Bernard Tomic had made peace with this being his final year on tour, something he announced in early July. But then something clicked. The 33-year-old Australian claimed the Lincoln Challenger title in Nebraska on Sunday, his first ATP Challenger Tour title in eight years. After the win, he admitted that the timing of the breakthrough had forced him to reconsider his decision.

“I’ll be as honest as I can. About ten days ago I hit a bit of a brick wall, maybe two weeks ago. I said this was going to be my last year, so I guess I have to reassess a few things now,” Tomic said, per First Serve on X.

In April, Tomic and his partner Keely Hannah had their first child, daughter Astara. After the birth, he took off a couple of months, stating it was hard to get things back on track.

“It wasn’t easy at the start of the year; I missed a couple of months. I had a beautiful daughter, and, you know, I was at 160-170 in the world, so I needed a couple of months to gain some points. Now I’m defending a bit of points, so the last couple of weeks, yeah, I sat down, and I was like, shit, I think this is going to be my last year, and now that I’m on, I’m going to have to go back to the drawing board. So, yeah, probably going to play another 20 years,” he added. 

Every one of his matches featured at least one tiebreak set. Tomic’s road to the final was grueling, as the Australian defeated American wildcard Spencer Johnson in a three-set semifinal after losing the first set in a tiebreak before cruising through the next two sets, 6-3, 6-2.

The final was a match worthy of the occasion. Seeded eighth, Tomic lost the first set to fifth seed Mark Lajal but rallied to save a championship point and won back-to-back tiebreaks for a 4-6, 7-6(4), 7-6(3) victory. The former world No. 17 landed 71 percent of his first serves and fired nine aces past the 23-year-old Estonian. This was the fourth Challenger title of his career and his first since winning in Mallorca in 2018.

“It was a ridiculous match. He’s a heck of a player,” Tomic said of the final. “It was good to put on a show.” He also had warm words for the tournament itself, now in its third year. “Great environment, great vibe, the people having a blast,” he said. “For such a little event they did a really good thing, so I’m happy the way it turned out.”

The 33-year-old is now hoping to use the momentum from Lincoln as the foundation for one final push on tour. Considering everything he has been through over the past decade, the title carries far greater significance than just another Challenger trophy.

A long road back from rock bottom to relevance

The victory is far more significant than a single trophy, given how often Bernard Tomic has fallen and risen over the years. He was ranked world No. 17 in 2016 but dropped to No. 813 in August 2022, a fall that would have ruined many careers. Instead of walking away, Tomic decided to grind his way through the Challenger circuit week after week.

It took him 2,877 days to win another title after his last one, and that’s how long this comeback had been in the making. Even in the final stretch, the road to Lincoln was anything but smooth, as Tomic lost his last three Challenger finals dating back to 2024.

The timing of the breakthrough could hardly have been better. Tomic made a solid run in the Wimbledon qualifiers last month, reaching the second round. He also declared that he still believes he can “beat anybody” when playing his best tennis, some 15 years after his run to the quarterfinals at the All England Club.

He has not featured in a Grand Slam main draw since reaching the second round of the 2021 Australian Open as a qualifier, and has fallen short in eight subsequent attempts to qualify for a major since. Currently, he is ranked 170 in the world, and his immediate goals are to build enough points to make a genuine push for the US Open. Just two weeks ago, this goal seemed entirely out of reach, but now it is closer than it has been in the last eight years.