Wimbledon 2025: The rise and rise of Gabriel Diallo

This time last year, Diallo was ranked 166 in the world and had just lost in the second round of Wimbledon qualifying.

He arrived at SW19 for this fortnight’s Championships in a completely different position – enjoying a career-high ranking of No.40 and fresh off of a maiden ATP title captured on the lawns of ‘s-Hertogenbosch.

Unlike last season when he could only see the courts at Roehampton, where the Wimbledon qualifying rounds are played, this time around, Diallo got to set foot inside the All England Club for the first time and he extended his stay by notching an impressive victory on Monday.

“I've been able to play some good grass-court tennis the last three weeks, so I'm looking forward to carry the momentum here,” said Diallo, whose big serve and powerful groundstrokes are perfectly suited for the grass.

“It's my first time ever on the grounds, so it's a surreal moment for sure.

“You can feel the prestige from the event. It's in these moments that you try to be grateful to be here and compete your butt off.”

The college route

This all still relatively new for Diallo.

The Montreal-native played college tennis at the University of Kentucky, where he studied finance and helped the team reach the NCAA finals for the first time in program history, before turning pro at the end of 2022.

By his own description, Diallo wasn’t a highly-rated junior and he says going to college was a “no-brainer” for him.

It was in Kentucky where he truly developed both his game and character, under the tutelage of Wildcats head coach Cedric Kauffmann.

“I think I just became a little bit more obviously mature, learning to manage the school aspect and tennis,” he explained.

“And another aspect that I think is pretty underrated, but the social aspect. Most of us, a lot of us in juniors, we go to home-school quite quickly. So, at 14, 15, you're not going to class anymore. You're not interacting with other people. You kind of see the same people at tournaments.

“So to go back to class and meeting new people and all that stuff mixed up with the pressure of performing in tennis in school, I think it just enabled me to become better at just managing situations in general.

“And I think it just gave me much more structure in my game. I think going into college, I was very flashy, could produce a lot of good things. And then do some things that were not so good.

“So I think my college coach did a really good job, just kind of introducing me to the fundamentals and then the rest. Yeah, I managed to have a very nice progression throughout the years.”

Diallo qualified for his first Grand Slam at Roland-Garros last season and he claimed his first major main draw victory at the US Open, where he reached the third round as a qualifier.

In New York, he knocked out a 24th-ranked Arthur Fils before falling to 14th-seeded Tommy Paul in four close sets in round three.

That run caught the attention of many, including NBA legend Steve Nash, who sent Diallo a follow request on Instagram, and Canadian comedian Sammy Sugar, who attended one of his matches in New York.

By October, Diallo had cracked the top 100 and this season, and the 203cm big-hitter has continued to gather momentum ever since, with standout performances at the Masters 1000 in Madrid – where he reached the quarter-finals as a lucky loser – and more recently on grass in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, where he was crowned champion.

Diallo says his ability to manage matches has been the biggest improvement he has made since turning pro.

“In college, every match is a huge deal because you only play twice a week. And if you lose, your ranking as a team goes down, even individually,” he said.

“So there's so much expectation and pressure every match to bring it, regardless against who you play. So I think I tried maybe to bring that to the tour, which can be good, but realistically more often than not, you finish the week by losing.

“So I guess I learned to manage that and navigate that a little bit better, not putting too much emphasis on one particular match. Kind of try to approach every match the same, just like in practice. But it was definitely a transition for me.”

Competitive but easygoing

Diallo can cut a serious figure on court during matches, but off the court, he doesn’t like to take life too seriously. He recently spontaneously bleached his hair, and even though the colour is not exactly how he liked it, he says he enjoys “messing around” with his look every once in a while.

He was born in Montreal to a Guinean father and Ukrainian mother, who met in Moscow while studying there in the late 1970s before getting married and moving to Canada in the mid-‘90s in the wake of the dismantlement of the Soviet Union.

Diallo’s mother was a professional handball player and he says he carries traits from both his parents to balance out his personality.

He wears a necklace that has a ring hanging from it, which is a family heirloom passed down from generation to another from his mother’s side. He hopes to pass it on to his own children one day.

“I think the character and competitiveness, I get it from my mother because she played sports at a very high level. And she's just a fiery person in general,” he said.

“Maybe a little bit too much character outside of sports. So I think that's where my dad stepped in. So I think I can part ways a little bit. But yeah, for sure, you feel like you have a little bit of both.

“But I found myself also sometimes when I was younger, you kind of feel not lost, but maybe confused. Because you're not quite 100 percent one or you're not quite 100 percent the other.

“And I remember growing up, it would confuse me a little bit. But I just learned to embrace my heritage and my origins. And I'm just as proud to be Ukrainian as Guinean and represent the Canadian flag.”

'You've got to be hard on yourself'

Diallo is a big movie buff and names ‘Requiem for a Dream’ as one of the films he particularly enjoys.

He also liked watching Michael Jordan’s docu-series ‘The Last Dance’ and tries to draw inspiration from it.

“Just seeing how he's a very fiery competitor and just brings it every day, every match, in practice. I thought that was pretty cool and something that I try to bring myself,” said Diallo of the NBA great.

“Maybe not at this level. And it's quite different because we're an individual sport, but just bring it every day. Regardless of how you feel, try to bring your 100 percent. There's people that wish that they were in your position. And you've got goals that you aspire to. So you've got to be hard on yourself, I would say.”

Diallo was proud of his opening-round form, which he described as “really sharp”.

“I was so fired up and amped up to be here and to play my first Wimbledon. So I try to come out the gates and just try to take it to him as much as I can. And luckily today was very successful,” Diallo said on Monday.

His next opponent, Fritz, is well aware of the challenge Diallo poses.

“We say 'bot' as a compliment. He's a bot, but he's good,” said Fritz, referring to Diallo’s excellent serve, which would classify him as a ‘servebot’.

“Obviously he can play. He can play from the back of the court. I practiced with him. He honestly has a very well-rounded game and can do a bit of everything.”