Jan-Lennard Struff

Jan-Lennard Struff: a tennis pro with huge commitment and willpower

Jan-Lennard Struff, born on 25 April 1990 in Warstein in Germany's Sauerland region, has been one of Germany's most successful tennis players for years. He lives in Warstein and Witten, turned pro in 2009, and finished a season inside the Top 100 for the first time in 2014. Standing 1.93 m tall, Struff is a favourite among many German tennis fans not just for his thrilling matches, but also because he lives and embodies core values like honesty, commitment and being down to earth.

Jan-Lennard Struff's nickname is “Struffi”. He started playing tennis at the age of six with his parents Dieter and Martina, who are both tennis coaches. Up until he was twelve, Struff also played football, but tennis eventually won out. By his own account, he was already completely tennis-mad as a child and watched every match broadcast on television - even if it meant getting up early before school.

Jan-Lennard Struff: the ATP Tour and the Davis Cup

2014 was Struff's first strong year on the ATP Tour: he reached three semi-finals, including one in Marseille against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and won his first Challenger Tour title in Heilbronn with a final victory over Marton Fucsovics.

In 2016, at the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris, he also claimed his first-ever career win over a Top 20 player: a three-set victory over reigning US Open champion Stan Wawrinka.

Since his Davis Cup debut against France in 2015, Struff has been a fixture of the German team, and that same year his decisive win over Hubert Hurkacz secured Germany's place in the World Group. He has since reached the semi-finals with the team on several occasions, most recently in 2021, 2024 and 2025.

A late-career surge: first ATP title and a historic Wimbledon quarter-final

Jan-Lennard Struff didn't experience the most successful phase of his career until he was over 30. In 2023, competing as a so-called “lucky loser”, he reached the final of a Masters 1000 tournament in Madrid - a historic achievement no lucky loser had ever managed before. After wins over players including Stefanos Tsitsipas, he lost the final to Carlos Alcaraz 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. That run took Struff up to 21st in the world rankings in June 2023, still his career-high singles ranking to date.

In 2024, he crowned his career with his first ATP singles title: at the BMW Open in Munich, he beat American Taylor Fritz comfortably in the final, 7-5, 6-3. The following year he caused a stir at the 2025 US Open, knocking out Holger Rune and Frances Tiafoe among others and reaching the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time in New York, before falling to Novak Djokovic.

Struff celebrated the biggest success of his career to date in the summer of 2026 at Wimbledon: with wins over Daniil Medvedev and Hubert Hurkacz among others, he reached his first-ever Grand Slam quarter-final at the age of 36 - becoming the oldest player in the Open Era to reach that stage of a major for the first time. Only defending champion and world number one Jannik Sinner could end the Sauerland native's run, winning 7-5, 7-6, 6-3.

A “power baseliner” with an aggressive forehand

Struff is regarded as a “power baseliner” who can dictate play from the back of the court with an extremely aggressive forehand and a solid two-handed backhand, hitting outright winners off both wings. He boasts one of the best and fastest serves on the ATP Tour. At net, Jan-Lennard Struff plays an excellent, delicate volley. His great strength is also his footwork.

What's particularly striking is his sheer willpower on court. That's why he's also known as a “mentality monster”. With his consistently positive outlook, he never loses belief in himself and is able to fight his way through even the toughest situations.

Jan-Lennard Struff's tennis idols

Struff prefers playing on clay, and his favourite tournament is Roland Garros. He names Pete Sampras and Tommy Haas as his role models.

In his private life, Struff is married to his partner Madeleine and is the father of two children - son Henri (2019) and a daughter (2023). Off the court he's a big Borussia Dortmund fan and gets involved socially, for instance donating to bushfire relief in Australia during the 2020 ATP Cup.

Buy Jan-Lennard Struff's tennis gear online in the shop

Tennis-Point offers you a huge selection of the best products from all the leading tennis brands worldwide, the very brands tennis professionals use to celebrate their biggest successes on the ATP and WTA Tours. You'll also find tennis products used by Jan-Lennard Struff himself - for example his HEAD tennis racket (the HEAD Extreme MP model) as well as the high-quality Babolat tennis strings (Babolat RPM Blast) he uses for stringing. For tennis clothing, just as for his tennis shoes, Jan-Lennard Struff relies entirely on the brand Diadora. He packs all his tennis gear into his large HEAD tennis bags.

What is the biggest success of Jan-Lennard Struff's career?

His best results came in 2023, reaching the final of the Madrid Masters 1000 as a lucky loser, and in 2026, reaching the Wimbledon quarter-final - his best Grand Slam result to date. He won his only ATP singles title in 2024 in Munich.

How far did Jan-Lennard Struff get at Wimbledon 2026?

At the age of 36, Struff reached a Grand Slam quarter-final for the first time in his career, where he was eliminated by defending champion Jannik Sinner.

Is Jan-Lennard Struff married and does he have children?

Struff is married to his partner Madeleine. The couple have two children: son Henri, born in 2019, and a daughter, born in 2023.