Jakub Menšík stunned the tennis world with his inspiring Miami Open performance to capture his first ATP title with none other than a Masters 1000 crown.
En route to the final, he toppled multiple seeds and top-10 opponents, including Jack Draper and Taylor Fritz. Then, in the final against Novak Djokovic, he stepped up to the plate and used poised aggression to overcome his idol, 7-6 (4) 7-6 (4).
But who is the talented Czech, and how did he get here?
The 19-year-old was born in September 2005 in Prostějov, Czechia, to father Michal Menšik and mother Katerina Menšíkova. Regardless of no one in his family involved in tennis, Menšík developed a love for the game at just five years old after watching others play on the courts close to his home.
"I was watching the guys from the neighbourhood playing and watching also the little kids," Menšík stated in an interview with ATPTour.com.
"They also had practices, they were starting their tennis career. So then I just came to my dad or my mum and just asked them if I can play also, and of course they always wanted me to do some sports. That's how I started."
Unfortunately, when Menšík was just seven, his beloved coach Ivo Müller passed away. Menšík’s father, Michal, spoke highly about Müller and the effect he had on his son and his family.
"He was the best man because he could grow the right love of tennis to the small children. And he also taught the parents to be good tennis parents," Michal told ATPTour.com.
"He (Jakub) was sad and it was the first chance we had to speak with him about death, these kind of situations. I think he was sad of course, but life goes on."
The teenage talent continued to develop his passion for the game as a junior and always knew he wanted to become one of the world’s best.
"He always wanted to be a professional tennis player. He wanted to win all the Grand Slams and to be No.1," Michal confirmed.
At 16, he was recognised as one of the best junior players in the world. He entered the 2022 Australian Open Boys event as the fourth-seed and made a run to the decider.
However, the sheer tenacity of the marathon match led him to collapse with cramps as he tried to serve to stay in the match in the third set. He fell to first-seeded Bruno Kuzuhara, 7 6(7) 6-7(6) 7-5 in almost four hours on Rod Laver Arena and had to be wheeled off the court.
Shortly after, Menšík turned pro and has been steadily rising with that same determination and drive he showcased as a junior.
Nearly 18 months later, he won his first Challenger at home, lifting the 2023 Sparta Prague Open trophy.
Later on in the year, he qualified while debuting for the main draw of a Grand Slam at the US Open. In the first-round of the main draw, he beat Grégoire Barrère, becoming the youngest man since Borna Ćorić in 2014 to win a main draw match at Flushing Meadows. He backed this up with a second-round victory against Titouan Droguet just a day before his 18th birthday before falling to Taylor Fritz in the third-round.
He continued his incline in rankings and results in 2024. He qualified for the Australian Open and stunned Denis Shapovalov with a straight sets win.
"I love to play here in this beautiful atmosphere and this beautiful centre, so I'm just super happy that I get the W today because I came through qualies and played today against Denis Shapovalov, a former top-10 player," Menšík stated post-match.
He succumbed to a tough five-set battle against ninth-seeded Hubert Hurkacz in the second round, but the performance propelled him to a career-high of World No.127.
Menšik continued this momentum at the 2024 Qatar ExxonMobil Open, as a player selected for the #NextGenATP initiative. He went on a winning streak, defeating Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Andy Murray, top-seeded Andrey Rublev, and Gaël Monfils to reach his first ATP final, where he fell to Karen Khachanov.
Those performances helped him move into the top-100, whilst also being the youngest player in the top-100.
Later on in the year, in his very first Masters appearance, Menšík was awarded a wildcard entry for the 2024 BNP Paribas Open, defeating Hong Seong-chan in the opening round. The momentum continued at the Madrid Open, where he recorded his first third-round appearance in a Masters 1000 by toppling Grigor Dimitrov.
At the 2024 US Open, he matched his 2023 third-round showing, including an upset over 19th seed Félix Auger-Aliassime.
The 2024 Shanghai Masters truly put the young Czech on the radar. He defeated Rublev and Dimitrov, both top-10 players, and reached his first Masters 1000 quarter-final. As a result, he also made tournament history, becoming the youngest player to reach the last eight in Shanghai, climbing to No.55 in the rankings.
Menšík started this year with a statement upset over sixth-seeded Casper Ruud in the second-round of the Australian Open. Prior to his Miami Open triumph, he also reached the semi finals of the 175 Challenger 2025 Copa Cap Cana.
In his on-court speech following his Miami victory, he spoke of how he almost pulled out from the tournament before his first-round encounter.
"One hour before my first match here, I was holding the paper of pulling out from the tournament, because my knee was hurting a lot," Menšík told the crowd. "I was just lucky that the referee was having lunch."
He credited an ATP Physio by the name of Alejandro for helping him recover in time for the match, and now two weeks later, he holds the Miami Open trophy.
Djokovic was full of praise for the youngster.
"I could see back then already that – three, four years ago – that he's going to be one of the top players of the world," Djokovic said.
"I’m super glad that he’s using the potential that he has because he’s got the complete game."
Menšík now sits at No.24 in the world rankings. What awaits the talented youngster? Only time will tell, but the passion and perseverance he has shown this past fortnight are a testament to his journey up until now.
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