Luka Mikrut pays tribute to late father with career-best tennis score | ATP Tour

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Mikruit pays tribute to late father with career-best tennis score

Croatian opens up about father’s death in 2023

October 20, 2025

Luka Miklut is fulfilling his childhood dream while honoring the memory of his late father.

The 21-year-old is “playing the best tennis of his life” and recently climbed to a career-high No. 159 in the PIF ATP Rankings, thanks in part to the two ATP Challenger Tour trophies he has won in the past three months. He also reached the Valencia Challenge final in his most recent match, extending his winning streak to 19 from the last 22 matches.

However, Mikrut’s father Mijo passed away in 2023 and Mikrut did not do this.

“He had severe cancer,” Miklut told ATPTour.com. “He was sick for a year. When they first found out what it was, they told him it might be a month or two. He extended it to a year. But it was very difficult. Those conditions were really serious.

“Even before he passed away, he was very ill and when you’re young you don’t think about it. But when this happens at home you start to think about these things and it’s not easy.”

Mikrut fondly recalls his racing days with his father, with Mijo meticulously handling every detail, from organizing coaching programs, booking flights and more. Now, Miklut handles this aspect alone. Mikrut’s life on the road was never the same without his father, and his absence was keenly felt during the games shortly after his death.

“One day it was his funeral, the next day I went to a tournament, and the next day I was playing,” Mikrut said. “I didn’t have a chance to do anything.”

There was a moment last year when the emotions suddenly came flooding back to me.

“When I played my second Davis Cup, I was there and at one point it suddenly dawned on me, ‘He doesn’t know this is Davis Cup time, this is in Croatia’,” Miklut said. “It’s a big blow.”

But to understand Mikruit, you have to understand his resilience. A fitting line from his favorite movie, Rocky V, is even etched on his right bicep: “It’s not about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can hit and keep going, and how much you can take and keep going.”

Those words were a source of strength for Mikruit, who said the tattoo was the most painful of the seven he’s had.

“It was worth every drop of ink,” he said with a laugh. “Sometimes I remember it, and it gets me going, gets me excited, gives me some extra energy that I need to win. You see Rocky in every movie, he gets beat so many times, but somehow he wins. Sometimes, actually a lot of the time, it’s like in tennis.”

Miklut was born in Split, Croatia’s second largest city, and started playing tennis at the age of five. His tennis-mad grandmother owned videotapes and DVDs of classic matches from Roger Federer, Pete Sampras and others. Mikrut’s mother owned a DVD store in the 2000s. Although the DVDs are largely forgotten, these tennis movies hold a special place in Mikrut’s heart.

“It’s a bit nostalgic. I used to watch this all day long, and ever since I was younger, I would [headband] “Mikruit said. “I don’t watch it anymore, but we still have the players and the tape. I have a video of Federer and Agassi at the US Open, I don’t know what year it was, but I used to watch it every day. “

Miklut honed his skills at Split Tennis Club, a renowned breeding ground for Croatian talent that has produced stars such as Goran Ivanisevic and Mario Ancic. Dino Prizmic, a contender for the Next Generation ATP Finals hosted by PIF, also trains there. Split is the hometown of the late Nikola Pilic, who died in September and has a proud tennis legacy.

“We are not a big country and we don’t have many tennis players compared to other countries like Italy, France or the United States, but we have achieved good results,” Mikrut said.

Luka Miklut at Challenger Braga. ” style=”width:100%;” src=”https://www.atptour.com/-/media/images/news/2025/10/06/15/32/mikrut-bragach-2025.jpg”>
^{Luka Mikrut of Challengers Braga. Photo credit: Eduardo Oliveira/FPT}

As the winner of this year’s Como and Braga Challenge, Mikrut received a congratulatory text message from former No. 2 Ivanisevic after his victory. Miklut idolized Federer and countryman Ivanisevic as a child.

“[Goran] “He was the first Croatian to win a Grand Slam,” Mikrut said. “He gave me some inspiration because when you have a guy in your city winning on the big stage, you find out you can do it too.”

Mikruit can’t pinpoint exactly what sparked his sudden rise – the PIF ATP rankings have soared more than 200 spots in the past two months – but one thing is for sure: Every step forward is a way to make his father proud.

“He always pushes me and I always love hearing him say he’s proud,” Miklut said. “I’m sure he would be very proud now.”