Arthur Rinderknech stunned No. 3 seed Alexander Zverev on the second day of Wimbledon, defeating the three-time major finalist, 7-6(3), 6-7(8), 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-4. The Frenchman is now in the third round, only his second time reaching the Round of 32 at a major in 19 appearances.
The former Top 50 player, currently No. 72, got his first Top 10 win at Queen’s Club in the run-up to Wimbledon by beating Ben Shelton, and earned his first Top 5 after sending Zverev home in the first round.
Check out some fast facts about the seed slayer:
He comes from a family of tennis players
Tennis runs in Rinderknech’s blood. His father is the director of a tennis club in Paris, while his mother, Virginie Paquet, is a former WTA player who played the main draws of the Australian Open and Roland Garros during her career.
His cousins are also pro tennis players. Benjamin Balleret reached an ATP ranking of No. 204, and became a coach in 2016, working with three players who have cracked the Top 50, as well as another one of Rinderknech’s cousins, Valentin Vacherot, who reached a career-high ranking of No. 110 last year.
Rinderknech played college tennis at Texas A&M University
The Frenchman chose to attend college and play NCAA tennis instead of jumping right into pro tennis when he turned 18, citing his lack of professional maturity and a game that wouldn’t have held up on tour.
Rinderknech had a great college career as a five-time All-American (three times in singles, twice in doubles), and had a 22-5 singles record his senior year, graduating in 2018 with a business degree. He was also part of a cohort of Aggies who went pro, overlapping with Vacherot during his time in College Station, Texas, as well as Patrick Kypson and Jackson Withrow.
“I had the maturity to think about it and decide to go to the United States, which was a very good choice,” he said in a 2022 press conference. “It gave me some time, and I have a diploma now that is a security for my future, so I can play relaxed now, knowing what I have.”
Wedding bells are ringing!
Rinderknech got engaged in 2023 to Hortense Boscher, a fellow collegiate tennis player who played for Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. The couple married just before Roland Garros in Brittany, France.
It’s unusual for players to get married during the season due to the constant travel and tournaments, but the short offseason also makes it difficult.
“We only have ten days of holiday in November, so if you want to get married under the sun and take everybody with you, you have to go very far,” Rinderknech said in a pre-Roland Garros press conference. “So we decided to get married this weekend in Brittany, before the quallies, and we had 72 hours without a single cloud, 20 degrees. Brittany never deceives you, so it was great.”
