Nikoloz Basilashvili is a Georgian professional tennis player who was born on February 23, 1992, in Tbilisi, Georgia. Born to parents Nodar and Natalia, Nikoloz was first introduced to the sport of tennis aged just 5. Once his talent became evident, he moved to the United States to pursue his formation and continue to grow into a more rounded tennis player.
As is customary before breaking on to the main ATP Tour, Basilashvili turned to the ITF and then Challenger Tours in order to get more versed on the world stage. Years after initially starting out, he finally got the chance he was waiting for to give the ATP Tour a crack.
It came at the 2014 Bucharest Open after he came through three qualifying rounds. Despite losing in the first round, he used this experience as a springboard for future ATP appearances, and in 2015, he played in a considerable amount more competitions.
Included was a Grand Slam debut at the 2015 French Open before he got his first Grand Slam win at Wimbledon just a few weeks later. He, in fact, reached the third round of the 2017 Wimbledon Championships, eventually falling to Roberto Bautista Agut.
After a few more years of hard graft for the Georgian, things really picked up. 2018 was a season to remember for him, with it being his time to shine in terms of ATP silverware. First up was the Hamburg Open, where, after beating Leonardo Mayer in the finals, he became the first Georgian ever to win an ATP title.
Other 2018 highlights include winning the China Open in Beijing, having a career-best performance at a Grand Slam, and reaching the fourth round of the US Open. The titles did not stop there, with Basilashvili retaining his title in Hamburg in 2019 before going on to win the Qatar Open in Doha and the Munich Open in 2021.
Despite best efforts to maintain this form, the Georgian was unable to prevent a dip in results due to injury. As a result, he found himself outside the Top 500, a far cry from when he achieved his career-best ranking of world number 16.
