'A dream come true': Rodesch's surge from ITF Tour to Wimbledon debut
It has been a fantastic few months for Luxembourg's Chris Rodesch.
The 23-year-old from Luxembourg won his first Challenger title in April and went on to qualify for the main draw of a Grand Slam for the first time at Wimbledon this week - a rapid charge for a player who has competed largely on the ITF World Tennis Tour until this season.
He ultimately fell to former Wimbledon quarter-finalist Cristian Garin in the first round at the All England Club this week, but it was still an incredibly proud day for Rodesch - who had beaten another former quarter-finalist, Marton Fucsovics, to book his spot at SW19.
"It was amazing," said Rodesch. "You dream as a kid of playing Wimbledon and my first Grand Slam being at Wimbledon is a dream come true."
"Of course, I'm sad that I lost but I think I can also take a lot of positives from this one and go from here."
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Rodesch has made good progress on the ITF World Tennis Tour in recent years - picking up titles in between his back-to-back NCAA Championship triumphs in 2022 and 2023 with the University of Virginia.
He won his first professional title at M15 Vejle in 2022, and has gone on to win a further seven at ITF level, including three at M25 level since his first at Southaven in 2023.
However, it was in 2024, after college, when Rodesch's career began to take a significant upward trajectory.
After claiming his first title on home soil at M25 Esch/Alzette in July last year, he went on to win four straight titles and 20 consecutive matches at M15 Ystad, M25 Hong Kong, M15 Hong Kong and M15 Monastir.
This consistency of his performances at ITF level gave Rodesch a firm footing to step up and he duly sealed the ATP Tallahassee Challenger 75 title in April this year for his most significant tournament triumph yet.
"You have to compete at that level, it prepares you a lot for these tournaments," said Rodesch. "The ITF World Tennis Tour gives you a lot of confidence when you win a lot of matches.
"I think that gave me a lot of confidence to belong at the Challenger level - I think I needed that after college. To prove to myself, okay, I belong on the Challenger Tour and now I've proved myself there a bit.
"It's a tough world but in the long run I think it helps a lot."
Rodesch attributes his current success to his positive mentality as well as all of the matches he's played recently.
"All those experiences in college and then on the World Tennis Tour, and then on the Challenger level helped me a lot for the future. So, I'm really grateful to have done this and I also think I developed as a person."
Rodesch was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome - a rare autoimmune disorder - in his last year of Juniors, severely affecting his tennis as well as his day-to-day life. His journey from the diagnosis to his current status is an excellent testament to his hard work and positive mentality.
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Armed with a big serve, ferocious groundstrokes and a solid net game - it's easy to see why the 6'6" right-hander was successful on the grass at Wimbledon qualifying - event if it was a novel experience for him.
"The last three weeks was my first time on grass," said Rodesch. "My first week in Ilkley was really tough - I lost in under an hour. Since then I developed better and better on grass, so the last three weeks or so have been positive getting used to it.
"I think it's a surface for the future where I can make great results. So, I'm really looking forward to playing on grass next year as well."
He is quickly proving himself to be multi-surface threat, especially given four of his career titles titles have come on clay and the other four on hard courts.
When asked about his goals for the rest of the year, Rodesch said: "When I look too much at the ranking, I think it's a bit of poison for my head, but it's still in the back of the head."
"I think I can prove myself this year. I can reach the top 100 this year. I believe in myself to do that but it goes match by match, point by point being positive. And then, at the end of the day, when I've done that, I think that's the most important thing for the rest of the season."
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Rodesch is currently ranked at a career-high No. 163 - although he could find himself inside the top 150 in the ATP rankings when Wimbledon concludes.
To keep up with all the latest results on the ITF World Tennis Tour, click here.