Grigor Dimitrov is set to drop to his lowest ranking position in over 15 years after his opening round exit at the 2026 Monte Carlo Masters.

The Bulgarian star was defeated 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 by world No 30 Tomas Martin Etcheverry at the clay-court Masters 1000 tournament on Tuesday.

Dimitrov now holds a 2-7 record in 2026, and he has lost seven of his last eight matches in what has been a very difficult campaign so far.

The 34-year-old has not been able to rediscover his best level since a serious pectoral injury ended his Wimbledon campaign in cruel fashion in July last year.

The 2017 ATP Finals champion was leading Jannik Sinner by two sets to love in the fourth round at the All England Club when the injury rendered him unable to continue.

He did not play for almost four months after the painful retirement until he returned to action at the Paris Masters in late October.

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How has Dimitrov’s Monte Carlo exit affected his ranking?

Dimitrov began the tournament at the Monte Carlo Country Club as the world No 93 with 645 ranking points.

The nine-time ATP Tour title winner was, however, defending 190 points in Monte Carlo for reaching the quarter-finals at last year’s edition of the tournament.

His opening round exit means he has lost all of these points, which has seen his points total drop to 455 and his ranking plummet 42 places to world No 135.

This will be Dimitrov’s lowest ranking since he was ranked 136th in October 2010, when he was just 19. The last time he was ranked outside of the top 100 was March 2012.

Dimitrov ended the 2017 season at his career-high ranking of world No 3 after his triumph at the ATP Finals in London.

The popular Bulgarian began 2025 as the world No 10, and he was a top 20 player as recently as July.

Dimitrov’s ranking drop means he will likely have to enter qualifying to compete at big tournaments, including the French Open.

Who is coaching Dimitrov?

Dimitrov is working with former ATP Tour stars Xavier Malisse and David Nalbandian after splitting with former coaches Jamie Delgado and Dani Vallverdu in 2025.

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