Nicolai Budkov Kjær (born 1 September 2006) is a Norwegian professionaltennis player. He has a career-highATP singles ranking of No. 132, achieved on 3 November 2025 and a doubles ranking of No. 1,082, achieved on 3 March 2025.[1] He is currently the No. 2 singles player from Norway.[2]
Budkov Kjær reached anITF junior combined ranking of world No. 1 on 15 July 2024. He representsNorway at theDavis Cup where he has a W/L record of 4–4.
Budkov Kjær was born to a Norwegian father and an Estonian mother.[3] He has a sister who also plays tennis, Alexandra Budkova Kjær. He lives inBygdøy,Oslo, and trains at Oslo Tennisarena and Wang Toppidrett.[4][5]
In September 2023, Budkov Kjær made his Davis Cup debut againstPeru.[10]
In February 2024, he replacedDominic Thiem at theUltimate Tennis Showdown in Oslo, the ninth edition of the tournament.[11][12] The following month, he won his first professional title at the $15kAntalya Series. He subsequently made his debut in the top 1000 of theATP rankings at world No. 897 on 8 April 2024.[1][13][14] He was the first Norwegian to do so sinceCasper Ruud in 2016.Also in February, he recorded his first Davis Cup win, over Latvian Davis Rolis, and in September his second, with a win over PortugueseJaime Faria, who was ranked No. 157 at the time.[3]In November, Budkov Kjær defeated former Top 10 playerPablo Carreño Busta at the2024 Montemar Challenger.[15]
2025: Four Challenger titles, ATP debut & first win, top 150
In April, ranked at a career-high of No. 287, Budkov Kjær received a wildcard for the qualifying competition at the2025 Monte-Carlo Masters.[18][19]
In June, Budkov Kjær played his first qualifying match in a Grand Slam event and reached the second qualifying round at2025 Wimbledon Championships.[20]In July, Budkov Kjær made his ATP debut after qualifying for his first main draw at the2025 Swedish Open.[21] In the first round he defeatedThiago Monteiro to grab his maiden win on the ATP Tour.[22] Budkov Kjær earned his secondChallenger title at theTampere Open, defeatingSascha Gueymard Wayenburg in the final. As a result, he entered the top 200 at world No. 187 on 28 July 2025, rising close to 70 positions up in the singles rankings.[1][23][24] The following week he won theAstana Challenger after beating Alexandr Binda, putting him sixth in theNextGen ATP race.[25] As a result he reached a new career-high singles ranking of world No. 163 on 4 August 2025.[1]
Ranked at a career-high of No. 149, achieved on 29 September 2025, Budkov Kjær won his fourthChallenger title at theOpen de Vendée, defeatingPatrick Kypson in the final in 54 minutes, the shortest final in the event’s history. At 19 years old, he also become the youngest champion in the history of the tournament.[26] As a result he reached a new career-high of world No. 136 on 13 October 2025.[1]
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Norway
Sascha Gueymard Wayenburg
Alexandr Binda
Patrick Kypson
Niels Visker
Yanaki Milev
Mika Brunold
Mikael Ymer
indicates the outcome of the Davis Cup match followed bythe score, date, place of event,the zonal classification and its phase, andthe court surface.
Peru
Latvia
Portugal
Argentina
Chinese Taipei
Rafael Jódar
Joel Schwärzler
Rei Sakamoto
