Hubert Hurkacz arrived at Wimbledon in 2021 on a six-match losing streak. He left it as a Grand Slam semifinalist, having beaten Daniil Medvedev and then Roger Federer, 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-0. That quarterfinal was the last singles match of Federer’s career, according to the ATP Tour, and the Pole who closed it out had grown up with Federer as his idol.
He is the most successful man Poland has produced. His ATP biography credits him with eight tour-level titles from 12 finals, two ATP Masters 1000 trophies, two Nitto ATP Finals appearances and a career-high ranking of No. 6, reached in August 2024.
A tennis family in Wroclaw
Hurkacz started playing at five because his mother, Zosia, had been a junior champion in Poland, according to his ATP biography. His uncles Lech and Tomek also played, his grandfather played volleyball internationally, and his parents met as swimming teammates at the Wroclaw University of Economics. He grew up on clay and describes his game as all-around, with offensive and defensive skills. Growing up he idolised Federer and Michael Jordan. His favourite shot is the serve, and his favourite surface is hard court.
Miami, Halle, Shanghai
The breakthrough came in 2021. Hurkacz upset five seeds and beat Jannik Sinner to win the Masters 1000 title in Miami, then reached the Wimbledon semifinals and the semifinals of the Paris Masters. He finished the year at No. 9 after qualifying for the ATP Finals.
At Halle in 2022 he beat Medvedev, then ranked No. 1, 6-1, 6-4 in 63 minutes, for his fifth title in his fifth final. He lost the Montreal Masters final that summer and made the Miami semifinals. In Shanghai in 2023 he saved a championship point against Andrey Rublev to win his second Masters 1000 title, reached the Cincinnati semifinals and again finished the year at No. 9 after another ATP Finals appearance. He also won Masters 1000 doubles titles in Paris in 2020 with Felix Auger-Aliassime and in Miami in 2022 with John Isner.
Melbourne and Paris, 2024
At the 2024 Australian Open Hurkacz became the first Polish man to reach the quarterfinals in Melbourne, according to the tournament. In the fourth round the French wild card Arthur Cazaux raced to a 3-0 lead and never saw another break point, as Hurkacz won 91 per cent of his first-serve points and 76 per cent on his second, the ATP Tour reported. Medvedev beat him in the quarterfinal 7-6(4), 2-6, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 in just under four hours, saving 10 of the 15 break points he faced. Afterwards Medvedev described Hurkacz as one of the three best volleyers on the tour, the tournament reported.
At Roland Garros that June he reached the fourth round as the eighth seed and served 20 aces against Grigor Dimitrov, who still won 7-6(5), 6-4, 7-6(3). It was Dimitrov’s sixth win in six tour-level meetings with Hurkacz, a close friend and practice partner, according to the ATP Tour. Two months later Hurkacz reached No. 6.
Knee surgery and the United Cup
His 2025 season stopped in June, when he withdrew from his second-round match in ‘s-Hertogenbosch with a back injury. He had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee on 2 July, and in late September he announced he would not play again that year. He finished the season 15-11 and ranked 69th, according to the ATP Tour. “In order to return to tournaments and compete at the highest level, I need to be prepared 110%,” he wrote.
The return began with a team title. At the 2026 United Cup he beat Alexander Zverev, then ranked third, and Taylor Fritz, then ninth, as Poland won the event, according to his ATP biography. He had lost to Zverev in the 2024 United Cup final and to Fritz in the 2023 semifinals and the 2025 final.
Playing style
Hurkacz names the serve as his favourite shot, and his best weeks have been built on it: 91 per cent of first-serve points won against Cazaux in Melbourne, 20 aces against Dimitrov on the clay in Paris. Behind it sits a volleying game that Medvedev, who has lost to him at Wimbledon and Halle, ranked among the three best on tour. Hurkacz himself describes an all-around game formed on the clay courts he grew up on, with defence as well as attack.
Grand Slam best results
- Wimbledon: semifinals (2021)
- Australian Open: quarterfinals (2024)
- Roland Garros: fourth round (2024)
Season snapshot — 22 September 2026
Hurkacz is the fifth seed at the Chengdu Open this week, in a field led by Valentin Vacherot, according to the ATP draw. He won the United Cup with Poland in January. Next on the calendar after the Asian ATP 500s is the Shanghai Masters, the event he won in 2023.
This snapshot is dated and will change. The career record above does not.
