Milos Raonic

Early Years

Milos Raonic was born in Titograd, Yugoslavia (now Podgorica, Montenegro), and is the youngest of Dusan and Vesna Raonic’s three children. The Raonic family, who are of Serbian descent, moved to Brampton, Ontario, in 1994 when Milos was three years old. The family immigrated to Canada during the civil war in the former Yugoslavia (1991–99), which claimed the lives of approximately 150,000 people and resulted in the resettlement of several million more.

To Dusan and Vesna Raonic, Canada was not only a safe destination, but also a land of opportunity for their children. “[The move] was very difficult for them but they did not show it to us one bit,” Milos Raonic told Donald McRae of the Guardian. “Everything was geared to giving us opportunities — and for me that meant tennis.”

Both of Raonic’s parents have degrees in engineering from the University of Montenegro. Dusan earned his doctorate in electrical engineering, while Vesna has a degree in mechanical engineering. Both parents found employment soon after the family moved to Brampton: Dusan as a researcher at the University of Waterloo and Vesna at a bank in Scarborough. Dusan went on to work in the development centre of Rockwell Automation (1994–99) and then at Atomic Energy Canada Limited (1999–2014) as a consultant for Ontario Power Generation, where he specialized in nuclear engineering.

Raonic’s Early Tennis Career

Milos Raonic’s first experience with tennis was at age six when he attended a week-long camp at the Bramalea Tennis Club in Brampton. Soon after, the family moved to Thornhill, and at age eight he began training with coach Casey Curtis at the Blackmore Tennis Club in Richmond Hill. The young Raonic was very determined. He regularly practised with a ball machine either early in the morning or late at night because the court fees were the cheapest at 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m.

Over the next nine years, Raonic and Curtis practised twice a day, almost every day. In addition to working regularly with a ball machine, Raonic constantly practised his serve — at age nine, he would hit 300 to 400 tennis balls a day before heading to school. By the time he was 10, his parents made a deal with the local school board: Raonic would study during lunch hour so he could finish his schooling at 1:30 p.m. and attend afternoon tennis practice.

Neither winter nor injury could stop Raonic from practising. Even though the tennis complex was unheated, Raonic would practice in the winter while wearing a heavy jacket. When he broke his foot at age 12, he continued to practice, hitting volleys from a chair. Raonic’s serve would become his greatest strength on the court. According to Curtis, his serve “was basically, technically, almost a perfect motion” by the time he was 12.

Raonic’s Junior Tennis Career (2003–07)

In 2003, a 12-year-old Milos Raonic participated in his first International Tennis Federation (ITF) sanctioned event. He lost to Kirill Sinitsyn of Russia, who was more than three years older. In 2004, Raonic lost in the first round of the Canadian ITF Junior Singles Championship but won a match in the doubles competition. The following year he won a singles match at the 2005 Canadian ITF Grade 4 Championship and advanced to the semifinals of the doubles competition with Canadian teammate Mo Niaki.

In October 2006, Raonic won the U18 ITF World Ranking Event in Toronto — his first ITF junior title. Raonic also won the doubles title with Canadian teammate John Taylor. In December, Raonic won the doubles title at the Prince Cup International junior tennis competition in Miami, Florida, with future Canadian tennis star Vasek Pospisil of Vernon, British Columbia. He also advanced to the final of the singles tournament before losing to Xander Spong of the Netherlands.

At age 16, Raonic moved to Montreal, where he spent the next three years practising at the new national training centre. In 2007, he reached the final of a singles competition at the United States Junior International Hard Court Championship at the Atlantic Club, New Jersey. He also won under-18 ITF World Ranking Events in Montreal and Burlington, Ontario.

Raonic Turns Professional (2008)

In April 2008, Milos Raonic won the Canadian National Indoor under-18 Tennis Championship in Toronto. That year, Raonic decided to declare his professional status instead of attending the University of Virginia, to which he had received a full scholarship.

His first professional successes came on the ITF Futures tour, a developmental tour of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Raonic reached the final at an ITF Futures tournament in Sherbrooke, Quebec, in March 2008 and then won two Futures singles events in 2009. In 2010, Raonic won two Futures events in South Korea, before making the jump to the ATP Tour.

Raonic Named ATP World Tour Newcomer of the Year (2011)

Raonic began 2011 on a strong note, reaching the fourth round of the Australian Open in January by beating two seeded players: Michael Llodra of France, ranked No. 22; and Mikhail Youzhny of Russia, ranked No. 10.

The following month, Raonic won his first ATP tournament in San Jose, California, defeating Fernando Verdasco of Spain in the final of the SAP Open — the first of three straight years Raonic won in San Jose. Following his win over Verdasco, Raonic reached the final of the Memphis Open in Tennessee, before losing to American superstar Andy Roddick.

Raonic’s 2011 season was cut short when he injured his hip at Wimbledon, which forced him to miss the next two months. Despite this, Raonic was named the ATP World Tour Newcomer of the Year.

Raonic’s Olympic Debut (2012)

In 2012, Milos Raonic began his tennis season with a tournament victory in Chennai, India, defeating Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia in a tight three set match in which every set went to tiebreakers. In February, Raonic advanced to his second straight final in Memphis, but lost to Austria’s Jurgen Melzer. Later in the year, Raonic defeated Andy Murray of Great Britain in the quarterfinals of Barcelona and the semifinals of Tokyo.

Raonic also made his Olympic debut in 2012, losing an epic match to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France in the second round of the Olympic Summer Games in London. In a match that lasted almost four hours (the longest in Olympic history), Tsonga beat Raonic 6–3, 3–6, 25–23.

Raonic’s serve was his primary strength. At the 2012 Rogers Cup in Toronto, he launched a serve that went almost 250 km per hour — the fifth fastest serve of all time.

Canada's Male Athlete of the Year (2013 and 2014)

Milos Raonic won two ATP events during the 2013 season, at San Jose and Bangkok. For the second time in three years, he also reached the fourth round of the Australian Open. The same year, Raonic led Canada to the semifinals of the Davis Cup, the first time for the country since 1913.

At the 2013 Rogers Cup, Raonic made it to the final, losing 6–2, 6–2 to Rafael Nadal of Spain. He was the first Canadian to reach the final of the Canadian Open since Robert Bédard of St. Hyacinthe, Québec, won the title in 1958. Raonic also became the first tennis player born in the 1990s and first Canadian ever to reach the top 10 in the world rankings. At the end of the year, he received the Lionel Conacher Award as Canada’s top male athlete of the year.

On 3 August 2014, Raonic beat Vasek Pospisil in the final of the ATP 500 Series event in Washington, DC. It was a historic match in Canadian tennis history as it was the first time in the Open Era (since 1968) that two Canadian men had played against each other in an ATP Tour Final. It was also the first time that a Canadian man won an ATP 500 Series singles event.

At Wimbledon 2014, Raonic made it to the semifinals, becoming the first Canadian man to reach the semifinals of a Grand Slam singles tournament since Robert Powell’s appearance at Wimbledon in 1908. Raonic also reached the quarter-finals of the French Open in 2014.

In October 2014, Raonic beat Roger Federer for the first time in his career in the quarterfinals of the ATP Masters Series 1000 indoor event in Paris, France. He reached the final before losing to Novak Djokovic. Raonic finished the season ranked No. 8 in the world. He reached the ATP World Finals and won his second consecutive Lionel Conacher Award.

Raonic Makes Canadian Tennis History (2015–16)

On 11 May 2015, Milos Raonic reached another milestone, moving up to No. 4 in the world in the ATP Rankings — his highest ranking to that point. That year, he won the ATP tournament in St. Petersburg, Russia, defeating Joao Sousa of Portugal. He also advanced to the final of Brisbane, where he lost to Roger Federer.

Between May and August 2016, tennis legend John McEnroe — one of the best grass court players ever — joined Raonic’s coaching staff to help improve his play on grass. At Wimbledon 2016, Raonic made Canadian tennis history. He became the first Canadian man ever to reach the final of a Grand Slam event, losing 6–4, 7–6, 7–6 to Andy Murray on 10 July 2016. (Eugenie Bouchard was the first Canadian singles player to reach a Grand Slam final, in 2014.)

Raonic defeated Roger Federer on several occasions in 2016: in the semi-finals of Wimbledon and in the final of Brisbane. He also reached the final of the ATP 1000 Masters Series event in Indian Wells, where he lost to Djokovic. Raonic finished the 2016 tennis season ranked No. 3 on the ATP Tour, the highest-ever world ranking of any Canadian tennis player (male or female).

Later Career (2017–26)

Milos Raonic gutted through an injury-plagued 2017 season. He reached the quarterfinals at the Australian Open (losing to Rafael Nadal) and Wimbledon (losing to Roger Federer) despite dealing with a persistent hamstring injury. He reached two finals but had to withdraw from numerous tournaments, including the US Open and the Japan Open, and ended the season early due to a wrist injury. It was the first season since 2011 that Raonic did not win at least one tournament.

After starting the 2018 season ranked at No. 24, Raonic failed to advance past the second round at his first three tournaments. He then reached the semifinals at Indian Wells and the quarter-finals at the Miami Open, losing to Juan Martín del Potro at both tournaments. He withdrew from the French Open due to a knee injury, but after three months on the sidelines he finished the season strong. He finished second at the Stuttgart Open, losing to Federer in the final, and advanced to the quarterfinal at Wimbledon, losing to John Isner. TNT Sports called it a “quarter-final slug-fest,” which Raonic lost despite “smashing 31 aces to Isner's 25.”

Raonic reached the quarter-finals at the 2019 and 2020 Australian Open and finished the 2020 season with a pair of semifinal appearances. But his 2021 season was interrupted by due to injury, including an Achilles tendon injury that ended his season. He finally returned in 2023 but with lacklustre results. In March 2024, he was ranked at No. 197 in the world. He represented Canada at the 2024 Olympic Summer Games in Paris but lost in the first round to Germany’s Dominik Koepfer. It would prove to be Raonic’s final match. He was scheduled to compete at the 2024 National Bank Open in Montreal but withdrew due to a shoulder injury. Raonic officially announced his retirement from tennis on 11 January 2026.

Milos Raonic Foundation

The Milos Raonic Foundation, launched in 2012, helps disadvantaged children overcome financial and physical barriers that might prevent them from integrating in society. The organizations that have received financial support from the foundation include the Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital in Toronto and the Canadian Paralympic Committee.

Family and Personal Life

Milos Raonic’s sister Jelena has a master’s degree in international trade and finance from Ryerson University (now Toronto Metropolitan University), and his brother Momir has a degree in information technology and business from York University. Their uncle, Branimir Gvozdenović, is the Minister of Sustainable Development and Tourism in Montenegro. He was once Montenegro’s Deputy Prime Minister.

Raonic has lived in Monaco since 2012. He was in a relationship with Canadian model Danielle Knudson from 2015 to 2018. He began dating Belgian model Camille Ringoir in 2019 and married her in April 2022. Their first child — a son, Nikola Raonic — was born in 2025.

Honours and Awards

• Most Improved Male Player of the Year, Tennis Canada (2010, 2011, 2014, 2016)
• Birks Male Player of the Year, Tennis Canada (2011–16)
• Newcomer of the Year, ATP World Tour (2011)
• Male Athlete of the Year, QMI Agency (2012)
• Lionel Conacher Award, The Canadian Press (2013, 2014)
• Emirates ATP Top 10 Trophy, ATP World Tour (2014)
• Canadian of the Year, Canadian Club of Toronto (2014)
• Inductee, Ontario Sports Hall of Fame (2014)
• Male Athlete of the Year, Toronto Sports Hall of Honour (2016)

Milos Raonic ATP Titles