Benjamin Bonzi About

La Bonz: the Nîmes late bloomer who turned Medvedev into a slam-week jinx

Benjamin Bonzi is the Frenchman who reached the tour the long way around — and made the wait pay off in major-week headlines. Born in Nîmes in 1996, he turned professional in 2015 after a successful junior career, including the 2014 French Open boys' doubles title, and began playing at age six, motivated by a desire to outperform his cousin, with structured training starting at 14 at the French Tennis Federation in Nice. The pro climb ran through years of Futures and Challenger draws before he ever settled inside the top 100.

The game is classically French: a right-hander who lives at the baseline behind a heavy, clean ball-striking package and a serve that rarely leaks free points. The numbers back the profile — over a recent stretch he gives away little on second serve (52.9% won), protects serve at 82.4%, and wins 65.3% of pressure points on serve. The flip side is the return: he wins just 34.4% of pressure points on return and 25.2% of first-serve return points, which is why his ceiling has tended to be the second week of a 250 rather than a deep slam run.

The defining breakthrough came late. Ranked No. 124 in November 2024, Bonzi won his first ATP title at the Moselle Open as a qualifier — beating Casper Ruud, Alex Michelsen and Cameron Norrie in the final, all in straight sets — and returned to the top 100 at No. 78. His career-high is No. 42, reached on 6 February 2023. But the signature thread is Daniil Medvedev: after a 2017 Roland Garros debut win by retirement, Bonzi beat Medvedev in the opening round at both 2025 Wimbledon and the 2025 US Open, reaching the third round in New York in five sets.

Now hovering at No. 99, Bonzi is again in top-100 territory, with the clay and grass swing through Roland-Garros and Wimbledon — venues where his ball-striking has done its best work — ahead.

Benjamin Bonzi at a glance

Benjamin Bonzi is 30 years old; was born in Nimes, France; lives in Anduze, France; stands 1.83 m; plays right-handed; and is ranked No. 92 in the ATP rankings.