Mark Lajal
_08_(cropped).jpg) Lajal at the 2023 US Open | |
| Country (sports) |  Estonia |
|---|---|
| Born | 12 May 2003 Tallinn, Estonia |
| Height | 191 cm (6 ft 3 in) |
| Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
| Coach | Wayne Black, Karl Kiur Saar[1] |
| Prize money | $ 402,743 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 5–6 |
| Career titles | 0 |
| Highest ranking | No. 167 (23 June 2025) |
| Current ranking | No. 168 (30 June 2025) |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| Australian Open | Q3 (2025) |
| French Open | Q1 (2024, 2025) |
| Wimbledon | 1R (2024) |
| US Open | Q1 (2023) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 1–0 |
| Career titles | 0 |
| Highest ranking | No. 703 (25 November 2024) |
| Current ranking | No. 1405 (30 June 2025) |
| Team competitions | |
| Davis Cup | 4–4 |
| Last updated on: 30 June 2025. | |
Mark Lajal (born 12 May 2003) is an Estonian tennis player. He has a career high ATP singles ranking of world No. 167, achieved on 23 June 2025. He also has a career high ATP doubles ranking of No. 703, achieved on 25 November 2024. He is currently the No. 1 Estonian player.[2] He has won an ATP Challenger and three ITF titles.[3]
Lajal represents Estonia at the Davis Cup, where he has a W/L record of 4–4.[4]
Career
[edit]2021: Juniors
[edit]On the junior tour, he had a career high ITF combined ranking of No. 13, achieved on 30 August 2021.
2023: Maiden Challenger title, ATP debut and first win, top 200
[edit]He won his first Challenger title in Little Rock, Arkansas. He became the first Estonian to win a Challenger title before his 21st birthday and Estonia’s second ever Challenger champion.[5][6][7]
Ranked No. 229 on his ATP debut, he received a wildcard for the main draw of the 2023 European Open and defeated Jaume Munar for his first ATP win.[8] He then lost to fourth seed and eventual finalist Arthur Fils in the second round.
As a lucky loser at the Bergamo Challenger, Lajal beat Jelle Sels, Ugo Blanchet and the opponent he lost to in qualifying, Pierre-Hugues Herbert to reach the semifinals, where he lost to David Goffin in 3 sets. As a result, he made his debut in the top 200.
2024: Grand Slam debut
[edit]In July, ranked No. 262, Lajal made his Grand Slam debut at Wimbledon after a successful qualifying campaign in which he ousted 25th qualifying seed Francesco Passaro, Henrique Rocha and fourth seed James Duckworth. He became the first Estonian man to reach a Grand Slam main draw since Jürgen Zopp at the 2018 Roland Garros.[9][10] He lost in straight sets to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz on his debut.[11][12]
In August, Lajal reached his second career Challenger final in Zhangjiagang, losing to Yasutaka Uchiyama in the final.[13]
2025: First ATP quarterfinal
[edit]In June, Lajal entered the main draw at the 2025 Libéma Open as a qualifier. He reached the second round by defeating world No. 64 Laslo Djere, for his biggest win, the first on grass and only his second ATP win.[14] He reached his first ATP Tour quarterfinal by getting a walkover from fifth seed Hubert Hurkacz.[15] He lost to Zizou Bergs in the quarterfinals.[16]
Performance timeline
[edit]Singles
[edit]Current through the 2023 Rolex Paris Masters.
| Tournament | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | SR | W–L | Win% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Slam tournaments | ||||||
| Australian Open | A | Q1 | Q3 | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – |
| French Open | A | Q1 | Q1 | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – |
| Wimbledon | A | 1R | Q2 | 0 / 1 | 0–1 | 0% |
| US Open | Q1 | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – | |
| Win–loss | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0 / 1 | 0–1 | 0% |
| ATP Masters 1000 | ||||||
| Indian Wells Masters | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – |
| Miami Open | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – |
| Monte-Carlo Masters | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – |
| Madrid Open | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – |
| Italian Open | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – |
| Canadian Open | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – | |
| Cincinnati Masters | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – | |
| Shanghai Masters | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – | |
| Paris Masters | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – | |
| Win–loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – |
| Career statistics | ||||||
| 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | Career | |||
| Tournaments | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Titles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Finals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Overall win–loss | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–3 | ||
| Year-end ranking | 206 | 229 | 40% | |||
ATP Challenger Tour finals
[edit]Singles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)
[edit]
|
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1–0 | Jun 2023 | Little Rock, USA | Challenger | Hard |  Beibit Zhukayev
|
6–4, 7–5 |
| Loss | 1–1 | Aug 2024 | Zhangjiagang, China | Challenger | Hard |  Yasutaka Uchiyama
|
7–6(7–4), 2–6, 2–6 |
ITF World Tennis Tour finals
[edit]Singles: 5 (3 titles, 2 runner-ups)
[edit]
|
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1–0 | May 2022 | M15 Heraklion, Greece | WTT | Hard |  Dominik Palan
|
6–4, 6–3 |
| Win | 2–0 | Aug 2022 | M15 Monastir, Tunisia | WTT | Hard |  Constantin Bittoun Kouzmine
|
6–2, 3–6, 6–3 |
| Loss | 2–1 | Aug 2022 | M15 Monastir, Tunisia | WTT | Hard |  Te Rigele
|
3–6, 6–3, 5–7 |
| Loss | 2–2 | Sep 2022 | M25 Bagnères-de-Bigorre, France | WTT | Hard |  Joris De Loore
|
3–6, 0–6 |
| Win | 3–2 | Dec 2022 | M25 Monastir, Tunisia | WTT | Hard | Bu Yunchaokete
|
6–4, 6–1 |
References
[edit]- ^ "Lajali treener Wayne Black avaldas, mis peaks paranema, et Eesti esireket muutuks tennisetuuril veelgi kardetavamaks vastaseks" (in Estonian). 8 January 2025.
- ^ "Estonia | PIF ATP Rankings (Singles) | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour. Retrieved 2024-05-15.
- ^ "Mark Lajal: 'I Wasn't Supposed To Be A Tennis Player' | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour. Retrieved 2024-02-20.
- ^ "Pacific Oceania loses to Estonia in return to Group 2". www.saipantribune.com.
- ^ "Lajal takes Little Rock Open title | Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette". www.nwaonline.com. 2023-06-05. Retrieved 2024-02-20.
- ^ Kust, Damian (2023-06-05). "Challenger Tour Weekly Recap: Mark Lajal Becomes Estonia's Second-Ever Challenger Champion". Last Word On Tennis. Retrieved 2024-02-20.
- ^ "Mark Lajal, 20, Wins Maiden Challenger Title In Just 6th Outing | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour. Retrieved 2024-02-20.
- ^ "European Open: 20-year-old Lajal makes dream debut, defeating Munar in first match". Tennis Majors. 2023-10-16. Retrieved 2024-02-20.
- ^ "Pouille headlines quartet of French qualifiers at Wimbledon". ATPtour.com. 27 June 2024. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
- ^ "Estonia's Mark Lajal to make first career Grand Slam appearance at Wimbledon". 28 June 2024. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
- ^ "Alcaraz, Wimbledon, Estonia: Everything you always wanted to know about Mark Lajal (but never had time to find out)". 28 June 2024. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
- ^ "Wimbledon results 2024: Carlos Alcaraz opens Wimbledon defence with win over Mark Lajal". BBC Sport. July 1, 2024.
- ^ "#NextGenATP Debru joins Gasquet, Monfils in French Challenger history | ATP Tour | Tennis". 2 September 2024.
- ^ @TennisTV (June 11, 2025). "First win on the grass 👏Mark Lajal defeats Djere 6-2 6-4 for the biggest win of his career!#LibemaOpen" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Hubert Hurkacz withdraws from 's-Hertogenbosch due to injury | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour. Retrieved 2025-06-13.
- ^ "ATP Rosmalen : Zizou Bergs file en demi-finale et connaît déjà son adversaire" (in French).
External links
[edit]- Mark Lajal at the Association of Tennis Professionals
- Mark Lajal at the International Tennis Federation
- Mark Lajal at the Davis Cup
- Mark Lajal at ESPN.com
Association of Tennis Professionals: Top ten male singles tennis players from the Baltic states | |
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as of 30 June 2025 | |
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Association of Tennis Professionals Top Estonian male singles tennis players | |
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As of Jun 29, 2025 | |
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