How Otto Virtanen extended his winning streak after a painful summer | ATP Tour
challenger
How Virtanen extended his winning streak after a painful summer
The 24-year-old has an 8-0 record in Challenger finals
November 04, 2025
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Otto Virtanen is the highest-ranked player in the Finnish PIF ATP Rankings.
Grant Thompson
At this year’s ATP 250 event in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Otto Virtanen lay on the grass in agony, one step away from victory. He had just fallen behind in a playoff with Tomas Martin Etcheverry 7-6(6), 5-5.
“I lay there for a few minutes. The physios, doctors came and they did some tests and then it was painful, but somehow I thought I could still play,” Virtanen told ATPTour.com.
After the knee was bandaged, the Finn returned to the baseline and played eight more points, but suffered a torn medial collateral ligament in the knee. He relied on small balls to shorten the game and successfully secured a first-round victory before exiting the game.
The injury is a difficult setback for Virtanen, who lifted the ATP Challenger Tour trophy in Birmingham a week ago and is on the verge of returning to the top 100 of the PIF ATP Rankings.
“I feel like I’m playing the best tennis of my entire career and I’m doing really well in every aspect,” said Virtanen, who has been out for 10 weeks. “I was really looking forward to Wimbledon. So I missed one of my favorite tournaments of the year, but it happened. I’m just trying to focus on the fact that I still have many years of playing time.
“This is a grade two tear. A grade three is a complete tear, which is the largest, and a grade one tear is minor. This is a grade two tear, and it’s a very serious tear.”
Virtanen later posted a photo on Instagram wearing a knee brace giving a thumbs up, with the caption: “Trying to enjoy summer on one leg now…”
The 24-year-old is recovering at home with his family and is determined to stay active despite being limited by a knee injury.
“It’s hard to do any exercise wise, just light walking for a couple of weeks and then a week later to start rehabbing,” said the No. 141 player in the PIF ATP rankings. “Really easy exercise, doing something every day and trying to get it back in shape without losing all the muscle around the legs. I think that works really well.”
After returning to the Tour, Virtanen quickly found his rhythm. In October, he won the Roanne Challenger, his third start back in action. With this win, Virtanen becomes the fourth player in Challenger history to win the first eight championship games, joining Pablo Carreno Busta (11), Robin Haase (8) and Horst Skoff (8).
Otto Virtanen at the Roanne Challenger. ” style=”width:100%” src=”https://www.atptour.com/-/media/images/news/2025/10/13/13/56/virtanen-roantech-2025.jpg”>
Otto Virtanen’s performance at the Roanne Challenger. Photo credit: Clemente Corso
Virtanen even had to save match points in both title fights. Which begs the question: What works so well for him in those high-stakes games?
“I think I was well prepared for the final, just playing freely and having zero expectations,” Virtanen said. “Don’t think about winning or losing, just play a normal game and somehow it works out every time.
“I think I’m always going to play different types of games, and I think the longer the games go on, the better I start to play, and it’s not always my best game of the week, but most of the time it’s definitely my best game of the week. Just bringing an A-level game in the biggest game of the week.”
Seven of Virtanen’s eight Challenger titles have come on indoor hard courts, which is not surprising for a player who grew up in Finland. Virtanen returns to his hometown this week to compete in the 2025 HPP Open in Helsinki. How fitting it would be if Virtanen could continue his perfect streak of finals wins in his home country.
