Popy, Australia, Montreal: Everything you always wanted to know about Alexei Popyrin (but never had the time to find out) – updated after beating Djokovic at the 2024 US Open
Alexei Popyrin won the biggest title of his career to date when he triumphed in the Montreal Masters. Here’s everything you need to know about the Australian
Alexei Popyrin at the 2023 Australian Open
Image Credit: AI/Reuters/Panoramic
You can follow Alexei Popyrin on Twitter and Instagram
Who is Alexei Popyrin?
Alexei Popyrin is a professional tennis player from Australia. He was born on August 5, 1999, in Sydney, Australia. Aged eight, he moved to Dubai for two years due to his father’s work. In 2010, his family moved to Alicante, Spain, where Alex de Minaur was his neighbour.
He first broke onto the scene with an emphatic defeat of Taylor Fritz at the 2023 Australian Open in front of his home crowd. Here are all his stats and facts.
Since then, he’s gone on to crack the world’s top 30. Most recently, he won the ATP Montreal Masters 1000, defeating Andrey Rublev in the final.
why was popyrin in the headlines at the 2024 us open?
Popyrin made headlines at the 2024 US Open by beating defending champion and 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic in the third round, defeating the Serb 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.
This was a seismic result for a number of reasons. It was Djokovic’s earliest exit at the US Open since 2006, and his earliest exit at a Grand Slam since the Australian Open in 2017. It also meant that Djokovic went without a Grand Slam title in a season for the first time since 2017, and only the second time since 2010.
It was a stunning win – Popyrin’s first victory over Djokovic, and meant he reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career.
What did Popyrin do at the 2024 Canadian Open?
Popyrin had a career-best run at the Canadian Open in Montreal in August 2024, winning his maiden Masters 1000 title.
The Australian began by defeating Olympic gold medallist Tomas Machac, 6-3, 6-4, before upsetting No 11 seed Ben Shelton, 6-4, 7-6 (4).
This was just the first of Popyrin’s upsets in Montreal, with the 24-year-old going on to defeat No 7 seed Grigor Dimitrov (4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3), No 4 seed Hubert Hurkacz (3-6, 7-6 (5), 7-5) and American Sebastian Korda (7-6 (0), 6-3).
In his match against Dimitrov, Popyrin saved three match points.
Having never made a Masters-level semi-final before in his life, Popyrin played and won both his quarter-final and semi-finals on the same day in Montreal, courtesy of rain delays earlier in the week.
He then defeated Andrey Rublev in emphatic fashion, ripping 31 winners to claim the title 6-2, 6-4 in an hour and a half.
“It means so much, it means the world,” Popyrin said after the victory.
What did Popyrin do at the 2024 Australian open?
Popyrin played world No 1 Novak Djokovic in the second round of the 2024 Australian Open, but ultimately lost 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3.
What did Popyrin accomplish at the 2023 Australian Open?
Playing in front of his home crowd, Popyrin upset the No 8 seed Taylor Fritz 6-7, 7-6, 6-4, 6-7, 6-2 in the second round of the 2023 Australian Open.
The win moved him into the third round of his home Slam for the third time in five years, coming on the back of a difficult 2022 season.
What is Popyrin’s nationality?
Alexei Popyrin is Australian but is born to Russian parents. He speaks English, Russian and Spanish.
Who are Popyrin’s parents?
His parents are Elena and Alex. They immigrated to Australia before he was born.
His father Alex Popyrin is a co-founder of UTS with Patrick Mouratoglou during the Covid-19 shutdown.
“My mum is my inspiration. I don’t remember the last time she missed a training session. She’s definitely never missed a match”, he told to ABC in 2017. “The sacrifices she’s made are the reason I am where I am right now. I’m so grateful for everything that she’s done for me.”
In 2021, Popyrin took the decision to travel on the Tour on his own but his parents are still following his path closely.
Who are Popyrin’s idols?
Juan Martin del Potro is Popyrin’s tennis idol. “He’s the same type of player,” Mouratoglou told the Herald Sun in 2017. “Same type of qualities.” Big serve and big forehand.
Popyrin also loves sprinter Usain Bolt.
At what age did he start playing tennis?
He began playing tennis at the age of four at the Kim Warwick Tennis Academy in Hornsby, Australia.
Who is Popyrin’s coach?
The Australian has been training at Patrick Mouratoglou’s academy near Sophia Antipolis, as a ChampSeed graduate (Mouratoglou’s foundation) in the South East of France, since April 2017. Mouratoglou is supervising his development.
His current coaches are Neville Godwin and Xavier Malisse. Godwin is the former coach of Kevin Anderson, while Malisse is an ex-player who had a career-high of No 19 in the world.
How many siblings does he have?
Alexei Popyrin has two sisters, Sonia and Anna, and one younger brother, Anthony. With Anthony, he served as a ball boy during the 2009 Dubai Tennis Championships.
When did Popyrin start his pro career?
In 2017, Alexei Popyrin won the French Open junior title. He then won his first professional ITF title in July 2017 in Poland, a victory which broke him in the Top 1000. He ended 2017 ranked No 622. He made his Grand Slam debut at the 2018 Australian Open thanks to a wild card.
What are his best performances at a Grand Slam?
Popyrin has made the third round of a Grand Slam six times.
Since his debut at the Australian Open in 2018, he has since made the third round in 2019, 2020 and 2023. He made it through to the round of 32 at the 2023 Australian Open after a thrilling five-set win over No 8 seed Taylor Fritz.
He has also reached the third round of the US Open in 2019 and 2021, and made the last 32 at Wimbledon in 2024.
How many ATP titles has Popyrin won?
Three. In February 2021, Popyrin won his maiden ATP title at the Singapore Open, defeating Marin Cillic in the semi-final and Alexander Bublik in the final. He also made his debut in the Davis Cup in 2019 for Australia, winning his opening match against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In July 2023, Popyrin defeated Stan Wawrinka in three sets to win the Croatia Open in Umag – his second singles title.
Popyrin then won the biggest title of his career to date when he beat Andrey Rublev in the final of the Montreal Masters in August 2024. He was the first Australian to win a Masters 1000 title since Lleyton Hewitt in 2003.
What is highest ranking?
Popyrin’s win in Montreal moved him up to a career-best ranking of No 23. You can find his current ranking and his rankings history on his ATP Tour profile page.
Is Popyrin on Instagram?
Alexei Popyrin has an Instagram account, which is followed by almost 58,000 people, as of August 2024. He also has a Twitter account (@AlexeiPopyrin99) where he has not posted in over three years and is followed by 4,500 people.
Who is Popyrin’s girlfriend?
Alexei Popyrin has a girlfriend called Amy Pederick. He sometimes posts photos with her on Instagram. He spent the coronavirus lockdown with her at the Mouratoglou Academy. She is a student in London studying physiotherapy.
What are some fun-facts about Popyrin?
Popyrin’s nicknames are “Pop” or “Popy.” The Australian is a huge Everton fan. He also supports the Portland Trail Blazers (NBA). His favourite book is Fever by Mary Beth Keane.
