Ruben Bemelmans
Ruben Bemelmans is a Belgian male professional tennis player. His career-high ATP rankings are world No. 84 in singles, achieved in September 2015, and world No. 128 in doubles, achieved in October 2012. As a qualifier, Bemelmans reached the quarterfinals of Vienna in 2013, defeating No. 4 seed Philipp Kohlschreiber en route.
Tennis career
Bemelmans competes mainly in the Challenger tour circuit. He won his first Futures event in Espelkamp, Germany in July 2007, and has a total of nine titles at this level. His best performance to date was in winning the Volkswagen Challenger event in Wolfsburg in March 2009, winning three matches in qualifying before going on to beat Stefano Galvani of Italy in the final. He won this tournament again in 2011.2010–2014
In February 2010 Bemelmans succeeded in qualifying for his first ATP level event, the Zagreb Indoors tournament. However he lost in the First Round to Alexandre Sidorenko of France in three sets.In June 2010, he entered the main draw of the 2010 Gerry Weber Open in Halle as a lucky loser. In the opening round he lost to German Philipp Kohlschreiber in three close sets.
In September 2010, Ruben played for Belgium in the Davis cup play-off tie against Australia. He was a late replacement for an injured Steve Darcis. He played Lleyton Hewitt and after a solid effort, he succumbed in a 6–7, 5–7, 6–2, 4–6 duel.
In January 2011, Bemelmans was invited to represent Belgium in the Hopman Cup alongside Justine Henin. They reached the final, beating Kazakhstan and Serbia along the way, where they were defeated by USA 2–1.
Bemelmans won his first match in a Grand Slam main draw at 2012 Wimbledon, defeating Carlos Berlocq in 4 sets. He was bested by Richard Gasquet in straight sets in the second round. About a month later, Bemelmans won his first title on the ATP Tour, the 250 level Los Angeles Open.
In 2013, Bemelmans made the final of 2 Challenger Tour events, Nottingham and Eckental where he lost to Steve Johnson and Benjamin Becker respectively.
2014 saw Bemelmans have another strong showing at Eckental, this time winning the tournament, beating 2012 champion Daniel Brands en route.
2015–2018
In September 2015, Bemelmans defeated Gilles Müller and Jack Sock to reach the third round of the US Open where he lost against Switzerland's Stan Wawrinka in three sets. He was unable to defend his title in Eckental however, falling in the semi-finals to Benjamin Becker. Bemelmans also played an active part in the Belgian Davis Cup team that reached the final that season, and played the second singles rubber where he was beaten by Andy Murray.Bemelmans made 2 Challenger finals late in 2016, at Charlottesville and Champaign.
In 2017, Bemelmans won the tile at Koblenz before losing to Denis Shapovalov in the final of Drummondville. He then made the third round of Wimbledon, his best result at the tournament, beating former world No. 2 Tommy Haas in the first round.
The 2018 Australian Open saw Bemelmans win his first match at the tournament in 3 main draw appearances when he earned a credible first round victory over 18th seed Lucas Pouille.
At the 2018 French Open he made it past the first round for the second consecutive grand slam when he beat Yuki Bhambri in his opening match. However he lost in five sets in round two to Estonian Jürgen Zopp.
Benelmans qualified for the 2018 Wimbledon championships defeating Bernard Tomic in the final qualifying round. He then defeated American Steve Johnson in five sets to reach round 2 of a slam for the third consecutive time in 2018.
ATP career finals
Doubles: 1 (1 title)
Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
Win | 1–0 | 2012 Farmers Classic – Doubles| | Los Angeles Open, US | 250 Series | Hard | Xavier Malisse | Jamie Delgado Ken Skupski | 7–6, 4–6, |
Team competition finals
Challenger and Futures finals
Singles: 36 (19–17)
Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
Loss | 0–1 | Sweden F1, Malmö | Futures | Hard | Pablo Figueroa | 6–7, 5–7 | |
Loss | 0–2 | Romania F5, Bacău | Futures | Clay | Artemon Apostu-Efremov | 2–6, 0–6 | |
Loss | 0–3 | Germany F9, Römerberg | Futures | Clay | Dustin Brown | 3–6, 6–7 | |
Win | 1–3 | Germany F10, Espelkamp | Futures | Clay | Franz Stauder | 6–2, 7–5 | |
Win | 2–3 | Israel F4, Ramat HaSharon | Futures | Hard | Niels Desein | 6–3, 6–3 | |
Loss | 2–4 | Germany F3, Kaarst | Futures | Carpet | Jeroen Masson | 2–6, 6–4, 2–6 | |
Win | 3–4 | Switzerland F2, Bassersdorf | Futures | Carpet | Ladislav Chramosta | 3–6, 6–3, 6–2 | |
Win | 4–4 | Italy F15, Cesena | Futures | Clay | Carlos Avellán | 6–4, 3–6, 6–0 | |
Loss | 4–5 | Aachen, Germany | Challenger | Carpet | Evgeny Korolev | 6–7, 6–7 | |
Win | 5–5 | France F3, Bressuire | Futures | Hard | Vincent Millot | 6–4, 6–3 | |
Win | 6–5 | 2009 Volkswagen Challenger – Singles| | Wolfsburg, Germany | Challenger | Carpet | Stefano Galvani | 7–6, 3–6, 6–3 |
Win | 7–5 | France F15, Plaisir | Futures | Hard | Pierrick Ysern | 6–7, 6–1, 7–5 | |
Win | 8–5 | France F4, Lille | Futures | Hard | Niels Desein | 6–4, 6–2 | |
Win | 9–5 | France F5, Poitiers | Futures | Hard | Charles-Antoine Brézac | 6–4, 4–6, 6–4 | |
Win | 10–5 | Spain F23, Palma del Río | Futures | Hard | Niels Desein | 4–6, 6–4, 7–6 | |
Loss | 10–6 | 2010 Bauer Watertechnology Cup – Singles| | Eckental, Germany | Challenger | Carpet | Igor Sijsling | 6–3, 2–6, 3–6 |
Win | 11–6 | 2011 Volkswagen Challenger – Singles| | Wolfsburg, Germany | Challenger | Carpet | Dominik Meffert | 6–7, 6–4, 6–4 |
Loss | 11–7 | 2012 Intersport Heilbronn Open – Singles| | Heilbronn, Germany | Challenger | Hard | Björn Phau | 7–6, 3–6, 4–6 |
Loss | 11–8 | 2012 Status Athens Open – Singles| | Athens, Greece | Challenger | Hard | Marinko Matosevic | 3–6, 4–6 |
Loss | 11–9 | 2012 Open d'Orléans – Singles| | Orléans, France | Challenger | Hard | David Goffin | 4–6, 6–3, 3–6 |
Loss | 11–10 | 2013 Aegon Nottingham Challenge – Men's Singles| | Nottingham, Great Britain | Challenger | Grass | Steve Johnson | 5–7, 5–7 |
Loss | 11–11 | 2013 Bauer Watertechnology Cup – Singles| | Eckental, Germany | Challenger | Carpet | Benjamin Becker | 6–2, 6–7, 4–6 |
Win | 12–11 | 2014 Bauer Watertechnology Cup – Singles| | Eckental, Germany | Challenger | Carpet | Tim Pütz | 7–6, 6–3 |
Win | 13–11 | Germany F4, Nußloch | Futures | Carpet | Maximilian Marterer | 6–3, 6–7, 7–6 | |
Loss | 13–12 | 2015 Aegon GB Pro-Series Glasgow – Singles| | Glasgow, Great Britain | Challenger | Hard | Niels Desein | 6–7, 6–2, 6–7 |
Win | 14–12 | 2015 Open de Guadeloupe – Singles| | Le Gosier, Guadeloupe | Challenger | Hard | Édouard Roger-Vasselin | 7–6, 6–3 |
Win | 15–12 | Belgium F5, Middelkerke | Futures | Hard | Yannick Mertens | 6–3, 6–7, 6–1 | |
Win | 16–12 | USA F34, Burlingame | Futures | Hard | Sam Barry | 6–1, 6–2 | |
Loss | 16–13 | 2016 Charlottesville Men's Pro Challenger – Singles| | Charlottesville, USA | Challenger | Hard | Reilly Opelka | 4–6, 6–2, 6–7 |
Loss | 16–14 | 2016 JSM Challenger of Champaign–Urbana – Singles| | Champaign, USA | Challenger | Hard | Henri Laaksonen | 5–7, 3–6 |
Win | 17–14 | 2017 Koblenz Open – Singles| | Koblenz, Germany | Challenger | Hard | Nils Langer | 6–4, 3–6, 7–6 |
Loss | 17–15 | 2017 Challenger Banque Nationale de Drummondville – Singles| | Drummondville, Canada | Challenger | Hard | Denis Shapovalov | 3–6, 2–6 |
Loss | 17–16 | 2017 The Hague Open – Singles| | Scheveningen, Netherlands | Challenger | Clay | Guillermo García López | 1–6, 7–6, 2–6 |
Loss | 17–17 | 2018 Bauer Watertechnology Cup – Singles| | Eckental, Germany | Challenger | Carpet | Antoine Hoang | 5–7, 3–6 |
Win | 18–17 | Germany M25, Nußloch | ITF World Tennis Tour | Carpet | Jonáš Forejtek | 6-7, 7-6, 6-2 | |
Win | 19–17 | Italy M25, Trento | ITF World Tennis Tour | Hard | Alexander Erler | 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 |
Doubles: 34 (22–12)
Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
Win | 1–0 | Germany F11, Essen | Futures | Clay | Niels Desein | Antal van der Duim Boy Westerhof | 1–6, 7–5, 7–5 | |
Win | 2–0 | Spain F7, Cartagena | Futures | Hard | Yannick Mertens | Alessandro da Col Abel Hernández-García | 7–6, 6–2 | |
Loss | 2–1 | Netherlands F1, Alkmaar | Futures | Clay | Yannick Mertens | Romano Frantzen Nick van der Meer | 4–6, 6–4, 2–6 | |
Win | 3–1 | Germany F10, Espelkamp | Futures | Clay | Andre Begemann | Remko de Rijke Bas van der Valk | 6–3, 6–3 | |
Loss | 3–2 | Great Britain F21, Redbridge | Futures | Hard | Niels Desein | Josh Goodall Ken Skupski | 7–5, 6–7, | |
Win | 4–2 | France F5, Poitiers | Futures | Hard | Stefan Wauters | Julien Jeanpierre Josselin Ouanna | 7–5, 6–4 | |
Loss | 4–3 | Turkey F5, Antalya | Futures | Clay | Yannick Mertens | Karim Maamoun Sherif Sabry | 6–3, 4–6, | |
Win | 5–3 | Italy F15, Cesena | Futures | Clay | Horacio Zeballos | Antonio Pastorino Damián Patriarca | 6–2, 6–4 | |
Win | 6–3 | Slovenia F2, Maribor | Futures | Clay | Bart de Keersmaeker | Markus Hipfl Marco Mirnegg | 6–1, 6–3 | |
Win | 7–3 | Belgium F2, Koksijde | Futures | Clay | Niels Desein | Alexandre Folie David Goffin | 7–5, 7–5 | |
Win | 8–3 | France F14, Mulhouse | Futures | Hard | Niels Desein | Dustin Brown Stefan Seifert | 7–6, 6–3 | |
Win | 9–3 | France F18, Saint-Dizier | Futures | Hard | Niels Desein | Guillermo Alcaide Nikolai Nesterov | 6–4, 3–6, | |
Loss | 9–4 | 2009 Trophée des Alpilles – Doubles| | St Remy, France | Challenger | Hard | Niels Desein | Jiří Krkoška Lukáš Lacko | 1–6, 6–3, |
Win | 10–4 | France F14, Mulhouse | Futures | Hard | Yannick Mertens | Konstantin Kravchuk Alexander Kudryavtsev | 6–3, 7–6 | |
Win | 11–4 | France F4, Lille | Futures | Hard | Niels Desein | Raven Klaasen Izak van der Merwe | 7–6, 6–3 | |
Win | 12–4 | France F5, Poitiers | Futures | Hard | Yannick Mertens | Olivier Patience Nicolas Renavand | 3–6, 6–1, | |
Loss | 12–5 | 2010 Ethias Trophy – Doubles| | Mons, Belgium | Challenger | Hard | Yannick Mertens | Filip Polášek Igor Zelenay | 6–3, 4–6, |
Win | 13–5 | 2010 Lambertz Open by STAWAG – Doubles| | Aachen, Germany | Challenger | Carpet | Igor Sijsling | Jamie Delgado Jonathan Marray | 6–4, 3–6, |
Win | 14–5 | 2012 Odlum Brown Vancouver Open – Men's Doubles| | Vancouver, Canada | Challenger | Hard | Maxime Authom | John Peers John-Patrick Smith | 6–4, 6–2 |
Loss | 14–6 | 2014 Aegon Nottingham Challenge – Men's Doubles| | Nottingham, Great Britain | Challenger | Grass | Go Soeda | Rameez Junaid Michael Venus | 6–4, 6–7, |
Win | 15–6 | 2014 Comerica Bank Challenger – Doubles| | Aptos, USA | Challenger | Hard | Laurynas Grigelis | Purav Raja Sanam Singh | 6–3, 4–6, |
Loss | 15–7 | France F24, Rodez | Futures | Hard | Maxime Authom | James Cluskey David O'Hare | 6–7, 6–3, | |
Win | 16–7 | 2014 Bauer Watertechnology Cup – Doubles| | Eckental, Germany | Challenger | Carpet | Niels Desein | Andreas Beck Philipp Petzschner | 6–3, 4–6, |
Win | 17–7 | 2015 Ethias Trophy – Doubles| | Mons, Belgium | Challenger | Hard | Philipp Petzschner | Rameez Junaid Igor Zelenay | 6–3, 6–1 |
Win | 18–7 | 2015 Bauer Watertechnology Cup| | Eckental, Germany | Challenger | Carpet | Philipp Petzschner | Ken Skupski Neal Skupski | 7–5, 6–2 |
Win | 19–7 | Belgium F5, Middelkerke | Futures | Hard | Yannick Mertens | Hunter Johnson Yates Johnson | 6–1, 6–1 | |
Loss | 19–8 | 2016 Guzzini Challenger – Doubles| | Recanati, Italy | Challenger | Hard | Adrián Menéndez Maceiras | Kevin Krawietz Albano Olivetti | 3–6, 6–7 |
Loss | 19–9 | 2016 Knoxville Challenger – Doubles| | Knoxville, USA | Challenger | Hard | Joris De Loore | Peter Polansky Adil Shamasdin | 1–6, 3–6 |
Loss | 19–10 | 2017 Shimadzu All Japan Indoor Tennis Championships – Doubles| | Kyoto, Japan | Challenger | Hard | Joris De Loore | Sanchai Ratiwatana Sonchat Ratiwatana | 6–4, 4–6, |
Loss | 19–11 | 2018 Open de Guadeloupe – Doubles| | Le Gosier, Guadeloupe | Challenger | Hard | Jonathan Eysseric | John-Patrick Smith Neal Skupski | 6–7, 4–6 |
Win | 20–11 | 2019 Tunis Open – Doubles| | Tunis, Tunisia | Challenger | Clay | Tim Pütz | Facundo Argüello Guillermo Durán | 6–3, 6–1 |
Loss | 20–12 | 2019 Seoul Open Challenger – Doubles| | Seoul, Korea, Rep. | Challenger | Hard | Sergiy Stakhovsky | Max Purcell Luke Saville | 4–6, 6–7 |
Win | 21–12 | 2019 Murray Trophy – Glasgow – Doubles| | Glasgow, United Kingdom | Challenger | Hard | Daniel Masur | Jamie Murray John-Patrick Smith | 4–6, 6–3, |
Win | 22–12 | Italy M25, Trento | ITF World Tennis Tour | Hard | Daniel Masur | Alexander Erler David Jorda Sanchis | 7-6, 6–2 |