In the 2025 season, all three post-2005 European and American players claimed titles, with Shang Juncheng shifting from frontrunner to challenger.

Starting from 2022, Shang Juncheng, a Chinese male player born after 2005, has annually been the earliest to achieve notable results among Chinese tennis players. Additionally, he became the first post-2005 male player from mainland China to enter the TOP 200, to secure a tour championship, and to advance into the TOP 50.

However, due to injuries, Shang Juncheng spent most of the 2025 season on the sidelines. During this period, three post-2005 European and American players each won their first career tour titles, surpassing Shang. So, who are these three post-2005 European and American players? Let this article take you through their stories.

Last season, Brazilian player Fonseca earned his first career tour victory in February, becoming the first post-2006 player to win a tour event. In August, he achieved a five-match winning streak at the Lexington Challenger, capturing his first Challenger title. Coincidentally, Shang Juncheng also won his first Challenger title at the same event two years earlier. At the end of that year, Fonseca won the ATP Next Gen Finals with another five-match streak to claim the championship.

In early February, he won five consecutive matches at the ATP250 Buenos Aires event in Argentina, claiming his first tour-level title and becoming the youngest South American to win a tour championship. Later, in late October, Fonseca won the ATP500 Basel tournament, becoming the first South American to claim an ATP500 title. Currently, he is ranked 24th in the world.

Czech player Menšík reached a tour final last season and also made it to the quarterfinals of his first Masters 1000 event. Notably, he defeated Shang Juncheng to win the ATP Best Newcomer award. In March, Menšík triumphed at the Miami Masters, winning seven consecutive matches to claim his first tour title. He is also the first post-2005 player to win a Masters 1000 event.

Although Menšík's form declined in subsequent tournaments, by the end of the 2025 season, he was still ranked 19th globally. Thanks to his solid performances, he received the Czech Tennis Association’s Canary Award at year-end, becoming the first Czech male player to earn this honor in fifteen years.

Compared to Fonseca and Menšík, Lenerč’s recognition is somewhat lower. Last season, he won his first Challenger title. Furthermore, in October, Lenerč swept his opponent in under forty minutes in the Challenger final, securing his second Challenger title of his career. This match was also the shortest Challenger final in history.

In January, Lenerč won six straight matches starting from the Australian Open qualifiers to reach his first Grand Slam round of 16. Since then, he has steadily progressed; in October, he reached his first tour final at the China Open; in November, he won his first ATP250 title at Metz; and in December, he claimed the ATP Next Gen Finals championship. Currently, he is ranked 28th in the world.

In contrast, Shang Juncheng’s highest ranking has only been 47th, which is far behind these three players. Additionally, due to various reasons, he has had withdrawals from both Grand Slam and tour events. Because of this, some fans have criticized him for only playing two sets in matches, even nicknaming him “Shang Run-Run.”

Nevertheless, Shang Juncheng remains the first post-2005 Chinese male player to break into the TOP 50 and to have won a tour title. Currently, he has yet to face Fonseca, Menšík, or Lenerč in competition. Recently, although he lost to Spanish player Fokina, considering Fokina’s top 14 world ranking, Shang pushing him to tiebreaks and decisive set scores is a respectable performance. Objectively, Shang still holds competitive potential upon his return to the tour in 2026. Let us quietly wish him well. That’s the tennis story for today; more to come tomorrow.(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Yixin Jushi)