Lost In Qualifying, Then Beat A No. 12 Seed: Meet Bu Yunchaokete

Bu Yunchaokete arrived at the US Open with no guarantee of even playing in the main draw. He left his opening match having produced one of the biggest upsets of the tournament and written his name into Grand Slam history.

The 24-year-old Chinese player, ranked 124th in the world, stunned 12th seed Rafael Jodar 6-2, 6-1, 6-1 in just 108 minutes on Wednesday. It was his first victory in a Grand Slam main draw and came after he had already lost the final round of qualifying.

His unlikely run began when Thanasi Kokkinakis withdrew because of injury, handing Bu a place in the main draw as a lucky loser.

What followed was far more than a fortunate entry into the tournament.

From qualifying exit to historic upset

Bu had lost his final qualifying match to Federico Cina and appeared to have played his last tennis at Flushing Meadows. Kokkinakis' withdrawal changed that, with Bu called into the main draw just a day before his match against Jodar.

The draw could hardly have been kinder to the Spaniard on paper. Jodar arrived as the 12th seed after a remarkable rise up the rankings and was one of the most closely watched young players in men's tennis.

Instead, Bu dominated from the opening exchanges.

He never faced a break point throughout the match, held all 11 of his service games and converted seven of the 16 break opportunities he created. He won 87% of points behind his first serve and was particularly effective at the net, taking 11 of 13 points there.

The result also created a piece of US Open history. Bu became the first lucky loser in the Open Era to defeat a top-15 seed at a Grand Slam, while Jodar became the highest-seeded player to lose to a lucky loser in US Open history.

Who is Bu Yunchaokete?

Bu, who is of Mongolian descent, grew up in China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, a part of the country not traditionally associated with producing elite tennis players.

According to the US Open, he was discovered while playing tennis at school before gradually competing more widely in China and overseas. He eventually moved to Alicante, Spain, where he began working with a Spanish coach.

That international experience has become an important part of his development, particularly as he has sought to establish himself on the ATP Tour.

His breakthrough came at the 2024 China Open, an ATP 500 event. Bu defeated Andrey Rublev for his first Top 10 victory before becoming the first Chinese man to reach the semi-finals of an ATP 500 tournament. He eventually lost to Jannik Sinner.

Bu reached a career-high ranking of 64 in April 2025, but had endured a difficult period coming into this year's US Open. He had entered the tournament without a Grand Slam main-draw victory, having lost his opening match at each of his previous six majors.

That record is now history.

Why his US Open run could get interesting

Bu's reward for knocking out Jodar is a second-round meeting with American Michael Zheng.

That presents another opportunity because Zheng is also relatively unfamiliar to many players on the main tour. The two have met once before, with Bu winning in straight sets at the 2024 Chicago Challenger. ([Spotv Now][2])

There is also a potentially open path deeper into the draw. The first Top 10 opponent in Bu's section does not appear until the quarter-final stage, where sixth seed Alex de Minaur could await.

That does not make a quarter-final run likely, but it does give Bu something increasingly valuable at a Grand Slam: an opportunity.

The element of surprise may work in his favour too. Players further down the draw are far more likely to have extensive scouting information on an established seed than on a 24-year-old who was not even supposed to be in the tournament.

Bu has already shown that he can make the most of an unexpected chance.

For now, the lucky loser label is fitting only because of how he entered the draw. His victory over Jodar was anything but lucky.