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Jakub Mensik in 2025: An Future Star to Watch

Originally posted on Last Word On Sports
By Andreas Pelekis | Last updated Dec 30, 2025 7:23 AM ET

Jakub Mensik ended the 2024 season with a rather poor exit at the Next Gen ATP Finals, but he was still seen as one of the best young players to watch on tour. Fast forward one year, and the Czech is ranked inside the Top 20 and a Masters 1000 champion.

With lots of confidence and a stronger serve, the 20-year-old has quickly become one of the youngsters to take seriously in 2026. He has an aggressive game that will need to step up to beat the best, but his 2025 season showed millions of what he is capable of.

Jakub Mensik 2025 Recap

A Miami trophy

Ranked just inside the Top 50, Mensik battled his way to the quarterfinals in both Brisbane and Auckland. Along the way, he upset Ben Shelton, the No. 1 seed at the New Zealand event.

At the Australian Open, he overpowered No. 6 Casper Ruud in a second round upset, before falling in a five-set heartbreaker to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. The Czech was the favorite on paper, though Davidovich Fokina would ultimately break through in 2025 himself.

Early losses piled up for Mensik in Rotterdam, Acapulco, and Indian Wells, dropping Mensik’s ranking to No. 54 ahead of the Miami Open. But ahead of the year’s second Masters 1000, Mensik’s inconsistent patches of play vanished. His serve became more polished, and his confidence increased.

Mensik upset Indian Wells champion Jack Draper, and eventually reached the semifinals with a win over Arthur Fils. He took to the court in a primetime matchup against No. 3 seed Taylor Fritz, and stunned the American 7-6 (4) 4-6 7-6 (4), in one of the best matches of the season. In a rain-delayed final, he clinched the trophy with a straight-sets win over Novak Djokovic. He won all seven of his tiebreakers during the tournament, using his weapons at just the right time.

Solid form with piling injuries

Mensik faced knee pain en route to his Miami win, which forced him out of the Masters 1000 event in Monte Carlo. His game never fully recovered during the clay court swing, with rising attention on the Miami champion. He lost early at the French Open to World No. 200 Henrique Rocha, weeks after a good run to the Madrid quarterfinals.

Mensik’s strong serve and net game was expected to translate to speedy grass courts. But he again fell to Davidovich Fokina — this time in Eastbourne — and lost in the third round of Wimbledon to Flavio Cobolli. Mensik’s steady results kept his ranking inside the Top 20.

Another shocking loss hit Mensik at the US Open: a second round collapse to Frenchman Ugo Blanchet. The match was an outer-court thriller, but Mensik hit too many crucial unforced errors in a fifth-set tiebreaker loss.

Injuries are inevitable late in the tennis season, but they mounted for Mensik, as the Czech’s game regressed. He retired mid-match against Alex De Minaur in Beijing, and withdrew from the Shanghai Masters days later. Mensik stunned a pair of Top 10 opponents in the Shanghai event in 2024. The Czech later withdrew from the Paris Masters but was able to perform well in the Davis Cup for Czechia.

Mensik also withdrew from the Next Gen ATP Finals, in addition to a December exhibition in China. Both a foot and nagging knee injury were cited as reasons for his withdrawals and retirements.

Most importantly, Mensik will have to stay healthy early in 2026. There are plenty of points to defend, and rising youngsters like Joao Fonseca , Jiri Lehecka, and Learner Tien are all similarly ranked and looking to make headwaves next season. Mensik will have to push for a Top 10 finish in 2026, and if he is healthy, he has the aggressive game to do it.

This article first appeared on Last Word On Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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