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Zachary Svajda

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American tennis player (born 2002)

Zachary Svajda
Svajda at the 2023 Washington Open
Country (sports) United States
ResidenceSan Diego, California, U.S.
Born (2002-11-29) November 29, 2002 (age 22)
La Jolla, California, U.S.
Height5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Turned pro2019
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
CoachDavid Nainkin, Rhyne Williams
Prize moneyUS$ 800,261
Singles
Career record6–16
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 102 (August 26, 2024)
Current rankingNo. 169 (November 11, 2024)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenQ2 (2024)
French OpenQ2 (2024)
WimbledonQ2 (2023, 2024)
US Open2R (2021)
Doubles
Career record0–0
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 664 (August 8, 2022)
Current rankingNo. 1149 (July 29, 2024)
Last updated on: 20 November 2024.

Zachary Svajda (/ˈsvaɪ.də/ SVY-duh; born November 29, 2002) is an American professional tennis player. He achieved a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 102 on 26 August 2024, and he peaked at No. 664 in doubles on 8 August 2022.

Early life and background

A native of San Diego, California, Svajda took up tennis at the age of 2, initially coached by Matt Hanlin. He is of Czech descent. He has a younger brother Trevor who is also a tennis player, who is currently studying at SMU.

He earned his first ATP World Tour ranking point at the age of 15, defeating top-seeded João Lucas Reis da Silva of Brazil 6–3, 6–4 at the 2018 Claremont Club Pro Classic as a local main-draw wild card.

Professional career

2019: ATP and Grand Slam debut

On August 11, 2019, Svajda defeated Govind Nanda 6–7, 7–5, 6–3, 6–1 to win the USTA Boys 18s National Championship. This victory earned the 16-year-old a wildcard into the main draw of the 2019 US Open, making him the youngest player to play in the men's US Open since Donald Young in 2005. There, despite succumbing to full-body cramps in a five-set first round loss to Paolo Lorenzi, he drew attention as a future prospect in American professional tennis for his solid ground strokes and adept net play.

2021: First Major win at the US Open

After defeating Ben Shelton 6–1, 6–4, 6–1 to defend his Boys 18s National Championship title, Svajda was given another wildcard into the US Open. There, ranked world No. 716, he beat world No. 81 Marco Cecchinato to progress to the second round before bowing out against 13th seed Jannik Sinner in four tight sets. The latter was an unexpectedly close match between two young players with a differential in ranking of over 700 spots.

2022: Maiden Challenger title

He won his maiden title at the 2022 Tiburon Challenger defeating compatriot Ben Shelton. As a result he climbed to a career-high No. 255 on 10 October 2022.

2023: Three Challenger titles, First ATP 500 win, Top 150 debut

He recorded his first ATP win outside a Major and first at an ATP 500 tournament at the 2023 Citi Open in Washington over Max Purcell as a qualifier. In August, Svajda entered the main draw of the US Open also as a qualifier. He won the 2023 Cary Challenger II. Two weeks later, he also won the 2023 Tiburon Challenger, making him the first player to win the tournament twice.

2024: Top 105 debut

He entered the main draw at the 2024 Dallas Open as a direct entry. He also qualified for the 2024 Delray Beach Open and defeated eight seed Max Purcell in the first round, for his second win over the Australian (first win was in previous season in Washington) and second ATP win outside of the Grand Slams. He received a qualifying wildcard for the 2024 Abierto Mexicano Telcel.

In July, he qualified for the main draw of the 2024 Hall of Fame Open and for the 2024 Atlanta Open but lost in the first rounds. He also entered the main draw at the 2024 Mubadala Citi DC Open in Washington as a lucky loser but lost to wildcard J. J. Wolf. In August, he received a wildcard for the main draw of the US Open. He again entered the main draw of the 2024 Winston-Salem Open as a lucky loser and defeated Laslo Djere in the first round and upset third seed Francisco Cerundolo in the second, getting his revenge for the first round loss at the 2023 US Open, a year earlier. As a result he reached No. 102 in the singles rankings on 26 August 2024.

ATP Challenger and ITF World Tennis Tour finals

Singles: 8 (7–1)

Legend (singles)
ATP Challenger Tour (4–1)
ITF WTT (3–0)
Finals by surface
Hard (7–1)
Clay (0–0)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Win 1–0 Oct 2022 Tiburon Challenger, USA Challenger Hard United States Ben Shelton 2–6, 6–2, 6–4
Win 2–0 Sep 2023 Cary Challenger, USA Challenger Hard Australia Rinky Hijikata 7–6, 4–6, 6–1
Win 3–0 Oct 2023 Tiburon Challenger, USA Challenger Hard Australia Adam Walton 6–2, 6–2
Win 4–0 Oct 2023 Fairfield Challenger, USA Challenger Hard United States Nishesh Basavareddy 6–4, 6–1
Loss 4–1 Jan 2024 Southern California Open Challenger, USA Challenger Hard Jamaica Blaise Bicknell 3–6, 2–6
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Win 1–0 Mar 2021 M25 Austin, USA WTT Hard United States Eduardo Nava 6–4, 4–6, 6–4
Win 2–0 Jun 2022 M15 Los Angeles, USA WTT Hard United States Brandon Holt 7–5, 6–4
Win 3–0 Jul 2022 M15 Fountain Valley, USA WTT Hard United States Sekou Bangoura 6–3, 6–1

References

  1. "Zachary Svajda". ATPTour.com. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  2. "Zachary Svajda ITF Bio". itftennis.com. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
  3. Pratt, Steve (August 22, 2019). "PRATT: Getting to Know US Open Wild Card Zach Svajda". USTA Southern California. Archived from the original on June 18, 2020.
  4. Walker, Randy (October 10, 2019). "Sixteen-Year-Old Zach Svajda Gets Attention of ESPN, New York Times, Andy Roddick In U.S. Open Loss". worldtennismagazine.com.
  5. "San Diego's Svajda brothers ready to take New York as part of U.S. Open qualifiers". August 20, 2023.
  6. "Pacific Beach's Svajda brothers finding tennis success through unconventional path to U.S. Open". August 28, 2023.
  7. "Blue Chip Trevor Svajda Commits to SMU".
  8. "Fifteen-Year Old Zachary Svajda Shocks Top Seed At Claremont Club USTA Pro Classic". Tennis Tour Talk. September 13, 2018. Archived from the original on September 24, 2022.
  9. Pratt, Steve (August 26, 2019). "USTA Boys' Nationals winner Zach Svajda primed for Grand Slam debut". USOpen.org. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
  10. Waldstein, David (August 27, 2019). "In Zachary Svajda, U.S. Men See a Glimmer of Hope (Even in Defeat)". The New York Times. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
  11. Kapetanakis, Arthur (August 17, 2021). "Zachary Svajda, Ashlyn Krueger earn 2021 US Open wild cards after USTA National Championships titles". US Open.
  12. Oddo, Chris (September 1, 2021). "2021 US Open Round 1, By the Numbers". US Open.
  13. Finn, Richard (September 2, 2021). "Sinner holds off Svajda for spot in US Open third round". US Open.
  14. Thompson, Grant (October 10, 2022). "#NextGenATP Svajda, Skatov Win Maiden Challenger Tour Titles". ATP Tour. Archived from the original on November 28, 2022.
  15. Sikes, Jeff (August 26, 2023). "Meet the 2023 US Open men's qualifiers".
  16. "Svajda's Non-Traditional Path To The Pros".
  17. "Eat Your Heart Out Medvedev – Zach Svajda Again Wins Tiburon".
  18. "Former men's champions Thiem, Wawrinka among 2024 US Open wild cards". August 14, 2024.
  19. @WSOpen (August 20, 2024). "Svajda stuns Cerundolo 🤩 🤩 Zachary Svajda earns the biggest win of his career with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Francisco Cerundolo!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  20. "Film study pays off, Coric avenges last year's Winston-Salem loss to Baez". ATPTour. August 20, 2024. Retrieved August 21, 2024.

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