Aljaž Bedene
Aljaž Bedene is a professional tennis player from Slovenia. He was naturalised British and played with this nationality from 2015 to 2017, returning to represent Slovenia in 2018.
He has won five Futures and 14 Challenger singles titles. In doubles he has won one Challenger title and two Futures titles. His highest ranking is No. 43 in singles and No. 127 in doubles.
He represented Slovenia when he turned pro in 2008. On 31 March 2015, Bedene was granted UK citizenship and represented Great Britain, but the International Tennis Federation has rejected his application to represent Great Britain in the Davis Cup as he had previously played three dead rubbers for Slovenia. After his appeals failed, Bedene switched his representation to his birth country of Slovenia for the 2018 season.
Early and personal life
Bedene's father, Branko, is a dental industry worker and his mother is Darlen. Aljaž and his younger twin brother, Andraž used to compete for Slovenia’s top tennis honours. The two met regularly in competition finals. His nickname is Ali or Benke, and he speaks English, Slovene and Serbian. Andraž Bedene is a former ATP tour player.In 2008, Aljaž made the decision to pursue his tennis career in the UK because he felt it was stagnating under the limitations he encountered in Slovenia. He ended a seven-year wait to become a British citizen on 31 March 2015 and became British no. 2 behind Andy Murray.
Aljaž has lived in Welwyn Garden City since 2008 with his girlfriend, pop star Kimalie, formerly part of the Slovenian group Foxy Teens. Bedene is based at the Global Tennis Connections Academy in Gosling.
Career
2011
Not counting the Davis Cup competition, he competed in his first ATP tournament at Erste Bank Open in Vienna, Austria. He reached the second round where he lost in three sets against Tommy Haas.2012
Bedene made his first ATP quarterfinal appearance at the Erste Bank Open. In the quarterfinal he played against no. 2 seed Janko Tipsarević and lost after retiring in the second set.2013
Bedene made his first ATP semifinal appearance at the Aircel Chennai Open defeating the no. 6 seed Robin Haase in the second round and the no. 4 seed Stanislas Wawrinka in the quarterfinals. In the semifinal, he lost against no. 2 seed Janko Tipsarević.At the Australian Open he played in his first Grand Slam tournament. He lost in the first round.
2014
On 9 May, it was announced that Bedene had applied for a British passport, with legal support from the Lawn Tennis Association.2015
Starting the year in 2015 Aircel Chennai Open, Bedene reached the finals by defeating Lukáš Lacko, Feliciano López, Guillermo García López, and Roberto Bautista Agut in three sets. He lost the final to Stan Wawrinka in straight sets.On 26 March, Bedene, the world no 83, was granted UK citizenship. Bedene said he planned to appeal against a new rule which prevents players from representing more than one country in Davis Cup. Bedene played three dead rubbers for Slovenia in Davis Cup action in 2010, 2011 and 2012.
On 30 May, the International Tennis Federation announced that Bedene would not be allowed to represent Great Britain in the Davis Cup in response to the Lawn Tennis Association who had appealed against a rule brought in on January 1, forbidding players from representing two nations in the competition. Bedene's case had been based on his passport application being submitted before the new regulation was implemented. On 17 November, Bedene and representatives from the Lawn Tennis Association flew to Prague to appeal for the right of Bedene to play Davis Cup for Great Britain. However, the Lawn Tennis Association did not submit a 70-page summary of its support for the player until just before the meeting. The International Tennis Federation said the hearing of the appeal would be adjourned until the next board meeting on 20–21 March 2016, so it could consider the document.
2016
The International Tennis Federation, which was meeting in Moldova on 20 March, considered Bedene's appeal to represent Great Britain in Davis Cup. The International Tennis Federation decided that Bedene was not eligible to represent Great Britain in Davis Cup or the Olympics. Bedene decided to consider seeking a ruling from the Court of Arbitration for Sport.In March, he split from his coach James Davidson, and Davis Cup captain Leon Smith supervised him at the French Open. Bedene progressed to the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time, where he was beaten by Novak Djokovic.
2017
In March, Bedene won the Irving Tennis Classic, defeating Mikhail Kukushkin in the final in three sets, before going on in April to win the 2017 Verrazzano Open defeating Benoît Paire in two sets in the final and then the 2017 Open Città della Disfida defeating Gastão Elias, also in two sets. Also in April, Bedene reached the Gazprom Hungarian Open final, where he lost to Lucas Pouille in two sets.2018
In January 2018 Bedene began representing his birth nation of Slovenia again.Bedene reached the finals of the Argentina Open in February, defeating Jiří Veselý, Albert Ramos-Vinolas, Diego Schwartzman, and Federico Delbonis before losing to Dominic Thiem.
ATP career finals
Singles: 4 (4 runner-ups)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Loss | 0–1 | 2015 Aircel Chennai Open – Singles| | Chennai Open, India | 250 Series | Hard |  Stan Wawrinka | 4–6, 3–6 |
| Loss | 0–2 | 2017 Gazprom Hungarian Open – Singles| | Hungarian Open, Hungary | 250 Series | Clay |  Lucas Pouille | 3–6, 1–6 |
| Loss | 0–3 | 2018 Argentina Open – Singles| | Argentina Open, Argentina | 250 Series | Clay |  Dominic Thiem | 2–6, 4–6 |
| Loss | 0–4 | 2019 Moselle Open – Singles| | Moselle Open, France | 250 Series | Hard | Jo-Wilfried Tsonga | 7–6, 6–7, 3–6 |