Hubert Hurkacz finally did it! There is light at the end of the tunnel for the Pole
Hubert Hurkacz won the first official match since January 20! The Wrocław native defeated the Italian Luciano Darderi in the first round of the ATP 1000 tournament in Monte Carlo.
The 2026 season certainly did not start well for Hubert Hurkacz. The Polish tennis player returned to competition after a serious injury and his goal is to rebuild the position he held in 2024. Let us recall that at that time the Pole was in the top ten of the ATP rankings, even being the sixth player in the world.
Currently, however, the tennis player from Wrocław oscillates around the number… 70 position in the most important ranking, from the perspective of men’s tennis. Worst of all, Hurkacz fell into a terrible series of defeats in a row in tournaments, basically wherever he appeared.
ATP 1000 Monte Carlo: Hubert Hurkacz with an important break. There is victory!
The Pole won his last match of the season on January 20, in the first round match of the Australian Open Grand Slam. Since then, Hurkacz lost his first fights at events in: Melbourne (second round of AO 2026), Montpellier, Rotterdam, Dubai, Indian Wells, Cap Can (interestingly, we are talking about… a challenger!) and Miami.
However, a breakthrough had to come and in fact, finally – from the perspective of the player himself and his fans – it had to happen. In the meantime, the Wrocław native broke up with his current coach, and he had little success at the tournament in Monte Carlo. Hurkacz started the ATP 1000 tournament with a win against the 15th seeded Italian Luciano Darderi.
Tuesday’s (i.e. April 7) match had different faces. The Pole started solidly, breaking his opponent relatively quickly. However, the Italian managed to equalize, and the final decision was made only in the tie-break. However, Hurkacz won this part 7:4. However, the Pole dispersed his concentration in the second part, starting from 1:4. The result was much closer, 5:7.
And the last set, already very certain in Hurkacz’s favor 6:1. The match lasted over two hours, but the most valuable thing is the victory, especially considering what has happened in the last dozen or so weeks with the Pole’s results. It is worth adding that wherever – but in Monte Carlo – the Polish tennis player felt practically at home. Hurkacz lives and trains every day in this beautiful place in Monaco.
However, the Pole had to fight for it on the court and he did it, which is extremely valuable.
