The two new champions of the 2025 tour, who showed their prowess last week, have proven they are far from fleeting stars.

Given the many tournaments each year, some players perform exceptionally well during a certain phase, even capturing their first career tour title then. Yet, while some fail to sustain their form and become mere shooting stars, others keep pushing forward after their breakthrough, delivering strong performances in future events, proving they are not just one-hit wonders.

Last week, two players who won their first tour titles in the 2025 season performed impressively on the tour. So, who are these two players? At which events did they claim their first career tour titles in 2025? And how did they perform last week? Let this article take you through the details.

In mid-March 2025, Czech player Menšík, who once reached a tour final and won the ATP Best Newcomer Award, competed at the Miami Masters. In the first round, he battled through three sets to defeat former Wimbledon semifinalist, Spain’s Agut, advancing with difficulty; in the second round, Menšík won two tiebreaks to overcome British player Draper, who had just won his first Masters title.

Perhaps boosted by this match, Menšík went on to defeat Argentina’s Safiullin, compatriot Macháč, France’s Fils, American Fritz, and Serbian star Djokovic, capturing his first Masters title, which was also his first career tour championship.

However, after that, Menšík did not reach another tour semifinal in the 2025 season. Although he received the Canary Award from the Czech Tennis Association at year-end, many fans felt he had lost his former strength. Last week, as the third seed at the ATP250 Auckland event, Menšík had a first-round bye; in the second round, after three tough sets, he defeated Serbian qualifier Mejedović to advance strongly.

In the quarterfinals, he convincingly beat French player Mpeic-Pericard, reaching a tour semifinal for the first time in nearly ten months; in the semifinals, Menšík won a three-set battle against Hungary’s Molčan, making his first tour final appearance of the 2026 season; in the final, he faced Argentina’s Báez. Since the United Cup, this player had earned seven consecutive wins and was in great form. Menšík won the match in straight sets, claiming his first tour title of 2026. Moreover, he shook off the shadow of only one win at the United Cup, proving he is no shooting star.

Compared to Menšík, Czech player Macháč is much less well-known. At the end of February 2025, he achieved a five-match winning streak at the ATP500 Acapulco event, capturing his first career tour title. However, like Menšík, Macháč also failed to reach another tour semifinal in the 2025 season, causing many fans to doubt his potential.

Last week, Macháč entered the ATP250 Adelaide tournament as the eighth seed. In the first round, he defeated Australian wildcard Dakworth easily to advance; in the second round, he swept French qualifier Aris to reach the quarterfinals; in the quarters, he won 6-4, 6-4 against Spain’s Munar, making his first tour semifinal appearance of the 2026 season.

In the semifinals, despite losing the first set, Macháč came back to win two sets in a row against American Paul, reaching the final; in the final, after a tough three-set battle, he defeated French player Humbert, who had previously reached a Masters final, to claim his second career tour title.

These two players, who won tour titles in the 2025 season but struggled for a long time afterward, demonstrated their strength with strong performances last week. It is believed they will continue to perform well in the future. That’s the tennis story for today; more to come tomorrow.(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Yixin Jushi)