Bravo! Rodionov claims first tournament victory of the year in Bratislava
The 27-year-old Austrian wins the ninth Challenger tournament of his career.
Jurij Rodionov has reason to celebrate in the home stretch of the 2026 tennis year after all. The 27-year-old Austrian wins the ATP hard-court Challenger tournament in Bratislava.
Sunday's final turned out to be a clear-cut affair in favor of the Austrian: Rodionov defeated Switzerland's Jerome Kym (ATP No. 164) 6-2, 6-1 after 1:10 hours of play.
In set one, Rodionov broke his 23-year-old opponent's serve twice, and in set three as many as three times.
New Austrian number one
For Rodionov, it is the ninth Challenger tournament victory of his career – his first since Bonn in August 2025.
The win also gives the Austrian a nice boost in the ATP world rankings, moving up from 142nd to 118th place. However, he is still some way off his career high (87th place).
On the other hand, he leapfrogs the injured Sebastian Ofner in the world rankings and will be Austria's number one in men's tennis starting Monday.
