Liam Draxl

Last updated
Liam Draxl
LiamDraxl 3.2.23 Colmar.jpg
Draxl celebrating a score in 2023
Country (sports)Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada
Born (2001-12-05) December 5, 2001 (age 23)
Newmarket, Canada [1]
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Turned pro2023
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
College University of Kentucky
Prize moneyUS $ 299,232
Singles
Career record0–1
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 113 (28 July 2025)
Current rankingNo. 113 (28 July 2025)
Grand Slam singles results
French Open Q1 (2025)
Wimbledon Q1 (2025)
US Open Q1 (2025)
Doubles
Career record1–3
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 111 (19 May 2025)
Current rankingNo. 117 (23 June 2025)
Last updated on: 21 July 2025.

Liam Draxl (born December 5, 2001) is a Canadian tennis player. He has a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 113, achieved on 28 July 2025 and a doubles ranking of No. 111, achieved on 19 May 2025. [2] He is currently the No. 4 Canadian player. [3]

Contents

College career

Draxl played college tennis at the University of Kentucky. [4] He compiled a 14–8 record in singles as a freshman and 25–3 as a sophomore. [5] He was named the National Player of the Year by the International Tennis Federation following his sophomore year in 2021 and was the first Wildcat to earn this award. [6] [7] [8]

Professional career

2021-2022: Maiden Challenger title and Masters debut in doubles

Draxl won his first Challenger title at the 2021 Kentucky Bank Tennis Championships in Lexington with Stefan Kozlov. [9]

Draxl made his ATP main draw debut at the 2022 National Bank Open after receiving a wildcard into the doubles main draw with Cleeve Harper, but lost in straight sets to Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini. [10]

2023: Turned Pro, Challenger singles title, top 300

He turned pro in June 2023 and in November won his first singles title at the 2023 Calgary National Bank Challenger, [11] [12] [13] in just the second tournament at this level in the season. As a result he rose 100 positions, and on 13 November 2023 he reached the top 300 at world No. 297. [2]

2024: Five doubles Challengers titles, Top 250 in singles

Draxl reached the top 250 in the rankings on 10 June 2024, following a semifinal showing at the 2024 Tyler Tennis Championships where he lost to Brandon Holt. In doubles he won five Challenger titles during the season, his last two tournaments being in Puerto Vallarta (with Benjamin Sigouin) and Manzanillo (with Cleeve Harper), and reached a new career-high in the doubles rankings of No. 132 on 2 December 2024. [2] [14] [15]

2025: Record seven singles Challenger finals, Top 125

Draxl reached his third Challenger singles final at the 2025 Oeiras Indoors but lost to Hamad Medjedovic in straight sets. [16] Following another final at the Oeiras Indoors III he moved into the top 200 at world No. 183 in the singles rankings on 27 January 2025. [2] [17] [18] Following his final showing at the 2025 Sarasota Open and at the 2025 Savannah Challenger, Draxl moved into the top 150 in the singles rankings in May 2025. [2] [19]

In July, Draxl reached three consecutive Challenger finals. He reached the final at the 2025 Cary Tennis Classic, where he became the first player to reach five Challenger finals in 2025. He lost to Rei Sakamoto in the final. [20] The following week, Draxl reached his sixth Challenger final of the year at the Winnipeg Challenger, where he defeated top seed Alexander Blockx to win his second Challenger title. [21] [22] [23] As a result he clinched the "Road to the NBO" wildcard to make his first main draw ATP Tour appearance at the 2025 National Bank Open. [24] The following week, Draxl defeated Alexander Blockx again in the semifinal in Granby, to reach a season-record seventh Challenger final. [25] He lost to August Holmgren in the final. [26]

Draxl received a wildcard to the main draw of the Canadian Open to make his ATP Tour debut, [27] . He lost to Pablo Carreño Busta in the first round.

Personal life

Draxl's father is Brian Draxl who serves as the head tennis pro at the Newmarket Community Tennis Club [28] [6]

Performance timeline

Key
W F SFQF#RRRQ#DNQANH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.

Singles

Tournament 2024 2025 SRW–LWin%
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open AA0 / 00–0  
French Open A Q1 0 / 00–0  
Wimbledon A Q1 0 / 00–0  
US Open A Q1 0 / 00–0  
Win–loss0–00–00 / 00–0  
ATP Masters 1000
Indian Wells Masters AA0 / 00–0  
Miami Open A Q2 0 / 00–0  
Monte-Carlo Masters AA0 / 00–0  
Madrid Open AA0 / 00–0  
Italian Open AA0 / 00–0  
Canadian Open Q1 1R 0 / 10–10%
Cincinnati Open A Q2 0 / 00–0  
Shanghai Masters A0 / 00–0  
Paris Masters A0 / 00–0  
Win–loss0–00–10 / 10–10%

ATP Challenger Tour finals

Singles: 9 (2 titles, 7 runner-ups)

Legend
ATP Challenger Tour (2–7)
Finals by surface
Hard (2–5)
Clay (0–2)
ResultW–L   Date   TournamentTierSurfaceOpponentScore
Win1–0 Nov 2023 Calgary Challenger, CanadaChallengerHard Flag of Germany.svg Dominik Koepfer 6–4, 6–3
Loss1–1 Nov 2024 Puerto Vallarta Open, MexicoChallengerHard Flag of the United States.svg Nishesh Basavareddy 3–6, 6–7(4–7)
Loss1–2 Jan 2025 Oeiras Indoors, PortugalChallengerHard (i) Flag of Serbia.svg Hamad Medjedovic 1–6, 3–6
Loss1–3 Jan 2025 Oeiras Indoors III, PortugalChallengerHard (i) Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Alexander Blockx 5–7, 1–6
Loss1–4 Apr 2025 Sarasota Open, USChallengerClay (green) Flag of the United States.svg Emilio Nava 2–6, 6–7(2–7)
Loss1–5 Apr 2025 Savannah Challenger, USChallengerClay (green) Flag of Colombia.svg Nicolás Mejía 6–2, 2–6, 6–7(3–7)
Loss1–6 Jun 2025 Cary Tennis Classic, USChallengerHard Flag of Japan.svg Rei Sakamoto 1–6, 4–6
Win2–6 Jul 2025 Winnipeg Challenger, CanadaChallengerHard Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Alexander Blockx1–6, 6–3, 6–4
Loss2–7 Jul 2025 Championnats de Granby, CanadaChallengerHard Flag of Denmark.svg August Holmgren 3–6, 3–6

Doubles: 12 (8 titles, 4 runner-ups)

Legend
ATP Challenger Tour (8–4)
Finals by surface
Hard (6–2)
Clay (2–2)
ResultW–L   Date   TournamentTierSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Win1–0 Aug 2021 Lexington Challenger, USChallengerHard Flag of the United States.svg Stefan Kozlov Flag of the United States.svg Alex Rybakov
Flag of the United States.svg Reese Stalder
6–2, 6–7(5–7), [10–7]
Loss1–1 Nov 2023 Challenger de Drummondville, CanadaChallengerHard (i) Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Giles Hussey Flag of Sweden.svg Andre Goransson
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Toby Samuel
7–6(7–2), 3–6, [8–10]
Loss1–2 Mar 2024 São Léo Open, BrazilChallengerClay Flag of Italy.svg Alexander Weis Flag of Brazil.svg Marcelo Demoliner
Flag of Brazil.svg Orlando Luz
5–7, 6–3, [8–10]
Win2–2 Jun 2024 Little Rock Challenger, USChallengerHard Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Benjamin Sigouin Flag of India.svg Rithvik Choudary Bollipalli
Flag of Mexico.svg Hans Hach Verdugo
6–4, 3–6, [10–7]
Win3–2 Sep 2024 Dobrich Challenger II, BulgariaChallengerClay Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Cleeve Harper Flag of Italy.svg Filippo Romano
Flag of Italy.svg Francesco Maestrelli
6–1, 3–6, [12–10]
Loss3–3 Sep 2024 Sibiu Open, RomaniaChallengerClay Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Cleeve Harper Flag of Peru.svg Alexander Merino
Flag of Germany.svg Christoph Negritu
2–6, 6–7(2–7)
Win4–3 Oct 2024 Sioux Falls Challenger, USChallengerHard (i) Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Cleeve Harper Flag of the United States.svg Ryan Seggerman
Flag of the United States.svg Patrik Trhac
7–5, 6–3
Loss4–4 Nov 2024 Challenger de Drummondville, CanadaChallengerHard (i) Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Cleeve Harper Flag of the United States.svg Robert Cash
Flag of the United States.svg J.J. Tracy
2–6, 4–6
Win5–4 Nov 2024 Puerto Vallarta Open, MexicoChallengerHard Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Benjamin Sigouin Flag of the United States.svg Ryan Seggerman
Flag of the United States.svg Karl Poling
7–6(7–5), 6–2
Win6–4 Dec 2024 Manzanillo Open, MexicoChallengerHard Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Cleeve Harper Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Benjamin Sigouin
Flag of New Zealand.svg Finn Reynolds
6–7(4–7), 7–5, [12–10]
Win7–4 Jan 2025 Oeiras Indoors III, PortugalChallengerHard (i) Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Cleeve Harper Flag of the Netherlands.svg Matwé Middelkoop
Flag of Ukraine.svg Denys Molchanov
1–6, 7–5, [10–6]
Win8–4 Apr 2025 Tallahassee Tennis Classic, USChallengerClay (green) Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Cleeve Harper Flag of the United States.svg James Cerretani
Flag of the United States.svg George Goldhoff
6–2, 6–3

ITF World Tennis Tour finals

Singles: 13 (7 titles, 6 runner-ups)

Legend
ITF WTT (7–6)
Finals by surface
Hard (7–5)
Clay (0–1)
ResultW–L   Date   TournamentTierSurfaceOpponentScore
Cancelled0–0Jul 2021M15 Weston, USWTTClay Flag of the United States.svg Stefan Kozlov 6–7(5–7), 6–3, canc.
Win1–0Dec 2021M15 Cancún, MexicoWTTHard Flag of the United States.svg Christian Langmo6–7(4–7), 7–6(7–5), 7–6(8–6)
Win2–0Dec 2021M15 Cancún, MexicoWTTHard Flag of the United States.svg Isaiah Strode6–0, 6–1
Loss2–1Jun 2022M25 Wichita, USWTTHard Flag of France.svg Clément Chidekh 2–6, 2–6
Loss2–2Dec 2022M15 Santo Domingo, Dominican RepublicWTTHard Flag of the Dominican Republic.svg Nick Hardt 4–6, 3–6
Loss2–3Jun 2023M15 Santo Domingo, Dominican RepublicWTTHard Flag of the United States.svg Tauheed Browning6–7(5–7), 7–5, 6–7(8–10)
Loss2–4Jul 2023M25 Santo Domingo, Dominican RepublicWTTHard Flag of the United States.svg Martin Damm Jr. 6–7(5–7), 4–6
Win3–4Sep 2023M15 Champaign, USWTTHard Flag of the United States.svg William Grant6–1, 6–3
Win4–4Oct 2023M15 Albuquerque, USWTTHard Flag of the United States.svg William Grant6–0, 6–2
Loss4–5Oct 2023M15 Ithaca, USWTTHard Flag of Romania.svg Radu Mihai Papoe6–3, 1–6, 2–6
Loss4–6Sep 2024M15 Constanta, RomaniaWTTClay Flag of Romania.svg Nicholas David Ionel 3–6, 4–6
Win5–6Oct 2024M25 Edmonton, CanadaWTTHard Flag of the United States.svg Patrick Maloney6–4, 6–1
Win6–6Nov 2024M25 Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures, CanadaWTTHard Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Alexis Galarneau 6–1, 6–3
Win7–6Dec 2024M15 Huamantla, MexicoWTTHard Flag of Ukraine.svg Aleksandr Braynin6–4, 6–1

Doubles: 10 (5 titles, 5 runner-ups)

Legend
ITF WTT (5–5)
Finals by surface
Hard (5–4)
Clay (0–1)
ResultW–L   Date   TournamentTierSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Loss0–1Nov 2020M15 Fayetteville, USWTTHard Flag of the United States.svg Aleksandar Kovacevic Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Charles Broom
Flag of Chile.svg Matías Soto
6–2, 2–6, [5–10]
Loss0–2Oct 2021M15 Vero Beach, USWTTClay Flag of the United States.svg Ben Shelton Flag of Denmark.svg Johannes Ingildsen
Flag of Portugal (official).svg Duarte Vale
3–6, 4–6
Win1–2Oct 2021M15 Tallahassee, USWTTHard (i) Flag of the United States.svg John McNally Flag of Australia (converted).svg Thomas Fancutt
Flag of the Northern Mariana Islands.svg Colin Sinclair
6–2, 6–3
Win2–2Dec 2021M15 Cancún, MexicoWTTHard Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Cleeve Harper Flag of Brazil.svg Luís Britto
Flag of Brazil.svg Marcelo Zormann
7–5, 7–6(7–4)
Loss2–3Dec 2021M15 Cancún, MexicoWTTHard Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Cleeve Harper Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Yannik Steinegger
Flag of Germany.svg Tim Handel
6–7(5–7), 3–6
Loss2–4May 2022M15 Vero Beach, USWTTClay Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Millen Hurrion Flag of the United States.svg Nishesh Basavareddy
Flag of Venezuela.svg Ricardo Rodríguez-Pace
4–6, 3–6
Win3–4Nov 2022M15 Santo Domingo, Dominican RepublicWTTHard Flag of Costa Rica.svg Jesse Flores Flag of the Dominican Republic.svg Peter Bertran
Flag of the United States.svg Joshua Sheehy
6–0, 6–3
Win4–4Jun 2023M15 Santo Domingo, Dominican RepublicWTTHard Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Joshua Lapadat Flag of the United States.svg Keshav Chopra
Flag of the United States.svg Andres Martin
4–6, 6–3, [10–4]
Loss4–5Jul 2023M25 Laval, CanadaWTTHard Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Jonathan Sorbo Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Joshua Lapadat
Flag of the United States.svg J.J. Mercer
1–4 ret.
Win5–5Oct 2024M25 Edmonton, CanadaWTTHard Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Cleeve Harper Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Benjamin Thomas George
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Alvin Nicholas Tudorica
6–4, 6–4

Junior Grand Slam finals

Doubles: 1 (1 runner-up)

ResultYearTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Loss 2019 Wimbledon Grass Flag of the United States.svg Govind Nanda Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Jonáš Forejtek
Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Jiří Lehečka
5–7, 4–6

References

  1. "Liam Draxl Overview". Association of Tennis Professionals. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Liam Draxl | Rankings history | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour.
  3. "Canada | ATP Rankings (Singles) Tennis | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  4. "Liam Draxl – Men's Tennis". University of Kentucky Athletics. 31 August 2019.
  5. "UK Athletics". 31 August 2019. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
  6. 1 2 "Canadian Liam Draxl embracing pressure of NCAA's No. 1 ranking". 20 May 2021.
  7. "The best player in NCAA tennis right now is Canadian". Tennis Canada. 2021-02-25. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
  8. Shelton, Jack Weaver (June 3, 2021). "Liam Draxl named ITA Player of the Year". Proquest. University Wire. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  9. Shelton, Hunter. "Liam Draxl wins Lexington Challenger doubles championship". Kentucky Kernel. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  10. "Bianca Andreescu advances to 3rd round at National Bank Open in Toronto". 10 August 2022.
  11. "ATP Tour - The Dream Liam Draxl Is Fulfilling". ITA #WeAreCollegeTennis. 2023-11-08. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
  12. "The Dream Liam Draxl Is Fulfilling | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour. 8 November 2023. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
  13. "Quarters winners Liam Draxl, Gabriel Diallo dreaming of all-Canadian Challenger final". 10 November 2023.
  14. "Liam Draxl looks to follow in Diallo's footsteps". Tennis Canada. 5 December 2024.
  15. "'Incredible breakthrough': Local tennis star named doubles player of the year". 17 December 2024.
  16. "Medjedovic makes Top 100 debut with Oeiras Challenger triumph". ATPTour. 12 January 2025. Retrieved 21 January 2025.
  17. @TennisBelgium (January 26, 2025). "Second challenger title for Alexander Blockx in Oeiras! He beats Liam Draxl 7-5, 6-1 in the final without facing a break point. Into the top 150 on Monday! 💪👏⬆️" (Tweet) via Twitter.
  18. "#NextGenATP Blockx banks Belgian history with Challenger title". 27 January 2025.
  19. "Emilio Nava wins 2025 Sarasota Open men's singles championship at the Sarasota Sports Club". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
  20. "Challenger Tour Weekly Recap: Sakamoto Strikes Again". lastwordonsports.com. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
  21. @TennisCanada (July 14, 2025). "Crowd-favourite triumphs in Winnipeg 🤩 Liam Draxl 🇨🇦 took down top seed Alexander Blockx 🇧🇪 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 to be crowned champion at the Winnipeg National Bank Challenger 🏆" (Tweet) via Twitter.
  22. "Draxl Claims Winnipeg National Bank Challenger Title". tennistourtalk.com. 14 July 2025. Retrieved 14 July 2025.
  23. "Former college standouts Pinnington Jones, Draxl win Challenger titles". atptour.com. 14 July 2025. Retrieved 14 July 2025.
  24. "Liam Draxl clinches Road to the NBO wild card". 14 July 2025.
  25. "Liam Draxl décroche sa place en finale". La Voix de l'Est. 19 July 2025. Retrieved 19 July 2025.
  26. "Wimbledon fairy tale Holmgren continues momentum, claims Granby Challenger". 21 July 2025.
  27. "Winning Wave: Inside Liam Draxl's Challenger breakthrough & surfing passion". 28 July 2025.
  28. "Newmarket hometown tennis star continues run of success". NewmarketToday.ca. 2022-10-14. Retrieved 2024-03-20.