Aslan Kazbekovich Karatsev (Russian:Аслан Казбекович Карацев,Ossetian:Хъарацаты Хъазыбеджы фырт Аслан; born 4 September 1993) is a Russian professionaltennis player. He reached a career-high singlesranking of world No. 14 on 7 February 2022, and peaked at No. 76 in the doubles rankings on 16 May 2022.
Karatsev had a career-best season in 2021. In February, he passed through qualifiers for theAustralian Open. In his first main draw of amajor, and ranked No. 114, he defeated 8th seedDiego Schwartzman, 20th seedFélix Auger-Aliassime and 18th seedGrigor Dimitrov to reach the semifinals: becoming the first man in theOpen Era to reach the semifinals on his major debut.[2] In March, he won his first ATP title at theQatar Open in doubles, partneringAndrey Rublev.[3] A week later, Karatsev won his first ATP singles title at the2021 Dubai Open,[4] entering the top 30 of the ATP singles rankings for the first time in his career.[5] In April, Karatsev defeated the world No. 1Novak Djokovic on his home court at theSerbia Open to reach the final.[6] At the2020 Summer Olympics, he won a silver medal in mixed doubles partneringElena Vesnina.[7][8] He finished the year as an alternate for the2021 ATP Finals.
Karatsev was born inVladikavkaz. His father Kazbek Karatsev is an ethnicOssetian and former footballer, and his mother Svetlana Karatseva is a medical doctor. Aslan has an older sister named Zarina.[9][10] Karatsev's grandfather on his mother's side is Jewish.[11][12]
When Karatsev was three years old he and his parents moved to Israel, makingaliyah, and they lived in Israel for the next nine years.[13][14] He started playing tennis there, inTel Aviv-Jaffa.[15] His first coach was Vladimir Rabinovich.[14] His mother and sister live inHolon, Israel.[13] Karatsev speaks fluent Hebrew, and says that Israel still feels like home.[16][13]
When he was 12, he moved back to Russia, with his father, because of funding limitations in Israel. He moved toTaganrog where his new coaches were Alexandr Kuprin and Ivan Potapov. From 2011 to 2013 he was coached by Andrey Kesarev.[17]
Karatsev fluently speaks Russian, Hebrew, and English, and holds dual Russian-Israeli citizenship.[18][19]
Karatsev played his first junior match in September 2007 at the age of 14 at a grade 5 tournament in Russia. Although being his junior debut, it would be his only junior tournament until May 2009 where he started to play consistently in junior tennis. He made his junior grand slam debut at the2011 Junior French Open after qualifying for the main draw but lost in the first round. He then participated in2011 Junior Wimbledon with resulted in him again losing in the first round and then the2011 Junior US Open where he won his first round match but lost in the second round. In doubles, he was known for partnering good friendEvgeny Karlovskiy in most tournaments and the pair made the quarterfinals of the2011 Junior French Open. He ended his junior career after the 2011 US Open with a career-high ranking of No. 47 (attained on August 8, 2011) and a win–loss record of 76–48 in singles and 26–16 in doubles.[20]
Junior Grand Slam results – Singles:
Australian Open: A (-) French Open: 1R (2011) Wimbledon: 1R (2011) US Open: 2R (2011)
Junior Grand Slam results – Doubles:
Australian Open: A (-) French Open: QF (2011) Wimbledon: 1R (2011) US Open: 2R (2011)
Karatsev made hisATP Tour main-draw debut at the2013 St. Petersburg Open, where he received entry to the main draw due to a wildcard. In the first round, he lost to compatriot and second seedMikhail Youzhny. In the doubles event, he partneredDmitry Tursunov and they reached the semifinals, losing toDominic Inglot andDenis Istomin in a narrow deciding tiebreaker. In 2015, he won his first main-draw match on the ATP Tour at theKremlin Cup, defeating Youzhny.[21]
According to his father, Karatsev at 19 was mentored byDmitry Tursunov who traveled with him toHalle, Germany to train there for a couple of months but returned due to a lack of money to continue. Then, the German academy itself invited Aslan to return to Halle. He trained there for two years, then got injured and could not really play for two years because of the trauma. He moved to Barcelona where he played at theBruguera Tennis Academy for less than two years.[22]
After searching for better coaching opportunities in Spain and Germany, Karatsev in 2019 hired his new coach, Yahor Yatsyk from Minsk. Yatsyk, a former professional tennis player one year his senior,[23] used to helpNikoloz Basilashvili as a coach.[24] During theCOVID-19 lockdown Karatsev played exhibition matches in the United States.
Karatsev's next tournament wasDoha, where he beatMubarak Shannan Zayid in straight sets in the first round, but lost to top seedDominic Thiem in the second round after taking the first set in a tiebreak. He entered the doubles draw with compatriotAndrey Rublev and reached the semifinals, where they defeatedJérémy Chardy andFabrice Martin. In the final, they defeatedMarcus Daniell andPhilipp Oswald in straight sets. Winning the tournament raised his doubles ranking from No. 447 to a career-high of No. 222. InDubai, he beatEgor Gerasimov,Dan Evans andLorenzo Sonego to reach his first ATP 500 quarterfinal, where he beatJannik Sinner in three sets to advance to his first ATP 500 semifinal. In the semifinal, Karatsev ended the 23-match winning streak of second seedAndrey Rublev at ATP 500 events to reach his first singles final. In the final, he defeatedLloyd Harris to win his first title. The win allowed Karatsev to break into the top 30 for the first time in his career. He has become the second Russian tennis player to win his maiden title at 27, a record shared withIgor Kunitsyn.[31]
Seeded 19th inIndian Wells he reached the fourth round on his Masters 1000 career debut defeating qualifierSalvatore Caruso and ninth seedDenis Shapovalov. At the2021 Miami Open on his debut at this tournament he reached also the third round.
At theSerbia Open, Karatsev avenged his loss at the Australian Open by defeating world No. 1, Novak Djokovic, to advance to the final in the longest match of 2021 thus far.[32] He was then defeated byMatteo Berrettini in three sets.[33]
At theTokyo Olympics, he won the silver medal in mixed doubles withElena Vesnina losing to compatriotsAndrey Rublev andAnastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the final.[35] He also participated in the singles and doubles events where he reached the second and lost in the first round, respectively.
In his debut at a Masters-1000 level in doubles, Karatsev reached the quarterfinals at theNational Bank Open in Toronto partnering withDušan Lajović. As a result, he entered the top 200 in doubles at world No. 172, on 16 August 2021. In singles seeded 15th and having a first round bye, he lost in the second round toKaren Khachanov.
At the2021 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, he reached the fourth round at a Master 1000 for the first time in his career defeating 9th seedDenis Shapovalov[36] before he lost to 8th seedHubert Hurkacz. In doubles he reached the final with compatriot Rublev where they lost to Polasek/Peers.[37] As a result, he reached the top 100 in the doubles rankings at World No. 92 on 18 October 2021.
At the2021 Kremlin Cup in Moscow, Karatsev defeated compatriotKaren Khachanov in the semifinals to reach his third final of the season and in his career.[38] He then defeated 6th seedMarin Čilić in the final to win his 2nd career title.[39] With his successful run in Moscow, he made his debut in the top 20 in the rankings, rising to a ranking of World No. 19 on 25 October 2021.
On 8 November 2021, Karatsev peaked at world no. 15 and was named as the third alternate for theATP Finals.[40]
2022: Sydney title, Loss of form, match fixing allegations
Karatsev started his 2022 season at theSydney Classic. As the top seed, he beat fifth seed and world No. 27,Lorenzo Sonego, in the quarterfinals.[41] He then defeated third seed and world No. 26,Dan Evans, in the semifinals in a tight three-set match, to reach his fourth ATP singles final.[42] He won his third ATP singles title by defeatingAndy Murray in the final.[43] Seeded 18th and last year semifinalist at theAustralian Open, he lost in the third round toAdrian Mannarino in four sets.[44][45]
After the Australian Open, Karatsev competed at theMaharashtra Open in Pune, India. As the top seed, he was eliminated from the tournament in the second round by qualifierElias Ymer.[46] Seeded seventh at theRotterdam Open, he was beaten in the first round by Dutch wildcardTallon Griekspoor, despite having two match points during the match.[47] Seeded fourth at theOpen 13, he reached the quarterfinals where he lost to ninth seedBenjamin Bonzi.[48] Seeded seventh and the defending champion at theDubai Championships, he was defeated in the first round byMackenzie McDonald.[49]
According to German TV ZDF, Karatsev, his coach Yahor Yatsyk and fellow tennis playerNikoloz Basilashvili were under investigation for possible involvement inmatch fixing. Karatsev made a statement saying he was 'unaware' of the allegations.[50]
2023: Maiden Masters semifinal, Second ATP 500 final, back to top 35
At the2023 Mutua Madrid Open he reached as a qualifier the fourth round for the first time at this tournament and only for the second time overall at a Masters level, defeatingLaslo Djere, 23rd seedBotic van de Zandschulp and 16th seedAlex de Minaur. He then defeated second seedDaniil Medvedev to reach his maiden Masters quarterfinal.[51] Next he reached the semifinals defeatingZhang Zhizhen. He became only the second qualifier to advance to the last four in the tournament history. As a result he jumped back up close to 70 positions in the rankings to world No. 52.[52]
At the2023 Japan Open Tennis Championships he won his first round match with upset over previous year’s finalist sixth seedFrances Tiafoe.[53] Next he reached the semifinals defeating again Zhang Zhizhen and fourth seed Alex de Minaur.[54] As a result he returned to the top 40 on 23 October and the top 35 on 30 October 2023.
Following also a first round win at the2024 Atlanta Open overBilly Harris, before losing to Frances Tiafoe this time, he returned to the top 100 on 5 August 2024.
He failed to defend his runner-up points from the previous year'sJapan Open, and suffered and early loss toAlexander Shevchenko in the second round of theAlmaty Open, causing him to drop out of the top 300 for the first time since July 29, 2019, with a new ranking of 316.
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (P#) preliminary round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (S) silver or (B) bronze Olympic/Paralympic medal; (NMS) not a Masters tournament; (NTI) not a Tier I tournament; (P) postponed; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.
Karatsev's record against players who have been ranked in the top 10, with those who are active in boldface. Only ATP Tour main draw matches are considered:
^Salnikov, Daniil (1 May 2021).""Долгое время играл через боль". Аслан Карацев рассказал о своём прорыве в элиту тенниса" ["I was playing through pain for a long time". Aslan Karatsev about his breakthrough into the tennis elite].championat.com (in Russian). Retrieved18 September 2021.Well, it was nice. I finished the year first [among the Russian juniors]. Why, though? In my opinion, I did not finish the year first. There were a lot of girls ahead, lots of girls. Somehow it happened, so it's me who was awarded. Yes, I was glad
_(52036927495).jpg)
Russia
Desirae Krawczyk
Joe Salisbury
Elena Vesnina
John Peers
Filip Polášek
Chung Hyeon
Lloyd Harris
Matteo Berrettini
Marin Čilić
Marcus Daniell
Philipp Oswald
Farrukh Dustov
Tobias Kamke
Kimmer Coppejans
Attila Balázs
Stan Wawrinka
Tallon Griekspoor
Grégoire Barrère
Adrian Ungur
Yaraslav Shyla
Ariel Behar
Eduardo Dischinger
Artem Smirnov
Karim Hossam
Gonçalo Oliveira
Aleksandre Bakshi
Tuna Altuna
Markus Eriksson
indicates the outcome of the Davis Cup match followed bythe score, date, place of event,the zonal classification and its phase, andthe court surface.
Argentina
Japan
Novak Djokovic
Grigor Dimitrov
Stefanos Tsitsipas
Holger Rune
Félix Auger-Aliassime
Hubert Hurkacz
Daniil Medvedev
Aslan Karatsev in 2011, prepares to receive theRussian Cup fromMarat Safin[57][58]
Sports title "MeritedMaster of Sports of Russia" (6 August 2021).[61]
Medal of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 1st class (11 August 2021).[62]
Kazakhstan;3 = switched to represent
.png)
