Edan Leshem

Leshem began playing tennis at five, after his grandfather, who also played the sport, suggested it as an outlet for his energy.[1] After moving to Ramat Hasharon, he began working with coach Ron Becker at seven.[1] Recalling that early period, Leshem said, “I realized I’m not that bad. I can play some tennis.”[1]

He progressed from national tournaments to international competition and won three consecutive ITF Junior events in Ra’anana, Haifa and Kiryat Shmona before reaching the Israeli national championship final as a teenager.[4] His opponent in the final was Dudi Sela, who had beaten him in an earlier round the previous year.[4] Leshem expressed excitement at reaching the championship match.[4]

Leshem joined Israel’s Davis Cup team at 17 and subsequently competed in ATP events and extensively on the ITF and Challenger circuits.[1] His first Davis Cup victory came in March 2016, when he was 19 and ranked No. 566.[5] With Hungary already holding an unassailable 3–0 lead in the Group I tie, he defeated No. 809 Gabor Borsos 4–6, 6–4, 7–6 in a Sunday singles match.[5] A subsequent victory by Amir Weintraub brought the final score to 3–2 in Hungary’s favor.[5]

In June 2016, Leshem won the men’s title at the $10,000 Futures tournament in Acre, defeating American Nick Chappell in the final.[6] It was his second consecutive Futures title, following a victory in Kiryat Shmona the previous week; he was then ranked No. 573.[6]

In September 2017, Leshem represented Israel in a Davis Cup Group I relegation playoff against Ukraine in Ramat Hasharon.[7] Ranked No. 290, he lost to No. 52 Alexandr Dolgopolov 6–4, 6–1, 6–4, as Ukraine established an insurmountable 3–0 lead.[7] Leshem reached his career-high singles ranking of No. 249 that December.[1]

In January 2018, he was selected for an International Tennis Federation grant of $25,000, one of 29 players from 20 countries receiving support for professional expenses and development.[8] Selection considered age, world ranking and potential.[8] Ranked No. 255 at the time, Leshem had competed in Grand Slam qualifying for the first time the previous week.[8]

The following month, Leshem won the decisive fifth match in Israel’s Davis Cup tie against South Africa in Centurion.[2] Israel had fallen behind 2–1 after losing the doubles, but recovered to win the tie 3–2, with Leshem defeating Nicolaas Scholtz 6–3, 7–5.[2] The result advanced Israel to the next round of Europe/Africa Group I and marked its first away Davis Cup victory in almost four years.[2] Leshem also reached his career-high doubles ranking of No. 349 in 2018.[1]

Leshem enlisted in the Israel Defense Forces at the end of 2015 with outstanding-athlete status, completed a month of basic training and was assigned to Unit 8200 at Glilot.[9] He used service-deferral days to compete abroad and represent Israel in the Davis Cup.[9] By February 2019, following a prolonged interruption to international competition, his ranking had fallen to No. 450.[9] He was eventually discharged on medical grounds and planned to resume competition in Kazakhstan.[9]

In September 2019, Leshem was named among five players on Israel’s Davis Cup team for a tie against Sweden in Stockholm.[10] He had won a $25,000 Futures tournament in Kazakhstan the previous week and had also reached a doubles final in France.[10] The Sweden tie formed part of Europe/Africa Group I, with the winner advancing to a playoff for a place in the 2020 World Group qualifying event.[10]

In March 2020, Leshem secured Israel’s 3–1 Davis Cup victory over Turkey in Antalya by defeating Cem İlkel in the decisive singles match.[11] The Group I relegation playoff was the first success for new captain-player Jonathan Erlich, who selected Leshem for the match after the teams had split the opening day’s singles.[11]

Leshem reached the Israeli national championship final again in December 2020, defeating Yarden Hason in a semifinal lasting an hour and a half.[12] It was his second appearance in the national final, six years after his earlier defeat by Sela.[12]

Leshem also won his first Israeli national title by defeating Roy Ginat in a separate championship final.[3]

In September 2022, Leshem lost 6–4, 7–5 to Tomáš Macháč in a Davis Cup tie against the Czech Republic, leaving Israel 2–0 behind.[13] He had held two set points in the second set but failed to convert them before losing the next game and the match.[13] Erlich praised his level of play while saying that cramps and pressure had affected him late in the contest.[13]

Later that month, Leshem received a wildcard for qualifying at the Tel Aviv Watergen Open; a tournament preview listed him at No. 421.[14] His tournament run included wins over seventh seed Lorenzo Giustino and third seed Luca Nardi.[1] In the main draw, he defeated fellow Israeli and Davis Cup teammate Yshai Oliel in an 87-minute first-round match, earning his first ATP career win.[15][1] Leshem emphasized afterward that the match had not been easy and that he was approaching the tournament “stage by stage.”[15] Following the tournament, he rose close to 70 ranking places to No. 377 and became Israel’s highest-ranked singles player.[1]

A fall down a staircase while Leshem was on his way to a match caused a lower-back fracture and a disc injury.[1] He eventually concluded that a competitive comeback was no longer realistic and began developing his coaching experience and building a tennis club in Ra’anana.[1] He described the club’s aim as creating “a community of people who love the sport and want to enjoy it,” rather than concentrating exclusively on producing professional players.[1]

In October 2026, Leshem was helping organize the Sharsheret Israel Tennis Tournament in Ra’anana alongside his longtime coach, Ron Becker.[1] He volunteered to organize the groups and manage the competition.[1] Explaining his involvement, he said, “I feel it’s a great cause and that I really want to help. I’m just there to support the players and give them the best experience of the tournament.”[1]

Leshem’s military-service arrangements became the subject of a dispute over the interruption of his international career.[9][16] A request to shorten a 12-month deferral period was initially rejected; after the period was reportedly reduced by 80 days, he was expected to remain in Israel until April 2019, unable to travel to international tournaments.[9] Accounts differed over institutional responsibility: the Sports Ministry maintained that it had approved his release and that responsibility lay with the military, while the IDF said that his deferment had been shortened and that he would complete his remaining required service.[16]