Raphael Collignon

Born in Rochester, Minnesota, where his father worked at the Mayo Clinic before the family returned to Belgium in his infancy, Raphael Collignon is the late-build success story of the Belgian men's game. He earned four ITF titles in 2022, including the Marburg Open in Germany, a M25-level event he won without dropping a set, beating Yshai Oliel in the final. He turned pro in 2020 and ground through the lower tiers — four ATP Challenger titles — under the guidance of coach Steve Darcis, the former World No. 38.

At 6-foot-3, Collignon plays a right-handed, serve-forward game built for hard courts and, increasingly, clay. Over his career he wins 64.4% of service points, saves 58.4% of break points and holds 78.3% of the time — the profile of a player who lets the serve set up his forehand and lives for the upset.

The career-defining run came late. He claimed nine match wins in his breakthrough season, including a five-set win over Casper Ruud in the second round of the US Open and a Davis Cup win over World No. 8 Alex De Minaur on Australian soil. He pushed to the third round before falling to Jiri Lehecka. He moved to a career-high No. 72 after reaching the Brisbane quarterfinals out of qualifying, then peaked at No. 59 in February 2026.

The current beat is clay. At his first Roland-Garros, Collignon beat Aleksandar Vukic in straight sets, then dismissed world No. 5 Ben Shelton in straights for the greatest win of his career. He lost a five-set, third-round thriller to Matteo Arnaldi, 6-4 6-7(5) 5-7 6-4 7-6(4). Now inside the top 51, the seed-killer has become a seed himself.