Fonseca, Mensik and Vacherot lead the class: Nine new ATP Champions emerge during 2025 season

With the 2025 ATP Tour season concluded, several players managed to claim their first professional title at the ATP level. A total of 9 players secured their first trophy, including teenagers Joao Fonseca and Jakub Mensik, as well as the surprise package, Valentin Vacherot, in Shanghai.

It was a season filled with surprises amidst a new era of dominance on the Tour. The supremacy of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz has squeezed the field behind them, making the wide gap between the Top 2 and the rest quite evident. However, there was still room for new players to establish themselves with trophies, including several rising youngsters, even at the Masters 1000 level.

Several of the titles distributed throughout the season came as shocks: 18-year-old João Fonseca was crowned champion at just 18 years and 5 months old at the Buenos Aires Open, beating local star Francisco Cerundolo in the final.

A couple of months later, we witnessed another huge surprise from a player of Fonseca’s generation—the Czech Jakub Mensik, who took the Miami Open title. He defeated Novak Djokovic in the final, securing his maiden trophy at a Masters 1000 event. A similar feat was achieved by Monegasque Valentin Vacherot toward the end of the year in Shanghai. He beat Djokovic in the semifinals and became arguably the most unexpected Masters champion in history, coming from qualifying and being ranked outside the top 200 at the time.

The first player of the season to open his account was Frenchman Alexandre Müller. In the very first week of competition, and just a couple of weeks shy of his 28th birthday, he achieved his best historical campaign. On his way to the title, he defeated rivals such as Arthur Fils, Jaume Munar, and former World No. 4 Kei Nishikori in the final. He was the oldest player to claim a maiden title this year.

Then came the surprises of Fonseca and Mensik during the early months, joined by Tomas Machac in the days leading up to the Sunshine Double. The Czech, 24 years old at the time, defeated rivals including Mensik, Nakashima, and Davidovich Fokina to take his first title.

On clay courts, two other names achieved their first titles: Flavio Cobolli—a two-title winner this season, who claimed his first crown in Bucharest by beating Sebastián Báez. Additionally, Jenson Brooksby stood strong on home soil in Houston, defeating his compatriot and former champion Frances Tiafoe, marking Brooksby's return to the Top 100.

Regarding the second half of the year, Canadian Gabriel Diallo was the only one of the 9 first-time winners to achieve the feat on grass courts. At 23, he opened his grass season perfectly, defeating Jordan Thompson (6th seed), Karen Khachanov (3rd), and Ugo Humbert (2nd) on his way to the title, which also propelled him into the Top 50 for the first time.

Four months passed before we saw a new champion: the Monegasque Valentin Vacherot, who overcame his cousin, Arthur Rinderknech, in the surprising Shanghai final. At 26, Vacherot made a name for himself at the top level and will start the next season with a spot in the Top 30.

The year closed with time for one last surprise: none other than 19-year-old American Learner Tien. After harvesting a great season—including 5 wins against Top 10 players—the young American reached his first final at the China Open, falling to Jannik Sinner. Two months later, he had his personal revenge at the Moselle Open in Metz, securing his first trophy in an epic third-set tie-break against the experienced Cameron Norrie.