Meet Diego Dedura-Palomero, the 17-year-old history-maker who shocked tennis world by upsetting Denis Shapovalov in Munich

Diego Dedura-Palomero has announced himself to the tennis world by becoming the first ATP player born in 2008 to clinch a professional win on the tour after he defeated Denis Shpovalov in the opening round of the 2025 BMW Open in Munich. In a year where young players who have trained at the Rafa Nadal Academy are taking the tennis world by storm, the German has added himself to the list in style.

After a couple of years of fine-tuning his precocious talent at the ITF events and the Challenger Tour, Dedura-Palomero received an entry into the main draw of his home tournament, the BMW Open. In the qualifiers, for which he received a wild card, he defeated eighth seed Mackenzie McDonald in straight sets, but then suffered a straight-set defeat to Alexander Bublik.

Fortunately, Diego Dedura-Palomero entered the event as a Lucky Loser after Gael Monfils pulled out of the event. Though the German received the biggest opportunity of his young career, he had a big test in the opening match itself, having to play Denis Shapovalov. The two men put on an enthralling show with some power-packed tennis.

During the second set, Denis Shapovalov, who found himself losing, (2)6-7, 0-3, decided that he couldn't go on anymore and decided to retire from the match, making Dedura-Palomera, World No. 549, the first man born in 2008 to win a match on the ATP Tour. It is interesting to note that Shapovalov was the first man born in 1999 to get a win on the ATP Tour.

Diego Dedura-Palomero will fancy his chances of getting some more positive results during the clay swing as he describes himself as a clay-court player and a fighter. His motto is, 'Fight, run, move the ball—and make the other player sick.' The player, who thinks of himself as a clay court specialist, trains at the Rafa Nadal Academy.

During an interview after his defeat to Alexander Bublik, Dedura-Palomero gave a look into life inside the Spaish legend's academy.

"There's nothing else but tennis. From 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., you're basically on the court or in the gym. At the end of a day like that, you're basically dead and just want to lie down. But you work your whole career to win matches like this. You'll lose more than you win, which is what makes tennis so difficult. But that's exactly why our sport is so much fun."

During his on-court interview, the German explained the story of how he got his spot in the main draw.

"I had so bad luck because there are three other lucky losers who got in, and I was the fourth one" - Diego Dedura-Palomero

Diego Dedura-Palomero - Source: Getty

During his on-court interview, Diego Dedura-Palomero divulged the details of his struggles getting into the main draw as a Lucky Loser. He then revealed Gael Monfils, whose place the German took, hugged him ahead of his career's biggest match.

"I had so bad luck because there are three other lucky losers who got in, and I was the fourth one and didn't get in. So I was first Lucky Loser waiting the whole day on Monday, and then Monfils pulled out. He hugged me and was so nice. I just went in and told me, 'Just have fun, just go with the crowd, and just play your best tennis, and I just can't describe in words, I'm just so happy right now, it's actually crazy.

He then thanked his family for their unbridled support.

"I just want to thank my mom, who's watching at home, my brother, and I'm just super happy, just everything that happened here."

Diego Dedura-Palomero may have a shot at revenge in the second round of the BMW Open against Alexander Bublik, provided the Kazakh defeats Zizou Bergs.