Ruben Bemelmans

Ruben Bemelmans (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈrybən ˈbeːməlmɑns]; born 14 January 1988) is a Belgian former professional tennis player. He has a career-high ATP ranking of world No. 84 in singles, achieved on 28 September 2015, and world No. 128 in doubles, achieved on 1 October 2012. Bemelmans competed mainly on the ATP Challenger Tour.

Ruben Bemelmans
Bemelmans in 2021
Country (sports) Belgium
ResidenceMaasmechelen, Belgium
Born (1988-01-14) 14 January 1988 (age 36)
Genk, Belgium
Height1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Turned pro2006
RetiredOct 2022
PlaysLeft-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize moneyUS$2,192,636
Singles
Career record30–61
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 84 (28 September 2015)
Current rankingNo. 547 (17 October 2022)[1]
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open2R (2018)
French Open2R (2018)
Wimbledon3R (2017)
US Open3R (2015)
Doubles
Career record13–16
Career titles1
Highest rankingNo. 128 (1 October 2012)
Current rankingNo. 183 (17 October 2022)[1]
Grand Slam doubles results
WimbledonQ1 (2012, 2017, 2018)
Team competitions
Davis CupF (2015, 2017)
Hopman CupF (2011)
Last updated on: 22 October 2022.

Tennis career

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2006–2009: Turned Pro

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Bemelmans won his first Futures event in Espelkamp, Germany in July 2007. His best performance to date was in winning the Volkswagen Challenger event in Wolfsburg in March 2009, winning three matches in qualifying before going on to beat Stefano Galvani of Italy in the final. He won this tournament again in 2011.[2]

2010–2014: ATP and Grand Slam debut, Hopman Cup finalist

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In February 2010 Bemelmans succeeded in qualifying for his first ATP level event, the Zagreb Indoors tournament. However he lost in the first round to Alexandre Sidorenko of France in three sets.[3]

In June 2010, he entered the main draw of the 2010 Gerry Weber Open in Halle as a lucky loser. In the opening round he lost to German Philipp Kohlschreiber in three close sets.

In September 2010, Ruben played for Belgium in the Davis cup play-off tie against Australia. He was a late replacement for an injured Steve Darcis. He played Lleyton Hewitt and after a solid effort, he succumbed in a 6–7, 5–7, 6–2, 4–6 duel.[4]

In January 2011, Bemelmans was invited to represent Belgium in the Hopman Cup alongside Justine Henin. They reached the final, beating Kazakhstan and Serbia along the way, where they were defeated by USA 2–1.[5]

Bemelmans won his first match in a Grand Slam main draw at 2012 Wimbledon, defeating Carlos Berlocq in 4 sets. He was bested by Richard Gasquet in straight sets in the second round. About a month later, Bemelmans (playing doubles with fellow countryman Xavier Malisse) won his first title on the ATP Tour, the 250 level Los Angeles Open.

In 2013, Bemelmans made the final of 2 Challenger Tour events, Nottingham (a Challenger event from 2011 to 2014) and Eckental where he lost to Steve Johnson and Benjamin Becker respectively. As a qualifier, Bemelmans reached the quarterfinals of Vienna in 2013, defeating No. 4 seed Philipp Kohlschreiber en route.

2014 saw Bemelmans have another strong showing at Eckental, this time winning the tournament, beating 2012 champion Daniel Brands en route.

2015–2018: US Open and Wimbledon third rounds

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Ruben Bemelmans at the 2018 French Open

In September 2015, Bemelmans defeated Gilles Müller and Jack Sock (retired) to reach the third round of the US Open where he lost against Switzerland's Stan Wawrinka in three sets.[6]

He was unable to defend his title in Eckental however, falling in the semi-finals to Benjamin Becker. Bemelmans also played an active part in the Belgian Davis Cup team that reached the final that season, and played the second singles rubber where he was beaten by Andy Murray.

Bemelmans made 2 Challenger finals late in 2016, at Charlottesville and Champaign.

In 2017, Bemelmans won the title in Koblenz,[7] which pushed him back inside the Top 150, before losing to Denis Shapovalov in the final of the Challenger in Drummondville.

He then made the third round of Wimbledon, his best result at the tournament, beating former world No. 2 Tommy Haas in the first round.

The 2018 Australian Open saw Bemelmans win his first match at the tournament in 3 main draw appearances when he earned a credible first round victory over 18th seed Lucas Pouille.[8]

At the 2018 French Open he made it past the first round for the second consecutive grand slam when he beat Yuki Bhambri in his opening match.[9] However he lost in five sets in round two to Estonian Jürgen Zopp.[10]

Bemelmans qualified for the 2018 Wimbledon Championships defeating Bernard Tomic in the final qualifying round.[11] He then defeated American Steve Johnson in five sets to reach round 2 of a slam for the third consecutive time in 2018.[12]

2019–2022: Retirement

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He made history when he qualified for an Open Era record sixth time at the 2019 Wimbledon Championships beating American Donald Young 6–4, 6–4, 6–1. Bemelmans had been tied for the qualifying record with Alejandro Falla, Ken Flach, Edouard Roger-Vasselin and Jimmy Wang.[13]

In February 2021, He won his sixth singles Challenger title at the 2021 Challenger La Manche defeating Lukáš Rosol. In September, he also won his tenth doubles Challenger title at the 2021 Challenger Biel/Bienne partnering Daniel Masur.

He played his last singles professional match in the qualifying draw as a wildcard at the 2022 European Open in Antwerp.[14] He also participated in the doubles event having received also a wildcard partnering compatriot Alexander Blockx where he lost in the first round.[15]

ATP career finals

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Ruben Bemelmans at the 2011 Wimbledon Championships

Doubles: 1 (1 title)

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Legend
Grand Slam Tournaments (0–0)
ATP World Tour Finals (0–0)
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0–0)
ATP World Tour 500 Series (0–0)
ATP World Tour 250 Series (1–0)
Finals by surface
Hard (1–0)
Clay (0–0)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
ResultW–L   Date   TournamentTierSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Win1–0Jul 2012Los Angeles Open, US250 SeriesHard Xavier Malisse Jamie Delgado
Ken Skupski
7–6(7–5), 4–6, [10–7]

Team competition finals

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ResultW–L   Date   TournamentSurfacePartnersOpponentsScore
Loss0–1Jan 2011Hopman Cup, Perth, Western AustraliaHard Justine Henin Bethanie Mattek-Sands
John Isner
1–2
Loss0–2Nov 2015Davis Cup, Ghent, BelgiumClay (i) David Goffin
Steve Darcis
Kimmer Coppejans
Andy Murray
Kyle Edmund
James Ward
Jamie Murray
1–3
Loss0–3Nov 2017Davis Cup, Lille, FranceHard (i) David Goffin
Steve Darcis
Joris De Loore
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Lucas Pouille
Richard Gasquet
Pierre-Hugues Herbert
2–3

Challenger and Futures finals

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Singles: 37 (20–17)

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Legend (singles)
ATP Challenger Tour (6–13)
ITF Futures Tour (14–4)
Titles by surface
Hard (12–8)
Clay (2–3)
Grass (0–1)
Carpet (6–5)
ResultW–L   Date   TournamentTierSurfaceOpponentScore
Loss0–1Mar 2007Sweden F1, MalmöFuturesHard (i) Pablo Figueroa6–7(8–10), 5–7
Loss0–2Jun 2007Romania F5, BacăuFuturesClay Artemon Apostu-Efremov2–6, 0–6
Loss0–3Jul 2007Germany F9, RömerbergFuturesClay Dustin Brown3–6, 6–7(4–7)
Win1–3Jul 2007Germany F10, EspelkampFuturesClay Franz Stauder6–2, 7–5
Win2–3Nov 2007Israel F4, Ramat HaSharonFuturesHard Niels Desein6–3, 6–3
Loss2–4Jan 2008Germany F3, KaarstFuturesCarpet (i) Jeroen Masson2–6, 6–4, 2–6
Win3–4Mar 2008Switzerland F2, BassersdorfFuturesCarpet (i) Ladislav Chramosta3–6, 6–3, 6–2
Win4–4May 2008Italy F15, CesenaFuturesClay Carlos Avellán6–4, 3–6, 6–0
Loss4–5Nov 2008Aachen, GermanyChallengerCarpet (i) Evgeny Korolev6–7(5–7), 6–7(3–7)
Win5–5Feb 2009France F3, BressuireFuturesHard (i) Vincent Millot6–4, 6–3
Win6–5Mar 2009Wolfsburg, GermanyChallengerCarpet (i) Stefano Galvani7–6(7–5), 3–6, 6–3
Win7–5Sep 2009France F15, PlaisirFuturesHard (i) Pierrick Ysern6–7(5–7), 6–1, 7–5
Win8–5Mar 2010France F4, LilleFuturesHard (i) Niels Desein6–4, 6–2
Win9–5Mar 2010France F5, PoitiersFuturesHard (i) Charles-Antoine Brézac6–4, 4–6, 6–4
Win10–5Jul 2010Spain F23, Palma del RíoFuturesHard Niels Desein4–6, 6–4, 7–6(7–1)
Loss10–6Nov 2010Eckental, GermanyChallengerCarpet (i) Igor Sijsling6–3, 2–6, 3–6
Win11–6Feb 2011Wolfsburg, GermanyChallengerCarpet (i) Dominik Meffert6–7(8–10), 6–4, 6–4
Loss11–7Jan 2012Heilbronn, GermanyChallengerHard (i) Björn Phau7–6(7–4), 3–6, 4–6
Loss11–8May 2012Athens, GreeceChallengerHard Marinko Matosevic3–6, 4–6
Loss11–9Sep 2012Orléans, FranceChallengerHard (i) David Goffin4–6, 6–3, 3–6
Loss11–10Jun 2013Nottingham, Great BritainChallengerGrass Steve Johnson5–7, 5–7
Loss11–11Nov 2013Eckental, GermanyChallengerCarpet (i) Benjamin Becker6–2, 6–7(3–7), 4–6
Win12–11Nov 2014Eckental, GermanyChallengerCarpet (i) Tim Pütz7–6(7–3), 6–3
Win13–11Feb 2015Germany F4, NußlochFuturesCarpet (i) Maximilian Marterer6–3, 6–7(2–7), 7–6(7–5)
Loss13–12Feb 2015Glasgow, Great BritainChallengerHard (i) Niels Desein6–7(4–7), 6–2, 6–7(4–7)
Win14–12Apr 2015Le Gosier, GuadeloupeChallengerHard Édouard Roger-Vasselin7–6(8–6), 6–3
Win15–12Jul 2016Belgium F5, MiddelkerkeFuturesHard Yannick Mertens6–3, 6–7(3–7), 6–1
Win16–12Oct 2016USA F34, BurlingameFuturesHard (i) Sam Barry6–1, 6–2
Loss16–13Nov 2016Charlottesville, USAChallengerHard (i) Reilly Opelka4–6, 6–2, 6–7(5–7)
Loss16–14Nov 2016Champaign, USAChallengerHard (i) Henri Laaksonen5–7, 3–6
Win17–14Jan 2017Koblenz, GermanyChallengerHard (i) Nils Langer6–4, 3–6, 7–6(7–0)
Loss17–15Mar 2017Drummondville, CanadaChallengerHard (i) Denis Shapovalov3–6, 2–6
Loss17–16Jul 2017Scheveningen, NetherlandsChallengerClay Guillermo García López1–6, 7–6(7–3), 2–6
Loss17–17Nov 2018Eckental, GermanyChallengerCarpet (i) Antoine Hoang5–7, 3–6
Win18–17Jan 2020Germany M25, NußlochITF World Tennis TourCarpet (i) Jonáš Forejtek6–7(4–7), 7–6(7–3), 6–2
Win19–17Mar 2020Italy M25, TrentoITF World Tennis TourHard (i) Alexander Erler4–6, 6–2, 6–4
Win20–17Feb 2021Cherbourg, FranceChallengerHard (i) Lukas Rosol6–4, 6–4

Doubles: 40 (27–13)

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Legend (doubles)
ATP Challenger Tour (13–9)
ITF Futures Tour (14–4)
Titles by surface
Hard (18–9)
Clay (6–2)
Grass (0–1)
Carpet (3–1)
ResultW–L   Date   TournamentTierSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Win1–0Aug 2006Germany F11, EssenFuturesClay Niels Desein Antal van der Duim
Boy Westerhof
1–6, 7–5, 7–5
Win2–0Feb 2007Spain F7, CartagenaFuturesHard Yannick Mertens Alessandro da Col
Abel Hernández-García
7–6(7–2), 6–2
Loss2–1Jun 2007Netherlands F1, AlkmaarFuturesClay Yannick Mertens Romano Frantzen
Nick van der Meer
4–6, 6–4, 2–6
Win3–1Jul 2007Germany F10, EspelkampFuturesClay Andre Begemann Remko de Rijke
Bas van der Valk
6–3, 6–3
Loss3–2Nov 2007Great Britain F21, RedbridgeFuturesHard (i) Niels Desein Josh Goodall
Ken Skupski
7–5, 6–7(3–7), [5–10]
Win4–2Mar 2008France F5, PoitiersFuturesHard (i) Stefan Wauters Julien Jeanpierre
Josselin Ouanna
7–5, 6–4
Loss4–3Apr 2008Turkey F5, AntalyaFuturesClay Yannick Mertens Karim Maamoun
Sherif Sabry
6–3, 4–6, [10–12]
Win5–3May 2008Italy F15, CesenaFuturesClay Horacio Zeballos Antonio Pastorino
Damián Patriarca
6–2, 6–4
Win6–3Jun 2008Slovenia F2, MariborFuturesClay Bart de Keersmaeker Markus Hipfl
Marco Mirnegg
6–1, 6–3
Win7–3Aug 2008Belgium F2, KoksijdeFuturesClay Niels Desein Alexandre Folie
David Goffin
7–5, 7–5
Win8–3Sep 2008France F14, MulhouseFuturesHard (i) Niels Desein Dustin Brown
Stefan Seifert
7–6(13–11), 6–3
Win9–3Oct 2008France F18, Saint-DizierFuturesHard (i) Niels Desein Guillermo Alcaide
Nikolai Nesterov
6–4, 3–6, [10–6]
Loss9–4Sep 2009St Remy, FranceChallengerHard Niels Desein Jiří Krkoška
Lukáš Lacko
1–6, 6–3, [3–10]
Win10–4Sep 2009France F14, MulhouseFuturesHard (i) Yannick Mertens Konstantin Kravchuk
Alexander Kudryavtsev
6–3, 7–6(8–6)
Win11–4Mar 2010France F4, LilleFuturesHard (i) Niels Desein Raven Klaasen
Izak van der Merwe
7–6(7–4), 6–3
Win12–4Mar 2010France F5, PoitiersFuturesHard (i) Yannick Mertens Olivier Patience
Nicolas Renavand
3–6, 6–1, [10–6]
Loss12–5Oct 2010Mons, BelgiumChallengerHard (i) Yannick Mertens Filip Polášek
Igor Zelenay
6–3, 4–6, [5–10]
Win13–5Nov 2010Aachen, GermanyChallengerCarpet (i) Igor Sijsling Jamie Delgado
Jonathan Marray
6–4, 3–6, [11–9]
Win14–5Aug 2012Vancouver, CanadaChallengerHard Maxime Authom John Peers
John-Patrick Smith
6–4, 6–2
Loss14–6Jun 2014Nottingham, Great BritainChallengerGrass Go Soeda Rameez Junaid
Michael Venus
6–4, 6–7(1–7), [6–10]
Win15–6Aug 2014Aptos, USAChallengerHard Laurynas Grigelis Purav Raja
Sanam Singh
6–3, 4–6, [11–9]
Loss15–7Oct 2014France F24, RodezFuturesHard (i) Maxime Authom James Cluskey
David O'Hare
6–7(5–7), 6–3, [8–10]
Win16–7Nov 2014Eckental, GermanyChallengerCarpet (i) Niels Desein Andreas Beck
Philipp Petzschner
6–3, 4–6, [10–8]
Win17–7Oct 2015Mons, BelgiumChallengerHard (i) Philipp Petzschner Rameez Junaid
Igor Zelenay
6–3, 6–1
Win18–7Nov 2015Eckental, GermanyChallengerCarpet (i) Philipp Petzschner Ken Skupski
Neal Skupski
7–5, 6–2
Win19–7Jul 2016Belgium F5, MiddelkerkeFuturesHard Yannick Mertens Hunter Johnson
Yates Johnson
6–1, 6–1
Loss19–8Jul 2016Recanati, ItalyChallengerHard Adrián Menéndez Maceiras Kevin Krawietz
Albano Olivetti
3–6, 6–7(4–7)
Loss19–9Nov 2016Knoxville, USAChallengerHard (i) Joris De Loore Peter Polansky
Adil Shamasdin
1–6, 3–6
Loss19–10Nov 2016Kyoto, JapanChallengerHard (i) Joris De Loore Sanchai Ratiwatana
Sonchat Ratiwatana
6–4, 4–6, [7–10]
Loss19–11Apr 2018Le Gosier, GuadeloupeChallengerHard Jonathan Eysseric John-Patrick Smith
Neal Skupski
6–7(3–7), 4–6
Win20–11Apr 2019Tunis, TunisiaChallengerClay Tim Pütz Facundo Argüello
Guillermo Durán
6–3, 6–1
Loss20–12May 2019Seoul, Korea, Rep.ChallengerHard Sergiy Stakhovsky Max Purcell
Luke Saville
4–6, 6–7(7–9)
Win21–12Sep 2019Glasgow, United KingdomChallengerHard (i) Daniel Masur Jamie Murray
John-Patrick Smith
4–6, 6–3, [10–8]
Win22–12Mar 2020Italy M25, TrentoITF World Tennis TourHard (i) Daniel Masur Alexander Erler
David Jordà Sanchis
7–6(9–7), 6–2
Win23–12Feb 2021Quimper, FranceChallengerHard (i) Daniel Masur Brandon Nakashima
Hunter Reese
6–2, 6–1
Win24–12Sep 2021Biel/Bienne, SwitzerlandChallengerHard (i) Daniel Masur Marc-Andrea Hüsler
Dominic Stricker
w/o
Loss24–13Nov 2021Eckental, GermanyChallengerCarpet (i) Daniel Masur Roman Jebavý
Jonny O'Mara
4–6, 5–7
Win25–13Jan 2022Bendigo, AustraliaChallengerHard Daniel Masur Enzo Couacaud
Blaž Rola
7–6(7–2), 6–4
Win26–13Feb 2022Turin, ItalyChallengerHard (i) Daniel Masur Sander Arends
David Pel
3–6, 6–3, [10–8]
Win27–13Mar 2022Lugano, SwitzerlandChallengerHard (i) Daniel Masur Jérôme Kym
Leandro Riedi
6–4, 6–7(5–7), [10–7]

Singles performance timeline

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Key
W F SFQF#RRRQ#DNQANH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (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.
Tournament20092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022W–L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian OpenQ1Q1AQ11RQ31RQ3Q12RQ1AQ1Q11–3
French OpenQ1Q2Q1Q2Q2Q21RQ2Q12RQ1Q3Q11–2
WimbledonQ3Q11R2RQ3Q21R1R3R2R1RNHQ24–7
US OpenQ2Q3Q2Q2Q1Q23RQ11R1RQ2AQ32–3
Win–loss0–00–00–11–10–10–02–40–12–23–40–10–00–00–08–15

Best Grand Slam results details

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Ruben Bemelmans/overview". Association of Tennis Professionals.
  2. ^ "Ruben Bemelmans schrijft Challengertoernooi van Wolfsburg op zijn naam" [Ruben Bemelmans wins Wolfsburg challenger]. nieuwsblad.be (in Dutch). Mediahuis n.v. 27 February 2011. Archived from the original on 27 November 2015.
  3. ^ "Ruben Bemelmans meteen out op eerste ATP-toernooi" [First round loss for Bemelmans in first appearance in an ATP tournament]. hbvl.be (in Dutch). Mediahuis n.v. 3 February 2010. Archived from the original on 27 November 2015.
  4. ^ Forde-White, Emily (14 September 2010). "Rochus levels tie down under". Daviscup.com. International Tennis Federation. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012.
  5. ^ "USA Wins Sixth Hyundai Hopman Cuplwork=hopmancup.com". International Tennis Federation. 8 January 2011. Archived from the original on 10 February 2011.
  6. ^ Clary, Brian (5 September 2015). "Wawrinka keeps rolling, takes out Bemelmans in three". US Open.org. United States Tennis Association. Archived from the original on 13 September 2015.
  7. ^ "Challenger Spotlight Bemelmans Koblenz 2017 | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  8. ^ Dewulf, Filip (15 January 2018). "Bemelmans zorgt in Australië voor stunt van formaat tegen Pouille". Het Laatste Nieuws (in Dutch).
  9. ^ "French Open: Yuki Bhambri out in first round after straight-sets loss to lucky loser Bemelmans".
  10. ^ "Lucky loser Zopp battles into third round in Paris".
  11. ^ "Subscribe to the Gold Coast Bulletin".
  12. ^ "Bemelmans zorgt voor verrassing op Wimbledon: 30-jarige Limburger schakelt Amerikaan Johnson na felbevochten vijfsetter". Het Laatste Nieuws (in Dutch). 2 July 2018.
  13. ^ "Belgian Ruben Bemelmans Makes Wimbledon Qualifying History | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  14. ^ "Two-time Davis Cup finalist Ruben Bemelmans retires from tennis". 21 June 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  15. ^ "Ruben Bemelmans Ends Singles Career in Antwerp". 17 October 2022.
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