# Jozef Kovalík

Jozef Kovalík (Slovak pronunciation:; born 4 November 1992) is a Slovak professional tennis player who competes on the ATP Challenger Tour. He has a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 80 and a doubles ranking of No. 245 reached in 2018. He is currently the No. 1 Slovak player.

## Career
### 2010–2014: First Challenger title

Kovalík together with Filip Horanský won bronze medal in doubles at 2010 Summer Youth Olympics.
He won his first Challenger title on 17 August 2014, after beating second seed Andrey Kuznetsov. He became the fourth player to win an ATP Challenger title while ranked outside the top 300.

### 2016: ATP, Masters & Grand Slam debuts

He played his first match at ATP level on 5 January 2016 in Chennai, where he lost in the first round. He played his first match at a Grand Slam at the 2016 Australian Open, where he lost to fellow qualifier Marco Trungelliti in the first round.
At the 2016 BNP Paribas Open Kovalík won his first match at ATP level, defeating another qualifier Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the first round. He lost in two tight tie-breaks in the subsequent round, to fellow up-and-coming talent Dominic Thiem. Despite the loss his tennis was of an extremely high quality as he was able to win cheap points off his first serve, utilised an effective kicking second serve, and consistently hit his groundstrokes with great accuracy, power and depth. In addition he remained mentally composed on key points and played intelligent tennis throughout. During the match he was watched by fellow Slovak and coach of Novak Djokovic, Marián Vajda.
Kovalík won the 2016 Capri Watch Cup, his second title on the ATP Challenger Tour.

### 2017–2020: Roland Garros, Wimbledon & Top 100 debuts

At the 2018 Sofia Open he had his best ATP tournament, reaching the semifinals and losing to Marius Copil in straight sets, 6–4, 6–2. Kovalík reached another ATP level semifinal at 2018 German Open in Hamburg, where he lost to the defending champion Leonardo Mayer. After the tournament, Kovalík reached the Top 100 for the first time.

### 2024: Challenger titles, first Major wins, back to top 125

He won his first Challenger title of the season and first since 2022 in Zadar, Croatia defeating Adrian Andreev in the final. Following a third final showing for the season at the 2024 Upper Austria Open in Mauthausen, where he lost to Lucas Pouille, Kovalik returned in the top 150 in the rankings on 20 May 2024. At 31 years old, he entered the main draw of the 2024 French Open as a lucky loser, after more than three years of absence at the Grand Slam level and recorded his first Major wins over Marcos Giron and 18th seed Karen Khachanov. As a result, he returned to No. 119 on 10 June 2024 and to No. 102 a month later on 15 July 2024.

## Performance timelines

Key :
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | P# | DNQ | A | Z# | PO | G | S | B | NMS | NTI | P | NH |

### Singles

Current through the 2024 French Open.
| Tournament | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | SR | W–L |
| Grand Slam tournaments |||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | A | A | Q2 | 1R | Q1 | Q2 | A | 1R | Q1 | Q1 | Q1 | Q1 | 0 / 2 | 0–2 |
| French Open | Q2 | A | A | Q1 | 1R | 1R | 1R | Q1 | Q3 | Q1 | Q1 | 3R | 0 / 4 | 2–4 |
| Wimbledon | Q1 | A | Q1 | Q3 | Q2 | Q1 | 1R | NH | Q1 | Q1 | Q1 | Q1 | 0 / 1 | 0–1 |
| US Open | A | A | Q1 | 1R | Q1 | Q1 | 1R | 1R | A | Q2 | Q1 | Q1 | 0 / 3 | 0–3 |
| Win–loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0 / 10 | 2–10 |
| ATP World Tour Masters 1000 |||||||||||||||
| Indian Wells Masters | A | A | A | 2R | Q1 | A | Q1 | NH | A | A | | | 0 / 1 | 1–1 |
| Miami Open | A | A | A | Q1 | Q1 | A | A | NH | A | A | | | 0 / 0 | 0–0 |
| Monte-Carlo Masters | A | A | A | A | Q1 | A | A | NH | A | A | | | 0 / 0 | 0–0 |
| Madrid Open | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | NH | A | A | Q1 | | 0 / 0 | 0–0 |
| Italian Open | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | Q3 | Q1 | A | Q1 | | 0 / 0 | 0–0 |
| Canadian Open | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | NH | A | A | | | 0 / 0 | 0–0 |
| Cincinnati Masters | A | A | A | A | A | Q1 | A | A | A | A | | | 0 / 0 | 0–0 |
| Shanghai Masters | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | NH | NH | NH | | | 0 / 0 | 0–0 |
| Paris Masters | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | | | 0 / 0 | 0–0 |
| Win–loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0 / 1 | 1–1 |
| National representation |||||||||||||||
| Davis Cup | A | A | A | PO | Z1 | Z1 | A | PO | PO | | | | 0 / 0 | 2–4 |
| Career statistics |||||||||||||||
| | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | Career | Career |
| Tournaments | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 50 | 50 |
| Overall win–loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 4–9 | 3–6 | 7–6 | 1–9 | 1–6 | 6–6 | 1–3 | 3–4 | 3–4 | 29–53 | 29–53 |
| Year-end ranking | 339 | 202 | 259 | 117 | 165 | 85 | 139 | 131 | 148 | 137 | 228 | 125 | 34% | 34% |

### Doubles

Current through the 2022 Melbourne Summer Set 1.
| Tournament | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | SR | W–L |
| Grand Slam tournaments ||||||||
| Australian Open | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 |
| French Open | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 |
| Wimbledon | A | A | NH | A | | 0 / 0 | 0–0 |
| US Open | A | 2R | A | A | | 0 / 1 | 1–1 |
| Win–loss | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0 / 1 | 1–1 |
| Career statistics ||||||||
| | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | Career | Career |
| Tournaments | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 |
| Titles / Finals | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 |
| Overall win–loss | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–4 | 1–4 |
| Year-end ranking | 332 | 392 | 439 | 1009 | | 20% | 20% |

## ATP Challenger and ITF Tour finals
### Singles 31: (19–12)

* Legend (singles)
* ATP Challenger Tour (9–8)
* ITF Futures Tour (9–4)
* Titles by surface
* Hard (1–3)
* Clay (17–9)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Loss | 0–1 | Apr 2011 | Turkey F14, Antalya | Futures | Hard | Arnau Brugués Davi | 5–7, 2–6 |
| Win | 1–1 | Jun 2011 | Bosnia and Herzegovina F5, Kiseljak | Futures | Clay | Aldin Šetkić | 6–3, 6–4 |
| Loss | 1–2 | Jul 2011 | Estonia F2, Kuressaare | Futures | Clay | Hans Podlipnik Castillo | 6–1, 2–6, 0–6 |
| Win | 2–2 | Aug 2011 | Slovakia F2, Tatranska Lomnica | Futures | Clay | Daniel Lustig | 6–2, 4–6, 6–3 |
| Loss | 2–3 | Jan 2012 | Israel F2, Eilat | Futures | Hard | Daniel Smethurst | 4–6, 2–6 |
| Win | 3–3 | Jul 2012 | Italy F15, Viterbo | Futures | Clay | Riccardo Bellotti | 6–2, 4–6, 6–2 |
| Win | 4–3 | Sep 2012 | Italy F25, Trieste | Futures | Clay | Sandro Ehrat | 7–6$^{(7–2)}$, 6–4 |
| Win | 5–3 | Sep 2012 | Serbia F12, Subotica | Futures | Clay | Laslo Djere | 3–6, 6–0, 6–3 |
| Win | 6–3 | Sep 2012 | Serbia F14, Sokobanja | Futures | Clay | Lucas Pouille | 6–3, 5–7, 6–4 |
| Loss | 6–4 | Apr 2013 | Itajaí, Brasil | Challenger | Clay | Rogério Dutra da Silva | 6–4, 3–6, 1–6 |
| Loss | 6–5 | Feb 2014 | Turkey F3, Antalya | Futures | Hard | Artem Smirnov | 6–7$^{(4–7)}$, 6–1, 4–6 |
| Win | 7–5 | Mar 2014 | Greece F1, Heraklion | Futures | Hard | Jan Hernych | 6–3, 7–6$^{(8–6)}$ |
| Win | 8–5 | Apr 2014 | Greece F4, Heraklion | Futures | Hard | Dejan Katic | 6–0, 6–2 |
| Win | 9–5 | Jun 2014 | Slovenia F2, Maribor | Futures | Clay | Julien Cagnina | 7–6$^{(7–2)}$, 6–1 |
| Win | 10–5 | Aug 2014 | Meerbusch, Germany | Challenger | Clay | Andrey Kuznetsov | 6–1, 6–4 |
| Loss | 10–6 | Jun 2015 | Mestre, Italy | Challenger | Clay | Máximo González | 1–6, 3–6 |
| Win | 11–6 | Apr 2016 | Napoli, Italy | Challenger | Clay | Arthur De Greef | 6–3, 6–2 |
| Loss | 11–7 | May 2017 | Rome, Italy | Challenger | Clay | Marco Cecchinato | 4–6, 4–6 |
| Loss | 11–8 | Oct 2017 | Lima, Perù | Challenger | Clay | Gerald Melzer | 5–7, 6–7$^{(4–7)}$ |
| Win | 12–8 | Jun 2018 | Poprad, Slovakia | Challenger | Clay | Arthur De Greef | 6–4, 6–0 |
| Loss | 12–9 | Oct 2018 | Braunschweig, Germany | Challenger | Clay | Yannick Hanfmann | 2–6, 6–3, 3–6 |
| Win | 13–9 | Aug 2019 | Szczecin, Poland | Challenger | Clay | Guido Andreozzi | 6–7$^{(5–7)}$, 6–2, 6–4 |
| Loss | 13–10 | Oct 2019 | Barcelona, Spain | Challenger | Clay | Salvatore Caruso | 4–6, 2–6 |
| Win | 14–10 | Nov 2019 | Maia, Portugal | Challenger | Clay | Constant Lestienne | 6–0, 6–4 |
| Win | 15–10 | Sep 2022 | Tulln an der Donau, Austria | Challenger | Clay | Jelle Sels | 7–6$^{(8–6)}$, 7–6$^{(7–3)}$ |
| Loss | 15–11 | Oct 2022 | Parma, Italy | Challenger | Clay | Timofey Skatov | 5–7, 7–6$^{(7–2)}$, 4–6 |
| Win | 16–11 | Mar 2024 | Zadar, Croatia | Challenger | Clay | Adrian Andreev | 6–4, 6–2 |
| Win | 17–11 | Apr 2024 | Split, Croatia | Challenger | Clay | Zsombor Piros | 6–4, 5–7, 7–5 |
| Loss | 17–12 | May 2024 | Mauthausen, Austria | Challenger | Clay | Lucas Pouille | 3–6, 3–6 |
| Win | 18–12 | Jul 2024 | Karlsruhe, Germany | Challenger | Clay | Camilo Ugo Carabelli | 6–3, 7–6$^{(7–2)}$ |

### Doubles

| Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Loss | 1. | 8 January 2012 | São Paulo | Hard | José Pereira | Fernando Romboli Júlio Silva | 7–5, 6–2 |
| Loss | 2. | 9 April 2017 | Sophia Antipolis | Clay | Uladzimir Ignatik | Tristan Lamasine Franko Škugor | 2–6, 2–6 |
| Loss | 3. | 23 June 2017 | Scheveningen | Clay | Stefanos Tsitsipas | Sander Gillé Joran Vliegen | 2–6, 6–4, [10–12] |
| Win | 4. | 30 September 2017 | Rome | Clay | Martin Kližan | Sander Gillé Joran Vliegen | 6–3, 7–6$^{(7–5)}$ |
| Loss | 5. | 31 March 2018 | Marbella | Clay | Martin Kližan | Guido Andreozzi Ariel Behar | 3–6, 4–6 |

## Wins over top 10 players

| # | Player | Rank | Event | Surface | Rd | Score |
| 2017 |||||||
| 1. | Marin Čilić | 6 | Chennai, India | Hard | 2R | 7–6$^{(7–5)}$, 5–7, 7–5 |