Top 10 moments of Kyle Edmund’s tennis career
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With the news that former British No.1 Kyle Edmund has officially announced his retirement from professional tennis, we take a look back at the top 10 moments from his career.
1 - Becoming the first Brits to win the Junior Davis Cup in 2011
At just the age of 16, Edmund had already established his name in the history books of British tennis as part of GB’s first team to win the Junior Davis Cup.
In a team captained by former world No.4 and US Open runner-up Greg Rusedski, Edmund spearheaded a team alongside Evan Hoyt and Luke Bambridge to lift the prestigious junior title.
Edmund played a key role in the squad – winning all four of his singles matches – including a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Gianluigi Quinzi as the Brits defeated Italy 2-0 in the final.
After a historic title run, Edmund said: "It's great to win and be world champions. As a team, we played really well all trip, and it showed today."
2 - Junior doubles Grand Slams at US Open and Roland Garros
Edmund’s early successes didn’t stop there as the young Briton also made a name for himself at the junior Grand Slams – especially in doubles.
Back in 2012, a 17-year-old Edmund teamed up with Portuguese partner Frederico Ferreira Silva to defeat now major doubles champions Nick Kyrgios and Jordan Thompson 5-7, 6-4, 10-6 in the US Open boys’ doubles final.
A few months later, Edmund and Silva went on to claim the Roland Garros title as well, thanks to a 6-3, 6-3 win over Chile’s Christian Garin and Nicolas Jarry.
Edmund finished his junior career with a highest ranking at world No.8 and having reached the quarter-finals or better in the singles of all four Grand Slams.
3 - Making his GB debut in a historic Davis Cup final victory
It wouldn’t take long for Edmund to start having success in the men’s game as well, including one of, if not the biggest highlight of his career, in helping Great Britain to a first Davis Cup title in 79 years.
In 2015, Edmund was starting to have some strong results on the ATP Challenger Tour and through Grand Slam qualifying, which earned him a spot in the GB squad for the final against Belgium.
Captain Leon Smith made a brave call in the final to give Edmund his Davis Cup debut up against former world No.7 David Goffin – narrowly losing out to the six-time ATP title-winner in five sets with an impressive performance in the opening rubber.
One day later, after winning in his first singles and doubles, Andy Murray stepped foot on court to dispatch Goffin in straight sets and give GB the win.
The team later won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Team Award for their heroic efforts in Ghent.
Edmund also helped GB to the semi-finals beating Serbia away in 2016 quarter-finals, and he won his singles rubber against Feliciano Lopez in Great Britain’s semi-final defeat to Spain in 2019 – one of the his greatest Davis Cup performances.
4 - Reaching the Australian Open semi-final
Edmund’s best Grand Slam run saw him through to the semi-finals of the 2018 Australian Open.
The British star came into the tournament with a slight ankle injury, but nothing would prevent him from going on to play arguably the best fortnight of tennis in his career.
Having knocked out world No.12 Kevin Anderson in five sets in the opening round, Edmund went on to beat Denis Istomin, Nikoloz Basilashvili, Andreas Seppi, and third seed Grigor Dimitrov to become the sixth British man to make a Grand Slam semi-final in the Open Era.
After his quarter-final victory, Edmund said: "As a kid you're growing up looking at your idols and when you're here progressing in the best tournament in the world, it's amazing."
The Briton would go on to lose to Croatia’s Marin Cilic in the final four 6-2, 7-6(4), 6-2.
5 - Becoming British No.1 and breaking the top 15
His run at the Australian Open, along with many other strong results across the ATP Tour calendar, saw Edmund rise to become the 16th man to reach British No.1 in the Open Era.
Having ended Murray’s 12-year stint as the top-ranked player in the country, the 23-year-old Yorkshireman claimed it was ‘humbling’ to achieve British No.1 status.
Edmund held the position for 18 months from March 2018 to October 2019 and in that time, reached a career-high ranking at world No.14.
He became only the fourth British man to rank as high as No.14 in the ATP rankings between 1978 and 2020 (after Rusedski, Tim Henman and Murray). He's now one of nine Brits to crack the ATP top 15 during the Open Era.
As a kid you're growing up looking at your idols and when you're here progressing in the best tournament in the world, it's amazing.
6 - Beating Novak Djokovic in Madrid
In 2018, Edmund clinched possibly the biggest win of his career against the now 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic at the Madrid Open.
Having never won a set against the Serbian in their previous three meetings, Edmund held strong to see off Djokovic 6-3, 2-6, 6-3.
The Briton made the fourth round of the tournament – also defeating future US Open champion Daniil Medvedev and Goffin.
Djokovic was ranked as the world No.12 at the time, and it marked one of Edmund’s 16 victories against top 20 players throughout his career.
Edmund is one of only three Brits to defeat Djokovic on the ATP Tour, alongside Murray and Dan Evans.
7 - Representing Team Europe at the Laver Cup
Edmund was the first British player to ever be selected to compete for Team Europe at the Laver Cup and is still one of only three players to do so – alongside Murray and Cam Norrie.
In 2018, Edmund joined Roger Federer, Djokovic, Alexander Zverev, Dimitrov, and Goffin in a star-studded team that went on to win the title 13-8 in Chicago.
The British star won his one and only match of the competition against American Jack Sock 6-4, 5-7, 10-6 to give his team a point towards their eventual victory.
He is the only British player to ever win a match in the Laver Cup.
8 - Lifting his first ATP title in Antwerp
Despite all his previous successes, coming to the end of 2018, one milestone still eluded Edmund – his first ATP Tour singles title.
Following a run to the semi-final of the ATP 500 in Beijing and a quarter-final at the ATP Masters 1000 in Shanghai, Edmund found himself in good form heading to one of his last events of the season in Antwerp.
The Briton defeated Richard Gasquet in the semi-final to reach his second ATP final, where he would meet another Frenchman, Gael Monfils.
Edmund came back from a set down to defeat Monfils 3-6, 7-6(2), 7-6(4) to get his hands on his maiden ATP trophy.
The 23-year-old was full of emotion after the match, stating: "It's a great feeling, just overall the bigger picture is the overriding emotion, like so many years putting in the work, on and off the court."
9 - Winning the title in New York
The British star would have to wait two years for his next opportunity at a title, but once again, he seized the chance with both hands.
Following a rocky start to the 2020 season, Edmund produced some of his best tennis to go on and win the New York Open title.
He reached the final, having dropped just one set throughout the tournament, and closed out a second ATP title with a 7-5, 6-1 win over Italy’s Seppi in the final.
10 - Comeback singles win in Washington
In the years that followed, Edmund had a number of injury setbacks that kept him on the sidelines for long periods of time.
These long injuries made it even more special when he was able to make his eagerly anticipated comebacks.
In particular, his first singles win after multiple knee surgeries at the 2022 Citi Open is a standout moment that optimises the Brit’s grit and determination.
Edmund battled hard to overcome Yosuke Watanuki 6-4, 7-6(8) in his first ATP singles match in 22 months.
