WIMBLEDON, ENGLAND – The play was called “FML: How Carson McCullers Saved My Life,” and it was the highlight of the University of San Diego’s student theater season in 2021-22.
It’s about surviving high school, and how literature can transform someone, and each day at rehearsal, a tall blonde kid from Denmark transformed himself from a superstar tennis player at the school into a supporting role in the production.
“It’s a really cool play, you should check it out,” Holmgren said Saturday.
He said this in an interview room at the All England Lawn and Tennis Club, after his third-round match at Wimbledon, where Holmgren transformed himself yet again over the past two weeks, into one of the most delightfully unexpected stories of the tournament.
Alex de Minaur (AUS) at the net after defeating August Holmgren (DEN) in the Third Round of the Gentlemen’s Singles on No.2 Court at The Championships 2025. Held at The All England Lawn Tennis Club, Wimbledon. Day 6 Saturday 05/07/2025. (Photo courtesy of AELTC/Jonathan Nackstrand.)Until two weeks ago, Holmgren had never won a main draw match on the ATP Tour. He’d never done a lot of things, then he went and did.
The 27-year-old former USD All-American just finished an incredible run at Wimbledon, when he won three qualifying matches to make the main draw of a Grand Slam, coming from behind in two of them.
Holmgren then kept the dream going by winning his first-round match over veteran Quentin Halys, and then remarkably saving three match points in a stunning five-set win over No. 21 seed Tomas Machac here on Thursday, winning 7-6 in the fifth set.
Saturday, before a packed house on Court No. 2, he pushed No. 11 seed Alex de Minaur all the way through, before losing in three tight sets, 6-4, 7-6, 6-3.
His best chance at leading 5-4 in the second set tiebreak, when he came to the net behind a big forehand and netted a half-volley.
“I came to net against arguably the fastest guy in the world, so what am I doing?” he lamented afterwards. “That’s going to haunt me a little.”
Still, his solid effort capped a week that saw Holmgren earn 152,000 British pounds (the equivalent of $207,000 U.S.), far more than he’s made in his first few years as a pro.
And it finished off the greatest week in USD tennis history, as current Torero Oliver Tarvet also made a splash, coming through qualifying and reaching the second round before losing to Carlos Alcaraz on Centre Court Wednesday.
“He’s the best guy in the world,” USD coach Ryan Keckley said of Holmgren. “This whole two weeks has been incredible. A week and a half ago, I was working a tennis camp in San Diego, and then all of a sudden, you’re on Centre Court at Wimbledon, with your kid playing Alcaraz. “It couldn’t have worked out any better.”
De Minaur was suitably impressed after beating Holmgren.
“I mean, the level he showed not just today, the whole week, he’s an extremely dangerous player,” De Minaur said. “He’s got an unbelievable serve, a great forehand. He takes the racquet out of your hand, and when he’s playing with a lot of confidence, it makes for a very tricky opponent.”
In one sense, Holmgren’s wonderful Wimbledon shouldn’t be that surprising: Possessing a 140-mile-per-hour serve on a surface that rewards fast serves more than any other is a huge weapon to have. And Holmgren has a huge forehand and excellent movement as well.
But still, this run at the most prestigious tournament was hardly expected.
He had a remarkable career as a Torero, making the NCAA Tournament as a freshman, then improving so much year to year that in 2021-22, he won the fall ITA championships in singles, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament championship match, where he lost to then-Florida Gator, and current Top 10 pro, Ben Shelton.
Keckley said he knew something was different about Holmgren during the recruiting process.
“Here was a kid who was maybe No. 85 in the (world junior) rankings, and he had this Excel spreadsheet and was recording every single conversation he had with a coach, taking notes on every interaction and everything they said,” Keckley recalled. “I was like ‘whoa, I’ve got a pretty big hill to climb with this kid.”
But Holmgren said he was very impressed with Keckley’s attention to detail and how his players improved.
“I felt at home when I went to visit,” Holmgren said. “And it’s interesting, you asked me about the play, and being involved in theater there. When I was doing that (FML) play, that was some of the best tennis I ever played. And it was so cool because every evening from seven to nine, I was in rehearsal. I don’t think (the play) I was during that tournament, but it was either right before or right after that. And I was just so happy with my life, both on the court and in classes and the theater.
“And that was something that opened my eyes to how important it is to be happy in
life.”
Holmgren’s eyes grew wide when told how much money he’d just made himself, and he said he had no idea what he might buy with that.
With his Wimbledon dream done, he’s up to a career high No. 146 in the rankings, but now he’ll go back to the minor-league circuit, playing a few hardcourt events before the U.S. Open in late August, where he’ll again try to qualify.
“I’ve got something to prove the next few months, to see if I can sustain this level, or if I’m just a one-tournament wonder, which I really don’t want to be my legacy,” Holmgren said. “I’ve had a lot of confidence in my practicing and felt I was getting better and better, and I thought the wins were going to come. I’m just very fortunate they came these two weeks.”
August Holmgren (DEN) serves against Alex de Minaur (AUS) in the Third Round of the Gentlemen’s Singlesthe on No.2 Court at The Championships 2025. Held at The All England Lawn Tennis Club, Wimbledon. Day 6 Saturday 05/07/2025. (Photo courtesy of AELTC/Jonathan Nackstrand.) Read More Details
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