Daniil Medvedev Biography: US Open Champion and Former World No. 1

October 16, 2026

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Daniil Medvedev is the Russian professional tennis player who won the 2021 US Open and rose to world No. 1 in February 2022, becoming the first man outside the Big Four to top the ATP rankings since Andy Roddick in 2004. Known for his flat-hitting counterpunching style, elite return game, and unorthodox on-court presence, he has won 24 career singles titles — including six Masters 1000 crowns and the 2020 ATP Finals — and reached six Grand Slam finals.

Full name	Daniil Sergeyevich Medvedev
Born	11 February 1996, Moscow, Russia
Nationality	Russian
Residence	Monte Carlo, Monaco
Occupation	Professional tennis player
Turned pro	2014
Known for	2021 US Open champion, former world No. 1 (16 weeks), 24 career singles titles, 6 Masters 1000 titles
Spouse	Daria Medvedeva (married 2018)
Children	2 daughters (Alisa, Victoria)

Early life & background

Daniil Medvedev was born on 11 February 1996 in Moscow, Russia, and began playing tennis as a child before moving to France as a teenager to train, trading Moscow winters for the year-round academies that would shape his game (ATP Tour bio). He turned professional in 2014, playing the Futures and Challenger circuits while climbing toward the tour level (ATP Tour profile).

Standing 1.98 m (6’6″), Medvedev built an unorthodox game around deep court positioning, flat groundstrokes, and one of the best return-of-serve games on the ATP Tour — a style his own former coach called his “unconventional magic” (ATP Tour bio / AP). He plays right-handed with a two-handed backhand and now lives in Monte Carlo, Monaco (ATP Tour profile).

Career

Breakthrough summer: first Masters title and the 2019 US Open final

Medvedev’s first titles came in 2018, but his breakout arrived in the summer of 2019. He won his first Masters 1000 title at Cincinnati, then followed it with the 2019 Shanghai Masters crown — a tournament that would become a personal favourite (ATP Tour bio). Weeks earlier he had pushed Rafael Nadal to five sets in the 2019 US Open final, announcing himself as a Grand Slam contender (ATP Tour bio / ATP Tour).

ATP Finals champion and the season-ending sweep (2020–2021)

Medvedev closed 2020 by winning the ATP Finals in London, beating No. 1 Novak Djokovic, No. 2 Nadal and No. 3 Dominic Thiem en route — the first player ever to sweep the Top 3 in a single tournament in the Open Era (ATP Tour bio). In early 2021 he lost the Australian Open final to Djokovic, then completed his coronation at the 2021 US Open, defeating Djokovic 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in the final and denying the Serbian the calendar-year Grand Slam (ATP Tour bio). He added the 2021 ATP Cup, Laver Cup and Davis Cup to his team résumé that season (ATP Tour bio).

World No. 1 and the Australian Open heartbreaks (2022)

On 28 February 2022, Medvedev became the 27th player to reach world No. 1 — and the first man outside the Big Four (Djokovic, Nadal, Federer, Murray) to do so since Andy Roddick in 2004 (ATP Tour / Sportstar/The Hindu). He held the top spot for 16 weeks across 2022. That January, he had suffered one of the cruelest defeats of his career, leading Nadal two sets to love in the 2022 Australian Open final before losing in five (ATP Tour).

Masters titles on hard court and clay, another Melbourne final (2023–2024)

In 2023 Medvedev won five titles, including two more Masters 1000 crowns — Miami and Rome, his first clay-court title, defying his reputation as a hard-court specialist — and reached the 2023 US Open final, losing to Djokovic (ATP Tour bio / ATP titles & finals). At the 2024 Australian Open he went two sets up on Jannik Sinner in the final, only for the Italian to win 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 in one of the great Melbourne comebacks (Reuters).

Coaching change and the 2026 resurgence

In August 2025 Medvedev parted ways with longtime coach Gilles Cervara (2017–2025) after a first-round US Open exit, later working with former Australian Open champion Thomas Johansson and Dutch coach Rohan Goetzke (AP / ATP Tour profile). The reset paid off: he won three titles in 2026 — Brisbane, Dubai and Hangzhou — and surged back into the top six of the ATP rankings (ATP titles & finals / Reuters).

His 2026 resurgence hit a high at Shanghai: on 16 October 2026, Medvedev beat Tommy Paul 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 in the quarter-finals — his 70th tour-level semifinal — firing 16 aces and 31 winners in just over two hours to strengthen his bid for the ATP Finals in Turin (Reuters / AP via theScore). There he faced 20-year-old Spaniard Rafael Jódar, the youngest semifinalist in Shanghai history and the only other former champion left in the draw besides Medvedev himself, the 2019 winner (Reuters / NBC Sports).

Major achievements

Medvedev’s career record (as of October 2026) includes 24 ATP singles titles, six Masters 1000 titles (Cincinnati 2019, Shanghai 2019, Paris 2020, Toronto 2021, Miami 2023, Rome 2023), the 2020 ATP Finals, the 2021 US Open, and team titles at the ATP Cup, Laver Cup and Davis Cup (ATP titles & finals / ATP Tour bio). He spent 16 weeks as world No. 1 and has reached six Grand Slam singles finals — winning once (ATP Tour). His playing peers include the other defining champions of the post-Big-Four generation — see Iga Świątek’s biography for the women’s No. 1 story from the same era.

Personal life

Medvedev has been married to Daria Medvedeva (née Chernyshkova), a former junior tennis player, since 12 September 2018 in Moscow (Times of India / Athlon Sports). The couple have two daughters: Alisa (born 14 October 2022) and Victoria (born 7 January 2025) (EssentiallySports). Medvedev lives in Monte Carlo, Monaco, and is known for his dry humour and chess obsession off the court — he has spoken often about balancing fatherhood with life on the ATP Tour (ATP Tour profile / Times of India).

Net worth snapshot

Daniil Medvedev’s career prize money stands at $53.16 million (ATP Tour, October 2026), and Forbes ranked him the 10th-highest-paid tennis player of 2025 at $14.3 million — $4.3 million on-court and $10 million off-court, naming sponsors Lacoste, Bovet 1822 and a Rainbow Six Siege X ambassadorship. However, no reputable outlet (Forbes, Bloomberg, Hurun) has published an official net-worth figure for Medvedev. See Daniil Medvedev’s net worth for the full verified-earnings breakdown and the transparent methodology.

Frequently asked questions

Who is Daniil Medvedev?

Daniil Medvedev is a Russian professional tennis player, the 2021 US Open champion and a former world No. 1. He has won 24 career singles titles, including six Masters 1000 crowns and the 2020 ATP Finals, and is known for his flat-hitting counterpunching style and elite return game.

When was Daniil Medvedev world No. 1?

Medvedev first reached world No. 1 on 28 February 2022, becoming the first man outside the Big Four to top the ATP rankings since Andy Roddick in 2004. He held the top spot for 16 weeks across 2022, per the ATP Tour.

How many Grand Slam titles has Daniil Medvedev won?

One. Medvedev defeated Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 to win the 2021 US Open — denying Djokovic the calendar-year Grand Slam. He has reached five other Grand Slam finals (2019 US Open, 2021 and 2022 Australian Opens, 2023 US Open, 2024 Australian Open) without winning another.

What happened at the Shanghai Masters 2026?

On 16 October 2026, Medvedev beat Tommy Paul 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 in the quarter-finals to reach his 70th tour-level semifinal, strengthening his bid for the ATP Finals in Turin. He then faced 20-year-old Spaniard Rafael Jódar — the youngest semifinalist in Shanghai history — for a place in the final, per Reuters and NBC Sports.

Who is Daniil Medvedev’s wife?

Medvedev is married to Daria Medvedeva, a former junior tennis player, since September 2018. The couple live in Monte Carlo and have two daughters, Alisa (born 2022) and Victoria (born 2025).