Jiří Lehečka (Czech pronunciation:[ˈjɪr̝iːˈlɛɦɛtʃka]; born 8 November 2001) is a Czech professional tennis player. He has a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 16 achieved on 8 September 2025 and a doubles ranking of No. 136 achieved on 8 September 2025. He has won two singles titles on the ATP Tour and is currently the No. 1 Czech player.[1]
Lehečka had a career-high junior combined ranking of No. 10, achieved on 11 March 2019.
Lehečka is the son of two athletes. His father was a swimmer, and his mother was a track and field star. He has long enjoyed skiing, cycling and swimming and remembers first touching a tennis racquet at three. His grandmother, who competed on a national level, taught his older sister the game, so naturally he wanted to play. When Lehečka was young, he admired Tomáš Berdych and Radek Štěpánek.[3]
Career
2021: Two Challenger titles, top 150
In 2021, Lehečka won two ATP Challenger singles titles, one ATP Challenger doubles title with Vít Kopřiva and two with Zdeněk Kolář.[4]
At the ATP tournament in Rotterdam, he reached the second round as a qualifier, with a stunning upset over fifth seed Denis Shapovalov in straight sets in his first ATP Tour main-draw match.[6] He went on to defeat Botic van de Zandschulp and Lorenzo Musetti to reach the semifinals on his ATP debut, where he was defeated in three sets by top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas. He became the lowest-ranked Rotterdam semifinalist since then-World No. 225 Omar Camporese in 1995. As a result, he moved 42 positions up into the top 100 in the rankings at World No. 95 on 14 February 2022.[7]
At the 2022 Serbia Open he qualified into the main draw but lost in the second round to second seed, World No. 8 and eventual champion Andrey Rublev.[8][4] At the 2022 BMW Open he qualified into the main draw again defeating Alejandro Tabilo 6–4, 7–6(7–3) in the final round of qualifying.[9] He lost to wildcard and eventual champion Holger Rune in the first round.[4]
Lehečka began his season as the top-ranked Czech male player at the inaugural 2023 United Cup where he lost to Taylor Fritz 3–6, 4–6 but defeated Alexander Zverev 6–4, 6–2 in Zverev's first match coming back from injury. Lehečka also played mixed doubles with Marie Bouzková.[16][17][18]
He reached the Australian Open fourth round defeating 11th seed Cameron Norrie taking his revenge after he was beaten by Norrie at the 2023 Auckland Open the previous week.[19][20] Next he defeated sixth seed Félix Auger-Aliassime, his first top-10 win, to reach a Major quarterfinal for the first time in his career.[21] As a result, he moved more than 30 positions up into the top 40 at world No. 39 on 30 January 2023.[22]
At the same tournament he also reached the third round in doubles on his debut at the event at this Major with partner Alex Molčan.[4]
He entered the Croatia Open as the top seed at a tour-level event for the first time, and reached the quarterfinals with a win over Dominic Thiem.[30] He also reached the quarterfinals in doubles with partner Roman Jebavý.[4]
He reached his first ATP Tour final at the 2023 Winston-Salem Open where he lost to Sebastián Báez.[31] As a result, he reached the top 30 in the rankings at world No. 29 on 28 August 2023.[32]
Seeded 32nd at the 2024 BNP Paribas Open, Lehečka reached the fourth round for the first time at a Masters 1000 defeating Brandon Nakashima[36] and fifth seed Andrey Rublev, his second top five win and second against Rublev.[37] He reached his first career Masters quarterfinal defeating 11th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.[38] He lost in the last eight to Jannik Sinner.[39]
Ranked No. 31 at the Madrid Open, he reached his second Masters quarterfinal defeating qualifiers Hamad Medjedovic and Thiago Monteiro, Rafael Nadal in the round of 16, becoming the lowest ranked man to beat the former champion in a clay Masters.[40] Next he defeated third seed Daniil Medvedev in the quarterfinals to reach his first career Masters 1000 semifinal.[41] He retired in the first set of the semi-final against Felix Auger-Aliassime due to a back injury.[42]
At the US Open, Lehečka reached his second major quarterfinal and first since the 2023 Australian Open, with wins over Borna Ćorić, Tomás Martín Etcheverry, Raphaël Collignon and Adrian Mannarino. He lost to Carlos Alcaraz in three sets. As a result he entered the Top 20 at world No. 16 and became the Czech No. 1 player on 8 September 2025 after surpassing Jakub Menšík.[46]
Lehečka was a finalist for a second consecutive year at the European Open, this time held in Brussels, Belgium.[47]
^ a bDuring the season, he did not play in the main-draw of any ATP Tour-level tournaments. However, he played at the Davis Cup, which is not counted as a played tournament but as matches counted.
References
^"Czechia Rankings | Singles". ATP Tour.
^""Není to rodák z Boleslavi, ale Kněžmostu," zaznívá hrdě z rodné obce Jiřího Lehečky" (in Czech). PrahaIN. 14 January 2024. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
^"Jiří Lehečka: 'Tennis Was the Only Option for Me'". ATP Tour.
^ a b c d e f g h "JH Activity". ATP Tour.
^"Australian Open: Povedlo se! Lehečka a Macháč se kvalifikovali do hlavní soutěže". Tenisový svět (in Czech). 21 May 2023.
^"Rublev Wins Rotterdam Opener; Lehecka Stuns Shapo". ATP Tour. 8 February 2022.
^"Jiří Lehečka's Dream Run Continues, Reaches First SF in Rotterdam". ATP Tour.
^ "ANDREY RUBLEV FIGHTS BACK TO BEAT JIRI LEHECKA TO REACH SERBIA OPEN QUARTER-FINALS". eurosport.com. 21 April 2022.
^"Lehecka Qualifies for BMW Open Main Draw". tennis-tourtalk.com. 24 April 2022. Archived from the original on 28 October 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
^"Jiri Lehecka Holds Firm for Generali Open Kitzbühel Debut Win". ATP Tour.
^"Dominic Thiem Battles into Kitzbühel Quarter-finals". ATP Tour.
^"Jiri Lehecka Recognizes Importance of ATP Challenger Tour". ATP Tour.
^"Jiri Lehecka Raring to Go in Milan Following 2021 Heartbreak". ATP Tour.
^"Jiri Lehecka Sinks Arnaldi, Reaches Milan SFS". ATP Tour.
^"Nakashima is Next, clinches Milan crown". ATP Tour. 12 November 2022.
^ "Lehecka, Bouzkova Give Czech Republic Control Against Germany". ATP Tour. 31 December 2022.
^ a b "Vondrousova & Lehecka: Strength In Czech Colours". unitedcup.com.
^"Norrie knocked out of Australian Open by Lehecka". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
^"The Moment That Changed Everything for Jiří Lehečka". ATP Tour.
^"Lehecka Upsets Auger-Aliassime to Extend Dream Australian Open Run". ATP Tour.
^"Ranking Reaction: Novak Djokovic returns to No. 1 after winning 10th Australian Open title". tennis.com.
^"Lehecka Upsets Rublev for Maiden Top 5 Win, Faces Murray in Doha SFS". ATP Tour.
^"Tomáš Berdych on Jiří Lehečka: 'He Has a Bright Future'". ATP Tour.
^"Jiří Lehečka Defeats Federico Coria in Miami Opener". ATP Tour.
^"Lehecka Beats Musetti to Reach Third round in Miami". ATP Tour.
^"No Spicy Food & Dream Dinner with Michael Jordan: Meet Jiří Lehečka". ATP Tour.
^ @TennisTV (12 April 2023). "Lehecka's 2023 aging like a fine wine 🍷@jirilehecka takes out last year's semi-finalist Dimitrov 7-6(4) 6-4 in Monte Carlo! #RolexMonteCarloMasters" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^@ATPTour (8 July 2023). "Rollercoaster match! @jirilehecka in 5 sets defeats Paul 6-2, 7-6(2), 6-7(5), 6-7(9), 6-2 to reach the round of 16 at @Wimbledon for the first time!#wimbledon" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^"Lehecka Sinks Thiem in Umag". ATP Tour. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
^"Sebastián Báez Wins Winston-Salem Crown For Second Consecutive Title". ATP Tour. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
^"Jiri Lehecka Hits Career High, Mover of Week". ATP Tour.
^"Jiri Lehecka defeats Sebastian Korda, advances to Adelaide International final". espn.com. 12 January 2024.
^"Jiří Lehečka wins first ATP title in Adelaide". 13 January 2024.
^"First-time Winner Spotlight: Jiri Lehecka". ATP Tour.
^"Indian Wells: Lehecka outlasts Nakashima to make third round". Tennis Majors. 9 March 2024. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
^"Lehecka upsets Rublev, sets Tsitsipas showdown at Indian Wells". ATP Tour.
^"Indian Wells Masters: Lehecka advances to first ATP 1000 quarter-final, beats Tsitsipas". Tennis Majors. 12 March 2024. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
^"Jannik Sinner continues unbeaten start to season with Indian Wells quarter-final win against Jiri Lehecka". Eurosport. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
^"Jiří Lehečka Becomes Lowest-ranked Man To Beat Rafa Nadal In A Masters 1000 Clay Event". Forbes.
^"Lehecka advances after Medvedev retires in Madrid quarter-final". ATP Tour.
^"Felix advances to Madrid final after Lehecka retires". ATP Tour. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
^"Emotional Bautista Agut wins Antwerp title: 'I deserved a week like this'". ATP Tour. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
^ "Lehecka clinches Brisbane title following Opelka retirement". ATP Tour. 5 January 2025.
^ "Why Lehecka believes he can beat Djokovic at Australian Open". ATP Tour. 18 January 2025.
^"Lehečka se po čtvrtfinále US Open posunul na životní 16. místo žebříčku". Czech News Agency (in Czech). 8 September 2025. Archived from the original on 8 September 2025.
^ "Auger-Aliassime sets Lehecka final in Brussels". ATP Tour. 18 October 2025.
^"Teams Announced for 2019 Davis Cup Qualifiers". 22 January 2019. Archived from the original on 14 December 2019. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
^Sridhar, Shrivathsa; Sridhar, Shrivathsa (22 January 2023). "Czech Lehecka stuns sixth seed Auger-Aliassime at Australian Open". Reuters. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
^"Jiri Lehecka upsets Doha top seed Andrey Rublev". Reuters. 24 February 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
^"Lehecka upsets Rublev". ATP News. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
^"Daniil Medvedev's withdrawal from the Madrid quarterfinal". Tennis Tonic. 2 May 2024. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
^"Jiri Lehecka Stuns Daniil Medvedev To Reach Last 16 Of Cincinnati Open". Outlook India. 15 August 2024. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
^Monteverde, Marco (5 January 2025). "Brisbane International 2025: Grigor Dimitrov back-to-back dream over, Jiri Lehecka and Reilly Opelka on to mens final". The Australian. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
External links
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