Player Features
Budkov Kjaer, Sinner’s practice partner, ready to unleash the ‘hammer’ in Vienna
#NextGenATP Norwegian will play Etcheverry on ATP 500 debut Tuesday in Austria
October 20, 2025
Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour
Nicolai Budkov Kjaer (right) practises with Jannik Sinner at the 2024 Nitto ATP Finals.
By Andy West
He may be 19 years old and have just one ATP Tour match win to his name, but Nicolai Budkov Kjaer is already a familiar face to many of the tennis elite.
The #NextGenATP Norwegian is this week at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna, where he will make his ATP 500 debut as a wild card in a draw that is spearheaded by Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev. While speaking to ATPTour.com as part of his media day duties in the Austrian capital, Budkov Kjaer was greeted warmly by Sinner’s coach, Darren Cahill, a reminder of links already forged between the teenage Norwegian and some of the sport’s biggest names.
“I practised a lot with Sinner over the past year, so we know each other a little bit. As close as we can get to the World No.1 I guess,” joked the Norwegian, a former junior World No. 1 who last November was a hitting partner at the Nitto ATP Finals. “Darren has said to me that I have a good game and good potential.
“I have a big swing on my forehand, so he said, ‘Try to prepare early and then your forehand is a hammer’. [I found that] quite funny actually.”
Praise from a top coach in a practice session is one thing, but Budkov Kjaer knows he has a lot to learn when it comes to going toe-to-toe on a match court with the ATP Tour’s finest.
“I’ve been a hitting partner at many events before, so I’m kind of used to being the guy that practises with the players, but not playing against them,” said the Norwegian, who is coached by his father, Alexander Kjaer. “I’m not used to that yet, but hopefully in some time I will get used to it.”
Budkov Kjaer has already experienced a whirlwind few days in Vienna, even without stepping foot on the match court. On Friday, he was awarded a qualifying wild card at the indoor hard-court event. By Saturday morning, that had been upgraded to a main-draw wild card after Matteo Berrettini earned direct entry into the field.
“I woke up in the morning as I usually do for matches and I was preparing for my qualifying match when suddenly my dad told me that Berrettini might go in the main draw and I could receive a main-draw wild card,” recalled Budkov Kjaer. “Then I got the phone call.
“I was really excited. I’ve never played at the 500 level, so obviously I was very excited and extremely happy. I just jumped a bit and was just full of happiness.”
Budkov Kjaer has won four ATP Challenger Tour titles in 2025 and won his maiden ATP Tour match in July against Thiago Monteiro in Bastad. The in-form teenager may be a relative newcomer to the biggest events on the circuit, but he was handed a familiar opponent in Saturday’s Vienna draw: Argentine Tomas Martin Etcheverry, who edged the teenager in a deciding-set tie-break in a Davis Cup Qualifier in February.
“We played each other once already, so we know each other’s game styles,” said Budkov Kjaer, who holds a 5-6 tour-level record, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, when asked about Etcheverry. “We played a Davis Cup match in February. I lost 7-6 in the third, so it was a bitter loss, I guess. I’m going to approach [this match] with excitement.”
Having racked up a 34-16 record at Challengers this year, Budkov Kjaer is sixth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah and well placed to secure a spot at December’s Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF. It would be a significant achievement for a player who did not consider the prospect of competing at the 20-and-under season finale when he began his season.
“I started the year so low-ranked that it didn’t strike my thoughts at the start of the year,” said the Norwegian. “As I won a Challenger early in the year, I kind of thought maybe I could qualify. Then a few results here and there, and suddenly I’m in the race. Now, it would be really disappointing to not play there. I have a good chance now.”
Budkov Kjaer began the year as the World No. 518, but his scintillating Challenger form helped him rise nearly 400 spots to a career-high No. 136 on 13 October. His improved ranking enabled him to use a Next Gen Accelerator spot in the main draw at the BNP Paribas Nordic Open in Stockholm last week, and now that he has another main-draw opportunity in Vienna this week, he is ready to try and make his mark.
“I’m just trying to take all the chances I get,” said Budkov Kjaer. “It’s been a great year, but I just try to take it match by match and point by point. I try not to think about how much I won or how little I won. I just try to take every chance I get. I cannot control what has happened or what is going to happen. I just try to be in the moment.”
