Karen Khachanov has never won a major and has never been ranked No. 1, and he has still been one of the hardest men in the draw to remove for the better part of a decade. He won a Masters 1000 title unseeded, took Olympic silver, has reached the semifinals of two different Grand Slams, and has now made the quarterfinals or better at all four majors. At 30, ranked No. 50 and coming off a season that had gone badly wrong, he came back from two sets to one down in the US Open fourth round to reach the last eight again.
Quick facts
- Full name: Karen Abgarovich Khachanov
- Born: 21 May 1996, Moscow, Russia
- Height: 1.98m (6ft 6in)
- Plays: Right-handed, two-handed backhand
- Turned pro: 2013
- Career-high ranking: No. 8 (July 2019)
- ATP Tour singles titles: 7, the largest the 2018 Paris Masters
- Olympics: Singles silver, Tokyo 2020 (held 2021)
- Davis Cup: Winner, 2021
Season snapshot — updated 8 September 2026
- Ranked No. 50 and unseeded at the US Open
- Arrived in New York 0-3 for the North American hard-court swing
- Beat third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in the second round
- Beat 14th seed Learner Tien 7-5, 4-6, 6-7(6), 6-1, 6-4 in the fourth round, from two sets to one down, in three hours and 50 minutes
- Into his seventh major quarterfinal and his second at the US Open
Playing style and strengths
Khachanov is one of the largest men on tour and hits accordingly: a heavy first serve, flat groundstrokes off both wings, and a preference for ending points from inside the baseline rather than grinding for them. His best surface run of recent years came indoors, where he led the tour with 14 wins in 2024, taking the Almaty title and reaching the Vienna final in consecutive weeks.
What he added later in his career is the ability to win when the power is not landing. His US Open fourth round in 2026 is the model: he lost the third-set tiebreak, then took 16 of the first 21 points of the fourth set and broke Tien for a ninth time to close the fifth. Khachanov’s own description afterwards was of a match decided by repetition rather than by winners, with Tien retrieving from outside the court and forcing him to keep hitting through it.
Pressure points and vulnerabilities
The consistency has been the problem, not the ceiling. Khachanov reached No. 8 in 2019 and then went nearly seven years between Masters 1000 finals — the ATP records the 2,468 days between his 2018 Paris title and his 2025 Toronto final as the largest such gap in the series since 1990. Form has come in blocks rather than in a line, and 2026 was one of the worse stretches: before this US Open he had not won two matches in a row outside the majors since May.
The other gap is the last step. Two Grand Slam semifinals, six previous quarterfinals, an Olympic final and a Masters 1000 final in 2025 have not yet produced a major title or a second Masters trophy.
Career milestones
- 2018: Wins the Paris Masters unseeded, still the biggest title of his career.
- 2019: Reaches a career-high No. 8 in July and the Roland Garros quarterfinals.
- 2021: Takes singles silver at the Tokyo Olympics and reaches the Wimbledon quarterfinals; wins the Davis Cup.
- 2022: Reaches the US Open semifinals, his first at a major.
- 2023: Reaches the Australian Open semifinals and the Roland Garros quarterfinals, and wins the Madrid doubles title with Andrey Rublev.
- 2024: Wins Qatar, his sixth tour title, beating Jakub Mensik in the final; leads the tour in indoor wins.
- 2025: Reaches the Wimbledon quarterfinals and the Toronto final, saving a match point against Alexander Zverev on the way.
- 2026: Reaches the US Open quarterfinals as an unseeded player.
Grand Slam record
- Australian Open: Semifinals (2023)
- Roland Garros: Quarterfinals (2019, 2023)
- Wimbledon: Quarterfinals (2021, 2025)
- US Open: Semifinals (2022); quarterfinals (2026)
Background
Khachanov was born in Moscow and is of Armenian descent, a connection he has spoken about publicly during his career. He turned professional in 2013, and lists Dubai as his residence. He has been one of the highest career earners in the sport’s history without holding a Grand Slam title.
What to watch next
Khachanov plays Alexander Blockx in the 2026 US Open quarterfinals, a match between a 30-year-old who has been to this stage six times before and a 21-year-old who had never won two matches at a major before this fortnight. Beyond New York, the indoor swing is historically where Khachanov’s results cluster, and the ranking points he is defending there will decide whether this run resets his season or just interrupts it.
Frequently asked questions
Has Karen Khachanov won a Grand Slam?
No. His best results are semifinals at the 2022 US Open and the 2023 Australian Open. He has now reached at least the quarterfinals at all four majors.
What is Karen Khachanov’s biggest title?
The 2018 Paris Masters, an ATP Masters 1000 event he won as an unseeded player. It is one of seven ATP Tour singles titles.
Did Karen Khachanov win an Olympic medal?
Yes, silver in men’s singles at the Tokyo Olympics, held in 2021. He also won the Davis Cup that year.
How tall is Karen Khachanov?
1.98m, or 6ft 6in, which makes him one of the tallest players in the top 100.
Related reading
- Alexander Blockx Profile
- Learner Tien Profile
- Mensik Held Three Break Points in the Fifth and Won None of Them
- Jakub Mensik Profile
- Andrey Rublev Profile
- Alexander Zverev Profile
- Ben Shelton Profile
- ATP and WTA Player Profile Index
