Grigor Dimitrov was born in Haskovo, Bulgaria on May 16, 1991 to Maria and Dimitar Dimitrov. His father was a tennis coach, and Maria was a sports teacher. Both parents influenced Dimitrov’s tennis career. The Bulgarian player first held a tennis racket at age three and quickly picked up the sport, playing daily by age five.
Dimitrov’s father served as his coach in the early years, while the Bulgarian player also cites John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg, and Tiger Woods as his sporting influences. Dimitrov reached the number one ranking in junior tennis and won the Boys Wimbledon and US Open titles in 2008. Soon after, he turned professional at the age of 16.
In the following season, Dimitrov was a regular in ATP competitions and made his Grand Slam debut at Wimbledon on a wildcard. Despite his inexperience, Dimitrov made a strong showing and eliminated Igor Kunitsyn in round one before suffering a knee injury.
2010 was a year of development, mostly at the Challenger level, and Dimitrov didn’t make any of the Grand Slam main draws. However, a more consistent season followed in 2011, as the Bulgarian reached the main draws of all four Grand Slams and progressed to round two at Wimbledon and the Australian Open.
Dimitrov also became the highest-ever ranked Bulgarian in 2011, reaching 85th in the standings. Dimitrov continued to progress steadily throughout 2012 and 2013. In 2012, he reached three consecutive second rounds in the first three Grand Slams of the season. Then, Dimitrov made history in 2013 by becoming the first Bulgarian player to reach an ATP final at the Brisbane International before losing to Andy Murray.
His strong form continued as Dimitrov cemented himself as one of the Top 50 players, and he won his first-ever ATP title in late 2013, beating David Ferrer at the Stockholm Open. Now firmly established in the ATP Rankings, Dimitrov continued to develop and won three titles in 2014 on three separate surfaces.
Dimitrov won at the Queen’s Club Championships, the Bucharest Open, and the Mexican Open in Acapulco. He also made strong showings in the Grand Slams, progressing to the Australian Open quarter-finals and Wimbledon semi-finals.
Dimitrov struggled to rediscover the heights of 2014 in the following season and had to wait until 2016 before his next ATP final. In 2016, Dimitrov reached the final at three events in Beijing, Istanbul, and Sydney but lost all three. He also struggled for consistency in the majors, and a fourth-round run at the US Open was his best display.
However, Dimitrov bounced back in 2017 to win four titles and reach third in his highest-ever ATP ranking. The Bulgarian claimed four titles during this season, which is a career-best. Victories came at the ATP Finals, the Cincinnati Open, the Sofia Open, and in Brisbane. In addition, Dimitrov reached the Stockholm Open final but lost to Juan Martin del Potro.
Dimitrov’s form dropped off again in 2018 and 2019, partially due to a shoulder injury. However, he did win the Laver Cup title with Team Europe in 2018, matching his career-best run to the semi-finals at the US Open in 2019.
More inconsistent displays came between 2020 and 2022 when Dimitrov failed to reach any ATP finals and couldn't progress past round four at the Grand Slams. But the Bulgarian was back to his best in 2023, making the finals at the Paris Masters and Geneva Open, resulting in his return to the ATP Top 15.
The Bulgarian continued his momentum into the 2024 campaign and lifted his first title since 2017 at the Brisbane International with a final triumph over Holger Rune.
