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Rafael Matos

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Rafael Matos
Matos in 2023
Full nameRafael Fabris de Matos
Country (sports) Brazil
ResidencePorto Alegre, Brazil
Born (1996-01-06) 6 January 1996 (age 29)
Porto Alegre, Brazil
Height1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Turned pro2011
PlaysLeft-handed (two-handed backhand)
CoachFranco Ferreiro
Prize moneyUS $960,778
Singles
Career record0–0
Highest rankingNo. 440 (21 May 2018)
Doubles
Career record109–81
Career titles9
Highest rankingNo. 26 (6 February 2023)
Current rankingNo. 38 (27 January 2025)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open2R (2024)
French OpenQF (2022)
Wimbledon3R (2022, 2024)
US Open2R (2023, 2024)
Mixed doubles
Career titles1
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian OpenW (2023)
French OpenQF (2023)
Wimbledon1R (2022, 2023, 2024)
US Open1R (2022, 2024)
Last updated on: 27 January 2025.

Rafael Fabris de Matos (born 6 January 1996) is a Brazilian professional tennis player. He has a career-high ATP doubles ranking of No. 26 achieved on 6 February 2023. He also has a career high ATP singles ranking of No. 440 achieved on 21 May 2018. He won the mixed doubles at the 2023 Australian Open with compatriot Luisa Stefani, becoming the first Brazilian pair to win a Grand Slam.

Career

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2019–20: ATP debut

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Matos made his ATP main draw debut at the 2019 Brasil Open in the doubles draw partnering Igor Marcondes.[1]

At the 2020 Rio Open, Matos alongside Orlando Luz defeated the 2019 Wimbledon and 2019 US Open champions, and ATP doubles World No. 1, Juan Sebastián Cabal and Robert Farah 6–1, 4–6, [10–8].[2]

2021–22: Major debut & first win & quarterfinal, Six titles & top 30 debut

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In February 2021, Matos won his first ATP Tour doubles title alongside Felipe Meligeni Alves at the ATP 250 Córdoba Open defeating Romain Arneodo and Benoît Paire. He reached the top 100 in doubles on 3 May 2021 at World No. 99.

He made his Grand Slam debut at the 2021 Wimbledon Championships with compatriot Thiago Monteiro where they reached the second round.

In February 2022, Matos won his second ATP 250 doubles title at the 2022 Chile Open alongside Meligeni Alves.

In April 2022, Matos won his third ATP 250 doubles title at the 2022 Grand Prix Hassan II alongside Spaniard David Vega Hernández. At the 2022 BMW Open he reached his second final with Vega Hernández and fifth overall.[3]

At the 2022 French Open on his debut at this Major, the pair reached the third round with a win over Łukasz Kubot and Édouard Roger-Vasselin but not before defeating 13th seeded pair of Santiago González and Andrés Molteni. They reached the quarterfinals where they lost to 12th seeded pair of Marcelo Arévalo and Jean-Julien Rojer. As a result, he made his debut in the top 50 in the rankings at world No. 43 on 6 June 2022.

Matos reached the top 30 on 31 October 2022 following a fifth title for the season at the 2022 Sofia Open and a final showing at the ATP 500 2022 Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships with Vega Hernández. He ended 2022 with six ATP career titles, and having reached world No. 27 in the doubles rankings on 14 November 2022.

2023: Historic Major mixed doubles title

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Playing in mixed doubles of the 2023 Australian Open with fellow Brazilian Luisa Stefani, they won the first Grand Slam title for Brazil, an unprecedented feat both as a 100% Brazilian duo and individually.[4]

Throughout 2023, Matos' best results in doubles were: a third round at Roland Garros[5] and runner-up at the ATP 250 in Bastad and Chengdu with Francisco Cabral,[6][7] a semifinal at the ATP 250 in Córdoba with Vega Hernández,[8][9] and quarterfinals at the ATP 500 in Acapulco, Barcelona and Halle.

At the 2023 Wimbledon, Matos competed in the mixed doubles draw, resuming the partnership with Luisa Stefani. In their opening match against Andrea Vavassori and Liudmila Samsonova, they were defeated 2–1 in sets.[10][11]

2024: First ATP 500 title

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At the beginning of the season, Matos started a new partnership with Colombian player Nicolás Barrientos, which had already been announced at the end of 2023. In their first competition, the Brisbane International, the duo advanced to the second round (round of 16)[12], where they faced the No. 2 seeds, Dutch player Jean-Julien Rojer and British player Lloyd Glasspool, losing and being eliminated in straight sets.[13]

In the partnership’s second tournament, the Adelaide International, Matos and Barrientos defeated the No. 8 seeds, French duo Edouard Roger-Vasselin and Nicolas Mahut, in straight sets to reach the quarterfinals[14], where they faced the No. 2 seeds, Indian player Rohan Bopanna and Australian player Matthew Ebden. In this match, they were defeated 2–1 in sets and eliminated from the tournament.[15][16]

After that, Rafael headed straight to Melbourne to compete in the Australian Open, again partnering with Barrientos.[17] Upon arriving in Melbourne, Matos received news that the Australian Open organizers had granted a wild card to Luisa Stefani and him, giving them the opportunity to defend their mixed doubles title won in 2023, even though Matos’s ranking was not high enough to compete alongside Stefani.[18]

In the mixed doubles draw, Stefani and Matos faced British players Joe Salisbury—who partnered with Stefani at the 2023 US Open—and Heather Watson in the first round but were defeated in straight sets, ending their participation in the 2024 Australian Open without successfully defending their mixed doubles title.[19]

Matos partnership with Nicolás Barrientos started to produce good results. At the ATP 250 in Buenos Aires, they reached the semifinals, and in the following ATP 500 tournament in Rio de Janeiro, they won their biggest title, defeating strong pairs such as Krawietz/Putz, Bolelli/Vavassori and Erler/Miedler in the final.[20][21][22]

By doing so, Matos became the first Brazilian in this tournament’s ten-year history to win a trophy, in either singles or doubles.[23]

In July, Matos won his ninth ATP title with Orlando Luz at the 2024 Swedish Open.[24]

2025

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Matos began his 2025 season competing in the United Cup, representing Brazil. In the tournament's first tie, Brazil faced China. Matos and Carolina Meligeni Alves teamed up for the mixed doubles match, but they were defeated, contributing to a clean sweep by the Chinese team in that tie.[25][26]

Matos and the Brazilians could not defeat China in the United Cup. This kept Brazil in dificult contention for the tournament.[27]

The defeats from Meligeni/Matos in mixed doubles and earlier from their teammates Beatriz Haddad Maia and Thiago Monteiro in singles matches complicated Brazil's chances of advancing further in the United Cup.[28]

The Brazilian team's struggles continued in the United Cup, as Carolina Meligeni and Rafael Matos were defeated once again in the mixed doubles match during their final tie, this time against Germany. Despite their efforts, the Brazilian team was unable to secure a single victory in the tournament, finishing their campaign without advancing past the group stage.[29][30]

Performance timeline

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Current through the 2024 Italian Open.

Tournament 2021 2022 2023 2024 SR W–L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A 1R 1R 2R 0 / 3 1–3
French Open A QF 3R 2R 0 / 3 6–3
Wimbledon 2R 3R 2R 3R 0 / 4 6–4
US Open A 1R 2R 2R 0 / 3 2–3
Win–loss 1–1 5–4 4–4 5–4 0 / 13 15–13
ATP Tour Masters 1000
Indian Wells Masters A A 1R 0 / 1 0–1
Miami Open A A 2R 0 / 1 1–1
Monte-Carlo Masters A A 1R 0 / 1 0–1
Madrid Open A A 1R 0 / 1 0–1
Italian Open A A A 2R 0 / 1 1–1
Canadian Open A A A 0 / 0 0–0
Cincinnati Masters A 1R 0 / 1 0–1
Shanghai Masters NH 1R 0 / 1 0–1
Paris Masters A 2R 0 / 1 1–1
Win–loss 0–0 1–2 1–5 1–1 0 / 8 3–8
Career statistics
2021 2022 2023 Career
Titles 1 5 0 6
Finals 2 7 2 11
Year-end ranking 67 27 59

Significant finals

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Grand Slam tournaments

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Mixed doubles: 1 (1 title)

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Result Year Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 2023 Australian Open Hard Brazil Luisa Stefani India Sania Mirza
India Rohan Bopanna
7–6(7–2), 6–2

ATP Tour finals

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Doubles: 15 (9 titles, 6 runner-ups)

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Legend
Grand Slam (0–0)
ATP Masters 1000 (0–0)
ATP 500 (1–2)
ATP 250 (8–4)
Finals by surface
Hard (1–3)
Clay (6–3)
Grass (2–0)
Finals by setting
Outdoor (8–6)
Indoor (1–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1–0 Feb 2021 Córdoba Open, Argentina ATP 250 Clay Brazil Felipe Meligeni Alves Monaco Romain Arneodo
France Benoît Paire
6–4, 6–1
Loss 1–1 May 2021 Belgrade Open, Serbia ATP 250 Clay Sweden Andre Goransson Israel Jonathan Erlich
Belarus Andrei Vasilevski
4–6, 1–6
Win 2–1 Feb 2022 Chile Open, Chile ATP 250 Clay Brazil Felipe Meligeni Alves Sweden Andre Goransson
United States Nathaniel Lammons
7–6(10–8), 7–6(7–3)
Win 3–1 Apr 2022 Grand Prix Hassan II, Morocco ATP 250 Clay Spain David Vega Hernández Italy Andrea Vavassori
Poland Jan Zieliński
6–1, 7–5
Loss 3–2 May 2022 Bavarian Championships, Germany ATP 250 Clay Spain David Vega Hernández Germany Kevin Krawietz
Germany Andreas Mies
6–4, 4–6, [7–10]
Win 4–2 Jun 2022 Mallorca Championships, Spain ATP 250 Grass Spain David Vega Hernández Uruguay Ariel Behar
Ecuador Gonzalo Escobar
7–6(7–5), 6–7(6–8), [10–1]
Win 5–2 Jul 2022 Swedish Open, Sweden ATP 250 Clay Spain David Vega Hernández Italy Simone Bolelli
Italy Fabio Fognini
6–4, 3–6, [13–11]
Win 6–2 Oct 2022 Sofia Open, Bulgaria ATP 250 Hard (i) Spain David Vega Hernández Germany Fabian Fallert
Germany Oscar Otte
3–6, 7–5, [10–8]
Loss 6–3 Oct 2022 Japan Open, Japan ATP 500 Hard Spain David Vega Hernández United States Mackenzie McDonald
Brazil Marcelo Melo
4–6, 6–3, [4–10]
Loss 6–4 Jul 2023 Swedish Open, Sweden ATP 250 Clay Portugal Francisco Cabral Ecuador Gonzalo Escobar
Kazakhstan Aleksandr Nedovyesov
2–6, 2–6
Loss 6–5 Sep 2023 Chengdu Open, China ATP 250 Hard Portugal Francisco Cabral France Sadio Doumbia
France Fabien Reboul
6–4, 5–7, [7–10]
Win 7–5 Feb 2024 Rio Open, Brazil ATP 500 Clay Colombia Nicolás Barrientos Austria Alexander Erler
Austria Lucas Miedler
6–4, 6–3
Win 8–5 Jun 2024 Stuttgart Open, Germany ATP 250 Grass Brazil Marcelo Melo United States Robert Galloway
United Kingdom Julian Cash
3–6, 6–3, [10–8]
Win 9–5 Jul 2024 Swedish Open, Sweden (2) ATP 250 Clay Brazil Orlando Luz France Manuel Guinard
France Grégoire Jacq
7–5, 6–4
Loss 9–6 Aug 2024 Washington Open, United States ATP 500 Clay Brazil Marcelo Melo United States Nathaniel Lammons
United States Jackson Withrow
5–7, 3–6

ATP Challenger and ITF Futures/World Tennis Tour finals

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Singles: 9 (4 titles, 5 runner-ups)

[edit]
Legend
ATP Challenger Tour (0–0)
ITF Futures/WTT (4–5)
Finals by surface
Hard (0–0)
Clay (5–5)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Loss 0–1 Nov 2014 Brazil F15, Foz do Iguaçu Futures Clay Brazil Fabrício Neis 3–6, 5–7
Win 1–1 May 2017 Spain F14, Vic Futures Clay Argentina Pedro Cachín 4–6, 6–0, 1–0 ret.
Loss 1–2 Aug 2017 Spain F25, Vigo Futures Clay Spain Marc Giner 2–6, 6–4, 6–7(6–8)
Win 2–2 Nov 2017 Brazil F2, Santos Futures Clay Brazil Wilson Leite 6–2, 3–6, 6–3
Win 3–2 May 2018 Brazil F2, São Paulo Futures Clay Argentina Gonzalo Villanueva 6–1, 6–3
Win 4–2 May 2019 M15 Tabarka, Tunisia WTT Clay Brazil Orlando Luz 7–5, 7–5
Loss 4–3 May 2019 M15 Valldoreix, Spain WTT Clay Brazil Orlando Luz 3–6, 4–6
Loss 4–4 Jun 2019 M15 São José do Rio Preto, Brazil WTT Clay Argentina Juan Pablo Ficovich 4–6, 2–6
Loss 4–5 Oct 2019 M15 São Paulo, Brazil WTT Clay Chile Bastián Malla 3–6, 2–6

Doubles: 20 (11–9)

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Legend
ATP Challenger Tour (11–9)
ITF Futures/WTT (25+)
Finals by surface
Hard (1–2)
Clay (10–7)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1–0 Oct 2019 Campinas, Brasil Challenger Clay Brazil Orlando Luz Mexico Miguel Ángel Reyes-Varela
Brazil Fernando Romboli
6–7(2–7), 6–4, [10–8]
Win 2–0 Jan 2020 Punta del Este, Uruguay Challenger Clay Brazil Orlando Luz Argentina Juan Manuel Cerúndolo
Argentina Thiago Agustín Tirante
6–4, 6–2
Loss 2–1 Mar 2020 Monterrey, Mexico Challenger Hard Brazil Orlando Luz Poland Karol Drzewiecki
Portugal Gonçalo Oliveira
7–6(7–5), 4–6, [9–11]
Win 3–1 Sep 2020 Iași, Romania Challenger Clay Brazil João Menezes Philippines Treat Huey
United States Nathaniel Lammons
6–2, 6–2
Win 4–1 Feb 2021 Concepción, Chile Challenger Clay Brazil Orlando Luz Peru Sergio Galdós
Ecuador Diego Hidalgo
7–5, 6–4
Loss 4–2 Mar 2021 Santiago, Chile Challenger Clay Brazil Felipe Meligeni Alves Venezuela Luis David Martínez
Portugal Gonçalo Oliveira
5–7, 1–6
Win 5–2 Apr 2021 Tallahassee, USA Challenger Clay Brazil Orlando Luz United States Sekou Bangoura
United States Donald Young
7–6(7–2), 6–2
Loss 5–3 May 2021 Biella, Italy Challenger Clay Brazil Felipe Meligeni Alves Sweden Andre Goransson
United States Nathaniel Lammons
6–7(3–7), 3–6
Win 6–3 Aug 2021 Cordenons, Italy Challenger Clay Brazil Orlando Luz Peru Sergio Galdós
Argentina Renzo Olivo
6–4, 7–6(7–5)
Loss 6–4 Aug 2021 San Marino, San Marino Challenger Clay Brazil João Menezes Venezuela Luis David Martínez
Czech Republic Zdeněk Kolář
6–1, 3–6, [3–10]
Win 7–4 Aug 2021 Como, Italy Challenger Clay Brazil Felipe Meligeni Alves Venezuela Luis David Martínez
Italy Andrea Vavassori
6–7(2–7), 6–4, [10–6]
Loss 7–5 Sep 2021 Tulln an der Donau, Austria Challenger Clay Brazil Felipe Meligeni Alves Germany Dustin Brown
Italy Andrea Vavassori
6–7(5–7), 1–6
Win 8–5 Nov 2021 Montevideo, Uruguay Challenger Clay Brazil Felipe Meligeni Alves Uruguay Ignacio Carou
Italy Luciano Darderi
6–4, 6–4
Win 9–5 Nov 2021 Campinas, Brazil Challenger Clay Brazil Felipe Meligeni Alves Brazil Gilbert Klier Jr.
Brazil Matheus Pucinelli de Almeida
6–3, 6–1
Loss 9–6 Nov 2021 São Paulo, Brazil Challenger Clay Brazil Felipe Meligeni Alves Colombia Nicolás Barrientos
Colombia Alejandro Gómez
walkover
Loss 9–7 Dec 2021 Florianópolis, Brazil Challenger Clay Uruguay Martín Cuevas Colombia Nicolás Barrientos
Colombia Alejandro Gómez
3–6, 3–6
Win 10–7 Dec 2021 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Challenger Hard Brazil Orlando Luz United States James Cerretani
Brazil Fernando Romboli
6–3, 7–6(7–2)
Loss 10–8 Apr 2022 Madrid, Spain Challenger Clay Spain David Vega Hernández Czech Republic Adam Pavlásek
Slovakia Igor Zelenay
3–6, 6–3, [6–10]
Win 11–8 May 2022 Bordeaux, France Challenger Clay Spain David Vega Hernández Monaco Hugo Nys
Poland Jan Zieliński
6–4, 6–0
Loss 11–9 Nov 2023 Brasília, Brazil Challenger Hard Brazil Marcelo Demoliner Colombia Nicolás Barrientos
Sweden Andre Goransson
6–7(3–7), 6–4, [9–11]

National representation

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Davis Cup

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Matos was first nominated to play for Brazil in Davis Cup in September 2021 against Lebanon in doubles.[31] Matos alongside Marcelo Demoliner made his debut in Davis Cup against Benjamin Hassan and Habib Hady and won in three sets at the third rubber of that tie. Later, the Brazilian team confirmed the 4–0 tie and advanced into the 2022 Davis Cup qualifying round.[32] Currently, Matos sports a 3–0 record in Davis Cup matches. He has played only doubles matches thus far.

All Davis Cup Matches: 3–0 (Doubles: 3–0)
2020 Davis Cup World Group I
Round Date Opponent Final match score Location Surface Match Partner Opponents Rubber Score
WGI September 18–19, 2021  Lebanon 4–0 Jounieh Clay III Marcelo Demoliner Benjamin Hassan /
Habib Hady
6–2, 3–6, 7–6(7–5)
2022 Davis Cup World Group I
WGI September 16–17, 2022  Portugal 1–3 Viana do Castelo Hard(i) III Felipe Meligeni Alves Nuno Borges /
Francisco Cabral
6–3, 0–6, 6–3
2023 Davis Cup World Group I
Play-offs February 3–4, 2023  China 4–0 Florianópolis Clay III Felipe Meligeni Alves Cui Jie /
Zhang Ze
6–2, 6–3

Junior Grand Slam finals

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Doubles: 1 (1 runner-up)

[edit]
Result Year Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 2014 US Open Hard Brazil João Menezes Australia Omar Jasika
Japan Naoki Nakagawa
3–6, 6–7(6–8)

References

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  1. ^ "Após polêmica, Brasil Open justifica convite para uruguaio Cuevas: "Opção contundente"". Globoesporte. 24 February 2019.
  2. ^ "Orlandinho e Matos eliminam favoritos Cabal e Farah – Rio Open". rioopen.com (in Brazilian Portuguese).
  3. ^ "Home Favourites Nuno Borges/Francisco Cabral Continue Dream Run in Estoril". ATP Tour.
  4. ^ Stefani e Matos fazem história com título na Austrália
  5. ^ Marcelo Melo e Rafael Matos perdem nas duplas e são eliminados em Roland-Garros
  6. ^ Rafael Matos é vice-campeão no ATP de Bastad
  7. ^ Rafael Matos e Cabral são vice-campeões no ATP de Chengdu
  8. ^ "Matos/Vega Hernandez Save MP In Cordoba QF Win".
  9. ^ Rafael Matos se despede na semi do ATP de Córdoba
  10. ^ "Stefani e Matos param na estreia de mistas". TenisBrasil. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
  11. ^ "Luisa Stefani e Rafael Matos caem na estreia de mistas em Wimbledon". Terra. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
  12. ^ lance. "Rafael Matos estreia com vitória nas duplas no ATP de Brisbane". Terra (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-01-17.
  13. ^ "Rafael Matos cai nas oitavas de final do ATP de Brisbane". GZH (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2024-01-03. Retrieved 2024-01-17.
  14. ^ "Rafael Matos despacha cabeças de chave e vai às quartas em Adelaide". UOL (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2024-01-10. Retrieved 2024-01-17.
  15. ^ "Rafael Matos e Barrientos caem nas quartas e se despedem do ATP de Adelaide". bolamarela.com.br. Retrieved 2024-01-17.
  16. ^ lance. "Rafael Matos destaca entrosamento após bater dupla favorita e alcançar as quartas no ATP de Adelaide". Terra (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-01-17.
  17. ^ "Bia Haddad e Rafael Matos estreiam nas duplas no Australian Open na terça-feira". www.lance.com.br (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-01-17.
  18. ^ Dalcim, José Nilton (2024-01-16). "Recuperada, Stefani está animada e joga mistas". TenisBrasil (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-01-16.
  19. ^ Priante, Felipe (2024-01-19). "Atuais campeões, Stefani e Matos param na estreia". TenisBrasil (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-01-19.
  20. ^ Brasileiros param na semifinal do ATP 250 de Buenos Aires
  21. ^ Matos é finalista na dupla e tenta título inédito para o Brasil no Rio
  22. ^ @ATPTour (25 February 2024). "CHAMPS 🏆🇧🇷 Rafael Matos & Nicolas Barrientos secure the title after knocking out Erler & Miedler 6-4 6-3. @RioOpenOficial #RioOpen10anos" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  23. ^ "Rafa Matos vence a final de duplas, e Brasil tem primeiro título no Rio Open". ge (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2024-02-25. Retrieved 2025-01-23.
  24. ^ "Home favourites Krawietz/Puetz defend Hamburg crown; Legend Paes presents Goransson/Verbeek Newport trophy; Luz/Matos win Bastad, Bhambri/Olivetti triumph in Gstaad". 21 July 2024.
  25. ^ Priante, Felipe (2024-12-27). "Carol e Rafa também são derrotados nas mistas e chineses completam varrida". TenisBrasil (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-12-28.
  26. ^ "Carol Meligeni e Rafa Matos são superados e China está 100% na United Cup". Tenis News (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-12-28.
  27. ^ https://olympics.com/pt/noticias/brasil-derrota-china-estreia-united-cup-2025-tenis
  28. ^ "Brasil perde nas duplas mistas e se complica na United Cup". Bola Amarela Brasil (in European Portuguese). 2024-12-27. Retrieved 2024-12-28.
  29. ^ Priante, Felipe (2024-12-29). "Monteiro e dupla mista também perdem e Brasil sai zerado da United Cup". TenisBrasil (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-12-29.
  30. ^ "Brasil perde nas duplas mistas e se despede da United Cup sem nenhuma vitória". Bola Amarela (in European Portuguese). 2024-12-29. Retrieved 2024-12-29.
  31. ^ "TenisBrasil – Nova geração defende Brasil contra Líbano na Davis".
  32. ^ "Brasil vence o Líbano e avança aos playoffs da Copa Davis – Gazeta Esportiva". 19 September 2021.
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