Ramkumar Ramanathan


Ramkumar Ramanathan is a professional Indian tennis player. He is the first Indian player to reach an ATP world tour singles final since Somdev Devvarman. He achieved his highest singles ranking of 111 on 30 July 2018, and represents India in the Davis Cup.

Personal and early life

Ramanathan started playing tennis at the age of five. He was introduced to the sport by his father Ramanathan. His mother's name is Alagammai and sister's name is Uma. Both his parents are into the textile business. He speaks English, Spanish and Tamil. He trains at Sanchez-Casal Academy in Barcelona, Spain. He is currently pursuing B.A. in Economics at Loyola College.

Career

2014-2016: Early career

In 2014, Ramanathan hit the headlines when he qualified for the main draw of the Chennai Open and beat then Indian No.1 Somdev Devvarman in the first round. He eventually lost to Marcel Granollers in second round.
In 2015, Ramanathan played mostly on Futures and Challenger level. He entered Chennai Open where he lost in first round to Tatsuma Ito in straight sets. In April, he reached his first doubles final at a challenger event at Mersin Cup in Turkey. Partnering with Riccardo Ghedin, the pair lost final to Mate Pavić and Michael Venus. He entered his second ATP world tour event of the year at Malaysian Open where he lost in first round to Mikhail Kukushkin.
In the 2016 season Ramanathan entered Chennai Open and reached the quarterfinals. This was the first time he reached to quarterfinals at an ATP World Tour event. He defeated Daniel Gimeno Traver and Alexander Kudryavtsev in first and second rounds respectively. He eventually lost to Aljaž Bedene in quarterfinals. In October, Ramanathan partnered with Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan. The pair reached the final at Vietnam Open Challenger where they lost to Sanchai Ratiwatana and Sonchat Ratiwatana from Thailand to finish as runners-up.

2017: Challenger breakthrough and first top-10 win

In April, Ramanathan reached his first singles challenger final at Tallahassee challenger. He lost the final to Blaž Rola from Slovenia to finish as runner-up.
Ramanathan entered 2017 Antalya Open where he produced a big upset by defeating world No. 8 and top seed Dominic Thiem in the second round. This was his first match against a top-10 player. Ranked world No. 222, Ramanathan defeated Thiem in straight sets 6–3, 6–2. He progressed till the quarterfinals where he lost to Marcos Baghdatis in a third set tie break.
In July, he reached his second singles challenger final at Nielsen Pro Tennis Championships. But here too he had to be content as runner-up. He lost the final in straight sets to Akira Santillan from Japan.
In August, Ramanathan qualified for the first time in main draw of a Masters 1000 tournament at Cincinnati Masters. He defeated Christopher Eubanks in first round but lost to Jared Donaldson in second round. Ramanathan entered qualifying draw of US Open. He defeated Paul-Henri Mathieu in first round but lost to Nicolas Mahut in second round. He finished year with singles ranking of 148.

2018: First ATP world tour final

Ramanathan opened his new season by entering Maharashtra Open as a wild card. He lost in round 2 to top seed Marin Cilic in straight sets. He then entered qualifying draw of Australian Open where he lost in final qualifying round to Vasek Pospisil.
In April, Ramanathan reached his first challenger singles final of the season at Taipei Challenger. He was defeated in the finals by compatriot Yuki Bhambri.
In July, Ramanathan reached his first ATP world tour final at Newport. He lost in the final to Steve Johnson from USA. He became first Indian player to reach an ATP world tour singles final since Somdev Devvarman who had reached the final at Johannesburg in 2011.
In November, he won his first doubles ATP Challenger title at Pune Challenger. He paired with compatriot Vijay Sundar Prashanth and defeated team of Hsieh Cheng-peng and Yang Tsung-hua from Taipei in the final. He finished the year with singles ranking of 133.

ATP career finals

Singles: 1 (1 runner-up)

ResultW–LDateTournamentTierSurfaceOpponentScore
Loss2018 Hall of Fame Tennis Championships – Singles|Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, United States250 SeriesGrass Steve Johnson5–7, 6–3, 2–6

Challenger and Futures finals

Singles: 26 (16–10)

ResultW–LDateTournamentTierSurfaceOpponentScore
Loss0–1India F16, DharwadFuturesHard Sanam Singh2–6, 6–7
Loss0–2Spain F17, MartosFuturesHard Steven Diez5–7, 7–6, 4–6
Win1–2India F11, RaipurFuturesHard Lee Duck-hee3–6, 7–6, 6–4
Win2–2Cambodia F2, Phnom PenhFuturesHard Josh Goodall6–1, 4–6, 6–4
Win3–2Turkey F14, AntalyaFuturesHard Anton Zaitcev6–7, 6–0, 6–2
Win4–2Spain F17, GetxoFuturesClay Marc Giner6–4, 6–1
Loss4–3Spain F18, GandiaFuturesClay Arthur De Greef4–6, 6–4, 3–6
Win5–3Turkey F32, AntalyaFuturesHard Rémi Boutillier6–4, 7–6
Win6–3Turkey F33, AntalyaFuturesHard Ricardo Rodríguez6–3, 6–0
Win7–3India F7, RaipurFuturesHard Saketh Myneni6–1, 6–2
Loss7–4Qatar F5, DohaFuturesHard Nikoloz Basilashvili6–7, 2–6
Loss7–5India F3, TiruchirapalliFuturesClay Vijay Sundar Prashanth3–6, 4–6
Win8–5India F6, MysoreFuturesHard Vishnu Vardhan7–6, 3–6, 6–3
Win9–5India F13, CoimbatoreFuturesHard Ouyang Bowen6–4, 6–2
Loss9–6Turkey F40, AntalyaFuturesHard Tim van Rijthoven3–6, 6–4, 4–6
Win10–6India F16, GwaliorFuturesHard Prajnesh Gunneswaran6–3, 6–4
Win11–6India F19, MumbaiFuturesHard Prajnesh Gunneswaran6–3, 6–3
Win12–6Spain F12, LleidaFuturesClay Félix Auger-Aliassime7–6, 6–2
Win13–6Qatar F5, DohaFuturesHard Sebastian Ofner7–5, 6–3
Win14–6Qatar F6, DohaFuturesHard Sebastian Ofner7–5, 6–3
Loss14–72017 Tallahassee Tennis Challenger – Singles|Tallahassee, USAChallengerClay Blaž Rola2–6, 7–6, 5–7
Win15–7Singapore F2, SingaporeFuturesHard Raymond Sarmiento6–2, 6–2
Win16–7Singapore F3, SingaporeFuturesHard Nicholas S. Hu7–6, 6–2
Loss16–82017 Nielsen Pro Tennis Championships – Singles|Winnetka, USAChallengerHard Akira Santillan6–7, 2–6
Loss16–92017 KPIT MSLTA Challenger – Singles|Pune, IndiaChallengerHard Yuki Bhambri6–4, 3–6, 4–6
Loss16–102018 Santaizi ATP Challenger – Singles|Taipei, Chinese TaipeiChallengerHard Yuki Bhambri3–6, 4–6

Doubles: 38 (20–18)

ResultW–LDateTournamentTierSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Win1–0Spain F29, VigoFuturesClay Rafael Mazón-Hernández Taro Daniel
Hiroyasu Ehara		6–3, 6–2
Win2–0Turkey F28, İzmirFuturesClay Kirill Dmitriev Julien Demois
Yanais Laurent		6–2, 6–2
Win3–0Spain F17, MartosFuturesHard Ashwin Vijayragavan Roberto Ortega Olmedo
Ricardo Villacorta-Alonso		6–3, 5–7,
Loss3–1Spain F32, SevillaFuturesClay Matwé Middelkoop Eduard Esteve Lobato
Oriol Roca Batalla		2–6, 3–6
Win4–1Spain F33, SabadellFuturesClay David Pérez Sanz Eduard Esteve Lobato
Oriol Roca Batalla		6–7, 6–3,
Loss4–2Spain F36, El Prat de LlobregatFuturesClay David Pérez Sanz Antonio Campo
Omar Giacalone		6–3, 4–6,
Loss4–3India F9, DelhiFuturesHard Ashwin Vijayragavan Sriram Balaji
Ranjeet Virali-Murugesan		6–7, 3–6
Loss4–4India F11, RaipurFuturesHard Mohit Mayur Jayaprakash Sriram Balaji
Ranjeet Virali-Murugesan		1–6, 3–6
Win5–4Cambodia F3, Phnom PenhFuturesHard Karunuday Singh Takuto Niki
Arata Onozawa		6–4, 6–3
Win6–4India F4, TrichyFuturesClay Arun-Prakash Rajagopalan Giorgio Portaluri
Lucas Renard		6–3, 4–6,
Loss6–5Turkey F14, AntalyaFuturesHard Andrei Ciumac Sho Katayama
Bumpei Sato		3–6, 1–6
Loss6–6Turkey F16, AntalyaFuturesHard Hugo Grenier Dimitar Kuzmanov
Ricardo Rodríguez		w/o
Win7–6Spain F15, Palma del RíoFuturesHard Jaume Pla Malfeito Eduard Esteve Lobato
Oriol Roca Batalla		7–6, 4–6,
Win8–6Spain F17, GetxoFuturesClay David Pérez Sanz João Domingues
José Antón Salazar Martín		5–7, 6–3,
Loss8–7Spain F18, GandiaFuturesClay Miguel Ángel Reyes-Varela Juan-Samuel Arauzo-Martínez
Martin Beran		6–2, 6–7,
Loss8–8Turkey F33, AntalyaFuturesHard Ricardo Rodríguez Scott Clayton
Richard Gabb		5–7, 6–7
Win9–8Turkey F34, AntalyaFuturesHard Tuna Altuna Barış Ergüden
Jan Hájek		6–4, 6–2
Win10–8Qatar F5, DohaFuturesHard Sriram Balaji Sam Barry
Maximilian Neuchrist		6–3, 6–4
Loss10–9India F2, BhimavaramFuturesHard Ranjeet Virali-Murugesan Sriram Balaji
Vishnu Vardhan		7–6, 3–6,
Win11–9India F3, TiruchirappalliFuturesClay Arun-Prakash Rajagopalan Anvit Bendre
Akash Wagh		3–6, 6–2,
Loss11–102015 Mersin Cup – Doubles|Mersin, TurkeyChallengerClay Riccardo Ghedin Mate Pavić
Michael Venus		7–5, 3–6,
Win12–10Turkey F41, AntalyaFuturesHard Sarp Ağabigün Kirill Dmitriev
Luca Margaroli		6–4, 6–4
Loss12–11India F16, GwaliorFuturesHard Hung Jui-chen Sriram Balaji
Vishnu Vardhan		4–6, 6–7
Win13–11India F19, MumbaiFuturesHard Kaliyanda Poonacha Anvit Bendre
Chandril Sood		6–4, 6–3
Win14–11Spain F12, LleidaFuturesClay David Vega Hernández Carlos Boluda-Purkiss
Alex de Minaur		6–3, 6–1
Loss14–12France F21, NeversFuturesHard Jordi Muñoz Abreu Antoine Hoang
Grégoire Jacq		3–6, 4–6
Loss14–132016 Vietnam Open – Doubles|Ho Chi Minh City, VietnamChallengerHard Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan Sanchai Ratiwatana
Sonchat Ratiwatana		5–7, 4–6
Win15–13USA F8, Indian Harbour BeachFuturesClay Jaume Pla Malfeito Hunter Callahan
Nick Chappell		6–2, 6–7,
Loss15–14USA F9, OrlandoFuturesClay Jaume Pla Malfeito Connor Smith
Rhyne Williams		4–6, 4–6
Loss15–152018 Slovak Open – Doubles|Bratislava, SlovakiaChallengerHard Andrei Vasilevski Denys Molchanov
Igor Zelenay		2–6, 6–3,
Win16–152018 KPIT MSLTA Challenger – Doubles|Pune, IndiaChallengerHard Vijay Sundar Prashanth Hsieh Cheng-peng
Yang Tsung-hua		7–6, 6–7,
Loss16–162019 Surbiton Trophy – Men's Doubles|Surbiton, Great BritainChallengerGrass Kwon Soon-woo Marcel Granollers
Ben McLachlan		6–4, 3–6,
Win17–162019 Guzzini Challenger – Doubles|Recanati, ItalyChallengerHard Gonçalo Oliveira Andrea Vavassori
David Vega Hernández		6–2, 6–4
Loss17–172019 Sánchez-Casal Cup – Doubles|Barcelona, SpainChallengerClay Sergio Martos Gornés Simone Bolelli
David Vega Hernández		4–6, 5–7
Loss17–182019 Shenzhen Longhua Open – Men's Doubles|Shenzhen, ChinaChallengerHard Mikhail Elgin Hsieh Cheng-peng
Yang Tsung-hua		2–6, 5–7
Win18–182019 Kobe Challenger – Doubles|Kobe, JapanChallengerHard Purav Raja André Göransson
Christopher Rungkat		7–6, 6–3
Win19–182019 KPIT MSLTA Challenger – Doubles|Pune, IndiaChallengerHard Purav Raja Arjun Kadhe
Saketh Myneni		7–6, 6–3
Win20–182020 Bengaluru Open – Doubles|Bangalore, IndiaChallengerHard Purav Raja Leander Paes
Matthew Ebden		6-0, 6-3

Singles performance timeline

Updated through the 2019 Wimbledon Championships.

Wins over top-10 players