Rudolf Molleker (born 26 October 2000) is a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

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 Oranienburg () is a town in Brandenburg, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Oberhavel. Geography Oranienburg is on the banks of the River Havel, 35 km north of the centre of Berlin. Division of the town Oranienburg consists of ni ...

in Germany when he was three years old. He is of Russian–German descent. He trained at Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in Sophia Antipolis (France) starting in 2018.

Career

2017: ATP debut

Molleker made his ATP main draw debut at the German Open in Hamburg after defeating

Casper Ruud Casper Ruud (; born 22 December 1998) is a Norwegian professional tennis player. He has been ATP rankings, ranked as high as world No. 2 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), achieved in September 2022, making him t ...

and

Leonardo Mayer Leonardo Martín Mayer (, ; born May 15, 1987) is a tennis coach and a former professional player from Argentina. Mayer achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 21 in June 2015 and world No. 48 in doubles in January 2019. Career ...

, 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 The ATP Challenger Tour (known until the end of 2008 as the ATP Challenger Series) is a series of international men's professional tennis tournaments. It was founded in 1976 as a replacement for the ILTF Satellite Circuit (founded in 1971) as ...

title as a wildcard at the Heilbronner Neckarcup, defeating

Jiří Veselý Jiří Veselý (; born 10 July 1993) is a Czech professional tennis player. He reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 35 on 27 April 2015. Youth career Veselý reached the No. 1 junior combined world ranking in January 2011, co ...

in the final. He won his first match at ATP-level at the Stuttgart Open, defeating compatriot

Jan-Lennard Struff Jan-Lennard Struff (; born 25 April 1990) is a German professional tennis player. He reached his career-high Association of Tennis Professionals, ATP singles and doubles rankings of world No. 21 on 19 June 2023 and on 22 October 2018 respectively. ...

in the first round. At the German Open in Hamburg, as a wildcard, he beat former world No. 3

David Ferrer David Ferrer Ern (; ; born 2 April 1982) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 3 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) in July 2013. Ferrer won 27 ATP Tour singles titles, including a ...

in the first round.

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 Diego Sebastián Schwartzman (, ; born 16 August 1992) is an Argentine former professional tennis player. He won four ATP Tour singles titles and reached his career-high singles ranking of world No. 8 in October 2020. As a clay court specialist ...

in four sets. At the 2019 BMW Open he recorded his third ATP win over

Marius Copil Marius Copil (born 17 October 1990) is a Romanian professional tennis player, competing currently on the ATP Challenger Tour. His career-high singles ranking is No. 56 achieved on 28 January 2019. Copil is known for his Fastest recorded tennis s ...

. He also entered the doubles event with

Andre Begemann Andre Begemann (born 12 July 1984) is a German inactive professional tennis player. He is a doubles specialist who reached his career-high ATP doubles ranking of world No. 36, achieved in May 2015. He has a career-high singles ranking of No. 166, ...

as an alternate pair. At the

2019 French Open The 2019 French Open was a Grand Slam (tennis), major tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was held at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, from 26 May to 9 June, comprising singles, doubles and mixed doubles play. Junior and ...

, 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 Alexander Stanislavovich Bublik (; born 17 June 1997) is a Russian-born Kazakhstani professional tennis player. He has a career-high Association of Tennis Professionals, ATP singles ranking of world No. 17, achieved on 6 May 2024 and a doubles ...

. He received a wildcard in singles and in doubles for the main draw of the 2019 Hamburg European Open. He defeated

to record his fourth ATP singles win.

2021–2024

In 2021, he received a wildcard in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

but lost to

Marin Čilić Marin Čilić (; born 28 September 1988) is a Croatian professional tennis player. He has been ranked world No. 3 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), achieved on 28 January 2018. Čilić has won 21 ATP Tour-level si ...

. He received a wildcard in doubles at the 2021 Hamburg European Open partnering

Daniel Altmaier Daniel Altmaier (; born 12 September 1998) is a German professional tennis player. He has a career high ATP singles ranking of world No. 47, achieved on 2 October 2023. He is the current German No. 2. Personal life Altmaier's father Jurij is Ukr ...

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

Maximilian Marterer Maximilian Marterer (born 15 June 1995) is a German professional tennis player. He has a career-high Association of Tennis Professionals, ATP singles ranking of world No. 45, achieved in 13 August 2018. Professional career 2015-2017: ATP and to ...

. 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

''Current through the

2024 ATP Tour The 2024 ATP Tour was the global elite men's professional tennis circuit organized by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for the 2024 tennis season. The 2024 ATP Tour calendar comprises the Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam tournaments, ...

.''

ATP Challenger finals

Singles: 3 (2–1)

ITF Futures/World Tennis Tour finals

Singles: 10 (5–5)

Doubles: 2 (2–0)

Junior Grand Slam finals

Doubles: 1 (1 runner-up)

References

External links

* * * (in German) {{DEFAULTSORT:Molleker, Rudolf 2000 births Living people German male tennis players Sportspeople from Sievierodonetsk People from Oranienburg Russian people of German descent 21st-century German sportsmen