Ivan Sabanov Explained

Ivan Sabanov (Serbian: Иван Сабанов; born 25 June 1992) is a Serbian tennis player who specializes in doubles. He has a career high ATP doubles ranking of World No. 75 achieved on 18 April 2022. He also has a career high ATP singles ranking of World No. 907 achieved on 25 August 2014.^[1]

He has won one ATP doubles title with his twin brother Matej, and 5 ATP Challengers and 26 ITF doubles titles.^[2] Sabanov formerly represented Croatia.^[3]

Early life and career

Ivan and Matej Sabanov are twin brothers born in Subotica, a city that was part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia at the time, near the Croatian and Hungarian borders. They began playing tennis at the age of five or six and grew up competing alongside Serbian players such as Filip Krajinović and Dušan Lajović. Following the dissolution of Yugoslavia, Subotica became part of Serbia and Montenegro in 2003 and later Serbia in 2006.^[4]

At the age of 15, the twins moved to Osijek, Croatia, where their mother worked as a teacher. The move provided them with access to indoor courts, which were unavailable in Subotica. Around that time, they chose to represent Croatia in their professional careers. However, after their mother’s retirement, the family returned to Palić, near their hometown of Subotica.^[3]

During this period, they received strong support from Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic, who closely followed their progress and allowed them to train at his Belgrade academy free of charge. They remained closely connected to Serbian players they had grown up with, and in November 2021, they announced their decision to switch national representation to Serbia. Reports suggested that the move was partly influenced by their ambition to compete in doubles for Serbia in the Davis Cup and ATP Cup, as Croatia already had an established doubles team featuring players like Mate Pavić, Nikola Mektić, and Ivan Dodig.^{[4] [3]}

Professional career

Sabanov made his ATP main draw debut at the 2018 Croatia Open Umag in the doubles draw as a wildcard pair partnering his twin brother Matej.^[5]

His best career performance came in 2021 when he won his first ATP doubles title by winning Serbia Open with his brother Matej. They defeated Gonzalo Escobar and Ariel Behar in the final.^{[6] [7]}

In the last edition of the ATP Cup in 2022, Sabanov served as the captain of the Serbian team, which was eliminated in the group stage with one win and two losses.^[8]

He was part of Serbia's squad for the 2025 Davis Cup Qualifiers first round tie against Denmark in Copenhagen but did not feature in any matches.^[9]

ATP career finals

Doubles: 2 (1 title, 1 runners-up)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1–0		Serbia Open, Serbia	250 Series	Clay	Matej Sabanov		6–3, 7–6(7–5)
Loss	1–1		U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships, United States	250 Series	Clay	Matej Sabanov	Matthew Ebden Max Purcell	3–6, 3–6

ATP Challenger and ITF Futures Finals

Doubles: 69 (31–38)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	0–1		Croatia F2, Zagreb	Futures	Hard	Matej Sabanov	Florin Mergea Andrei Dăescu	6–4, 4–6, [4–10]
Loss	0–2		Serbia F5, Belgrade	Futures	Clay	Matej Sabanov	Djordje Djokovic Matthew Short	5–7, 3–6
Win	1–2		Serbia F7, Sombor	Futures	Clay	Matej Sabanov	Dinko Halachev Gleb Sakharov	4–6, 7–5, [10–5]
Loss	1–3		Serbia F9, Novi Sad	Futures	Clay	Matej Sabanov	Patrik Fabian Matteo Fago	5–7, 3–6
Loss	1–4		Croatia F8, Vinkovci	Futures	Clay	Matej Sabanov	Toni Androić Tomislav Draganja	6–1, 6–7(7–9), [8–10]
Loss	1–5		Croatia F14, Umag	Futures	Clay	Matej Sabanov	Dino Marcan Antonio Šančić	0–6, 7–5, [2–10]
Win	2–5		Serbia F7, Sombor	Futures	Clay	Matej Sabanov	Alexis Musialek Gavin Van Peperzeel	7–6(7–5), 6–1
Loss	2–6		Serbia F9, Novi Sad	Futures	Clay	Matej Sabanov	Danilo Petrović Ilija Vucic	4–6, 3–6
Win	3–6		Serbia F10, Novi Sad	Futures	Clay	Matej Sabanov	Danilo Petrović Ilija Vucic	6–3, 3–6, [10–6]
Win	4–6		Serbia F13, Niš	Futures	Clay	Matej Sabanov	Dimitar Grabul Tomis lavJotovski	6–4, 6–2
Win	5–6		Serbia F14, Sokobanja	Futures	Clay	Matej Sabanov	Georgyi Malyshev Marcel Waloch	6–2, 6–2
Loss	5–7		Norway F1, Oslo	Futures	Hard	Matej Sabanov	Patrik Rosenholm Darren Walsh	4–6, 6–3, [8–10]
Win	6–7		Norway F2, Oslo	Futures	Hard	Matej Sabanov	Sander Arends Darren Walsh	4–6, 6–3, [10–4]
Win	7–7		Croatia F5, Pula	Futures	Clay	Matej Sabanov	Zdeněk Kolář Dominik Suc	4–6, 6–0, [10–7]
Win	8–7		Croatia F7, Vrsar	Futures	Clay	Matej Sabanov	Tomislav Draganja Alexandru-Daniel Carpen	6–7(3–7), 6–4, [10–8]
Loss	8–8		Croatia F8, Bol	Futures	Clay	Matej Sabanov	Grégoire Barrère Jérôme Inzerillo	6–4, 5–7, [6–10]
Win	9–8		Bosnia & Herzegovina F2, Prijedor	Futures	Clay	Matej Sabanov	Danylo Kalenichenko Juraj Masar	walkover
Loss	9–9		Bosnia & Herzegovina F3, Brčko	Futures	Clay	Matej Sabanov	Victor Vlad Cornea Tudor Cristian Sulea	2–6, 4–6,
Loss	9–10		Serbia F4, Belgrade	Futures	Clay	Matej Sabanov	Ivan Bjelica Tomislav Draganja	5–7, 6–7(3–7)
Win	10–10		Serbia F7, Sombor	Futures	Clay	Matej Sabanov	Nerman Fatić Miki Janković	6–4, 6–0
Win	11–10		Serbia F9, Novi Sad	Futures	Clay	Matej Sabanov	Luca Pancaldi Fabio Mercuri	6–3, 6–0
Loss	11–11		Serbia F10, Subotica	Futures	Clay	Matej Sabanov	Marco Bortolotti Pietro Rondoni	6–1, 2–6, [8–10]
Win	12–11		Norway F1, Oslo	Futures	Hard	Matej Sabanov	Scott Griekspoor Tallon Griekspoor	6–3, 6–4
Loss	12–12		Norway F2, Oslo	Futures	Hard	Matej Sabanov	Joran Vliegen Sander Gillé	7–6(7–4), 6–7(5–7), [8–10]
Loss	12–13		Norway F3, Oslo	Futures	Hard	Matej Sabanov	Joran Vliegen Sander Gillé	6–7(3–7), 1–6
Loss	12–14		Croatia F4, Opatija	Futures	Clay	Matej Sabanov	Tomislav Draganja Nino Serdarušić	4–6, 6–7(10–12)
Loss	12–15		Bosnia & Herzegovina F4, Sarajevo	Futures	Clay	Matej Sabanov	Tomislav Draganja Nino Serdarušić	5–7, 3–6
Win	13–15		Turkey F6, Antalya	Futures	Hard	Matej Sabanov	Vadym Ursu Volodymyr Uzhylovskyi	4–6, 6–0, [12–10]
Win	14–15		Turkey F7, Antalya	Futures	Hard	Matej Sabanov	Vadym Ursu Volodymyr Uzhylovskyi	7–6(7–4), 6–2
Loss	14–16		Croatia F2, Poreč	Futures	Clay	Matej Sabanov	Zdeněk Kolář Nino Serdarušić	3–6, 3–6
Win	15–16		Hungary F5, Budapest	Futures	Clay	Matej Sabanov	Maximilian Neuchrist David Pichler	6–4, 7–6(7–2)
Loss	15–17		Czech Republic F5, Pardubice	Futures	Clay	Matej Sabanov	Vit Kopriva Jaroslav Pospíšil	6–4, 1–6, [2–10]
Loss	15–18		Serbia F2, Novi Sad	Futures	Clay	Matej Sabanov	Scott Puodziunas Dane Propoggia	6–7(8–10), 7–5, [9–11]
Win	16–18		Serbia F4, Zlatibor	Futures	Clay	Darko Jandric	Alexander Babanine Jeremy Beale	6–4, 6–2
Win	17–18		Serbia F5, Novi Sad	Futures	Clay	Domagoj Biljesko	Julian Bradley Nathan Pasha	0–6, 6–2, [10–3]
Win	18–18		Nigeria F4, Lagos	Futures	Hard	Matej Sabanov	Tom Jomby Johan Sebastien Tatlot	4–6, 7–5, [10–5]
Win	19–18		Nigeria F5, Lagos	Futures	Hard	Matej Sabanov	Chandril Sood Lakshit Sood	6–3, 6–4
Loss	19–19		Bangalore, India	Challenger	Hard	Matej Sabanov	Mikhail Elgin Divij Sharan	3–6, 0–6
Win	20–19		Croatia F1, Rovinj	Futures	Clay	Matej Sabanov	Javier Barranco Cosano Marco Bortolotti	6–4, 6–3
Loss	20–20		Croatia F2, Poreč	Futures	Clay	Matej Sabanov	Gonzalo Escobar Bruno Sant'Anna	4–6, 7–5, [9–11]
Win	21–20		Serbia F4, Subotica	Futures	Clay	Matej Sabanov	Vit Kopriva Jaroslav Pospíšil	6–2, 6–1
Win	22–20		M15 Antalya, Turkey	World Tennis Tour	Clay	Matej Sabanov	Sarp Ağabigün Nicolae Frunză	6–1, 7–5
Win	23–20		M15 Antalya, Turkey	World Tennis Tour	Clay	Matej Sabanov	Damien Wenger Louroi Martinez	6–1, 6–1
Loss	23–21		M25 Aktobe, Kazakhstan	World Tennis Tour	Hard	Matej Sabanov	Niels Lootsma Aleksandr Vasilenko	2–6, 6–7(5–7)
Loss	23–22		M15 Rovinj, Croatia	World Tennis Tour	Clay	Matej Sabanov	Markus Eriksson Jeroen Vanneste	5–7, 2–6
Win	24–22		M15 Opatija, Croatia	World Tennis Tour	Clay	Matej Sabanov	Ondrej Krstev Robin Stanek	6–1, 6–4
Loss	24–23		M25 Pula, Italy	World Tennis Tour	Clay	Matej Sabanov	Marco Bortolotti Scott Puodziunas	2–6, 4–6
Loss	24–24		M25+H Jablonec, Czech Republic	World Tennis Tour	Clay	Matej Sabanov	Václav Šafránek Jan Šátral	6–7(4–7), 6–0, [8–10]
Win	25–24		M25 Casinalbo, Italy	World Tennis Tour	Clay	Matej Sabanov	Sadio Doumbia Kirill Kivattsev	6–7(6–8), 6–3, [10–7]
Win	26–24		San Benedetto, Italy	Challenger	Clay	Matej Sabanov	Sergio Galdós Juan Pablo Varillas	6–4, 4–6, [10–5]
Win	27–24		M25+H Pontedera, Italy	World Tennis Tour	Clay	Matej Sabanov	Adam Taylor Jason Taylor	7–6(7–5), 6–2
Loss	27–25		Augsburg, Germany	Challenger	Clay	Matej Sabanov	Andrei Vasilevski Igor Zelenay	6–4, 4–6, [3–10]
Loss	27–26		M25 Győr, Hungary	World Tennis Tour	Clay	Matej Sabanov	Diego Hidalgo Pedro Sakamoto	4–6, 1–6
Loss	27–27		Sibiu, Romania	Challenger	Clay	Matej Sabanov	Sadio Doumbia Fabien Reboul	4–6, 6–3, [7–10]
Loss	27–28		Quimper, France	Challenger	Hard	Matej Sabanov	Andrey Golubev Aleksandr Nedovyesov	4–6, 2–6
Loss	27–29		Ortisei, Italy	Challenger	Hard	Matej Sabanov	Andre Begemann Albano Olivetti	3–6, 2–6
Loss	27–30		Prague, Czech Republic	Challenger	Clay	Matej Sabanov	Marc Polmans Sergiy Stakhovsky	3–6, 4–6
Loss	27–31		Braunschweig, Germany	Challenger	Clay	Matej Sabanov	Szymon Walków Jan Zieliński	4–6, 6–4, [4–10]
Win	28–31		Lüdenscheid, Germany	Challenger	Clay	Matej Sabanov	Denys Molchanov Aleksandr Nedovyesov	6–4, 2–6, [12–10]
Loss	28–32		Banja Luka, Bosnia & Herzegovina	Challenger	Clay	Matej Sabanov	Antonio Šančić Nino Serdarušić	3–6, 3–6
Loss	28–33		Roseto degli Abruzzi, Italy	Challenger	Clay	Matej Sabanov	Franco Agamenone Manuel Guinard	6–7(2–7), 6–7(3–7)
Loss	28–34		Cordenons, Italy	Challenger	Clay	Matej Sabanov	Dustin Brown Andrea Vavassori	4–6, 5–7
Loss	28–35		San Marino, San Marino	Challenger	Clay	Matej Sabanov	Marco Bortolotti Sergio Martos Gornés	4–6, 4–6
Win	29–35		Sibiu, Romania	Challenger	Clay	Matej Sabanov	Alexander Erler Lucas Miedler	3–6, 7–5, [10–4]
Loss	29–36		Valencia, Spain	Challenger	Hard	Matej Sabanov	Oleksii Krutykh Oriol Roca Batalla	3–6, 6–7(3–7)
Win	30–36		Waco, US	Challenger	Hard	Matej Sabanov	Evan King Mitchell Krueger	6–1, 3–6, [10–4]
Loss	30–37		Zadar, Croatia	Challenger	Clay	Matej Sabanov	Manuel Guinard Nino Serdarušić	4–6, 0–6
Loss	30–38		Olbia, Italy	Challenger	Hard	Matej Sabanov	Rithvik Choudary Bollipalli Arjun Kadhe	1–6, 3–6
Win	31–38		Todi, Italy	Challenger	Clay	Matej Sabanov	Filip Bergevi Mick Veldheer	6–4, 7–6(7–3)

Notes and References

1. Web site: Doubles ranking Serbia . atptour.com.
2. Web site: Meet the Sabanov Brothers . anamitric.net.
3. Web site: Ko su braća Sabanov, zbog Novaka umesto Hrvatske izabrali Srbiju . Who are the Sabanov brothers, they chose Serbia instead of Croatia because of Novak . nova.rs . bs . Miodrag . Dimitrijević . 17 November 2021.
4. Web site: Braća Sabanov postala Srbi, motiv im je igrati s Đokovićem u Davisovu kupu . vecernji.hr . hr.
5. Web site: Croatia Open: Tournament history - 2018 Draw . croatiaopen.hr.
6. Ivan and Matej Sabanov are this year's winners in the doubles Serbia Open 2021!#SerbiaOpen #SerbiaOpen2021 . 1385973764094103552 . SerbiaOpen2022 . 24 April 2021.
7. Web site: ATP Doubles: Ivan Sabanov, Matej Sabanov win inaugural Serbia Open . tennisworldusa.org . 25 April 2024.
8. Web site: Selektor razočaran i ponosan: Momci su dali 100 odsto . Coach disappointed and proud: The boys gave 100 percent . sportklub.n1info.rs . bs . Bojan . Marinković . 3 January 2022.
9. Web site: Srbija oslabljena u Danskoj . Serbia weakened in Denmark . teniskisavez.com . bs . Tennis Federation of Serbia.