Gillé
Lukáš Klein Alex Molčan
6–2, 7–5
Win
37–14
Sep 2022
Cassis , France
Challenger
Hard
Michael Geerts
Romain Arneodo Albano Olivetti
6–4, 7–6(8–6)
Key
W
F
SF
QF
#R
RR
Q#
P#
DNQ
A
Z#
PO
G
S
B
NMS
NTI
P
NH
(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.
Doubles
Current through the 2024 Monte-Carlo Masters .
Mixed doubles
Current through the 2024 US Open .
Notes
^ Withdraw during the tournament. Not counted as a loss.
References
External links