Luca Van Assche

Luca Van Assche (born 11 May 2004) is an Italian-Belgian born French naturalized tennis player, who has chosen to play under French nationality.[1]

Luca Van Assche
Van Assche at the 2022 BNP Paribas Primrose Bordeaux
Country (sports) France
ResidenceParis, France
Born (2004-05-11) 11 May 2004
Woluwe-Saint-Lambert, Belgium
Height1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Turned pro2022
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money$241,245
Singles
Career record1–5
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 91 (3 April 2023)
Current rankingNo. 91 (3 April 2023)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open1R (2023)
French OpenQ1 (2021, 2022)
Doubles
Career record1–4
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 344 (3 October 2022)
Current rankingNo. 444 (6 March 2022)
Grand Slam doubles results
French Open1R (2022)
Last updated on: 2 April 2023.

Van Assche has a career high ATP singles ranking of World No. 91 achieved on 3 April 2023. He also has a career high ATP doubles ranking of World No. 344 achieved on 3 October 2022. Van Assche is currently the youngest player in the top 100.

Junior Career

Van Assche won the 2021 French Open Boys' Singles title, defeating fellow countryman Arthur Fils in the final.[2]

Professional career

2022: Professional, ATP & Major doubles debuts, First Challenger title & top 150

In January, Van Assche made his ATP main draw debut at the 2022 Open Sud de France after receiving a wildcard into the doubles main draw with Sascha Gueymard Wayenburg.

He made his Grand Slam debut in doubles at the 2022 French Open as a wildcard pair partnering also Gueymard Wayenburg.

In October, Van Assche reached his first singles final on the ATP Challenger Tour in Lisbon, Portugal, entering the main draw as a qualifier and losing to Marco Cecchinato in the finals.[3] As a result he climbed close to 60 positions in the rankings into the top 250 at world No. 231 on 3 October 2022.

In November, he entered the top 200 at world No. 198 after reaching the final of the Brest Challenger losing to Gregoire Barrere[4] and the quarterfinals in Roanne. Later in the same month, he reached his third Challenger final of the season and his career defeating Pablo Llamas Ruiz in the semis.[5] He lost in the final in straight sets to Oleksii Krutykh.[6][7] He moved to No. 176 on 28 November 2022. A week later he reached another final at the 2022 Maia Challenger defeating third seed Elias Ymer,[8] Alexander Lazarov, Ivan Gakhov and fifth seed Aleksandar Vukic and moved another 25 positions up to No. 151 in the rankings.[9] He won his maiden Challenger title defeating qualifier Maximilian Neuchrist.[10][11] As a result he moved to No. 138 in the rankings on 5 December 2022 making him the youngest player in the top 150.

2023: Major singles, Pau and Sanremo Challengers 125 & top 100 debut

Van Assche received a wildcard into the 2023 Australian Open main draw to make his Grand Slam debut in singles.[12]

He then competed in the Teréga Open Pau–Pyrénées Challenger 125 (indoor), defeating Ugo Humbert in the final in 3 hours and 56 minutes, which set a record for the longest ATP Challenger final and saving two match points.[13] Following his second title win in Pau, he moved close to 40 positions up and reached the top 110 on 6 March 2023.[14] Following his title at the 2023 Sanremo Challenger 125 (clay) he reached No. 91 on 3 April 2023 making him the youngest player in the top 100.[15]

Personal life

Van Assche has a Belgian father and an Italian mother.[16] Following the advice of his trainer, Luca Van Assche's mother began the process for French naturalization that allowed her son to acquire French citizenship and, consequently, to train with the French Tennis Federation in Lyon.[17]

Luca Van Assche has two sisters, Sofia and Elisa, and a brother named Paolo.

Junior Grand Slam titles

Singles: 1 (1 title)
Result Year Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Win 2021 French Open Clay France Arthur Fils 6–4, 6–2

ATP Challenger and ITF Futures/World Tennis Tour finals

Singles: 6 (3–3)
Legend
ATP Challenger (3–3)
ITF Futures (0–0)
Finals by surface
Hard (1–1)
Clay (2–2)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Loss 0–1 Oct 2022 Lisbon, Portugal Challenger Clay Italy Marco Cecchinato 3–6, 3–6
Loss 0–2 Oct 2022 Brest, France Challenger Hard (i) France Grégoire Barrère 3–6, 3–6
Loss 0–3 Nov 2022 Valencia, Spain Challenger Clay Ukraine Oleksii Krutykh 2–6, 0–6
Win 1–3 Dec 2022 Maia, Portugal Challenger Clay (i) Austria Maximilian Neuchrist 3–6, 6–4, 6–0
Win 2–3 Feb 2023 Pau, France Challenger Hard (i) France Ugo Humbert 7–6(7–5), 4–6, 7–6(8–6)
Win 3–3 Apr 2023 Sanremo, Italy Challenger Clay Peru Juan Pablo Varillas 6–1, 6–3

References
  1. "RITW - Luca Van Assche : "Federer mon modèle, Nadal mon inspiration"". https://www.tennisactu.net (in French). {{cite web}}: External link in |website= (help)
  2. "Tennis. Roland-Garros junior : Le Français Luca Van Assche sacré". www.vosgesmatin.fr.
  3. https://www.tennis-tourtalk.com/95780/van-assche-advances-to-maiden-challenger-final-in-lisbon
  4. "Former College Standouts Gojo, Hijikata Win Maiden Challenger Titles | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour.
  5. https://www.tennis-tourtalk.com/98020/van-assche-secures-semi-final-spot-at-copa-faulcombridge-valencia
  6. "Riedi, Watanuki Capture Back-To-Back Challenger Titles | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour.
  7. "Valence (CH) - Luca Van Assche 176e mondial après sa finale". www.tennisactu.net.
  8. https://www.tennis-tourtalk.com/98243/van-assche-stuns-ymer-at-maia-open
  9. "Maia (CH) - La libération pour Luca Van Assche face à Neuchrist". www.tennisactu.net.
  10. https://www.tennis-tourtalk.com/98301/van-assche-earns-maiden-challenger-title-at-maia-open
  11. Kust, Damian (December 4, 2022). "Challenger Tour Weekly Recap: Dusan Lajovic and Luca van Assche Finish the Season with Titles".
  12. "Five Challenger Tour Players To Watch At The Australian Open | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour.
  13. "Luca Van Assche Saves 2 MPs To Win Longest Challenger Final; Purcell Completes Hat-Trick | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour.
  14. https://www.atptour.com/en/news/challenger-tour-luca-van-assche-feature-march-2023
  15. https://www.atptour.com/en/news/van-assche-varillas-sanremo-challenger-2023-final
  16. "Roland-Garros : La Belgique est encore présente dans le tournoi, chez les juniors". www.rtbf.be (in French).
  17. "RITW - Luca Van Assche : "Federer mon modèle, Nadal mon inspiration"". https://www.tennisactu.net (in French). {{cite web}}: External link in |website= (help)
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.