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Nicolai Budkov Kjær

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Nicolai Budkov Kjær
ITF nameNicolai Budkov Kjaer
Country (sports) Norway
Born (2006-09-01) 1 September 2006 (age 18)
Oslo, Norway
Prize moneyUS $53,688
Singles
Career record2–4 (at ATP Tour level, Grand Slam level, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles0
1 Challenger
Highest rankingNo. 287 (31 March 2025)
Current rankingNo. 307 (5 May 2025)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open JuniorSF (2024)
French Open Junior1R (2024)
Wimbledon JuniorW (2024)
US Open JuniorF (2024)
Doubles
Career record0–0 (at ATP Tour level, Grand Slam level, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 1082 (3 March 2025)
Current rankingNo. 1096 (5 May 2025)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open JuniorQF (2024)
French Open JuniorW (2024)
Wimbledon JuniorQF (2024)
US Open JuniorSF (2024)
Team competitions
Davis Cup2–4
Last updated on: 5 May 2025.

Nicolai Budkov Kjær (born 1 September 2006) is a Norwegian professional tennis player. He has a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 287, achieved on 31 March 2025.[1] He is currently the No. 3 singles player from Norway.[2]

Budkov Kjær reached a ITF junior combined ranking of world No. 1 on 15 July 2024. He represents Norway at the Davis Cup where he has a W/L record of 2–4.

Early life

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Nicolai Budkov Kjær was born to a Norwegian father and an Estonian mother.[3] He lives in Bygdøy, Oslo, and trains at Oslo Tennisarena and Wang Toppidrett.[4][5]

Junior career

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He won the 2024 Wimbledon Championships boys' singles title, becoming the first Norwegian man to win a Grand Slam singles title at either the junior or professional level.[6][7][8] He also won the 2024 French Open boys' doubles title alongside Joel Schwärzler, also the first for a Norwegian.[9]

Professional career

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In September 2023, Budkov Kjær made his Davis Cup debut against Peru.[10]

In February 2024, he replaced Dominic Thiem at the Ultimate Tennis Showdown in Oslo, the ninth edition of the tournament.[11][12] The following month, he won his first professional title at the $15k Antalya Series. He subsequently made his debut in the top 1000 of the ATP rankings at world No. 897 on 8 April 2024. 025.[1][13][14] He was the first Norwegian to do so since Casper Ruud in 2016. Also in February, he recorded his first Davis Cup win, over Latvian Davis Rolis, and in September his second, with a win over Portuguese Jaime Faria, who was ranked No. 157 at the time.[3]

In November 2024, Budkov Kjær defeated former Top 10 player Pablo Carreño Busta at the 2024 Montemar Challenger.[15]

In February 2025, Budkov Kjær won his first ATP Challenger title defeating fellow countryman Viktor Durasovic in the 2025 Glasgow Challenger.[16] The match up was only the second time ever two Norwegians had met in a Challenger final, after Christian Ruud and Jan Frode Andersen who met in Fürth in 1998. As a result he reached a new career high ranking of No. 297 on 24 February 2025.[1][17]

In April 2025, ranked at a career-high of No. 287, Budkov Kjær received a wildcard for the qualifying competition at the 2025 Monte-Carlo Masters.[18][19]

ATP Challenger Tour finals

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Singles: 1 (1 title)

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Legend
ATP Challenger Tour (1–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Win 1–0 Feb 2025 Glasgow Challenger, United Kingdom Challenger Hard (i) Norway Viktor Durasovic 6–4, 6–3

ITF World Tennis Tour finals

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Singles: 4 (2 titles, 2 runner-ups)

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Legend
ITF WTT (2–2)
Finals by surface
Hard (0–1)
Clay (2–1)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Win 1–0 Mar 2024 M15 Antalya, Turkey WTT Clay Netherlands Niels Visker 6–4, 6–3
Win 2–0 May 2024 M15 Antalya, Turkey WTT Clay Bulgaria Yanaki Milev 6–1, 6–0
Loss 2–1 Dec 2024 M25 Antalya, Turkey WTT Clay Switzerland Mika Brunold 2–6, 6–7(7–9)
Loss 2–2 Jan 2025 M25 Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg WTT Hard (i) Sweden Mikael Ymer 1–6, 7–5, 2–6

National and international representation

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Davis Cup (2 victories, 4 defeats)

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Group membership
World Group (0–0)
WG play-off (0–0)
Group I (2–4)
Group II (0–0)
Group III (0–0)
Group IV (0–0)
Matches by surface
Hard (2–2)
Clay (0–2)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Matches by type
Singles (2–4)
Doubles (0–0)
Rubber outcome No. Rubber Match type (partner if any) Opponent nation Opponent player(s) Score
Decrease1–4; 16–17 September 2023; Lawn Tennis de la Exposición, Lima, Peru; World Group I play-offs; clay surface
Loss 1 II Singles Peru Peru Juan Pablo Varillas 5–7, 4–6
Loss 2 V Singles Ignacio Buse 2–6, 6–4, [9–11]
Increase4–0; 2–3 February 2024; Gjøvik Olympic Cavern Hall, Gjøvik, Norway; Davis Cup qualifying round; hard(i) surface
Win 3 IV Singles Latvia Latvia Davis Rolis 6–3, 6–4
Increase3–1; 13–14 September 2024; Nadderud Arena, Bekkestua, Norway; Davis Cup qualifying round; hard(i) surface
Win 4 I Singles Portugal Portugal Jaime Faria 4–6, 6–3, 7–6(7–4)
Decrease2–3; 30–31 January 2025; Fjellhamar Arena, Oslo, Norway; Davis Cup qualifying round; hard(i) surface
Loss 5 I Singles Argentina Argentina Tomás Martín Etcheverry 5–7, 6–2, 6–7(5–7)
Loss 6 V Singles Mariano Navone 6–4, 3–6, 4–6

Exhibition matches

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Singles

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Result    Date    Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss Feb 2024 Ultimate Tennis Showdown, Oslo, Norway Hard (i) Norway Casper Ruud 9–16, 13–14, 13–14 (Round Robin)

Junior Grand Slam finals

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Singles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)

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Result Year Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Win 2024 Wimbledon Grass Netherlands Mees Röttgering 6–3, 6–3
Loss 2024 US Open Hard Spain Rafael Jódar 6–2, 2–6, 6–7(1–10)

Doubles: 1 (1 title)

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Result Year Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 2024 French Open Clay Austria Joel Schwärzler Italy Federico Cinà
Japan Rei Sakamoto 		6–4, 7–6(7–3)

Awards

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2024

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Nicolai Budkov Kjær Rankings history".
  2. ^ "Norway ATP Rankings". ATP Tour. Retrieved 19 January 2025.
  3. ^ a b Tomás Rico, Andrés (17 July 2024). "This is Nicolai Budkov Kjaer, junior Wimbledon champion in 2024". Punto de Break. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  4. ^ Lübeck, Even (21 April 2023). "Det norske supertalentet trente med verdensstjerner i Monaco: – Evig takknemlig". Eurosport (in Norwegian). Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  5. ^ Tønder, Rune (31 March 2023). "Supertalentet Nicolai Kjær sikter mot Grand Slams - Tennis Norge". Tennis Norge (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  6. ^ "Nicolai Budkov Kjaer makes history in winning junior boys' Wimbledon title; Renata Jamrichova wins girls' title. Nicolai Budkov Kjaer became the first Norwegian man to win a Grand Slam singles title at either the junior or professional level by beating Mees Rottgering of the Netherlands 6-3, 6-3.". 14 July 2024.
  7. ^ Goodall, Lee (14 July 2024). "Nicolai Budkov Kjaer and Renata Jamrichova make history". Wimbledon. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  8. ^ McLean, Ross (14 July 2024). "Budkov Kjaer wins Wimbledon and challenges Ruud to round of golf". International Tennis Federation. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  9. ^ Hennie, Kristian (8 June 2024). "Norsk jubeldag i Paris: Budkov Kjær sikret Roland-Garros-tittel". Eurosport (in Norwegian). Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  10. ^ Opphus, Joakim (17 September 2023). "Norsk stortalent fikk seniordebuten – møtte Perus beste mann". Eurosport (in Norwegian). Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  11. ^ Dunn, Carrie (10 February 2024). "Ruud leads UTS Oslo Final Four". Ultimate Tennis Showdown. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  12. ^ Dunn, Carrie (10 February 2024). "UTS Oslo: Ruud finishes group stage unbeaten despite valiant Kjaer". Tennis Majors. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  13. ^ Rigal, Joseph (2 April 2024). "Norway's Budkov Kjaer wins first pro title at M15 Antalya". International Tennis Federation. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  14. ^ Solland Staveland, Sigurd (31 March 2024). "Nicolai (17) forbauser: – Utrolig". TV 2 (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  15. ^ "Tennistalentet Kjær vendte til seier over merittert spansk veteran – klar for kvartfinale". Nettavisen.no (in Norwegian Bokmål). 20 November 2024. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  16. ^ "Budkov Kjaer Clinches Glasgow Challenger Trophy". tennistourtalk.com. Retrieved 23 February 2025.
  17. ^ Kjøllmoen Steien, Vegard (23 February 2025). "Budkov Kjær fikk revansj – vant sin aller første Challenger-tittel". Eurosport Norge (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 23 February 2025.
  18. ^ "THEY COMPLETE THE DRAW". 3 April 2025.
  19. ^ "Tennistalentet Nicolai Budkov Kjær har fått wildcard til Monte-Carlo Masters" (in Norwegian). 3 April 2025.
[edit]
Awards and achievements
Preceded by ITF Junior World Champion
2024 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
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