Less than a year after their professional debut, Ryan Seggerman and Patrik Trhac are among the world’s top doubles pairings. Starting their days on the pro tour together in July 2023 with ranks outside the top 1500, they now boast nearly 70 victories, multiple titles worldwide, and a main draw appearance at the 2024 BNP Paribas Open.

Due to their stellar 2023 performance and recent successes, Ryan and Patrik broke into the top 100 doubles rankings for the first time last Sunday. Reaching this milestone faster than many ever thought possible, the rising SoCal superstars are ecstatic with where they are now, but are hungry for even more in the coming months together.

FORMING A SUPERTEAM

Although Ryan and Patrik did not begin teaming up until the summer of 2023, their story began many years prior with both playing junior tennis locally in San Diego. First meeting when Ryan was nine years old and Patrik ten, the two played in many of the same tournaments growing up, even squaring off a time or two. Not necessarily friends, the two went their separate ways following their days on the junior circuit, attending different high schools before ending up at Division 1 universities on the opposite sides of the country.

Ryan attended Princeton for undergrad and finished his eligibility at University of North Carolina as a graduate transfer, while Patrik went to Idaho State before transferring to the University of Utah. They reconnected in their final college year when UNC took on Utah in the second round of the 2023 NCAA tournament. After the match, Patrik suggested teaming up for some Futures events. Though unexpected, Ryan was flattered and accepted Patrik’s offer, leading to their first appearance as a team at back-to-back ITF events in Lakewood in July. 

“We agreed to play the last two tournaments in Lakewood at the SoCal Pro Series last summer, and so that was where we made our debut as a team at any level,” mentioned Ryan. “It wasn’t a partnership where we planned on playing together going forward, but with good results and good teamwork it just worked out that way, and I am very happy that it did.”

While they may have not realized it at the time, the conversation they had following their NCAA tournament match would become one of the most impactful interactions they have had in both tennis and in life. Going 8-0 and winning both Lakewood titles, they thrived together on court. Two weeks playing together in SoCal shattered any uncertainties that the pair had about playing professionally, proving to both that they were talented enough to not only compete, but to win at that level. 

“I am an ambitious guy and have high expectations for myself, but a lot of my life I didn’t always have that real belief that I could or should play professionally,” Ryan shared. “I toyed around with the idea of just going to work and finding a normal job somewhere after college, but I felt that I’d regret it if I never gave myself any chance to play on the tour, so ultimately I decided to give myself the six months through the end of 2023 to play and hopefully have good results.”

“I quit tennis when I was in high school to play basketball and then picked up the racket again in junior college where I started my collegiate career,” said Patrik. “My ultimate goal was to play tennis for a Division-1 school.  Working my way up from junior college to a small D1 university (Idaho State) to then transferring to Utah and winning a Pac-12 title was a dream.”

CLIMBING THE RANKS

Following a magnificent start to their 2023 season, Ryan and Patrik continued to find success as a team. In their first six months together, they compiled an overall record of 41-2 with 10 titles, including two ATP Challengers. Their success catapulted Ryan from No. 2016 to No. 217 and Patrik from No. 1568 to No. 215 in the world. Kicking off their 2024 campaign with a trip to the desert, the young phenoms continued to impress, winning back-to-back Challenger titles at the inaugural Southern California Open in January, breaking into the top 200 for the first time.

Their most important match to date came shortly after with a wild card at their first ever ATP Masters 1000 event — the 2024 BNP Paribas Open—, where they defeated top 15 players Andres Molteni and Maximo Gonzalez, 3-6, 7-5, 10-8 in the round of 32. Although they didn’t advance past the round of 16, this win brought them closer to the top 100, placing them just shy of the top 150.

More than just a notch in the win column, the triumph held special significance to both players, as competing alongside one another in front of friends and family at a place they were all too familiar with was a dream come true. 

“My favorite memory playing alongside Ryan was at Indian Wells (BNP Paribas Open),” Patrik added. “We got our first ATP win by defeating the number six-seed in the first round of the tournament. I was a ball kid at Indian Wells when I was about 12 years old, so getting to compete in my first ATP event that was so close to my home was something special.” 

“The whole concept of getting to travel the world and play tennis with a guy who has become a great friend to me is something in and of itself that I really love, but my favorite memory hands down is our time at the Indian Wells tournament and getting a win as wild cards in our ATP debut,” Ryan stated. “That was probably the best moment of my life in general so it definitely takes the cake too as far as memories with Pat. That first win at Indian Wells in front of friends and family just meant so much to me.” 

Coming off the heels of success in the states, Ryan and Patrik took their talents to Mexico to continue the month of March and lead into April, competing in four Challengers.. Securing a semifinals appearance in the San Luis Potosi Challenger, both players eclipsed the top 150 ranks leading up to a week spent in Mexico City. In what would be their most triumphant event while in the country, Ryan and Patrik claimed their fifth Challenger title, taking down top ranked talent all week in Mexico City. In the finale, Seggerman and Trhac were victorious by a score of 5-7, 6-4, 10-5. While being early exits in their next two events, Ryan and Patrik’s ranks were the highest they had ever been, with the duo reaching No. 130 and No. 128 respectively heading into May. 

Continuing to compete in Challengers before the beginning of summer, the next weeks proved to be some of the pair’s most important as far as rankings go. Within four events in May, Seggerman and Trhac continued to build upon their resumes, adding a finalist appearance in Mauthausen, Austria before following that up with their sixth Challenger title, this time in Skopje, North Macedonia. With rankings moved up to No. 102 for Ryan and No. 101 for Patrik by the end of May, the SoCal natives would unfortunately have to wait longer than hoped to enter the top 100, as the duo struggled to accumulate multiple victories over their next few events.

Following those losses, they bounced back in their next Challenger in Sassuolo, Italy, making quick work of a top 100 pairing before advancing through their quarterfinals and semifinals matches. In the finale against a top 125 team, Seggerman and Trhac fought their hearts out knowing what was at stake, but ultimately faced defeat by a score of 6-7(7), 6-2, 9-11. Although  they could not pull out the win, this finals appearance proved to be all that Seggerman and Trhac had needed. As the rankings updated on June 24, 2024, Ryan and Patrik witnessed their names in the doubles top 100 for the first time, with Ryan at No. 98 and Patrik at No. 97. 

“It’s a huge milestone for me and definitely a dream come true to see my name in the rankings amongst guys I have grown up watching on TV and looking up to,” Ryan stated. “It’s a privilege to be able to travel the world and play the game I love, and having cracked the top 100 in doubles in my first year on tour is a great reminder for myself that I’m capable of more than I think. I am very proud of this ranking milestone and the fact that I have given myself the chance to follow my dreams on court. Whatever happens from here on out, I will always be able to say I reached the top 100.”

“Breaking the top 100 means a lot to me, Patrik added. “To say that I am top 100 in the world in tennis now is something that I didn’t see coming.” 

Ryan and Patrik are the only Southern California tandem currently ranked inside the ATP top 100 in doubles. They are among just twelve Americans in the top 100, joining fellow SoCal native Reese Stradler (Newport Beach). In their first year, they hold an impressive record of 68-15 and 14 overall titles.

FUTURE ASPIRATIONS

As Ryan and Patrik look to what lies ahead, both have lofty goals for themselves as a team, aspiring to continue pushing through the rankings while competing in some of the world’s most prestigious tournaments. With Ryan at 24 years of age and Patrik 25, the future remains brighter than ever for both. 

“My main goal is to continue to climb in the rankings and reach the top 80 this year,” shared Patrik. 

“For the rest of the year, our main goal as a team I would say is to play in the U.S. Open,” discussed Ryan. “Top 70 in doubles would be a great achievement by the end of the year so that will stay in mind as it kind of goes hand-in-hand with starting to get into the Grand Slams. Individually, I just want to keep improving as a player and enjoying the process. I still have goals for myself on the singles front as well, where I am currently ranked No. 465. I would love to get to play in the qualifying draw of the U.S. Open this year, but while prioritizing the doubles for Pat and I and building our schedule around those events, it is realistically difficult to ascend the singles ranks quick enough to make the cut. For the future in general, the goal is and always has been to play in the biggest tournaments in the world and compete against the world’s best every week. There is tons of work to be done to make that a reality, but I am super stoked with where I am at so far.” 

The pair now heads to Bloomfield Hills, Michigan on July 1st to compete at the Cranbrook Tennis Classic, continuing their stretch of ATP Challenger appearances. After their first tournament as a top 100 team, the two look to get into a few ATP level 250 tournaments, either in the United States or Europe.