Grigor Dimitrov was born in Haskovo, Bulgaria, on 16 May 1991. His father Dimitar, a former volleyball champion, was a tennis coach, and his mother Maria was a sports teacher and former volleyball player. As a junior he was outstanding: in 2008 he won the boys' singles at both Wimbledon and the US Open and reached No. 1 in the junior rankings. He had turned professional in May 2007, aged 16, and from March 2009 he trained at Patrick Mouratoglou's academy in Paris.
A right-hander with a one-handed backhand, he won his first ATP title in Stockholm in October 2013. In 2014 he reached the Wimbledon semifinals and was named Bulgarian Sportsperson of the Year. His finest season came in 2017, with Daniel Vallverdu as coach. He won in Brisbane, reached the Australian Open semifinals and, at the end of the year, won the ATP Finals, the biggest title of his career. On 20 November 2017 he rose to world No. 3, his career high, and he was again named Bulgaria's Sportsperson of the Year.
He reached a third major semifinal at the 2019 US Open and the French Open quarterfinals in 2024, and in December 2024 he received the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award. He has won nine ATP singles titles and more than 31 million US dollars in prize money, and he has a 20–4 record in the Davis Cup for Bulgaria.
Injuries have marked his recent seasons. At Wimbledon in July 2025 he led world No. 1 Jannik Sinner 6–3, 7–5, 2–2 in the fourth round when he injured his right pectoral muscle and had to retire, his fourth consecutive mid-match retirement at a major. His withdrawal from the US Open that year ended a run of 58 consecutive Grand Slam appearances. He came back on the tour and, in September 2026, ruled out retirement, saying, "I still have some years left in me to play." His career is still active, so this background describes it as of October 2026.