Toby Samuel (born 6 September 2002) is a British professional tennis player. He has a career-high ATP singles ranking of No. 144 achieved on 15 June 2026 and a doubles ranking of No. 242 achieved on 20 May 2025.[2][3]
Early life
From St Leonards, Dorset, Samuel attended Castle Court Prep School and Bournemouth Collegiate School.[4] His father played semi-professional rugby union, and his mother represented Great Britain in gymnastics with the pair later taking senior roles in the NHS. Samuel was Dorset county champion in breaststroke and a talented footballer, and was part of the football academy at AFC Bournemouth when he was 11 years-old, but later chose to focus solely on tennis, having first started playing at the age of four years-old at St Leonards & St Ives Tennis Club in Ringwood. He later played at West Hants Club, training regularly with Jack Pinnington Jones, who also attended Bournemouth Collegiate School.[5]
Junior career
Samuel reached the semifinals of the Boys’ doubles at the 2019 Wimbledon Championships alongside compatriot Arthur Fery.[6] He peaked at No. 57 in the ITF junior rankings.[5]
College
In 2023, as a student at the University of South Carolina, where he studied sports management,[5][1] Samuel alongside partner Connor Thomson won the All American Doubles title and became the number one ranked doubles team in Collegiate tennis.[7] The pair received all-American honours for being seeded for the NCAA Championships.[8]
Professional career
2023–2024: First pro matches
In June 2023, Samuel received a wildcard with his partner Connor Thomson for the Men’s doubles at the 2023 Surbiton Trophy and the pair beat the second seeds Andre Goransson and Ben McLachlan in straight sets before losing to eventual finalists Alexei Popyrin and Aleksandar Vukic in the quarterfinals.[9]
Samuel and Thomson reached the semifinals of the 2023 Nottingham Open.[10] He and Thomson were subsequently awarded wildcards into the 2023 Wimbledon Championships.[11] They won their opening match against Pedro Cachin and Yannick Hanfmann.[12] In the second round their run ended with a 6-3, 7-6 defeat to experienced pair of Santiago González of Mexico and Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France.[13] At the 2023 Calgary National Bank Challenger he secured his third win at that level with victory over Ryan Seggerman.[14]
In 2024, Samuel received six main-draw spots in Challenger events as part of the ATP Accelerator Programme but suffered an arm injury which limited his availability.[5][15]
2025: Maiden Challenger title, Top 300
In May, he recorded a win over Radu Albot on his way to the semifinals of the ATP Challenger event, the 2025 Moldova Open, and went on a run where he lost just five of 48 matches.[5] He won the silver medal in the men’s singles at the 2025 Summer World University Games in Germany, and also won a silver medal in the team competition at the Games.[16]
In November, Samuel won his first Challenger singles title at the Soma Bay Open, defeating Jay Clarke in the final.[17] The following week he made it back-to-back titles, overcoming Ilia Simakin in the final to claim the trophy at the Manama Challenger in Bahrain, leading up to a run of 18 consecutive wins. As a result he reached a new career high singles ranking of No. 267 on 1 December 2025.[18][19]
2026: Major singles debut, Challenger titles, top 150
Samuel went on another winning streak from February 2026, including one Futures and two Challenger titles back-to-back titles in Greece, and improved his ranking to a career high No. 171 in March 2026.[5][15][20]
At the 2026 French Open Samuel qualified for the main draw, making his Grand Slam debut, after defeating former top-10 player David Goffin[21] and Gonzalo Bueno.[22][23] In doing so, he became only the fourth British man in 50 years to come through qualifying at Roland Garros.[24][25] He was defeated in straight sets by 8th seed Alex De Minaur in the opening round.[26]
He received a main draw wildcard for the 2026 Wimbledon Championships making his debut at his home Grand Slam event.[27]
Personal life
Born in Winchester, Samuel was later based in Bath, England.[15] A keen football fan, he is a supporter of Southampton.[5]
ATP Challenger Tour finals
Singles: 4 (4 titles)
|
|
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1–0 | Nov 2025 | Soma Bay Open, Egypt | Challenger | Hard |  Jay Clarke
|
4–6, 7–6(7–4), 6–0 |
| Win | 2–0 | Nov 2025 | Manama Challenger, Bahrain | Challenger | Hard |  Ilia Simakin
|
6–0, 6–2 |
| Win | 3–0 | Mar 2026 | Crete Challenger, Greece | Challenger | Hard | Harry Wendelken
|
6–3, 6–0 |
| Win | 4–0 | Mar 2026 | Crete Challenger II, Greece | Challenger | Hard |  Maxim Mrva
|
6–2, 6–3 |
Doubles: 1 (title)
|
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1–0 | Nov 2023 | Challenger de Drummondville, Canada | Challenger | Hard (i) |  André Göransson
|
 Liam Draxl Giles Hussey
|
6–7(2–7), 6–3, [10–8] |
ITF World Tennis Tour finals
Singles: 11 (8 titles, 3 runner-ups)
|
|
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1–0 | Jul 2022 | M25 Roehampton, UK | WTT | Grass | Henry Patten
|
6–4, 6–7(8–10), 6–4 |
| Win | 2–0 | Nov 2022 | M15 Fayetteville, US | WTT | Hard |  Learner Tien
|
6–3, 6–3 |
| Win | 3–0 | Nov 2022 | M15 Winston-Salem, US | WTT | Hard | Alex Michelsen
|
6–1, 7–5 |
| Win | 4–0 | Jul 2023 | M25 Nottingham, UK | WTT | Grass | Billy Harris
|
6–4, 6–4 |
| Loss | 4–1 | Aug 2023 | M25 Aldershot, UK | WTT | Hard | Arthur Fery
|
4–6, 4–6 |
| Loss | 4–2 | Aug 2025 | M25 Aldershot, UK | WTT | Hard | Paul Jubb
|
6–7(4–7), 5–7 |
| Win | 5–2 | Sep 2025 | M15 Hurghada, Egypt | WTT | Hard |  Péter Makk
|
7–6(7–4), 6–1 |
| Win | 6–2 | Sep 2025 | M15 Hurghada, Egypt | WTT | Hard | Liam Broady
|
6–1, 6–2 |
| Loss | 6–3 | Nov 2025 | M15 Marsa, Malta | WTT | Hard |  Arthur Nagel
|
4–6, 5–7 |
| Win | 7–3 | Nov 2025 | M15 Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt | WTT | Hard |  Michal Krajčí
|
6–2, 6–4 |
| Win | 8–3 | Mar 2026 | M25 Vale Do Lobo, Portugal | WTT | Hard | Giles Hussey
|
6–3, 6–4 |
Doubles: 1 (title)
|
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1–0 | Nov 2022 | M15 Winston-Salem, US | WTT | Hard | Ben Jones
|
Robin Catry  Luca Staeheli
|
6–3, 6–1 |
References
- ^ a b USC Toby Samuel
- ^ “Toby Samuel”. itf tennis. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
- ^ “Toby Samuel”. atp. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
- ^ Payne, Ned (19 August 2016). “Youth sport – tennis: Toby shines for Great Britain in European Summer Cup”. Bournemouth Echo. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g Kershaw, Tom (31 March 2026). “Toby Samuel: 16-match winning run and heading for Wimbledon wild card”. The Times. Retrieved 2 April 2026.
- ^ “Rising star Toby Samuel confident he can ‘compete at the highest level’ after Wimbledon debuts”. Bournemouth Exho. 29 July 2019. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
- ^ “Division I Men’s Collegiate Tennis Rankings sponsored by Tennis-Point”. wearecollegetennis.com. April 11, 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
- ^ “Samuel, Thomson Fall in Doubles Championships”. Gamecocksonline. May 24, 2023. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
- ^ “Gordon Reid triumphs at Roland Garros, Scots secure double at Surbiton, Golds at Virtus Global Games”. lta.org. 12 June 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
- ^ Gillespie, Mike (June 21, 2023). “Two Gamecocks earn Wimbledon invites”. abccolumbia. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
- ^ “Collegians Earn Wild Cards Into Wimbledon”. We are College Tennis. 21 June 2023. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
- ^ “Wimbledon 2023: Connor Thomson and Toby Samuel secure ‘unreal’ Grand Slam debut win”. BBC Sport. 6 July 2023. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
- ^ “Santiago González / Edouard Roger-Vasselin – Toby Samuel / Connor Thomson”. tntsports. 10 July 2023. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
- ^ “‘Gazelle On The Court’: Toby Samuel’s Accelerated Path To ATP Challenger Tour | ATP Tour | Tennis”. ATP Tour. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
- ^ a b c “Samuel wants to keep momentum after rankings jump”. BBC Sports. 18 March 2026. Retrieved 2 April 2026.
- ^ “Superb silvers for tennis ace Toby Samuel and rower Josh Knight as Bath-based student-athletes excel at 2025 World University Games”. Team Bath. 28 July 2025. Retrieved 28 Sep 2025.
- ^ “Toby Samuel wins first ATP Challenger title in Soma Bay as Brits take home eight trophies”. Lawn Tennis Association. Retrieved 24 November 2025.
- ^ “Two ATP Challenger Tour titles in as many weeks lifts Team Bath Tennis ace Toby Samuel to new career-high world ranking”. 30 November 2025.
- ^ “Samuel pips Simakin for singles title”. Gulf Daily News. 1 December 2025. Retrieved 1 December 2025.
- ^ “Toby Samuel seals back-to-back Hersonissos Challenger titles, David Stevenson wins in Cherbourg & Indian Wells mixed doubles finalists”. LTA.org. 16 March 2026. Retrieved 2 April 2026.
- ^ “GB’s Toby Samuel one win from Grand Slam debut at French Open”. ESPN. 20 May 2026.
- ^ Clarke, Daniel (21 May 2026). “Tennis Bath ace Toby Samuel qualifies for French Open after stunning wins”. Somerset Live. Retrieved 21 May 2026.
- ^ “Who qualified for Roland Garros on Thursday?”. ATPTour. 21 May 2026.
- ^ Gigi Salmon (23 May 2026). “Who is British qualifier Toby Samuel? Tricky start for Emma Raducanu and will Jannik Sinner have any sleepless nights?”. Sky Sports. Retrieved 25 May 2026.
- ^ “GB’s Samuel qualifies for first Grand Slam”. BBC Sports. 21 May 2026.
- ^ Crooks, Eleanor (25 May 2026). “Toby Samuel encouraged by French Open experience despite early exit”. Independent. Retrieved 25 May 2026.
- ^ “HSBC Championships 2026: Arthur Fery secures first win at Queen’s after beating fellow Brit Toby Samuel”. 16 June 2026.
External links
- Toby Samuel at the Association of Tennis Professionals
- Toby Samuel at the International Tennis Federation
- Toby Samuel at InterSportStats
Association of Tennis Professionals Top British male singles tennis players | |
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As of Jun 14, 2026 | |
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