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Alexander Donski
Alexander Donski (Bulgarian: Александър Донски; born 1 August 1998) is a Bulgarian professional tennis player active on both the ITF Men's World Tennis Tour and the ATP Challenger Tour. Donski holds the third highest-ever ATP doubles ranking by a Bulgarian player, achieving a career-high of No. 217[1] on 26 August 2024. Only Grigor Dimitrov and Orlin Stanoytchev have achieved a higher ATP doubles ranking for a Bulgarian player, reaching No. 66[2] and No. 156[3] respectively. Donski has won 19 ITF Men's World Tennis Tour titles in doubles[4] and is an active member of the Bulgarian Davis Cup Team.[5] YouTube ChannelIn late 2016, Donski began a YouTube channel called Operation Liftoff that documented his progress at Futures tournaments on the ITF Pro Circuit as well as showcased some of the challenges and routines of a professional tennis player's life on tour.[6] The channel was made in close collaboration with his cousin, Lazar Dokov, who traveled with and competed alongside him in Southeastern Europe until October of 2017.[7] As of January 2025, the channel has 40 videos, over 6,000 subscribers, and more than 800,000 views in total.[8] ITF Junior CareerDonski reached a career-high ITF junior ranking of No. 92[9] on 24 October 2016. The highlights of his activity in singles on the ITF Junior Tour include the following:[10]
In doubles he won three titles including a Grade 1 event in Morocco, a Grade 4 event in the United States, a Grade 5 event in the Bahamas, and made one further final at a Grade 4 event in Greece.[13] Overall, in international junior competition, Donski compiled a cumulative win/loss record of 68-47[14] in singles and 33-40[15] in doubles. Donski represented Canada in international competition until June of 2016, after which he began representing Bulgaria, citing heritage and favorable player development opportunities. Professional CareerDonski officially turned pro in 2017, however, as early as 2014[16], he played a limited number of Futures tournaments on the ITF Pro Circuit to gain experience alongside his main activity on the ITF Junior Tour[17]. As an amateur, he qualified twice for the main draw of a Futures tournament, once in the Dominican Republic in late 2015[18] and a second time in Greece a year later.[19] 2017: First ATP PointsIn 2017, Donski acquired his first two ATP singles points that elevated him to the year-end ranking of No. 1575.[20] Both points came in the summer at two $15K events held in Istanbul[21][22], for which he successfully qualified. As a qualifier in the main draw, he defeated a Turkish lucky loser to win the first ATP point[23], and then in the next event defeated a fellow qualifier, also from Turkiye, to win the second[24]. Donski positioned himself to play for ATP points on 6 other occasions that same year, however he was unable to secure further points.[25] Some of the more notable opposition he faced in 2017 who barred him from acquiring additional ATP points included Hubert Hurkacz,[26] Botic van de Zandschulp,[27] and Tallon Griekspoor.[28] Most of his first season as a professional player was well documented on his YouTube channel.[29] 2018: ATP 250 Wildcard, Uphill BattlesDonski made his ATP main draw debut at the 2018 Diema Xtra Sofia Open, receiving a wildcard into both the singles and doubles tournament after winning the Bulgarian Men's Indoor National Championships, defeating the then Bulgarian singles No.3, Aleksandar Lazov (ATP No. 400)[30] 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the final. Donski was defeated 7-5, 6-1[31] by Martin Klizan in the first round of the singles draw before also falling in the first round of the doubles draw. In 2018, Donski only saw limited progress on the singles front. Despite competing in the main draw of Futures events another 6 times, he accumulated only 3 ATP points that year[32]. He was unable to advance further than the second round of the main draw of any given singles event. In doubles, he fared better and reached his first final partnering Vasil Kirkov in Sozopol[33] and made two other semifinal runs. He finished the year ranked No. 1431[34] in singles and No.1061[35] in doubles. 2019: First Futures Titles in Singles and DoublesIn 2019, Donski made significant progress on the ITF Men's World Tennis Tour in both singles and doubles. In singles, he captured his first Futures title in October at an M15 event in Pretoria[36], defeating Arthur Cazaux 7-6(3), 6-7(5), 7-6(6)[37] in the final. Prior to that victory, he managed to reach three other finals earlier in the year at the M15 events in Sozopol[38], Telavi[39], and Johannesburg[40]. In doubles, Donski reached five finals and converted on two occasions. He won his first title at an M15 in Telavi[41] and then another in Pretoria[42] later in the year, where he also won his first singles title. These strong showings in both singles and doubles afforded him the year-end ATP rankings of No.585 and No.429 respectively.[43] 2020: Obstacles - Pandemic and ITF AdjustmentsIn 2020, along with many other players, Donski struggled to adapt to the challenges of traveling and competing at professional events under the changing realities and restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic[44]. He dedicated a video on Operation Liftoff to describing his experience of the disruptions that emerged[45]. In singles, out of a truncated schedule of just 10 events that year, including a Davis Cup match in Costa Rica[46], Donski won only 3 matches in total and never managed to pass the second round at any event[47]. The most competitive singles match he played that year came in November at the second round of an M15 event in Antalya, where he clashed with recent ITF Junior No.1, Holger Rune. Rune defeated Donski 5-7, 6-3, 6-3[48]. In doubles, Donski also found little success, making just a single semifinal appearance in October at an M15 event in Sharm El Sheikh[49]. Despite these setbacks, his year-end ATP ranking for singles did not change substantially (ended No.596[50]), as two temporary special provisions across the tour were in place at the time. One was a freeze of ATP points won in 2019 to account for disruptions in the regular event calendar by the pandemic[51], while the other was related to ongoing experimental structural changes in the ranking system by the ITF[52]. Donski's year-end doubles ranking, however, did drop by more than 240 spots to No.671[53] because of the timing of the acquisition of previous points. 2021–2022: First ATP Qualification Win, Top 250 Debut in DoublesDonski's first singles win at the ATP level came at the 2021 Sofia Open, where he received another wild card for the qualifying draw and pulled an upset win over eighth seed Jurij Rodionov before losing to Andreas Seppi in the final round. He also played in the doubles competition at his home ATP tournament with Dimitar Kuzmanov, but the Bulgarian duo lost in a third set tiebreaker to eventual champions Jonny O'Mara and Ken Skupski. Donski did not win any singles titles in 2021, but regained some form, reaching at least the quarterfinals of 4 separate events and advancing to the semifinals of two of those events. These results, however, could not prevent his ranking from dipping to ATP No. 659 by end of the year. The Bulgarian reignited his fortunes on the doubles scene and resumed building up his ranking during the 2021 season. Donski seized three more ITF titles, securing a victory at the M15 event in Sozopol with Billy Harris and following it up with triumphs at the M25 events in Saint-Dizier and Villers-lès-Nancy with Petros Tsitsipas. He also made it to the final of an M25 event in Ricany partnering Colin Sinclair, but the pair came up short. Donski finished the year ranked No. 505 in doubles. In January 2022, the Bulgarian continued his streak in doubles at a series of M25 events in Monastir and after 12 consecutive wins he added another trophy to his collection. In the following months Donski reached two more ITF singles finals in Tunisia, losing the first one to Laurent Lokoli before claiming his second singles title against Térence Atmane in March. In the coming months Alexander won two more ITF doubles titles in Sarajevo and Alkmaar as well as also reaching three ATP Challenger Tour quarterfinals. At the 2022 Sofia Open the Bulgarian lost in the first qualifying round in singles, but he once again reached the quarterfinals in doubles with Alexandar Lazarov and made his top 250 debut in the ATP doubles rankings on 3 October 2022. 2023: Doubles Takes PriorityDonski maintained solid form in doubles from the previous season. He won three M15 titles with three different partners, all on hard courts in Monastir[54][55][56]. He also made four other finals at M15 events (Antalya[57], Štore[58], Celje[59], Monastir[60]), and regularly penetrated as deep as the semifinals of many of the other tournaments that he played in[61]. 2023, however, was not a successful year in singles for Donski. Out of a mix of 23 tournaments, including 3 ATP Challenger events and another wildcard at the ATP 250 event in Sofia, he only made it to the semifinals of one Futures event, an M15 event in Monastir in late October. Most of his other defeats came either in qualifying rounds or the early rounds of main draws[62]. Donski ended the year ranked ATP No. 935 in singles and No. 315 in doubles[63]. 2024:Career-high ATP Doubles Ranking, ATP Challenger InroadsIn 2024, Donski accelerated his trajectory as a doubles specialist on the ATP tour and vastly outdid any of his performances in previous years by capturing seven ITF titles across tournaments held in Portugal, Tunisia, and Spain. Four of Donski’s wins came in the M25 category, while the other three came in the M15 category. He also started making inroads at the Challenger level, reaching the semifinal round of a $100K event in Luedenscheid, as well as a final and a semifinal at $50K events in Segovia and Dobrich, respectively. Of the nine doubles finals that Donski reached in 2024, six of them (four M25s, an M15, and the Challenger 50) came in partnership with the Portuguese player, Tiago Pereira. This success propelled Donski to a career-high ATP doubles ranking of No. 217 on the 26th of August, the third highest-ever doubles ranking a Bulgarian player has ever achieved. In singles, despite obstacles posed by his lower ranking earlier in the year, Donski found some surprising success at three consecutive ATP Challenger 50 events that took place over the summer. In both Pozoblanco and Dobrich, Donski passed the qualifying draw and made it to the second round of the main draw. In Pozoblanco, he handily defeated Ulises Blanch 6-3, 6-1 in the first round before narrowly falling to second seed and former top 100 player, Egor Gerasimov, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6 after having led 3-0 with a double break in the final set. In the third Challenger 50 event that he played (a second tournament in Dobrich), he received a wildcard into the main draw that he made good use of by reaching the quarterfinals. Donski finished 2024 with a year-end ATP singles ranking of No. 746. Year-end ATP Ranking
ATP Challenger and ITF Futures/World Tennis Tour FinalsSingles: 6 (2–4)
Doubles: 32 (19–13)
Davis Cup ParticipationDonski has been an active member of the Bulgarian Davis Cup Team since 2019[64]. As the highest ranked Bulgarian man in the ATP doubles rankings since November of 2021[65], he has regularly been deployed in the team’s doubles rubbers. As of January 2025, he has a cumulative Davis Cup doubles record of 3-4[66]. His most notable wins came partnering Alexandar Lazarov against South Africa’s Raven Klaasen / Lleyton Cronje (6-3,7-6) in 2022[67] and against the Kazakh team of Alexander Bublik / Aleksandr Nedovyesov (6-3,6-3) in 2023[68].
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