Daniel Altmaier has often proved he can be a thorn in the side of some of the best players on the ATP Tour, but he’s started the 2026 season in wretched fashion.
Just last year, Altmaier knocked Taylor Fritz out of Roland Garros and Casper Ruud out of the Paris Masters, which helped him climb to a career ranking high of world number 44 at the start of 2026.
Altmaier even knocked Jannik Sinner out of Roland Garros in 2023, despite being ranked 70 places below him in the rankings at the time.
Despite his impressive CV, Altmaier has begun the 2026 season by losing 17 straight sets since his first defeat at the Brisbane International.
Daniel Altmaier has lost eight straight matches in 2026
The German has played eight matches so far this season and he has lost every single clash in straight sets.
Altmaier has been dumped out of Brisbane, Adelaide, the Australian Open, Buenos Aires, Rio, Acapulco, Indian Wells, and the Miami Open at the first round.
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The German has received some challenging draws, including Jaume Munar, Marin Cilic, and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, but what is more worrying than the losses is how one-sided the defeats have been.
| Daniel Altmaier’s defeats in 2026 | Tournament | Scoreline |
| Kamil Majchrzak | Brisbane International | 6-7, 0-6 |
| Jaume Munar | Adelaide International | 3-6, 0-6 |
| Marin Cilic | Australian Open | 0-6, 0-6, 6-7 |
| Juan Manuel Cerundolo | Buenos Aires Open | 2-6, 2-6 |
| Dusan Lajovic | Rio Open | 4-6, 6-7 |
| Alejandro Davidovich Fokina | Acapulco Open | 5-7, 3-6 |
| Miomir Kecmanovic | Indian Wells | 3-6, 0-1 (Ret) |
| Terence Atmane | Miami Open | 4-6, 2-6 |
Altmaier has been bagelled four times and he has brutally lost three tie-breaks as he edged closer to his first set of the year.
The German most recently lost to Terence Atmane in Miami as he won just six games in a straight sets defeat.
Thankfully for Altmaier, the German has only dropped 12 places in the ATP Tour rankings since the turn of the year.
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Altmaier start to the season is exceptionally poor, but it is nowhere close to the record for the longest losing streak.
Madeleine Pegel holds the unfortunate record, after failing to win 29 matches in a row between 1968 and 1972.
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More recently, Zhang Shuai went 24 matches in a row without a victory, before ending her run against McCartney Kessler at the 2024 China Open.
It would be very surprising if Altmaier can get anywhere near that record, particularly as we approach the clay court season, which is his best surface.
The German has reached the fourth round of Roland Garros on two occasions and six out of seven of his Challenger titles have come on clay.
