Nicolai Budkov Kjær (born 1 September 2006) is a Norwegian professional tennis player. He has a career high ATP singles ranking of No. 594, achieved on 25 November 2024. He also has a career-high ITF junior combined ranking of No. 1, achieved on 15 July 2024.
Kjær represents Norway at the Davis Cup where he has a W/L record of 2–2.
Early life
Nicolai Budkov Kjær was born to a Norwegian father and an Estonian mother.[1] He lives in Bygdøy, Oslo, and trains at Oslo Tennisarena and Wang Toppidrett.[2][3]
in September 2023, Budkov Kjær made his Davis Cup debut against Peru.[7]
In February 2024, he replaced Dominic Thiem at the Ultimate Tennis Showdown in Oslo, the ninth edition of the tournament.[8][9] The following month, he won his first professional title at the $15k Antalya Series. He subsequently made his debut in the top 1000 of the ATP rankings at No. 897.[10][11] He was the first Norwegian to do so since Casper Ruud in 2016.
Also in February, Kjær recorded his first Davis Cup win, over Latvian Davis Rolis, and in September his second, with a win over Portuguese Jaime Faria, who was ranked No. 157 at the time.[1]
