Rudolf Molleker
Molleker at the 2019 French Open Qualifying
Country (sports) Germany
ResidenceOranienburg, Germany
Born (2000-10-26) 26 October 2000 (age 23)
Sievierodonetsk, Ukraine
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Turned pro2017
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
CoachBenjamin Thiele
Prize money$536,333
Singles
Career record4–11 (26.7% at ATP Tour level)
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 146 (29 July 2019)
Current rankingNo. 192 (15 January 2024)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open1R (2019)
French Open1R (2019)
US OpenQ1 (2019)
Doubles
Career record1–8
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 376 (21 March 2022)
Current rankingNo. 783 (15 January 2024)
Last updated on: 19 January 2024.

Rudolf Molleker (born 26 October 2000) is a German tennis 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 in Germany when he was three years old. He is of Russian–German descent.[1][2]

He trained at Patrick Mouratoglou Academy in Sophia Antipolis (France) starting in 2018.[3]

Tennis career

2017: ATP debut

Molleker made his ATP main draw debut at the German Open after defeating Casper Ruud and Leonardo Mayer, 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 title as a wildcard at the Heilbronner Neckarcup, defeating Jiří Veselý in the final.[4]

He won his first match at ATP-level at the Stuttgart Open, defeating compatriot Jan-Lennard Struff in the first round.[5]

At the German Open he beat former world No. 3 David Ferrer in the first round.[6]

2019: Grand Slam and top 150 debut

Molleker made his Grand Slam debut at the Australian Open, battling through three qualifying rounds before falling to world number 16 Diego Schwartzman in four sets.[7]

At the French Open, he performed a similar feat, 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.[7]

Singles performance timeline

Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (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.

Current through the 2024 Australian Open qualifying.

Tournament 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 SR W–L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A A 1R A Q1 A A Q2 0 / 1 0–1
French Open A A 1R Q1 A A A 0 / 1 0–1
Wimbledon A A A NH A A A 0 / 0 0–0
US Open A A Q1 A A A A 0 / 0 0–0
Win–loss 0–0 0–0 0–2 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0 / 2 0–2
Career statistics
Tournaments 1 3 5 0 1 0 1 0 11
Overall win–loss 0–1 2–3 2–5 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–1 0–0 4–11
Year-end ranking 566 207 164 217 379 333 201 27%

ATP Challenger and ITF Futures/World Tennis Tour finals

Singles: 12 (6–6)

Legend
ATP Challenger (2–1)
ITF Futures/World Tennis Tour (4–5)
Finals by surface
Hard (0–1)
Clay (6–5)
Grass (0–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Loss 0–1 Sep 2017 Tunisia F25, Hammamet Futures Clay France Elliot Benchetrit 4–6, 0–2 ret.
Loss 0–2 Apr 2018 Turkey F15, Antalya Futures Clay Croatia Nino Serdarušić 5–7, 2–6
Win 1–2 May 2018 Heilbronn, Germany Challenger Clay Czech Republic Jiří Veselý 4–6, 6–4, 7–5
Loss 1–3 Jun 2019 Poznan, Poland Challenger Clay Spain Tommy Robredo 7–5, 4–6, 1–6
Loss 1–4 May 2022 M25 Split, Croatia World Tour Clay Ukraine Viacheslav Bielinskyi 2–6, 3–6
Win 2–4 Jun 2022 M15 Kamen, Germany World Tour Clay Austria David Pichler 6–1, 6–4
Win 3–4 Aug 2022 M25 Wetzlar, Germany World Tour Clay Dominican Republic Nick Hardt 7–6(7–3), 6–1
Win 4–4 Dec 2022 M15 Antalya, Turkey World Tour Clay Bulgaria Yanaki Milev 6–3, 6–4
Loss 4–5 Feb 2023 M15 Oberhaching, Germany World Tour Hard (i) Germany Daniel Masur 6–7(3–7), 6–7(4–7)
Loss 4–6 Mar 2023 M25 Palma Nova, Spain World Tour Clay Spain Pablo Llamas Ruiz 3–6, 2–6
Win 5–6 May 2023 M25 Bodrum, Turkey World Tour Clay United Kingdom George Loffhagen 6–1, 7–6(7–4)
Win 6–6 Aug 2023 Prague, Czech Republic Challenger Clay France Gabriel Debru 6–2, 6–2

Doubles: 1 (1–0)

Legend
ATP Challenger (0–0)
ITF Futures (1–0)
Finals by surface
Hard (0–0)
Clay (1–0)
Grass (0–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1–0 Sep 2017 Tunisia F25, Hammamet Futures Clay France Elliot Benchetrit Tunisia Aziz Dougaz
Tunisia Anis Ghorbel
7–5, 6–3

Junior Grand Slam finals

Doubles: 1 (1 runner-up)

Result Year Tournament Surface Partner Opponent Score
Loss 2018 Australian Open Hard Germany Henri Squire France Hugo Gaston
France Clément Tabur
2–6, 2–6

References

  1. ^ "Rudi Molleker (16) erfüllt sich in Wimbledon seinen Kindheitstraum" (in German). B.Z.
  2. ^ Reich, Anja. "Tennistalent Rudolf Molleker aus Oranienburg: Ist das der neue Boris Becker?" (in German). Berliner Zeitung.
  3. ^ "Roland-Garros : Les dessous de l'" usine à champions " Mouratoglou". Le Monde.fr. 28 May 2019.
  4. ^ "At 17, Molleker Joins Exclusive Club With Maiden Title". ATP World Tour. 21 May 2018.
  5. ^ "ATP Stuttgart: Zverev sets Federer clash. First ATP win for Rudolf Molleker". Tennis World USA. 12 June 2018.
  6. ^ "17-Year-Old Molleker Stuns Ferrer In Hamburg". ATP World Tour. 23 July 2018.
  7. ^ a b "Rudolf Molleker Player Activity". ATP Tour. Retrieved 7 March 2023.