# Rafael Matos

Rafael Fabris de Matos (born 6 January 1996) is a Brazilian professional tennis player who specializes in doubles. He has a career-high ATP doubles ranking of No. 26, achieved on 6 February 2023. On 21 May 2018, he reached a singles ranking of No. 440. He won the mixed doubles at the 2023 Australian Open with compatriot Luisa Stefani, becoming the first Brazilian pair to win a Grand Slam.

## Career
### 2019–20: ATP debut

Matos made his ATP main draw debut at the 2019 Brasil Open in the doubles draw partnering Igor Marcondes.
At the 2020 Rio Open, Matos alongside Orlando Luz defeated the 2019 Wimbledon and 2019 US Open champions, and ATP doubles World No. 1, Juan Sebastián Cabal and Robert Farah 6–1, 4–6, [10–8].

### 2021–22: Major debut & first win & quarterfinal, Six titles & top 30 debut

In February 2021, Matos won his first ATP Tour doubles title alongside Felipe Meligeni Alves at the ATP 250 Córdoba Open defeating Romain Arneodo and Benoît Paire. He reached the top 100 in doubles on 3 May 2021 at World No. 99.
He made his Grand Slam debut at the 2021 Wimbledon Championships with compatriot Thiago Monteiro where they reached the second round.
In February 2022, Matos won his second ATP 250 doubles title at the 2022 Chile Open alongside Meligeni Alves.
In April 2022, Matos won his third ATP 250 doubles title at the 2022 Grand Prix Hassan II alongside Spaniard David Vega Hernández. At the 2022 BMW Open he reached his second final with Vega Hernández and fifth overall.
At the 2022 French Open on his debut at this Major, the pair reached the third round with a win over Łukasz Kubot and Édouard Roger-Vasselin but not before defeating 13th seeded pair of Santiago González and Andrés Molteni. They reached the quarterfinals where they lost to 12th seeded pair of Marcelo Arévalo and Jean-Julien Rojer. As a result, he made his debut in the top 50 in the rankings at world No. 43 on 6 June 2022.
Matos reached the top 30 on 31 October 2022 following a fifth title for the season at the 2022 Sofia Open and a final showing at the ATP 500 2022 Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships with Vega Hernández. He ended 2022 with six ATP career titles, and having reached world No. 27 in the doubles rankings on 14 November 2022.

### 2023: Historic Major mixed doubles title

Playing in mixed doubles of the 2023 Australian Open with fellow Brazilian Luisa Stefani, they won the first Grand Slam title for Brazil, an unprecedented feat both as a 100% Brazilian duo and individually.
Throughout 2023, Matos' best results in doubles were: a third round at Roland Garros and runner-up at the ATP 250 in Bastad and Chengdu with Francisco Cabral, a semifinal at the ATP 250 in Córdoba with Vega Hernández, and quarterfinals at the ATP 500 in Acapulco, Barcelona and Halle.
At the 2023 Wimbledon, Matos competed in the mixed doubles draw, resuming the partnership with Luisa Stefani. In their opening match against Andrea Vavassori and Liudmila Samsonova, they were defeated 2–1 in sets.

### 2024: First ATP 500 title

At the beginning of the season, Matos started a new partnership with Colombian player Nicolás Barrientos, which had already been announced at the end of 2023. In their first competition, the Brisbane International, the duo advanced to the second round (round of 16), where they faced the No. 2 seeds, Dutch player Jean-Julien Rojer and British player Lloyd Glasspool, being eliminated in straight sets.
In the partnership’s second tournament, the Adelaide International, Matos and Barrientos defeated the No. 8 seeds, French duo Edouard Roger-Vasselin and Nicolas Mahut, in straight sets to reach the quarterfinals, where they faced the No. 2 seeds, Indian player Rohan Bopanna and Australian player Matthew Ebden. In this match, they were defeated 2–1 in sets and eliminated from the tournament.
After that, Rafael headed straight to Melbourne to compete in the Australian Open, again partnering with Barrientos. Upon arriving in Melbourne, Matos received news that the Australian Open organizers had granted a wild card to Luisa Stefani and him, giving them the opportunity to defend their mixed doubles title won in 2023, even though Matos’s ranking was not high enough to compete alongside Stefani.
In the mixed doubles draw, Stefani and Matos faced British players Joe Salisbury—who partnered with Stefani at the 2023 US Open—and Heather Watson in the first round but were defeated in straight sets, ending their participation in the 2024 Australian Open without successfully defending their mixed doubles title.
Matos partnership with Nicolás Barrientos started to produce good results. At the ATP 250 in Buenos Aires, they reached the semifinals. In the following ATP 500 tournament in Rio de Janeiro, they won their biggest title, defeating strong pairs such as Krawietz/Putz, Bolelli/Vavassori and Erler/Miedler in the final. By doing so, Matos became the first Brazilian in the tournament’s ten-year history to win a trophy, in either singles or doubles.
In July, Matos won his ninth ATP title with Orlando Luz at the 2024 Swedish Open.

### 2025: United Cup debut, defended Rio title with Melo

Matos began his 2025 season competing in the United Cup, representing Brazil. In the tournament's first tie, Brazil faced China. Matos and Carolina Meligeni Alves teamed up for the mixed doubles match, but they were defeated, contributing to a clean sweep by the Chinese team in that tie. Matos and the Brazilians could not defeat China in the United Cup. This kept Brazil in difficult contention for the tournament. The defeats from Meligeni/Matos in mixed doubles and earlier from their teammates Beatriz Haddad Maia and Thiago Monteiro in singles matches complicated Brazil's chances of advancing further in the United Cup. The Brazilian team's struggles continued in the United Cup, as Carolina Meligeni and Rafael Matos were defeated once again in the mixed doubles match during their final tie, this time against Germany. Despite their efforts, the Brazilian team was unable to secure a single victory in the tournament, finishing their campaign without advancing past the group stage.
Matos won his tenth title overall and second at his home tournament, the 2025 Rio Open, where he was the defending champion, with compatriot Marcelo Melo. Matos became the fourth man to win multiple Rio doubles titles and the first to successfully defend the title.

## Performance timeline

Current through the 2024 Italian Open.
| Tournament | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | SR | W–L |
| Grand Slam tournaments |||||||
| Australian Open | A | 1R | 1R | 2R | 0 / 3 | 1–3 |
| French Open | A | QF | 3R | 2R | 0 / 3 | 6–3 |
| Wimbledon | 2R | 3R | 2R | 3R | 0 / 4 | 6–4 |
| US Open | A | 1R | 2R | 2R | 0 / 3 | 2–3 |
| Win–loss | 1–1 | 5–4 | 4–4 | 5–4 | 0 / 13 | 15–13 |
| ATP Tour Masters 1000 |||||||
| Indian Wells Masters | A | A | 1R | | 0 / 1 | 0–1 |
| Miami Open | A | A | 2R | | 0 / 1 | 1–1 |
| Monte-Carlo Masters | A | A | 1R | | 0 / 1 | 0–1 |
| Madrid Open | A | A | 1R | | 0 / 1 | 0–1 |
| Italian Open | A | A | A | 2R | 0 / 1 | 1–1 |
| Canadian Open | A | A | A | | 0 / 0 | 0–0 |
| Cincinnati Masters | A | 1R | | | 0 / 1 | 0–1 |
| Shanghai Masters | NH | NH | 1R | | 0 / 1 | 0–1 |
| Paris Masters | A | 2R | | | 0 / 1 | 1–1 |
| Win–loss | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–5 | 1–1 | 0 / 8 | 3–8 |
| Career statistics |||||||
| | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | | Career | Career |
| Titles | 1 | 5 | 0 | | 6 | 6 |
| Finals | 2 | 7 | 2 | | 11 | 11 |
| Year-end ranking | 67 | 27 | 59 | | | |

## Significant finals
### Grand Slam tournaments
#### Mixed doubles: 1 (1 title)

| Result | Year | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Win | 2023 | Australian Open | Hard | Luisa Stefani | Sania Mirza Rohan Bopanna | 7–6$^{(7–2)}$, 6–2 |

## ATP Tour finals
### Doubles: 17 (10 titles, 7 runner-ups)

* Legend
* Grand Slam (0–0)
* ATP Masters 1000 (0–0)
* ATP 500 (2–2)
* ATP 250 (8–5)
* Finals by surface
* Hard (1–3)
* Clay (7–4)
* Grass (2–0)
* Finals by setting
* Outdoor (9–7)
* Indoor (1–0)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Win | 1–0 | Feb 2021 | Córdoba Open, Argentina | ATP 250 | Clay | Felipe Meligeni Alves | Romain Arneodo Benoît Paire | 6–4, 6–1 |
| Loss | 1–1 | May 2021 | Belgrade Open, Serbia | ATP 250 | Clay | Andre Goransson | Jonathan Erlich Andrei Vasilevski | 4–6, 1–6 |
| Win | 2–1 | Feb 2022 | Chile Open, Chile | ATP 250 | Clay | Felipe Meligeni Alves | Andre Goransson Nathaniel Lammons | 7–6$^{(10–8)}$, 7–6$^{(7–3)}$ |
| Win | 3–1 | Apr 2022 | Grand Prix Hassan II, Morocco | ATP 250 | Clay | David Vega Hernández | Andrea Vavassori Jan Zieliński | 6–1, 7–5 |
| Loss | 3–2 | May 2022 | Bavarian Championships, Germany | ATP 250 | Clay | David Vega Hernández | Kevin Krawietz Andreas Mies | 6–4, 4–6, [7–10] |
| Win | 4–2 | Jun 2022 | Mallorca Championships, Spain | ATP 250 | Grass | David Vega Hernández | Ariel Behar Gonzalo Escobar | 7–6$^{(7–5)}$, 6–7$^{(6–8)}$, [10–1] |
| Win | 5–2 | Jul 2022 | Swedish Open, Sweden | ATP 250 | Clay | David Vega Hernández | Simone Bolelli Fabio Fognini | 6–4, 3–6, [13–11] |
| Win | 6–2 | Oct 2022 | Sofia Open, Bulgaria | ATP 250 | Hard (i) | David Vega Hernández | Fabian Fallert Oscar Otte | 3–6, 7–5, [10–8] |
| Loss | 6–3 | Oct 2022 | Japan Open, Japan | ATP 500 | Hard | David Vega Hernández | Mackenzie McDonald Marcelo Melo | 4–6, 6–3, [4–10] |
| Loss | 6–4 | Jul 2023 | Swedish Open, Sweden | ATP 250 | Clay | Francisco Cabral | Gonzalo Escobar Aleksandr Nedovyesov | 2–6, 2–6 |
| Loss | 6–5 | Sep 2023 | Chengdu Open, China | ATP 250 | Hard | Francisco Cabral | Sadio Doumbia Fabien Reboul | 6–4, 5–7, [7–10] |
| Win | 7–5 | Feb 2024 | Rio Open, Brazil | ATP 500 | Clay | Nicolás Barrientos | Alexander Erler Lucas Miedler | 6–4, 6–3 |
| Win | 8–5 | Jun 2024 | Stuttgart Open, Germany | ATP 250 | Grass | Marcelo Melo | Robert Galloway Julian Cash | 3–6, 6–3, [10–8] |
| Win | 9–5 | Jul 2024 | Swedish Open, Sweden (2) | ATP 250 | Clay | Orlando Luz | Manuel Guinard Grégoire Jacq | 7–5, 6–4 |
| Loss | 9–6 | Aug 2024 | Washington Open, United States | ATP 500 | Hard | Marcelo Melo | Nathaniel Lammons Jackson Withrow | 5–7, 3–6 |
| Loss | 9–7 | Feb 2025 | Argentina Open, Argentina | ATP 250 | Clay | Marcelo Melo | Guido Andreozzi Théo Arribagé | 5–7, 6–4, [7–10] |
| Win | 10–7 | Feb 2025 | Rio Open, Brazil (2) | ATP 500 | Clay | Marcelo Melo | Jaume Munar Pedro Martínez | 6–2, 7–5 |

## ATP Challenger and ITF Futures/World Tennis Tour finals
### Singles: 9 (4 titles, 5 runner-ups)

* Legend
* ATP Challenger Tour (0–0)
* ITF Futures/WTT (4–5)
* Finals by surface
* Hard (0–0)
* Clay (5–5)
* Grass (0–0)
* Carpet (0–0)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Loss | 0–1 | Nov 2014 | Brazil F15, Foz do Iguaçu | Futures | Clay | Fabrício Neis | 3–6, 5–7 |
| Win | 1–1 | May 2017 | Spain F14, Vic | Futures | Clay | Pedro Cachín | 4–6, 6–0, 1–0 ret. |
| Loss | 1–2 | Aug 2017 | Spain F25, Vigo | Futures | Clay | Marc Giner | 2–6, 6–4, 6–7$^{(6–8)}$ |
| Win | 2–2 | Nov 2017 | Brazil F2, Santos | Futures | Clay | Wilson Leite | 6–2, 3–6, 6–3 |
| Win | 3–2 | May 2018 | Brazil F2, São Paulo | Futures | Clay | Gonzalo Villanueva | 6–1, 6–3 |
| Win | 4–2 | May 2019 | M15 Tabarka, Tunisia | WTT | Clay | Orlando Luz | 7–5, 7–5 |
| Loss | 4–3 | May 2019 | M15 Valldoreix, Spain | WTT | Clay | Orlando Luz | 3–6, 4–6 |
| Loss | 4–4 | Jun 2019 | M15 São José do Rio Preto, Brazil | WTT | Clay | Juan Pablo Ficovich | 4–6, 2–6 |
| Loss | 4–5 | Oct 2019 | M15 São Paulo, Brazil | WTT | Clay | Bastián Malla | 3–6, 2–6 |

### Doubles: 20 (11–9)

* Legend
* ATP Challenger Tour (11–9)
* ITF Futures/WTT (25+)
* Finals by surface
* Hard (1–2)
* Clay (10–7)
* Grass (0–0)
* Carpet (0–0)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Win | 1–0 | Oct 2019 | Campinas, Brazil | Challenger | Clay | Orlando Luz | Miguel Ángel Reyes-Varela Fernando Romboli | 6–7$^{(2–7)}$, 6–4, [10–8] |
| Win | 2–0 | Jan 2020 | Punta del Este, Uruguay | Challenger | Clay | Orlando Luz | Juan Manuel Cerúndolo Thiago Agustín Tirante | 6–4, 6–2 |
| Loss | 2–1 | Mar 2020 | Monterrey, Mexico | Challenger | Hard | Orlando Luz | Karol Drzewiecki Gonçalo Oliveira | 7–6$^{(7–5)}$, 4–6, [9–11] |
| Win | 3–1 | Sep 2020 | Iași, Romania | Challenger | Clay | João Menezes | Treat Huey Nathaniel Lammons | 6–2, 6–2 |
| Win | 4–1 | Feb 2021 | Concepción, Chile | Challenger | Clay | Orlando Luz | Sergio Galdós Diego Hidalgo | 7–5, 6–4 |
| Loss | 4–2 | Mar 2021 | Santiago, Chile | Challenger | Clay | Felipe Meligeni Alves | Luis David Martínez Gonçalo Oliveira | 5–7, 1–6 |
| Win | 5–2 | Apr 2021 | Tallahassee, USA | Challenger | Clay | Orlando Luz | Sekou Bangoura Donald Young | 7–6$^{(7–2)}$, 6–2 |
| Loss | 5–3 | May 2021 | Biella, Italy | Challenger | Clay | Felipe Meligeni Alves | Andre Goransson Nathaniel Lammons | 6–7$^{(3–7)}$, 3–6 |
| Win | 6–3 | Aug 2021 | Cordenons, Italy | Challenger | Clay | Orlando Luz | Sergio Galdós Renzo Olivo | 6–4, 7–6$^{(7–5)}$ |
| Loss | 6–4 | Aug 2021 | San Marino, San Marino | Challenger | Clay | João Menezes | Luis David Martínez Zdeněk Kolář | 6–1, 3–6, [3–10] |
| Win | 7–4 | Aug 2021 | Como, Italy | Challenger | Clay | Felipe Meligeni Alves | Luis David Martínez Andrea Vavassori | 6–7$^{(2–7)}$, 6–4, [10–6] |
| Loss | 7–5 | Sep 2021 | Tulln an der Donau, Austria | Challenger | Clay | Felipe Meligeni Alves | Dustin Brown Andrea Vavassori | 6–7$^{(5–7)}$, 1–6 |
| Win | 8–5 | Nov 2021 | Montevideo, Uruguay | Challenger | Clay | Felipe Meligeni Alves | Ignacio Carou Luciano Darderi | 6–4, 6–4 |
| Win | 9–5 | Nov 2021 | Campinas, Brazil (2) | Challenger | Clay | Felipe Meligeni Alves | Gilbert Klier Jr. Matheus Pucinelli de Almeida | 6–3, 6–1 |
| Loss | 9–6 | Nov 2021 | São Paulo, Brazil | Challenger | Clay | Felipe Meligeni Alves | Nicolás Barrientos Alejandro Gómez | walkover |
| Loss | 9–7 | Dec 2021 | Florianópolis, Brazil | Challenger | Clay | Martín Cuevas | Nicolás Barrientos Alejandro Gómez | 3–6, 3–6 |
| Win | 10–7 | Dec 2021 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | Challenger | Hard | Orlando Luz | James Cerretani Fernando Romboli | 6–3, 7–6$^{(7–2)}$ |
| Loss | 10–8 | Apr 2022 | Madrid, Spain | Challenger | Clay | David Vega Hernández | Adam Pavlásek Igor Zelenay | 3–6, 6–3, [6–10] |
| Win | 11–8 | May 2022 | Bordeaux, France | Challenger | Clay | David Vega Hernández | Hugo Nys Jan Zieliński | 6–4, 6–0 |
| Loss | 11–9 | Nov 2023 | Brasília, Brazil | Challenger | Hard | Marcelo Demoliner | Nicolás Barrientos Andre Goransson | 6–7$^{(3–7)}$, 6–4, [9–11] |

## National representation
### Davis Cup

Matos was first nominated to play for Brazil in Davis Cup in September 2021 against Lebanon in doubles. Matos alongside Marcelo Demoliner made his debut in Davis Cup against Benjamin Hassan and Habib Hady and won in three sets at the third rubber of that tie. Later, the Brazilian team confirmed the 4–0 tie and advanced into the 2022 Davis Cup qualifying round. Currently, Matos sports a 3–0 record in Davis Cup matches. He has played only doubles matches thus far.
All Davis Cup Matches: 3–0 (Doubles: 3–0) :
| 2020 Davis Cup World Group I ||||||||||
| Round | Date | Opponent | Final match score | Location | Surface | Match | Partner | Opponents | Rubber Score |
| WGI | September 18–19, 2021 | Lebanon | 4–0 | Jounieh | Clay | III | Marcelo Demoliner | Benjamin Hassan / Habib Hady | 6–2, 3–6, 7–6$^{(7–5)}$ |
| 2022 Davis Cup World Group I ||||||||||
| WGI | September 16–17, 2022 | Portugal | 1–3 | Viana do Castelo | Hard(i) | III | Felipe Meligeni Alves | Nuno Borges / Francisco Cabral | 6–3, 0–6, 6–3 |
| 2023 Davis Cup World Group I ||||||||||
| Play-offs | February 3–4, 2023 | China | 4–0 | Florianópolis | Clay | III | Felipe Meligeni Alves | Cui Jie / Zhang Ze | 6–2, 6–3 |

## Junior Grand Slam finals
### Doubles: 1 (1 runner-up)

| Result | Year | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Loss | 2014 | US Open | Hard | João Menezes | Omar Jasika Naoki Nakagawa | 3–6, 6–7$^{(6–8)}$ |