Alex de Minaur will be hoping to bounce back from his Australian Open disappointment when he competes for the Rotterdam Open title this week.
De Minaur reached the quarter-finals in Melbourne before losing to Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets – continuing a worrying trend for the Australian star.
Two weeks later, and the ‘Demon’ has arrived in The Netherlands, where he is the number one seed following the withdrawals of Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev.
Will Alex de Minaur finish 2026 ranked inside the top five?
As the number one seed, De Minaur would have hoped for a favourable draw heading into his first match on Monday.
However, this prospect not transpired.
Alex de Minaur’s difficult Rotterdam Open draw
Alex de Minaur has been handed a first-round match against Arthur Fils in Rotterdam.
Fils recently made his comeback to the Tour after a six-month absence, reaching the Montpellier Open quarter-finals before losing to Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Fils, at 22 years old, remains one of the brightest young stars on the Tour; a player who has already defeated the likes of Alexander Zverev, Casper Ruud and Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Fils [pictured below] has slipped to world number 42 following an extended period of injury. However, in reality, the Frenchman is a top 20 player when healthy, as demonstrated by his career-high ranking of 14 in the world, which was achieved in April last year.
De Minaur has a 1-1 record against Fils, most recently defeating the young Frenchman at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships.
If de Minaur navigates his way past Fils, he could face a three-time Grand Slam champion in the second round.
De Minaur could play Stan Wawrinka, who is set to retire from his playing career at the end of this year.
Wawrinka, 40, impressed tennis fans last month with his run to the Australian Open third round. He then reached the round of 16 in Montpellier, losing to Felix Auger-Aliassime.
The Swiss tennis legend faces Aleksandar Vukic in the Rotterdam Open first round.
| Round | Potential Opponent |
| Round One | Arthur Fils |
| Round Two | Stan Wawrinka / Aleksandar Vukic |
| Quarter-finals | Arthur Rinderknech / Stefanos Tsitsipas |
| Semi-finals | Daniil Medvedev / Cameron Norrie |
| Final | Felix Auger-Aliassime / Alexander Bublik / Hubert Hurkacz |
Who won the 2025 Rotterdam Open?
Carlos Alcaraz, the winner of the 2025 Rotterdam Open, will not be competing at this year’s event, giving Alex de Minaur and company the opportunity to take advantage.
De Minaur, in particular, will be hopeful of finally winning his first Rotterdam Open title after two finalist appearances.
At the 2025 event, de Minaur defeated David Goffin, Jakub Mensik, Daniel Altmaier and Mattia Bellucci, before losing to Alcaraz in the final.
If you were in charge of tennis, what is the first rule you would change?
The Australian, ranked eighth on the ATP Tour, could rise to world number six with a title win at this year’s event.
