Portuguese tennis player Francisco Cabral has achieved the highest-ever ATP doubles ranking for a player from his country, climbing to world No. 23 this week.
This historic climb follows his appearance in the ATP 500 Vienna tournament final on Sunday. Cabral described feeling “immense pride” over the achievement.
“It’s an immense pride to be the Portuguese who rose highest in an ATP ranking,” Cabral told the Lusa news agency. “It’s many years of work and things are going in a very good direction.”
He added that it has been “a fantastic year full of new achievements,” making him “very happy for everything I’ve achieved.” While he has “bigger goals,” he called this a “milestone important for me.”
The 28-year-old from Porto also expressed hope that his success would “motivate and inspire new generations of Portuguese tennis.”
In the Vienna final, Cabral and his Austrian partner Lucas Miedler lost to Britons Lloyd Glasspool and Julian Cash, who are ranked No. 1 and No. 4 in the world, respectively. The British duo won 6-1, 7-6 (8-6).
Cabral acknowledged the strength of their opponents. “They are the best doubles team in the world and they showed us that on court,” he stated. He felt they might have started “a bit more nervous than usual.”
However, he noted that they “managed to raise our level in the second set and make the final more balanced.” Despite the defeat, Cabral viewed it as “a super positive week with good victories.”
Cabral’s previous highest ranking was No. 26, a record he shared with fellow Portuguese player João Sousa. Sousa also holds the best singles ranking for a Portuguese player, reaching No. 28 in May 2016.
Cabral has had a strong season, securing two titles in Hangzhou and Gstaad, along with reaching two other finals, all alongside Miedler.
The Portuguese-Austrian pair is currently 11th in the race to qualify for the ATP Finals, which are reserved for the top eight doubles teams.