SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – 2026 Notre Dame alumnus Sebastian Dominko made waves at an ATP Challenger Tournament on Thursday, as the 23-year-old Slovenian native defeated No. 2 seed and World No. 117 Valentin Royer of France, 7-5, 7-5.
In the quarterfinals of the MarketBeat Open, Dominko maintained the hot hand and delivered a 7-6(4), 6-4 victory over Max Hans Rehberg of Germany. The 23-year-old left-hander hit 10 aces and won 87% of first-serve points en route to his third consecutive straight-sets win in the main draw.
Dominko qualified for the $177,000 ATP Challenger Tour tournament with two wins, then beat qualifier Karl Poling in straight sets in the first-round main draw last Tuesday. He then fired off 19 aces last Thursday to defeat Royer.
His impressive run ended in the semifinal round. On Saturday, Liam Draxl of Canada saved two match points and rallied past Dominko 6-7(7), 7-6(6), 6-4 in two hours and 39 minutes.
Dominko competed in only his second career Challenger main draw tournament, the first coming in Columbus in September 2025.
Before the tournament, Dominko’s pro success came at the ITF World Tour level. He compiled a 21-6 record on the ITF circuit with two titles on clay this season. He came into Sioux Falls ranked a career-high No. 554 and will jump to No. 450.
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