Milos Raonic

Biography

Milos Raonic was among the first players to join Tennis Canada’s National Training Centre in Montreal when it opened in 2007. A year later he turned pro, having completed high school in just two years, through a combination of classroom and online studies.

In 2011, Raonic became the first Canadian to win an ATP singles title since 1995, taking the SAP Open. He was voted ATP Newcomer of the Year by his fellow players. In 2012, Raonic earned two more ATP titles and made his Olympic debut, where he lost in the second round in an epic showdown with Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Their 3 hour 57 minute match set a record for most games played (66) in a three-set Olympic match and their 48-game third set (won 25-23 by Tsonga) was also a new high.

Raonic won two more titles in 2013, including his third straight SAP Open, and reached the final of the ATP Masters 1000 event in Montreal. Always known for his high-powered serve, which has topped 155 mph, Raonic had some major breakthroughs in 2014, winning his first ATP 500 series title and advancing to his first Grand Slam quarterfinal at the French Open, followed by his first Grand Slam semifinal at Wimbledon. He won the Lionel Conacher Award for the second straight year as Canadian male athlete of the year.

After being a quarterfinalist in 2015, Raonic  advanced to his second career Grand Slam semifinal at the 2016 Australian Open. That summer at Wimbledon, he became the first Canadian man to play in a Grand Slam singles final after defeating Roger Federer in a five-set semifinal. He lost in straight sets (including two tiebreaks) to home favourite Andy Murray. By the end of 2016, Raonic had reached a career-high ranking of number three in the world, behind only Murray and Novak Djokovic.

Raonic’s 2017 season was hampered by injuries and it was the first time since 2011 that he did not win at least one ATP title. After falling out of the top 20 in the ATP rankings, he climbed back up in 2018, bolstered by his first appearance in a Masters 1000 semifinal since late 2016 when he got into the final four at Indian Wells.

In 2020, Raonic reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open for the second straight year and fifth time in his career. He reached his fourth career Masters 1000 final in Cincinnati.

Raonic missed nearly two years of competitive tennis while dealing with injuries and didn’t play between July 2021 and June 2023. In June 2024, he set a tennis record with 47 aces in a best-of-three sets match on the grass courts at Queen’s Club.  

A Little More About Milos

Getting into the Sport: Was hooked on tennis by age six, drawn to it because it was an individual sport and only he would be responsible… Outside Interests: Enjoys watching movies and art… Avid fan of FC Barcelona, Toronto Raptors and Toronto Blue Jays… Dunked during the 2016 NBA All-Star Celebrity Game in Toronto… Founded the Milos Raonic Foundation in 2012 to support children from disadvantaged backgrounds and remove economic, physical and other barriers that might prevent them from becoming healthy, productive members of society… Odds and Ends: Good luck charm is a small plush pig with a four leaf clover gifted to him by his sister… Favorite quote: “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” – Wayne Gretzky… His family left the former Yugoslavia in 1994 because of the ongoing war and moved to the Toronto area…