Tallon Griekspoor

Tallon Griekspoor is the Dutchman who built a top-20 career on serve and stubbornness rather than junior pedigree. He began his professional career in 2014, then ground through the lower tiers before his breakthrough year: Griekspoor won a record eight Challenger titles in one season (2021), became the first player in history to win five consecutive such titles, and has also won three ATP Tour titles. That season hauled him into the top 100 and reset the trajectory of his career.

The game is front-loaded around the serve. He's serving 8.3 aces per match over the last 52 weeks, up from a career average of 6.9, and he's won 75% behind the first serve while saving close to 69% of break points — a hold-heavy, low-variance profile that travels best on faster courts. The flip side is on return and against the elite: over his career he's 7-32 against Top 10 opponents, the gap he's spent years trying to close.

His ceiling moments are scattered across the calendar. He reached the third round of a Masters 1000 for the first time on his debut in Paris, losing to world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, but reached a new career-high of No. 21 on 6 November 2023. His grass game is the real signature — two of his three titles came on the lawns — and at the 2024 French Open he beat Luciano Darderi before losing to fourth seed and eventual runner-up Alexander Zverev. He also stunned Alexander Zverev at Indian Wells for a maiden Masters quarterfinal.

He remains the Dutch No. 1, anchoring a Davis Cup side that reached its first-ever final. Now around world No. 41, the current beat is familiar terrain: defend his serve, pick off seeds on quick surfaces, and keep the Rotterdam Open–to–grass stretch as his window to climb back toward the top 25.