Tuesday, 20 October 2026News · Analysis · Public affairs · UKAboutTeamSourcesContactNewsletter

Grigor Dimitrov: ATP Ranking, Racket & Relationships

Few players make a one-handed backhand look as effortless as Grigor Dimitrov does, yet his career has always been about more than style. He spent 710 consecutive weeks inside the ATP top 100 until that run ended in April 2026, and his peak 2017 season produced a career-high No. 3 ranking — but the answers fans actually search, from his relationships to his Wilson racket, are more solid than the gossip suggests.

Born: 16 May 1991, Haskovo, Bulgaria ·
Turned pro: 2008 ·
Career-high ATP ranking: No. 3 (2017) ·
Grand Slam best: Semifinalist – Wimbledon 2014, Australian Open 2017 ·
2026 ranking status: Outside ATP top 100 (April 2026) after 710-week top-100 streak ended

Quick snapshot

1Confirmed facts
2What’s unclear
  • His exact live ATP ranking on the publication date — the number updates every Monday.
  • Whether Maria Sharapova and Alexander Gilkes have a publicly confirmed wedding ceremony.
  • Exact pro-stock specifications of his Wilson frame; Wilson does not publish them.
  • Nicole Scherzinger’s timeline with Dimitrov rests on celebrity-era reports, not direct confirmation.
3Timeline signal
4What’s next
  • The 2026 clay season begins with him outside the ATP top 100. (IQ Tennis)
  • Every early-round win now carries more ranking weight than it did in his seeded years. (IQ Tennis)
  • Equipment trackers such as IQ Tennis will keep watching his frame for changes.

Nine lines from his player file, one pattern: the numbers fans still quote in 2026 — No. 3, the Wimbledon semifinal, 2017 — all come from the same two-year peak.

Label Value
Date of birth 16 May 1991 (Wilson, official profile)
Birthplace Haskovo, Bulgaria (Wilson, official profile)
Height / weight 1.91 m · 81 kg (Wilson, official profile)
Turned pro 2008 (Wikipedia, career biography)
Plays Right-handed; one-handed backhand (Wikipedia, career biography)
Career-high ATP singles ranking No. 3 (2017) (Tennisnerd)
Current ranking status Outside ATP top 100 (April 2026) (Wikipedia, career records)
Grand Slam best Semifinalist – Wimbledon 2014, Australian Open 2017 (Wikipedia, career records)

Who is Grigor Dimitrov’s ex-girlfriend?

The answer that still appears first in career retrospectives is Maria Sharapova. The two made their relationship public after the 2013 Madrid Open, according to Fox Sports Australia’s reporting on Sharapova’s autobiography. For the next two years, tennis fans watched two top-tier players handle a romance under full media glare.

The relationship ran until 2015. Sharapova later traced both its start and its finish in her autobiography, which is why journalists treat this chapter as confirmed rather than tabloid speculation.

Did Nicole Scherzinger date Grigor Dimitrov?

  • Publicly linked: the mid-2010s, between the Sharapova era and his 2017 breakthrough, according to his Wikipedia biography.
  • Nature of the link: celebrity press and photographs, without a joint statement or on-record confirmation.

Singer Nicole Scherzinger and Dimitrov were reported as a couple around 2015–2016. The label “dated” is softer than the Sharapova relationship — it rests on celebrity-era reports rather than either party’s public account.

The pattern: one relationship was documented on the record by the people in it; the other lives on in photo archives. When fans ask about Dimitrov’s famous ex, they mean Sharapova — and that is the one with documentation.

Are Dimitrov and Sharapova still together?

No — and they haven’t been together since 2015. Fox Sports Australia’s coverage of Sharapova’s autobiography traces both the beginning and the end of the relationship, and neither player has signaled any reunion since.

Sharapova’s personal life has moved on. She has been publicly linked to Alexander Gilkes, although no official registry or wedding announcement confirms a completed ceremony.

The gossip trap

Most Sharapova–Dimitrov content in 2026 is recycled tabloid material. The difference between what is confirmed and what is speculated is the difference between an autobiography and a paparazzi photo.

Did Djokovic date Maria Sharapova?

  • No confirmed dating history exists between Novak Djokovic and Sharapova, according to biographical records compiled on Wikipedia.
  • Their public connection has always been professional: rivals in singles, occasional partners in mixed doubles.

The two have known each other since the junior circuit, and fan theories have never quite died. Theories are not documentation — no credible reporting places them in a relationship.

Did Maria Sharapova ever marry?

  • No publicly documented wedding ceremony appears in her record, according to the career biographies compiled on Wikipedia.
  • The link to Gilkes produced headlines, but “married” remains unconfirmed by official records.

The honest answer is the one search engines hate: there is no confirmed marriage on the public record. Recent “wedding” headlines trace back to her relationship with Gilkes, not to a documented ceremony.

Did Sharapova have a baby?

  • Yes — Sharapova had a son, Theodore, in 2022, as reported by sports media including Fox Sports Australia.

The birth came years after the Dimitrov relationship closed, which is why it still catches people off guard in 2026 searches.

What were the allegations against Maria Sharapova?

  • In 2016, Sharapova tested positive for meldonium, a substance newly banned that year, and was suspended from tennis, as reported by sports media such as Fox Sports Australia.

The meldonium case remains the most searched controversy of her career. It also matters to the Dimitrov timeline because it landed in 2016, one year after their breakup — keeping both names in the same news cycle long after the romance ended.

Is Maria Sharapova a millionaire?

  • Yes — career prize money plus long-running endorsement deals made her one of tennis’s wealthiest players, according to Wikipedia’s biography.

The exact number is less important than the scale. Sharapova was a commercial force for more than a decade, which made “millionaire” a settled question by her mid-20s.

Bottom line: Dimitrov and Sharapova split in 2015 and are not together. For fans catching up on the sub-questions: no Djokovic romance, no confirmed Sharapova wedding, one son born in 2022, and a meldonium case that still defines her off-court story.

What this means: the relationship chapter is closed in reality but still open in search data. The question fans keep asking — are they together — has had the same answer since 2015: no.

What racket does Dimitrov use?

Wilson’s answer is public: Dimitrov’s endorsed racket is the Pro Staff 97S, strung with Wilson Natural Gut 16 mains and Luxilon 4G 125 crosses, per Wilson’s official player profile.

The catch

The racket on the box and the racket in his bag are different pieces of engineering. Pro-stock frames are custom-built for one player, so the retail 97S is a starting point, not the finished product.

That distinction comes from specialist equipment sites. Tennisnerd’s racket analysis and Perfect Tennis’s pro-stock explainer both document the gap between what Wilson sells and what Dimitrov actually plays with.

Pro-stock rackets are customized in weight, balance, swingweight, stiffness and string pattern for an individual professional, according to Perfect Tennis’s explainer. Nothing on a store shelf matches that.

What are Grigor Dimitrov’s racket specifications?

  • Endorsed retail model: Wilson Pro Staff 97S (Wilson, official profile).
  • Reported current pro-stock mold: an RF97 Autograph mold with an 18×18 pattern, according to IQ Tennis’s equipment database.
  • Reported current strings: natural-gut mains with Luxilon 4G crosses, tension around 24 kg, per IQ Tennis and Dad Racket’s review.

Nine rows of specs, one pattern: the gap between retail and pro-stock is where the performance lives.

Specification Value
Endorsed retail model Wilson Pro Staff 97S (Wilson, official profile)
Retail string setup Wilson Natural Gut 16 mains / Luxilon 4G 125 crosses (Wilson, official profile)
Reported current pro-stock mold RF97 Autograph mold, 18×18 (IQ Tennis)
Reported current string tension Natural gut around 24 kg (IQ Tennis; Dad Racket)
Earlier reported pro-stock specs 93 sq in, about 353 g strung, 329 mm balance, 18×17 pattern (Tennisnerd)
Reported mold change Moved to 97 sq in / 18×18 around 2021 (Tennisnerd)
Retail vs pro-stock head size 97 sq in vs 93 sq in (reported; Perfect Tennis)
Retail vs pro-stock strung weight About 326 g vs 346 g (reported; Perfect Tennis)
What pro-stock means Weight, balance, swingweight, stiffness and string pattern customized per player (Perfect Tennis)

The through-line is his feel-first game. A one-handed backhand, natural-gut strings, and a willingness to volley all point to a player who wants precision over pure power. The reported pro-stock specs — heavier and smaller than the retail model — fit that identity.

There is also a Federer thread in the equipment history. The mold IQ Tennis tracks is the RF97 Autograph, the signature frame associated with Roger Federer — which gives the “Baby Fed” nickname an unexpected echo in his equipment bag.

Bottom line: the Wilson Pro Staff 97S is the racket in the marketing; the customized pro-stock frame in his bag is partly undocumented. For fans who want his exact setup: treat published specs as approximate, because Wilson has never released the full pro-stock sheet.

The trade-off: Wilson sells a retail story, Dimitrov gets a one-of-one tool, and fans chasing his game should copy the technique, not the paintjob.

What is Grigor Dimitrov’s current ATP ranking?

As of April 2026, Dimitrov is outside the ATP top 100. The more revealing number is what came before: 710 consecutive weeks inside the top 100, a streak that ended this April, according to the career records compiled on Wikipedia.

What to watch

The clay season is the reset point. Starting outside the top 100 means unseeded draws and early matchups with top seeds — but it also means every win moves the ranking fast.

That kind of streak is rare. More than 13 years of rankings math — every Monday, every result, every point count — finally ran out for him in 2026.

His career high remains what it was in November 2017: world No. 3, per Tennisnerd’s coverage of that run.

How long was Dimitrov in the ATP top 100?

  • 710 consecutive weeks — roughly 13.6 years — according to career records compiled on Wikipedia.
  • Working backward from April 2026, the streak’s starting point lands in late 2012.
  • Bookending the streak: the 2017 season, when he won Cincinnati and the ATP Finals and reached No. 3, per Wikipedia’s title records.

For the exact current number, the ATP’s live ranking is the authoritative source — it updates every Monday, which is why any article’s snapshot expires within days.

Bottom line: 710 weeks in the top 100 is the stat; April 2026 is the end date. For fans tracking the comeback: watch the clay swing, because every round now changes the number visibly.

The implication: a 13-year streak does not fade quietly. The question is not whether he can return to No. 3 — it is whether the rankings math gives a 34-year-old enough runway to make the next phase count.

Is Grigor Dimitrov married?

There is no public record of a marriage. His Wikipedia biography lists no spouse, no credible wedding report exists in the sports media record, and the factual answer as of publication is simply no.

The question keeps appearing because his dating history is famous while his private life is not. He dated one of the most recognizable athletes on the planet, yet the record contains almost nothing from him about the relationship’s details — that asymmetry built the curiosity.

  • Marital status: no confirmed spouse as of publication.
  • Children: none publicly known.
  • Public ex-partners: Maria Sharapova (confirmed), Nicole Scherzinger (reported).

The children question gets the same answer every time it is asked: no public record. Biographical entries list none, and no credible report contradicts that.

The pattern: the answer is a non-event, which is precisely why the question survives. In an era of public relationships, a top athlete who keeps that door closed is rare enough to keep people asking.

Is Grigor Dimitrov a nice person?

“Nice” is a subjective judgment, but the evidence is unusually consistent. Media profiles and player interviews describe Dimitrov as polite, approachable and gracious; Wikipedia’s career biography also records a career with few serious on-court incidents.

He carried one of tennis’s heaviest nicknames. “Baby Fed” — a media label comparing his one-handed style to Roger Federer — arrived early and stayed. Handling that comparison without visible frustration is part of why the nice-guy label stuck.

How do fellow players describe Grigor Dimitrov?

  • Recurring descriptor in peer coverage: approachable and gracious, per the media citations collected in his Wikipedia biography.
  • A joint press conference with Stefanos Tsitsipas, captured on YouTube, offers a recent example of his rapport with younger players.

The honest caveat: niceness cannot be measured with statistics — but behavior can. Few outbursts and no major disciplinary incidents add up to the reputation the record supports.

The upshot

“Nice” cannot be quantified, but the absence of drama can. Measurable behavior — conduct codes, walk-offs, press-room moods — is exactly where Dimitrov’s file stays clean.

Why this matters: in a sport with long seasons and endless media obligations, graciousness is a professional asset. Tournaments, sponsors and broadcasters all prefer the player who makes the work feel easy — and that reputation outlasts any ranking dip.

Grigor Dimitrov career timeline

  • — Born in Haskovo, Bulgaria (Wilson, official profile).
  • — Turned professional on the ATP Tour (Wikipedia).
  • — Reached the Wimbledon semifinals, confirming his grass-court ability (Wikipedia).
  • — Dated Maria Sharapova; the relationship went public after the 2013 Madrid Open (Fox Sports Australia).
  • — Publicly linked with singer Nicole Scherzinger (Wikipedia, citing celebrity reports).
  • — Won Cincinnati and the ATP Finals; reached career-high No. 3 (Tennisnerd; Wikipedia).
  • — Maria Sharapova gave birth to her son, Theodore (reported by Fox Sports Australia).
  • — His 710-week ATP top-100 streak ended (Wikipedia).

The arc in eight dates: a Bulgarian junior with a Federer-like backhand became world No. 3, dated the most famous woman in tennis, and then spent the next phase of his career proving the first 13 years were not a fluke.

Confirmed facts vs. What’s unclear

The gap between what is verified and what is assumed is the real story behind most Dimitrov searches. Here is the split.

Confirmed facts

  • Born 16 May 1991 in Haskovo, Bulgaria; turned pro in 2008 (Wilson, official profile).
  • Career-high ATP ranking No. 3 in November 2017 (Tennisnerd).
  • Broke up with Maria Sharapova in 2015 (Fox Sports Australia).
  • Sharapova had a son, Theodore, in July 2022 (reported by Fox Sports Australia).
  • Sharapova’s 2016 doping case involved meldonium (reported by Fox Sports Australia).
  • Endorsed Wilson racket is the Pro Staff 97S (Wilson, official profile).

What’s unclear

  • Exact dating timeline with Nicole Scherzinger — based on celebrity reports, not direct confirmation.
  • Pro-stock specifications of his current Wilson frame — Wilson does not publish them.
  • Whether the earlier 93 sq-in prototype was his actual match frame — a low-confidence detail from Wikipedia’s equipment history.
  • Whether Sharapova and Alexander Gilkes completed a wedding ceremony — no primary record.
  • His exact live ATP ranking on the publication date — updates weekly.
  • Whether “Baby Fed” was a fair comparison or media shorthand.

The split matters because most of the confusion around Dimitrov comes from treating celebrity-era stories as equivalent to documented facts. They are not — and the confirmed list is the one worth quoting.

What the sources say

Four sources, one discipline: every statement below is tied to a named outlet, and none of them asks readers to take a rumor on faith.

Maria Sharapova opened up about the start and the finish of her relationship with Grigor Dimitrov in her autobiography, recounting a romance that went public after the 2013 Madrid Open and ran until 2015.

— Fox Sports Australia, reporting on Sharapova’s autobiography

Wilson’s official profile for Dimitrov lists the Pro Staff 97S as his racket, with Wilson Natural Gut 16 mains and Luxilon 4G 125 crosses — the equipment baseline every other report measures against.

— Wilson, official player profile

Tennisnerd’s analysis separates Dimitrov’s endorsed racket from his match-used pro-stock frame, tracking a 93-square-inch era before the reported move to a 97-square-inch, 18-by-18 mold around 2021.

— Tennisnerd, specialist racket analysis

Pro-stock rackets are one-of-one tools: weight, balance, swingweight, stiffness and string pattern are customized for a single professional, which is why retail versions never match exactly.

— Perfect Tennis, pro-stock racket explainer

Every quote above anchors to a named source, which is the whole point: Dimitrov’s story does not need anonymous gossip to be interesting. The documented version is strong enough.

Two facts define Grigor Dimitrov’s 2026 moment: the 710-week streak is over, and the 2017 peak is now nine years in the rearview. The next six months will show whether the ranking can follow the game — his one-handed backhand did not fade, only the rankings math stopped waiting. For Dimitrov, the choice is stark: reset the number on the 2026 clay swing, or spend the next two years in qualifiers and unseeded draws instead of center courts.

Related reading: Grigor Dimitrov’s career-high ranking and new racquet details · Grigor Dimitrov’s official Wilson Pro Staff 97S racket and string setup

Frequently asked questions

What is Grigor Dimitrov’s best ATP ranking?

World No. 3, reached in November 2017, right after his ATP Finals title run. It remains his career high (Tennisnerd).

What titles has Grigor Dimitrov won?

Nine ATP singles titles, including the 2017 ATP Finals and Cincinnati, according to his Wikipedia career records. The 2017 season produced his biggest trophies.

Who is Grigor Dimitrov’s coach?

Dimitrov has worked with several coaches across his career, and the current setup is best confirmed through the ATP Tour’s official player profile rather than social-media rumor.

Does Grigor Dimitrov have children?

No publicly known children as of publication. His Wikipedia biography lists no children, and no credible report confirms otherwise.

How old is Grigor Dimitrov?

Born 16 May 1991 in Haskovo, Bulgaria, he is 34 as of April 2026 and turns 35 on 16 May 2026.

Does Grigor Dimitrov use a one-handed backhand?

Yes. He plays right-handed with a one-handed backhand — the shot that earned him the “Baby Fed” nickname and made his highlight reel instantly recognizable.

The recurring theme: the documented Dimitrov — ranking streak, equipment gap, and confirmed relationships — is more solid than the rumor-cycle version.



George Harry Howard Bennett
George Harry Howard BennettStaff Writer

George Harry Howard Bennett is a staff writer for Public Journal UK, specializing in UK news, policy analysis, and public affairs coverage. He works under Editor-in-Chief Margaret Ellison, maintaining high standards of sourcing, verification, and fact-checking. Bennett reports on Westminster, government policy, and societal issues, providing balanced and accurate journalism with timely insight.