Bratislava: Rodionov beats Kym 6-2 6-1 and climbs to No.118

Jurij Rodionov has won the Bratislava 2 Challenger, a Challenger 100 event played on indoor hard courts in the Slovak capital. On Sunday 8 November the Austrian beat Switzerland's Jerome Kym 6-2 6-1 in the final, wrapping up the match in under an hour and ten minutes. It was the title he needed to turn his autumn around.

The most visible reward comes in the rankings. With the 100 points for the title, Rodionov climbed from No.142 to No.118 in the ATP rankings of 9 November, a jump of 24 places, with 496 points. In the site's rankings by nation he is now the top Austrian; his compatriot Sebastian Ofner is No.119 in the live rankings.

The live rankings already have him one step higher. With the 6 points earned this week in Orleans he is virtually No.117 with 502 points: ahead of him is Christopher O'Connell, No.116 with 507, behind him Valentin Royer, No.118 with 493. The gaps are tiny, and at this stage of the season they are fought over point by point.

The final was one-way traffic. Rodionov let Kym win just three games: 6-2 in the first set, 6-1 in the second. The official ATP website records a match of one hour, nine minutes and 47 seconds, closed on the first match point with a point won on his second serve.

The road to the final was tougher. In his opener Rodionov beat Italy's Stefano Travaglia 7-6(2) 6-1, then in the round of 16 he knocked out Toby Samuel, the No.2 seed, 6-3 6-4. In the quarter-finals he needed a third set against Belgium's Kimmer Coppejans: 6-1 6-7(3) 6-3.

In the semi-finals the story repeated itself against Czech Dalibor Svrcina, the sixth seed. Rodionov won the first set 6-3, lost the second on a tie-break 8-6 and closed it out 6-2 in the third. Only two sets dropped all week, both in tie-breaks: the sign of a player who kept his head in the tense moments.

Kym also arrived at the final in good form. The 23-year-old Swiss came from behind against France's Lucas Poullain in his opener (3-6 6-3 6-2) and did not drop another set: 7-5 6-2 against Luka Pavlovic, 6-4 6-4 against American Nishesh Basavareddy, 6-4 6-2 against Croatia's Matej Dodig in the semi-finals. In the final, however, he had to give way without ever really getting into the match.

It was the pair's first meeting: the site's head-to-head page now reads 1-0 to Rodionov, with two sets won and none lost. On paper the match pitted two players on the rise, separated by 22 ranking places before the tournament: No.142 for the Austrian, No.164 for the Swiss.

For Kym the week is still a positive one. The 60 points for reaching the final took him to No.143 in the 9 November rankings, and in the site's rankings by nation he is the top Swiss player. Compared with 9 September he has gained 35 places, and he has won seven of his last ten matches.

His rise has gone mainly through Basel. At his home event, an ATP 500, he beat Arthur Rinderknech and Ben Shelton before losing to Jiri Lehecka 6-4 6-2 in the quarter-finals. Before that came a semi-final at the Roanne Challenger and a quarter-final in Porto.

For Rodionov, on the other hand, the title comes after a difficult autumn. At the end of October he lost in the first round of the Erste Bank Open in Vienna, his home tournament, to Nikoloz Basilashvili 7-6(3) 6-1. At the Cassis Challenger he went out in the round of 16, beaten from a set up by Daniel Masur, who won 5-7 6-3 6-1.

His high point of the season on the main tour remains the US Open. In New York the Austrian beat Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in three sets, 7-6(2) 6-0 7-6(4), before losing in the second round to Jakub Mensik 6-3 3-6 6-2 6-3. Those 50 points, added to the 100 from Bratislava, weigh heavily in his current ranking.

The numbers from past seasons explain why the Challenger circuit matters so much to him. Between 2021 and 2025, in the Grand Slam, Masters 1000, ATP 500 and 250 events tracked by the site, Rodionov has a record of 5 wins and 14 losses. His hunting ground is the second tier, and at 27 he is making good use of it: he has won six of his last ten matches.

The Bratislava tournament produced a hard-fought week. According to the site's results page, the draw featured 29 players from 19 nations, with the Czech Republic the best represented with four. The 28 matches played produced 13 tie-breaks and 11 deciding sets, with no retirements.

The longest match was between Laslo Djere and Edas Butvilas: 4-6 7-6(6) 7-6(2), a total of 36 games. The recent roll of honour shows a different winner every year: in 2024 the title went to Roman Safiullin, in 2025 to Alexander Blockx, who beat Titouan Droguet 6-4 6-3 in the final.

That comparison with 2025 explains a detail in the rankings. Last year's edition was worth 125 points to the winner, this year's 100: Blockx therefore loses the points from his title, while Rodionov collects slightly fewer than he would have twelve months ago.

The following week went less well. At the Orleans Challenger 125 Rodionov lost in the first round to Spain's Pedro Martinez Portero 6-4 4-6 6-4, taking home 6 points. A step back that does not erase the work done in Slovakia.

Now the biggest national-team commitment of the year awaits him. Rodionov has been named in captain Jürgen Melzer's Austria squad for the Davis Cup Final 8, held in Bologna from 24 to 29 November, alongside Lukas Neumayer, Joel Schwaerzler, Neil Oberleitner and Lucas Miedler.

According to the schedule published by SuperTennis, Austria will face Spain on 26 November. For Rodionov, now the top-ranked Austrian, it is a chance to carry the confidence from Bratislava onto a much bigger stage.