Pavel Kotov

Pavel Vyacheslavovich Kotov (; born 18 November 1998) is a Russian professional tennis player. He has a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 50, achieved on 17 June 2024 and a best doubles ranking of No. 226, achieved on 8 November 2021.

Career

2020–2021: ATP debut, Maiden Challengers in singles & doubles Kotov made his ATP debut at the 2020 St. Petersburg Open as a qualifier where he was defeated by Ugo Humbert.

The Russian won his maiden ATP Challenger doubles title at the 2020 Challenger La Manche and maiden single title at the 2021 Città di Forlì III.

2022: First ATP win, Grand Slam and top 100 debuts Kotov won his first ATP match at the 2022 Grand Prix Hassan II as a qualifier defeating ninth seed Tallon Griekspoor. He won his second singles Challenger title at 2022 Città di Forlì III. He reached the top 150 on 16 May 2022 at World No. 143.

At the 2022 French Open, Kotov qualified to make his Grand Slam main draw debut.

Kotov made his debut at the 2022 US Open as a qualifier.

The Russian qualified into the main draw at the ATP 500 2022 Astana Open as lucky loser after the late withdrawal of Jannik Sinner. In the first round he defeated Alejandro Davidovich Fokina for his first win at this level. As a result he moved to the top 100 in the rankings on 10 October 2022.

2023: Masters debuts, first ATP final, top 70 Kotov made his debut at the 2023 Australian Open as a lucky loser. He also qualified at the ATP 500 in Dubai and defeated Alexei Popyrin. He made his Masters 1000 debut at the 2023 Miami Open as a qualifier.

At the 2023 Grand Prix Hassan II in Marrakesh, Morocco, Kotov reached his first ATP semifinal defeating Pedro Martínez, seventh seed Benjamin Bonzi and Christopher O'Connell. He also made his debut at the 2023 Mutua Madrid Open as a lucky loser.

In Stockholm as a qualifier, he defeated seventh seed Christopher Eubanks, Lorenzo Sonego, third seed Tallon Griekspoor and Miomir Kecmanović to reach his first ATP final, which he lost to Gaël Monfils in three sets. In Sofia, he reached a back to back semifinal and third of the season, defeating Márton Fucsovics and moved into the top 70 in the rankings.

2024: First Grand Slam and Masters wins, top 50 Ranked No. 64, at the 2024 Australian Open, he defeated Arthur Rinderknech in the first round, for his first Major win.

In Marrakesh, he reached back-to-back semifinals at the tournament, defeating local wildcard Elliot Benchetrit and Italians Flavio Cobolli and qualifier Fabio Fognini.

Kotov recorded his first two Masters wins at the 2024 Mutua Madrid Open where he reached the third round at this level for the first time with wins over Albert Ramos Viñolas and Jordan Thompson. He recorded also his first two wins at the 2024 French Open where he upset 32nd seed Cameron Norrie in five sets and Stan Wawrinka in four. As a result he reached the top 50 on 17 June 2024.

Performance timelines

Singles

ATP Tour finals

Singles: 1 (runner-up) LegendGrand Slam (–)ATP 1000 (–)ATP 500 (–)ATP 250 (0–1)Finals by surfaceHard (0–1)Clay (–)Grass (–)Finals by settingOutdoor (–)Indoor (0–1)

ATP Challenger Tour finals

Singles: 8 (6 titles, 2 runner-ups) LegendATP Challenger Tour (6–2)Finals by surfaceHard (5–1)Clay (1–1)

Doubles: 3 (1 title, 2 runner-ups) LegendATP Challenger Tour (1–2)

ITF Tour finals

Singles: 5 (3 titles, 2 runner-ups) LegendITF Futures/WTT (3–2)Finals by surfaceHard (3–0)Clay (0–2)