Denis Shapovalov used to be one of the most promising talents on the ATP Tour, but he is now working his way back to the Top 10.
A few years ago, Shapovalov emerged as an extremely talented player. In 2017, won the ATP Star of Tomorrow, the ATP Most Improved Player, and the Tennis Canada Male Player of the Year, and made his Top 10 debut as a 21-year-old in 2020.
At the time, he was predicted to even become a world No. 1 player in the future and win Grand Slams, but that has changed a lot since then. Shapovalov struggled a lot in 2023 when he wasn't able to play as much as he would like to, and since then, he has been working on returning to the Top 20, where he once belonged.
This year, he is 24th in the 2025 ATP Race and currently 23rd in the ATP Rankings. That means he is close to returning to the Top 20, but he aims to go even higher than that.
Shapovalov spoke to journalist Nicholas Albek, who covers the Stockholm Open for Action Network, and discussed his 2025 season, as well as the ATP 250 tournament in the Swedish capital, which he frequently plays.
"It has definitely been a good season for me. I want to keep pushing up the ranking, but of course, it takes time to come back from an injury. I think I have halved my ranking from last year, so hopefully I can keep going next season."
"My ultimate goal is definitely to get back into the top 10, and I feel like I at least have one more push in my career. I am still young and have a lot of time."
As a Canadian, Shapovalov has his home ATP Masters 1000 tournament, which is held annually in Montreal and Toronto, with the venue changing each year. However, there is one more tournament he plays very frequently, and that's the Stockholm Open.
Shapovalov won the tournament in 2019, marking his debut Tour-level title, and has since reached another final in 2021. But the fact that he won his first title in the Swedish capital isn't the only reason why he enjoys the tournament.
His wife, Mirjam Bjorklund, is Swedish, so spending time in her home city is always a great experience for Shapovalov. He even said that playing in Stockholm feels like home to him.
"This tournament means everything to me. Obviously, I am married to a Swedish woman and Sweden is definitely like my second home. I definitely love this country and getting my first title here as well was very special, so I have a lot of great feelings whenever I am here. It doesn’t feel like a tournament week for me, it feels like a week at home."
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