Zizou Bergs

Career

Zizou Bergs first stepped onto an ATP main draw court as a wildcard at the 2020 European Open. There, he notched his first tour-level win by beating Albert Ramos Viñolas in straight sets, then pushed world No. 17 Karen Khachanov to three sets before falling.

2021: Three ATP Challenger titles, top 200 debut

The following March, he captured his first Challenger title in Saint Petersburg, added a second in Lille later that month, and a third in Almaty in June. After getting past fellow qualifier Oscar Otte in the first round of the Swiss Open Gstaad, he cracked the top 200, reaching world No. 196 on July 26, 2021. He returned to the European Open as a wildcard in October but lost in the opening round to Lloyd Harris.

2022: Major & top 150 debuts, Challenger title,

In 2022, Bergs reached his first final of the season at the Saint-Brieuc Challenger, where Jack Draper beat him. He followed that with another Challenger final at the Saturn Oil Open in Troisdorf, losing to Lukáš Klein. Ranked No. 207, he entered the Ilkley Trophy as a qualifier and won the title, defeating lucky loser Alexei Popyrin in the semifinals and Jack Sock in the final. That victory earned him a wildcard into Wimbledon for his Grand Slam debut and lifted him more than 60 spots to a new career-high of world No. 146 on June 20, 2022.

2023: United Cup, Masters & top 125 debuts

At the first United Cup in 2023, Bergs lost both his singles matches, to Dimitar Kuzmanov and Stefanos Sakellaridis. He then qualified for the Australian Open, beating Adrian Andreev before falling in the first round to Laslo Djere. A wildcard into the Miami Open ended with a first-round loss to lucky loser Thanasi Kokkinakis. He got into the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships as a lucky loser, entering directly in the second round, but lost to Cristian Garín. As the defending champion at the Ilkley Trophy Challenger, he was ousted in the second round by Denis Kudla.

A torn ligament in his left wrist kept Bergs off the ATP Tour for several months. He returned in September at the Chengdu Open as a wildcard.

In October, he played doubles at the European Open in Antwerp with a wildcard alongside compatriot Tibo Colson. November saw him reach the quarterfinals at the Calgary Challenger, then win his sixth Challenger title in Drummondville. He closed the year by taking his seventh Challenger crown in Yokkaichi in December.

National representation

During a 2025 Davis Cup qualifier against Chile, Zizou Bergs collided with opponent Cristian Garín while celebrating a point, hitting him with his shoulder. Garín grabbed his right eye and fell to the ground. Bergs was penalized with a warning for unsportsmanlike conduct. Chile’s team doctor said Garín could not keep playing, but the independent tournament doctor cleared him to continue.

When Garín stayed off the court, umpire Carlos Ramos gave him three straight time violations, ending the match. Ramos later described the incident as a very unfortunate accident with no intent. The Chile Tennis Federation asked the ITF to overturn the result, reschedule the fifth match, grant an automatic wildcard to the Davis Cup Finals, and review Ramos’s decisions.

Did You Know?

• Bergs was born in Lommel, Belgium, to parents Koen Bergs and Anne-Mie Driesen.
• His father is a senior executive of a train company in Belgium, and his mother is a photographer.
• He was named Zizou after French football player Zinedine Zidane, who had that nickname.