Terence Atmane has taken the Cincinnati Open by storm, upsetting top seeds like Taylor Fritz and Holger Rune to secure a spot in the semifinals.
As Atmane looks to create magic once more and eliminate 2024 Cincinnati Open champion and world No. 1 Jannik Sinner, here are five fast facts you need to know about the French star.
#1: He Started Playing Tennis Because of a Video Game
GettyTerence Atmane serves at the 2025 Cincinnati Open.
While plenty of players on tour were born into tennis families, Terence Atmane’s introduction to the sport came courtesy of Virtua Tennis and Wii Sports.
During a player interview with Next Gen ATP Finals, he recalled how his mom finally decided it was time for the left-handed sensation to ditch the PlayStation and try the real thing.
“I was playing all day every day. One day my mom came back home and she said, ‘Okay, enough of video games, I’m going to buy you a tennis racquet and then let’s go to a tennis club and try,’ Since then, I’ve never stopped playing tennis.”
#2: He Has A Legendary Pokemon Card Collection
GettyTerence Atmane at the 2024 Shanghai Rolex Masters 1000.
Years back when Terence Atmane was making waves on the ATP Challenger Tour, his legendary Pokemon card collection went viral.
According to Atmane, he started collecting Pokemon cards as a kid, and then jumped back into the hobby when he was older.
As he explained to ATPTour.com back in 2023, he has one of the biggest Pokemon card collections in all of France:
“I have one of the biggest collections in France. [I’m] planning to put a video on my Instagram showing the collection that I have by the end of the year with some subtitles and everything. Like 10, 15 minutes to show people what it is about, so they can learn a little bit more about me and my collection, the story all about it and how it started and why.
“When I was a little kid, I was watching Pokémon on TV. It came pretty naturally, at school and everything, people were talking about these Pokémon cards and it was pretty famous in the world at that time. I remember I was playing with my friends in school and then somehow I started collecting this when I was a little boy. And this little boy still has his collection from that time.”
You can see some of his collection, including graded cards, below:
#3: He Doesn’t Have A Main Sponsor… Because He Was Dropped By Asics
GettyTerence Atmane competes at the French Open.
Back in 2024 during the Shanghai Rolex Masters 1000, Terence Atmane was seen carrying a pair of Nike shoes on-court. Because he was sponsored by Asics, and was contracted to wear Asics gear on-court, the company wound up dropping him.
At the time, he posted on Instagram about the situation, writing (h/t: TennisTonic):
“Thank you for everything Asics Tennis. It was a pleasure for me to represent the family even if you guys fired me. I can’t complain about that decision.”
To this day, aside from his racquet sponsor Technifibre, Atmane doesn’t have any other sponsors. Given his impressive run in Cincinnati, however, that’s likely to change.
#4: He Has An IQ Over 158
GettyTerence Atmane competes at the National Bank Open.
In addition to being a brilliant tactician on-court, Terence Atmane is considered to have “high intellectual potential” based on his self-reported IQ score of over 158.
Back in 2023, Atmane wrote a post on BehindTheRacquet explaining how his high IQ is both a gift and a curse on the court:
“I think something that differentiates me from other players is my instinct. I’m very unpredictable on the court. My IQ is over 158 – I’ve been designated with HIP, high intellectual potential – so when my brain is working correctly on the court, I can be dangerous because I’m not thinking like other people do. Sometimes, though, it can lead me to make the wrong choice because I get nervous or start to overthink. But this is something I’m working on, and I think I can turn it into a weapon on the tour. ”
His high IQ was on full display after he beat Holger Rune, when he wrote “Fermi’s Paradox?!” on the camera.
Atmane made us think about this one for a second 🤔 🤣
The #CincyTennis semifinalist’s IQ is over 158 👀
#5: He Found Success on Hard Courts at Challengers, but Struggled on the ATP Tour Before Cincinnati Open Breakout
GettyTerence Atmane serves at the 2024 Shanghai Rolex Masters 1000.
Since 2022, Terence Atmane has continued to find success on the ATP Challenger Tour, winning nine titles over the past three years.
This year alone, he’s won two titles, defeating Adam Walton in the final of the Busan Challenger 125 in South Korea, and Tristan Schoolkate at the Guangzhou Challenger in China shortly after.
Despite that, he struggled to find success in main draws on the ATP Tour prior to the Cincinnati Open, going just 1-4 in main draws this season while struggling to make it out of qualifiers at Grand Slams and Masters 1000 tournaments.
With his run to the semifinals in Cincinnati, however, he’s now sitting at No. 69 in the world on the ATP live rankings heading into today’s match with Sinner.
Terence Atmane: 5 Fast Facts About Cincinnati Semifinalist Facing Jannik Sinner