Luca Van Assche (born 11 May 2004) is a French professional tennis player.[1]

Luca Van Assche
Country (sports) France
ResidenceParis, France
Born (2004-05-11) 11 May 2004 (age 20)
Woluwe-Saint-Lambert, Belgium
Height1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Turned pro2021
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
CoachYannick Quere
Prize money$1,478,581
Singles
Career record20–37
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 63 (23 October 2023)
Current rankingNo. 118 (29 July 2024)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open3R (2024)
French Open2R (2023)
Wimbledon1R (2023, 2024)
US Open1R (2023)
Doubles
Career record3–8
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 335 (9 January 2023)
Current rankingNo. 871 (29 July 2024)
Grand Slam doubles results
French Open1R (2022, 2023)
Wimbledon2R (2023)
US Open1R (2023)
Last updated on: 30 July 2024.

Van Assche has a career high ATP singles ranking of World No. 63 achieved on 23 October 2023. He also has a career high ATP doubles ranking of World No. 344 achieved on 3 October 2022.

Career

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Juniors

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Van Assche won the 2021 French Open Boys' Singles title, defeating fellow countryman Arthur Fils in the final.[2]

2022: ATP, Major doubles debuts, Maiden Challenger title and top 150

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In January 2022, ranked No. 445, Van Assche received a wildcard for the qualifying event at the 2022 Open Sud de France but lost to Roman Safiullin.[3] He also made his ATP main draw doubles debut after receiving a wildcard into the main draw with Sascha Gueymard Wayenburg where they defeated David Vega Hernandez and Denys Molchanov to win their first ATP tour level match.[4][5] He also made his Grand Slam debut in doubles at the French Open as a wildcard pair partnering also Gueymard Wayenburg.

In October, Van Assche reached his first singles final on the ATP Challenger Tour in Lisbon, Portugal, entering the main draw as a qualifier and losing to Marco Cecchinato in the finals.[6] As a result he broke into the top 250. The following week, he made his ATP singles debut in Antwerp after qualifying for the main draw.[7]

On 14 November 2022, he entered the top 200 at world No. 198, after reaching the final of the Brest Challenger losing to Grégoire Barrère[8] and the quarterfinals in Roanne. In December, Van Assche won his maiden Challenger title in Maia defeating qualifier Maximilian Neuchrist in the final.[9] As a result he moved to No. 138 in the rankings, making him the youngest player in the top 150.[10][11]

2023: Major debuts, Two Challenger titles, first ATP win

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Van Assche received a wildcard into the 2023 Australian Open main draw to make his Grand Slam tournament debut in singles,[12] losing in the first round to 11th seed Cameron Norrie.[13]

He then competed in the Teréga Open Pau–Pyrénées Challenger 125 (indoor), defeating Ugo Humbert in the final in three hours and 56 minutes, which set a record for the longest ATP Challenger final and saving two match points.[14] Following his second title win in Pau, he moved close to 40 positions up and reached the top 110 on 6 March 2023.[15] Following his title at the 2023 Sanremo Challenger 125 (clay) he reached No. 91 on 3 April 2023 making him the youngest player in the top 100.[16][17] The following week he recorded his first ATP win at the Estoril Open over qualifier Pedro Sousa[18] after entering into the main draw directly. He lost his next match to third seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.[19]

Van Asscche recorded his first top-100 win over Stan Wawrinka at the Srpska Open,[20] before losing to world No.1 Novak Djokovic in the second round.[21]

He recorded his first Grand Slam win at the French Open defeating Marco Cecchinato[22] in the first round before losing to 29th seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the second round.[23] Van Assche made his Wimbledon debut in July, losing to Aslan Karatsev in the first round.[24] At Wimbledon, Van Assche recorded his first Grand Slam doubles win, playing along with fellow countryman Arthur Fils, defeating brothers Stefanos Tsitsipas and Petros Tsitsipas in the first round.[25]

In November, he qualified for the Next Generation ATP Finals[26][27] where wins over Abedallah Shelbayh[28] and Alex Michelsen[29] were enough for Van Assche to advance from his group into the semifinals despite a defeat to Hamad Medjedovic.[30] He lost in the last four to top seed Arthur Fils.[31]

2024: Australian Open third round

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At the Australian Open, Van Assche reached the third round defeating James Duckworth[32] and 25th seed Lorenzo Musetti,[33] before losing to seventh seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.[34]

Personal life

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Van Assche has a Belgian father and an Italian mother, who later was naturalised French.[35] He also has two sisters, Sofia and Elisa, a brother Paolo and cousins Gabriel and Tristan. He was raised in France, in Aix-en-Provence, Lyon and then Paris.[36] He studies mathematics at the Paris Dauphine University.[37]

Grand Slam performance timeline

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Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# P# DNQ A Z# PO G S B NMS NTI P NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (P#) preliminary round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (S) silver or (B) bronze Olympic/Paralympic medal; (NMS) not a Masters tournament; (NTI) not a Tier I tournament; (P) postponed; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.

Singles

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Tournament 2022 2023 2024 SR W–L Win %
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A 1R 3R 0 / 2 2–2 50%
French Open Q1 2R 1R 0 / 2 1–2 33%
Wimbledon A 1R 1R 0 / 2 0–2 0%
US Open A 1R Q2 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Win–loss 0–0 1–4 2–3 0 / 7 3–7 30%
ATP Tour Masters 1000
Indian Wells Masters A A 1R 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Miami Open A A 2R 0 / 1 1–1 50%
Monte-Carlo Masters A Q2 Q1 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Madrid Open A Q1 2R 0 / 1 1–1 50%
Italian Open A 1R A 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Cincinnati Open A Q1 A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Shanghai Masters A 1R 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Win–loss 0–0 0–2 1–2 0 / 4 1–4 20%

Record against other players

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Van Assche's record against players who have been ranked in the top 10, with those who are active in boldface. Only ATP Tour main draw matches and Davis Cup matches are considered:

Player Record Win % Hard Clay Grass Last match
Number 1 ranked players
  Novak Djokovic 0–1 0% 0–1 Lost (7–6(7–4), 3–6, 2–6) at 2023 Banja Luka
Number 2 ranked players
  Casper Ruud 0–1 0% 0–1 Lost (6–7(5–7), 6–1, 1–6) at 2024 Miami
  Alexander Zverev 0–1 0% 0–1 Lost (3–6, 4–6) at 2023 Hamburg
Number 3 ranked players
  Stan Wawrinka 2–0 100% 1–0 1–0 Won (3–6, 7–6(8–6), ret.) at 2023 Metz
  Stefanos Tsitsipas 0–1 0% 0–1 Lost (3–6, 0–6, 4–6) at 2024 Australian Open
Number 8 ranked players
  Karen Khachanov 0–1 0% 0–1 Lost (2–6, 3–6) at 2024 Dubai
  Diego Schwartzman 0–1 0% 0–1 Lost (7–5, 3–6, 2–6) at 2023 Shanghai
  Cameron Norrie 0–2 0% 0–2 Lost (3–6, 7–6(8–6), 1–6) at 2024 Auckland
Number 9 ranked players
  Fabio Fognini 0–1 0% 0–1 Lost (1–6, 3–6, 5–7) at 2024 Wimbledon
Number 10 ranked players
  Denis Shapovalov 0–1 0% 0–1 Lost (3–6, 4–6, 4–6) at 2024 French Open
Total 2–10 17% 1–6
(14%)
1–3
(25%)
0–1
(0%)
* Statistics correct as of 22 July 2024.

ATP Challenger Tour finals

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Singles: 6 (3 titles, 3 runner-ups)

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Legend
ATP Challenger Tour (3–3)
Finals by surface
Hard (1–1)
Clay (2–2)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Loss 0–1 Oct 2022 Lisbon, Portugal Challenger Clay   Marco Cecchinato 3–6, 3–6
Loss 0–2 Oct 2022 Brest, France Challenger Hard (i)   Grégoire Barrère 3–6, 3–6
Loss 0–3 Nov 2022 Valencia, Spain Challenger Clay   Oleksii Krutykh 2–6, 0–6
Win 1–3 Dec 2022 Maia, Portugal Challenger Clay (i)   Maximilian Neuchrist 3–6, 6–4, 6–0
Win 2–3 Feb 2023 Pau, France Challenger Hard (i)   Ugo Humbert 7–6(7–5), 4–6, 7–6(8–6)
Win 3–3 Apr 2023 Sanremo, Italy Challenger Clay   Juan Pablo Varillas 6–1, 6–3

ITF World Tennis Tour finals

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Singles: 1 (1 title)

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Legend
ITF WTT (1–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Win 1–0 Jan 2022 M15+H Bagnoles de l'Orne, France WTT Clay (i)   Corentin Denolly 7–5, 6–3

Doubles: 1 (1 title)

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Legend
ITF WTT (1–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1–0 Jan 2022 M15+H Bagnoles-de-l'Orne, France WTT Clay (i)   Corentin Denolly   Ronan Joncour
  Mandresy Rakotomalala
6–3, 6–4

Junior Grand Slam finals

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Singles: 1 (1 title)

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Result Year Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Win 2021 French Open Clay   Arthur Fils 6–4, 6–2

References

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  1. ^ "Luca van Assche | Overview | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  2. ^ "Tennis. Roland-Garros junior : Le Français Luca Van Assche sacré". www.vosgesmatin.fr.
  3. ^ "Début des qualifications ce dimanche" (in French).
  4. ^ "Open Sud de France : Gasquet a tout donné..." (in French).
  5. ^ "ENTRETIEN. Tennis. Challenger de Cherbourg 2022. Luca van Assche : « J'ai ma place sur le circuit »" (in French). 8 February 2024.
  6. ^ Van Assche advances to Maiden Challenger final in Lisbon tennis-tourtalk.com Archived 2022-12-07 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ "LVA bio".
  8. ^ "Former College Standouts Gojo, Hijikata Win Maiden Challenger Titles | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour.
  9. ^ Kust, Damian (4 December 2022). "Challenger Tour Weekly Recap: Dusan Lajovic and Luca van Assche Finish the Season with Titles".
  10. ^ "Van Assche, 18, Converts Hot Streak To First Challenger Title".
  11. ^ "Halys, Cachin, Shelton … Ils ont brillé sur le circuit Challenger en 2022, surveillez-les sur le circuit en 2023" (in French). December 2022.
  12. ^ "Five Challenger Tour Players To Watch At The Australian Open | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour.
  13. ^ "Australian Open 2023 results: Emma Raducanu and Cameron Norrie through in Melbourne". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  14. ^ "Luca Van Assche Saves 2 MPs To Win Longest Challenger Final; Purcell Completes Hat-Trick | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour.
  15. ^ "Van Assche 'Drives to Survive' Pau Challenger Final | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATPTour.
  16. ^ "18-Year-Old van Assche Claims Sanremo Challenger, Cracks Top 100 | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATPTour.
  17. ^ "Challenger Tour Weekly Recap: Van Assche Breaks the Top 100 in Sanremo". lastwordonsports.com. 3 April 2023.
  18. ^ "Portuguese Open: Van Assche reaches second round". Tennis Majors. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  19. ^ "Portuguese Open: Davidovich Fokina beats 18-year-old Van Assche, plays Cecchinato in last eight". Tennis Majors. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  20. ^ "Van Assche Beats Wawrinka in Banja Luka, Sets Djokovic Meeting | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  21. ^ "Banja Luka Open: Djokovic survives van Assche scare, reaches quarter-finals". Tennis Majors. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  22. ^ "Roland-Garros: Van Assche beats Cecchinato to make second round of home slam". Tennis Majors. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  23. ^ "Roland-Garros: Davidovich Fokina beats Van Assche to make third round". Tennis Majors. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  24. ^ "Luca van Assche chute face à Aslan Karatsev au premier tour de Wimbledon".
  25. ^ Sarkar, Pritha (9 July 2023). "Tsitsipas brothers ousted by French teenagers in first round". Reuters. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  26. ^ "Fils, Stricker, Van Assche & Cobolli Qualify For Next Gen ATP Finals". Next Generation ATP Finals. 8 November 2023. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  27. ^ "#NextGenATP Qualifiers Use ATP Challenger Tour As Springboard". ATPTour. 27 November 2023.
  28. ^ "Van Assche overcomes spirited Shelbayh in Next Gen Finals debut". Tennis Majors. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  29. ^ "Van Assche on verge of qualification for Next Gen semi-finals, beats Michelsen in epic". Tennis Majors. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  30. ^ "Medjedovic battles past Van Assche to maintain perfect record at Next Gen Finals". Tennis Majors. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  31. ^ "Top seed Fils holds off Van Assche to reach final at ATP Next Gen Finals". Tennis Majors. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  32. ^ "A promising equation: Van Assche making the numbers work". Australian Open. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  33. ^ "Australian Open: Van Assche upsets Musetti to reach third round". Tennis Majors. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  34. ^ "Australian Open: Must-see 'outrageous' point as Stefanos Tsitsipas fends off FOUR smashes to thrill fans". Eurosport. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  35. ^ "Roland-Garros : La Belgique est encore présente dans le tournoi, chez les juniors". www.rtbf.be (in French).
  36. ^ "ITW - Luca Van Assche : "Federer mon modèle, Nadal mon inspiration"". www.tennisactu.net (in French).
  37. ^ "Luca Van Assche fait le choix de poursuivre ses études malgré une carrière qui décolle". www.lequipe.fr (in French).
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