Connor Doig writes his name into South African tennis history after claiming the Australian Open junior boys’ doubles title.
Australia (03 February 2026) – South African tennis fans have a reason to celebrate as Connor Doig carved his name into the record books, teaming up with Bulgarian partner Dimitar Kisimov to claim the junior boys doubles title at the Australian Open in Melbourne.
The young duo was too strong for the Australian pairing of Ymerali Ibraimi and Cooper Kose, winning in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4. Connor’s triumph marks a historic first. He is the first South African to win the Australian Open junior boys’ doubles crown.
“We never expected to be in the final first of all. We took it one match at a time. We knew anything could happen right from the first match. We played it point by point. Anything can happen in tennis. We just kept doing what we could.”
The path to victory, however, was built on adapting.
“We made improvements after each match. When we started the tournament we knew that we had a long way to go in terms of our understanding in doubles. We worked on who we are as tennis players and our identities on the tennis court. We worked really hard and credit to our coaches. They worked hard to make sure that we were as best prepared as possible. They made sure that we learned after every match, and we built this up over the tournament.”
Historically, South African players have rarely lifted trophies at the Australian Open. The only men to have previously done so were Johan Kriek, who claimed back-to-back men’s singles titles in 1981 and 1982. However, Connor’s win is the first by a South African junior at the tournament, in singles or doubles.
“That feels unreal.”
Other South Africans who have reached various finals include Donald Ramphadi in Quad wheelchair doubles, Raven Klaasen in men’s doubles (2014), Lucas Sithole in Quad wheelchair singles (2014), and Wesley Whitehouse in junior boys singles (1997). And now Connor Doig joins the ranks.
Sources: Team South Africa
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