Alexander Donski (Bulgarian: Александър Донски; born 1 August 1998) is a Bulgarian tennis player.
| Country (sports) |  Bulgaria |
|---|---|
| Residence | Sofia, Bulgaria |
| Born | 1 August 1998 Philadelphia, PA, United States |
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) |
| Turned pro | 2017 |
| Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
| Coach | Mike Donski |
| Prize money | US$125,946 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 1–1 (at ATP Tour level, Grand Slam level, and in Davis Cup) |
| Career titles | 0 0 Challengers, 2 Futures |
| Highest ranking | No. 525 (11 April 2022) |
| Current ranking | No. 888 (22 July 2024) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 4–9 (at ATP Tour level, Grand Slam level, and in Davis Cup) |
| Career titles | 0 0 Challengers, 17 Futures |
| Highest ranking | No. 241 (1 July 2024) |
| Current ranking | No. 266 (22 July 2024) |
| Last updated on: 27 July 2024. | |
Donski has a career high ATP singles ranking of No. 525 achieved on 11 April 2022 and a career high doubles ranking of No. 241 achieved on 1 July 2024.[1][2] In singles, Donski has won two ITF World Tour titles and in doubles he won 17.
YouTube
editAlexander is known for his YouTube channel called Operation Liftoff with Lazar Dokov, his cousin and fellow professional player/coach. The duo travel Europe to play in futures tournaments in a vlog style of video. They showcase the life an ITF Junior has to endure to succeed. The channel has over 5000 subscribers.[3]
Junior career
editDonski reached a career high ITF junior ranking of 92 on 24 October 2016. He has compiled a win/loss record of 50–39 in Singles and 33–40 in Doubles.[4]
Professional career
edit2017–2020: early years: turning pro, ATP debut
editDonski turned professional in 2017 and finished the year ranked No. 1578 in the ATP singles rankings.
Donski made his ATP main draw debut at the 2018 Diema Xtra Sofia Open, receiving a wildcard into both the singles and doubles tournament. By the end of 2018, Donski jumped 147 places to finish the 2018 season ranked No. 1431 in the ATP Singles rankings while finishing the year ranked 1061 in the ATP Doubles rankings.
In singles, his breakthrough on the ITF World Tennis Tour circuit came in 2019, when he reached a total of four ITF finals. He ended up as a runner-up at the M15 events in Sozopol, Telavi and Johannesburg before eventually winning his first ITF title in Pretoria after a three tiebreak sets win over Arthur Cazaux. During the season Donski also won his first two ITF doubles titles in Telavi and Pretoria as well as reaching his first ATP quarterfinal with Alexandar Lazarov at the 2019 Sofia Open.
In 2020 the Bulgarian received a wild card into the singles qualifying draw and the doubles main draw of the 2020 Sofia Open, but ended his participation in both with straight set losses in the opening round.
2021–2022: first ATP qualification win, top 250 debut in doubles
editDonski's first singles win at the ATP level came at the 2021 Sofia Open, where he received another wild card for the qualifying draw and pulled an upset win over eighth seed Jurij Rodionov before losing to Andreas Seppi in the final round. Alexander also played in the doubles competition at his home ATP tournament with Dimitar Kuzmanov, but the Bulgarian duo lost in a third set tiebreaker to eventual champions Jonny O'Mara and Ken Skupski.
At the end of the 2021 season Donski started his rise in the doubles rankings with three more ITF titles, winning the trophy at the M15 event in Sozopol with Billy Harris and following it up with triumphs at the M25 events in Saint-Dizier and Villers-lès-Nancy with Petros Tsitsipas.
In January 2022, the Bulgarian continued his streak in doubles at a series of M25 events in Monastir and after 12 consecutive wins he added another trophy to his collection. In the following months Donski reached two more ITF singles finals in Tunisia, losing the first one to Laurent Lokoli before claiming his second singles title against Térence Atmane in March.
In the coming months Alexander won two more ITF doubles titles in Sarajevo and Alkmaar as well as also reaching three ATP Challenger Tour quarterfinals. At the 2022 Sofia Open the Bulgarian lost in the first qualifying round in singles, but he once again reached the quarterfinals in doubles with Alexandar Lazarov and made his top 250 debut in the ATP doubles rankings on 3 October 2022.
ATP Challenger and ITF Futures/World Tennis Tour finals
editSingles: 6 (2–4)
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| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 0–1 | May 2019 | M15 Sozopol, Bulgaria | World Tennis Tour | Hard | 7–6(7–5), 3–6, 2–6 | |
| Loss | 0–2 | Aug 2019 | M15 Telavi, Georgia | World Tennis Tour | Clay | 4–6, 0–6 | |
| Loss | 0–3 | Sep 2019 | M15 Johannesburg, South Africa | World Tennis Tour | Hard | 7–6(7–5), 3–6, 6–7(3–7) | |
| Win | 1–3 | Sep 2019 | M15 Pretoria, South Africa | World Tennis Tour | Hard | 7–6(7–3), 6–7(5–7), 7–6 (8–6) | |
| Loss | 1–4 | Feb 2022 | M15 Monastir, Tunisia | World Tennis Tour | Hard | 0–6, 6–3, 5–7 | |
| Win | 2–4 | Mar 2022 | M15 Monastir, Tunisia | World Tennis Tour | Hard | 6–2, 5–7, 6–3 |
Doubles: 30 (17–13)
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| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 0–1 | May 2018 | Bulgaria F1, Sozopol | Futures | Hard | 5–7, 3–6 | ||
| Loss | 0–2 | May 2019 | M15 Sozopol, Bulgaria | World Tennis Tour | Hard | 6–4, 2–6, [6–10] | ||
| Loss | 0–3 | Jun 2019 | M15 Plovdiv, Bulgaria | World Tennis Tour | Clay | 1–6, 7–6(11–9), [5–10] | ||
| Win | 1–3 | Jul 2019 | M15 Telavi, Georgia | World Tennis Tour | Clay | 6–4, 6–4 | ||
| Loss | 1–4 | Sep 2019 | M15 Johannesburg, South Africa | World Tennis Tour | Hard | 3–6, 4–6 | ||
| Win | 2–4 | Oct 2019 | M15 Pretoria, South Africa | World Tennis Tour | Hard | 6–2, 7–5 | ||
| Loss | 2–5 | Sep 2021 | M25 Říčany, Czech Republic | World Tennis Tour | Clay | 3–6, 5–7 | ||
| Win | 3–5 | Oct 2021 | M15 Sozopol, Bulgaria | World Tennis Tour | Hard | 6–1, 6–4 | ||
| Win | 4–5 | Nov 2021 | M25 Saint-Dizier, France | World Tennis Tour | Hard (i) | 6–4, 4–6, [10–7] | ||
| Win | 5–5 | Nov 2021 | M25 Villers-lès-Nancy, France | World Tennis Tour | Hard (i) | 7–6(7–2), 3–2 ret. | ||
| Win | 6–5 | Jan 2022 | M25 Monastir, Tunisia | World Tennis Tour | Hard | 6–2, 5–7, [10–7] | ||
| Loss | 6–6 | Jan 2022 | M25 Monastir, Tunisia | World Tennis Tour | Hard | 6–1, 4–6, [8–10] | ||
| Win | 7–6 | Jun 2022 | M15 Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina | World Tennis Tour | Clay | 5–7, 7–6(7–2), [12–10] | ||
| Win | 8–6 | Jun 2022 | M15 Alkmaar, Netherlands | World Tennis Tour | Clay | 3–6, 3–3 ret. | ||
| Win | 9–6 | Oct 2022 | M15 Sozopol, Bulgaria | World Tennis Tour | Hard | 6–2, 3–6, [10–5] | ||
| Loss | 9–7 | Nov 2022 | M25 Heraklion, Greece | World Tennis Tour | Hard | 7–6(7–2), 3–6, [7–10] | ||
| Win | 10–7 | Mar 2023 | M15 Monastir, Tunisia | World Tennis Tour | Hard | 7–5, 6–3 | ||
| Loss | 10–8 | May 2023 | M15 Antalya, Turkey | World Tennis Tour | Clay | 6–4, 4–6, [8–10] | ||
| Loss | 10–9 | Jun 2023 | M15 Štore, Slovenia | World Tennis Tour | Clay | 2–6, 2–6 | ||
| Loss | 10–10 | Jul 2023 | M15 Celje, Slovenia | World Tennis Tour | Clay | 2–6, 3–6 | ||
| Loss | 10–11 | Nov 2023 | M15 Monastir, Tunisia | World Tennis Tour | Hard | w/o | ||
| Win | 11–11 | Dec 2023 | M15 Monastir, Tunisia | World Tennis Tour | Hard | 6–2, 2–1, ret. | ||
| Win | 12–11 | Dec 2023 | M15 Monastir, Tunisia | World Tennis Tour | Hard | 6–0, 3–6, [12–10] | ||
| Win | 13–11 | Mar 2024 | M25 Faro, Portugal | World Tennis Tour | Hard | 6–4, 3–6, [10–7] | ||
| Loss | 13–12 | Mar 2024 | M25 Quinta do Lago, Portugal | World Tennis Tour | Hard | 2–7, 7–6(7–3), [7–10] | ||
| Win | 14–12 | Mar 2024 | M25 Vale do Lobo, Portugal | World Tennis Tour | Hard | 6–4, 4–6, [10–8] | ||
| Win | 15–12 | Mar 2024 | M25 Loulé, Portugal | World Tennis Tour | Hard | 7–6(8–6), 2–6, [10–1] | ||
| Win | 16–12 | Apr 2024 | M25 Monastir, Tunisia | World Tennis Tour | Hard | 6–4, 6–2 | ||
| Win | 17–12 | Jun 2024 | M15 Hillcrest, South Africa | World Tennis Tour | Hard | 7–6(7–5), 6–4 | ||
| Loss | 17–13 | Jul 2024 | Segovia, Spain | Challenger | Hard | 4–6, 3–6 |
National participation
editDavis Cup (4 wins, 3 losses)
editAlexander Donski debuted for the Bulgaria Davis Cup team in 2019. Since then he has 8 nominations with 7 ties played, his singles W/L record is 1–0 and doubles W/L record is 3–3 (4–3 overall).[5]
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indicates the result of the Davis Cup match followed by the score, date, place of event, the zonal classification and its phase, and the court surface.
| Rubber result | No. | Rubber | Match type (partner if any) | Opponent nation | Opponent player(s) | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Defeat | 1 | I | Doubles (with Alexandar Lazarov) | Raven Klaasen / Ruan Roelofse | 3–6, 2–6 | |
| Victory | 2 | V | Singles | Rodrigo Crespo Piedra | 6–2, 6–4 | |
| Victory | 3 | III | Doubles (with Alexandar Lazarov) | Juan Borba / Hernando José Escurra Isnardi | 6–3, 7–5 | |
| Victory | 4 | III | Doubles (with Alexandar Lazarov) | Lleyton Cronje / Raven Klaasen | 6–3, 7–6(8–6) | |
| Defeat | 5 | III | Doubles (with Petr Nesterov) | Artem Sitak / Michael Venus | 4–6, 6–3, 3–6 | |
| Victory | 6 | III | Doubles (with Alexandar Lazarov) | Alexander Bublik / Aleksandr Nedovyesov | 6–3, 6–3 | |
| Defeat | 7 | III | Doubles (with Alexandar Lazarov) | Mirza Bašić / Damir Džumhur | 6–7(10–12), 3–6 | |
References
edit- ^ "Alexander Donski - Overview - ATP Tour - Tennis". ATP Tour. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
- ^ ITF Tennis – Pro Circuit – Player Profile – DONSKI, Alexander (BUL)
- ^ YouTube – Operation Liftoff channel
- ^ ITF Tennis – Juniors – Player Profile – DONSKI, Alexander (BUL)
- ^ Davis Cup – Player Profile – DONSKI, Alexander (BUL)