The ATP, governing body of men’s professional tennis, has launched a global bid process to determine the future host of the Next Gen ATP Finals, from 2023-2027.
Since its inception in 2017, the Next Gen ATP Finals has been held in Milan, Italy, featuring the best eight ATP singles players aged 21-and-under each season. Eight of the current Top 10 players in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings have competed at the event, with the likes of Carlos Alcaraz, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Jannik Sinner all lifting the trophy.
In addition to spotlighting the future stars of the game, the tournament has provided a platform to trial new innovations. Several of the rules and technologies first tested in Milan have since been incorporated onto the main ATP Tour, including shot clocks, Live Electronic Line Calling, Video Review and more.
With players competing all season long to qualify, the event delivers a consistent and compelling narrative for the Host City – building on its impressive global broadcast and digital reach.
Andrea Gaudenzi, ATP Chairman, said: “This season-ending tournament has created a pathway to stardom for young talent within our sport. It drives innovation and gives fans a unique opportunity to witness the stars of tomorrow going head-to-head.
“Milan and the Federazione Italiana Tennis & Padel (FITP) have been outstanding partners since 2017. The event has had an undeniable impact on the sport and attracted significant interest from potential future host cities. We are excited to undertake this international tender process as we look to build on that success from 2023.”
The ATP has chosen Deloitte’s Sport Business Group to manage the bid process, which begins today. This year’s tournament is expected to take place in December, with the exact dates to be determined with the successful bidder. Interested parties must complete an initial Expression of Interest form available here. The bid process will also provide an opportunity to express an interest for the tournament to become a combined men’s and women’s event over the course of the term, in partnership with WTA.
For more information about the Next Gen ATP Finals hosting opportunity, click here.
Any queries – and completed initial Express of Interest forms - should be directed to NextGenFinals2023@deloitte.co.uk.
Mirjam Bjorklund was battling deep into the third set of her first-round match at the Miami Open presented by Itau on Tuesday against Jasmine Paolini. The Swede had never won a qualifying match at a WTA 1000 match before, but she qualified and put herself in a position to reach the second round of the main draw.
When Bjorklund walked to the side of the court to collect her towel, longtime boyfriend Denis Shapovalov was in the front row cheering her on.
"I wouldn't call it coaching,” Shapovalov said. “As players we try to help each other out if we see something, but it's more support than anything.”
Bjorklund clawed past Paolini 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 for one of the biggest wins of her career. Nobody was happier than Shapovalov.
"It's always nice to get a first,” Shapovalov said. “She lost first-round qualifying the past two years in tough matches, so for her to win both qualifying matches and the first round is massive. We'll see where she can take it from here.”
Bjorklund added: “It’s where I’m striving to get to. These matches help me develop a lot and I need these challenges to see what’s missing in my game and to know what I should work on so I can take the next step. I feel like I’ve developed over the last year a lot just by being around really good players and having the chance to play against them, so this is definitely something that I’m very excited about.”
The Canadian and Swede were born less than nine months apart. Bjorklund is 24 and Shapovalov turns 24 next month, but they did not know each other well in the juniors.
“We knew each other a little bit in juniors but not a lot. He was doing a lot better than I was, so I would just see his name in the finals and I would be on a flight back home, but I didn’t know him personally at that time,” Bjorklund said. “We got to know each other a couple years later.”
The pair began dating in 2019 and they have been one another’s biggest supporter ever since. The ATP Tour and Hologic WTA Tour calendars take the world’s best players throughout the world, and it is not often they are able to be there for one another in person.
That made a moment like Bjorklund’s match Tuesday in Miami even more special.
“Denis can’t be around all the time when I’m playing events, so it’s super nice to have him support me in the box and I think he has a great eye for my game and for tennis in general, so I really trust him when he tells me things and when he coaches me, but he’s very keen on the fact that he’s not my coach,” said Bjorklund, who is coached by legendary Swede Jonas Bjorkman. “He’s just my boyfriend and supporting [me] in those moments, but I do really appreciate that and I know that I can trust what he’s saying, so it’s very reassuring when I have him there.”
The couple enjoys speaking about tennis away from the venue, too. “She's extremely smart, you can see that on the court. I always try to ask her questions and vice versa. We both trust each other a lot,” Shapovalov said.
According to Bjorklund, they both see the game similarly, with an aggressive mindset. Another perk of their relationship is understanding what one another is going through during the highs and the lows.
”We always find a way to support each other and have a good time and that can definitely help if things are not going the way you want on court.”
Shapovalov will play Guido Pella in the Miami second round and Bjorklund will continue her tournament against Ostapenko.
“It’s obviously what I’m here for. This is a great feeling. It was my first WTA 1000 win ever in the qualifying and to go on and actually win a round in the main draw and get myself a spot in the second round and having the chance to play against top players is really fun,” Bjorklund said. “I’m super happy and I’m very excited for the next round.”
No matter what happens, Shapovalov will be by her side and vice versa.
One Direction and two ATP Tour stars combined for an unforgettable moment in Mexico.
Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev spent a day in Mexico before traveling to Florida for the Miami Open presented by Itau. They received a big surprise when they met One Direction’s Louis Tomlinson.
“That was funny because when we were arriving, we saw so many people in front of the hotel,” Rublev said. “Daniil was like, ‘Why [are there] so many people here?’
“Outside of the hotel were a thousand people, kids, girls. As soon as he came out you cannot imagine what was happening. I saw it only in YouTube videos. I’ve never seen something like this in my life.”
Rublev took his phone out to record the scene as Tomlinson’s fans screamed. When the singer walked by, he stopped to take a photo with the tennis players.
“It was a bit embarrassing, but it was still okay. In Daniil’s situation it was embarassing-embarassing because first of all the guy had no idea who we are and Daniil had no idea who he is. Me at least, I knew who he is, but Daniil had no idea,” Rublev said. “He was with 10 security [guards] around, he was in the middle and they were like, ‘Okay, fast, or something’. Even if they told him that we are athletes, that we are not that bad, not just random people.
“It was just, ‘Hey hey’, fast photo. But at least I knew who he is. Daniil, he didn’t even know, so he didn’t even want to do the photo. But [he did] because they said, ‘Okay let’s do it, it’s going to be nice’. Daniil didn’t know him, the guy didn’t know him, but it looked like Daniil is a friend of his because he was the one who approached.”
Rublev was plenty familiar with Tomlinson. In 2015, he recorded a music video covering One Direction’s Steal My Girl.
“Actually, I had fun. I like music a lot and I never had at that moment [the] experience [of] how you do [a music video] from the beginning because all the instruments that were there, it’s not from the cover,” Rublev said. “The guys were playing with real instruments. Everything — piano, guitar, drums — were separated and then they put them all together. So for me it was a really nice experience to see how this process goes.”
[ATP APP]
The biggest question is, who would Rublev have join him in a tennis-player version of One Direction.
“I would not pick myself,” Rublev quickly said.
He thought of players who look like an artist, producing names including Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul and Casper Ruud, who reminds him of Niall Horan.
How about Medvedev?
“No chance,” Rublev said. “Daniil can be the agent. Daniil is the manager.”
Andy Murray said that he was surprised with his flat performance Wednesday at the Miami Open presented by Itau after suffering a straights-sets loss to Serbian Dusan Lajovic.
Having won two matches at the BNP Paribas Open and coming into the tournament off the back of encouraging practice sessions at Hard Rock Stadium, the two-time Miami champion sad that he expected better.
“I served pretty well, but the rest of the game was a bit of a problem today. Didn't really return that well, made a number of errors that obviously I wouldn't expect to be making,” Murray said of the 6-4, 7-5 defeat.
“I didn't really feel like I moved particularly well, which is really important for me, something I've been doing very well actually in most of the matches this year. So that was probably the thing.
“Some days you obviously don't hit the ball your best, but my movement wasn't great today.”
[ATP APP] In his first career meeting against World No. 76 Lajovic, Murray said that he also struggled with a change in conditions from Indian Wells.
“I'd been practising pretty well. It's a very different court here, very bouncy, much faster than last week. Very different to the practice courts and everything.
“The ball was bouncing up a bit higher and I just miss-timed quite a few balls. Sometimes on the slice it was shooting through a little bit more, kind of shanked a couple shots off the slice, as well… I wasn't expecting to play like that, even based on the last few days because I've been decent in practice.”
Murray said that he was yet to decide if he would stay in Miami a little longer to begin preparation for the clay swing but added that he would return to Spain no later than the end of this month, when he will reunite with his family and begin a training block.
Murray has 14 ATP Masters 1000 titles among his 46 career triumphs. His most recent win at this level came in Paris/Bercy in 2016, when he first rose to No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.
Wu Yibing continued his ascent on Wednesday at the Miami Open presented by Itau.
The Chinese star defeated Briton Kyle Edmund 7-5, 7-5 to reach the second round at the ATP Masters 1000 event. This year’s Dallas Open champion will next face 31st seed Diego Schwartzman to reach the third round at this level for the first time.
Six years ago, Wu made his Miami debut in qualifying as a 17-year-old, losing in straight sets to Jared Donaldson. In his first match at the event since, the 23-year-old broke his opponent’s serve four times to triumph after one hour and 35 minutes.
It was not an easy win, though. Wu let slip an opportunity to serve out the match at 5-3 in the second set against Edmund, who was playing his fourth match of the year. But the Chinese player did not allow the complication to fully shift the momentum to Edmund’s side. The former World No. 14, who is working back to form following injury, missed a backhand wide to fall in straight sets.
Did You Know?
This week last year, Wu was tied for No. 1,869 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. With his win against Edmund, he climbed to No. 57 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings.
Daniil Medvedev isn’t ready to throw out the playbook just yet.
Despite scavenging just five games from Carlos Alcaraz in Sunday’s one-sided BNP Paribas Open final, ‘Deep-court Daniil’ says that he won’t be altering his court position should he face the World No. 1 again at the Miami Open presented by Itau this fortnight.
“It's possible [that I may not play as deep] but I'm not sure if I would do it,” he said Wednesday of his next hard-court meeting with Alcaraz, whenever that might come. “For sure if I lose two matches in a row staying back and [I get beaten] just as easy I have to definitely change something. But one match is not enough."
[ATP APP]
Alcaraz exploited Medvedev’s positioning through a combination of well-timed serve/volley plays, his signature drop shots, and by taking advantage of the slower court conditions to take big cuts from the ground to clock a series of winners past the 2021 US Open champion.
But Medvedev believes that faster conditions at other hard-court events – including in Miami – will favour his preferred position deep behind the baseline.
"I'll only have to wait for a match on faster hard courts to see if my court positioning will work when the ball is flying faster through the air and the opponent won't have as much time to play serve and volley and play from the baseline,” he said. “During the match there was a small time when I tried to play a little more aggressive and closer to the baseline. But on those one or two games he was serving bombs so that didn't help me. And it's not that easy to change things up during a match.”
Despite his 6-3, 6-2 loss to Alcaraz in the Indian Wells title match, Medvedev arrives in Miami high on confidence, having won 19 of his past 20 matches, a run comprising titles in Rotterdam, Doha and Dubai and the BNP Paribas Open final. That already is an improvement on the two titles he won last year. Medvedev, who is 23-4 on the season, said that rediscovering his consistency has underpinned his recent surge back into the Top 5 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.
“I managed to get back in the zone, which I didn't really have for all of 2022, when I was less consistent,” he said. “I would have some good matches or tournaments but out of nowhere I would have one bad match. I've managed to avoid that the past four weeks. I have no idea how I have done it, but I am really happy and want to continue.”
Medvedev’s first-round opponent in Miami will be the winner of the all-Spanish clash between Roberto Carballes Baena and Bernabe Zapata Miralles. He is in the bottom half of the draw, so could only meet Alcaraz should both players reach the final.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]
World No. 76 Dusan Lajovic brushed aside his recent modest hard-court record to upset two-time former champion Andy Murray 6-4, 7-5 on Day 1 of men's main-draw action at the Miami Open presented by Itau on Wednesday.
The 32-year-old Serbian, who was once as high as No. 23 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, had won just four of 16 matches on hard courts since the start of 2022. But the 2019 Monte-Carlo finalist won his first career meeting with Murray to pick up his first hard-court win of the season.
[ATP APP]Lajovic’s victory was underpinned by his strong performance on second serve against one of the game’s best returners. He won 72 per cent of second-serve points and saved two of the three break points he faced, while converting all three opportunities on Murray's serve. He failed to serve out the match at 5-4 but after missing two match points from 40/0 in the final game, he closed out the match when Murray framed a forehand at the end of an extended rally.
“When I didn’t close it out I thought it’s happening again,” Lajovic said of Murray’s ability to pull victory from the jaws of defeat this year. “Honestly that last game I was super right at 40/0 and he was able to put pressure on me. Luckily he shanked the last forehand, which he normally doesn’t do.”
Murray ends the ATP Masters 1000 'Sunshine Doubles' with a 2-2 record in Indian Wells and Miami, having reached the third round at the BNP Paribas Open. The 35-year-old Scot slips to 8-5 on the season, highlighted by a run to the Doha final (l. Medvedev).
Lajovic, who also now has an 8-5 record on the season, next faces American serve/volleyer Maxime Cressy. “I don’t like playing guys like him. They try to provoke you and put you under pressure on your own service games. I’ll try to stay mentally stable.”
A second former tournament champion was bundled out on Day 1 of men's action when 21-year-old American Emilio Nava upstaged veteran countryman John Isner 7-6(5), 7-6(4). Nava did not face a break point and withstood 15 aces from the 2018 Miami champion to set a second-round meeting with another American, ninth seed Taylor Fritz.
Editor's note: This report was updated to correct the Lajovic-Murray match score to 6-4, 7-5.
In the latest Players’ Voice first-person essay, Carlos Alcaraz provides Eurosport with insight into his mindset coming back from injury and his big ambitions in the sport. Below is an excerpt, reproduced with permission from Eurosport.
The injury has been a learning process. I had to be calm and it has helped me to mature a lot off the court. These were not easy days for me, they were quite hard. I had to stay focused and train to come back stronger. During my recovery, as I have done on several occasions, I worked a lot with my psychologist. She helps me a lot both on and off the court. The off-court side is almost more important, as you spend most of your time there.
I thought a lot about Nadal when I was recovering from my injury. Often when the best players have been out for a long time, they win their first tournament back. I wanted to be one of those players. Those examples of successful returns have motivated me – like what Rafa did at the 2022 Australian Open, and when Djokovic has returned from absences, he has won important tournaments. These examples are inspirations to think, 'let's get back training' because I also want to come back the best I can to try to win…
… In Miami, I’m going to have to start defending a lot of points. I think about that subconsciously because you want to be at the top of the rankings. But together with my team, we have always said that the important thing is the race to the Nitto ATP Finals. If you have a good year in the race, you will finish high in the rankings. I don't worry too much about defending points, I just think about enjoying the tournament I am playing, and trying to do the best I can…
…I want to beat Nadal and Djokovic, but I am not here to take any Grand Slams away from them or prevent either of them from being the best of all time. I am just trying to write my own history.
I want to win Slams. I am ambitious and my goals are big, I'm not going to lie. My dream is to be one of the best in history, to try to get somehow close to them. I know it will be very complicated - maybe even impossible - but in this world you have to think big and dream big. In the end, that is my dream today.
Brandon Nakashima brought his big-hitting best to his opening match Wednesday at the 2023 Miami Open presented by Itau, where the American prevailed 7-6(3), 6-3 against Oscar Otte to reach the second round at the ATP Masters 1000 event.
The 21-year-old Nakashima was rock-solid for much of an 88-minute encounter that was largely dominated by serve and raised his level during two crucial periods in the match to secure his victory. He fired a series of clean winners to dominate the first-set tie-break before striking some high-class returns to clinch the only break of serve in the match in the sixth game of the second set.
Nakashima did not face a break point en route to victory in his maiden ATP Head2Head clash with Germany’s Otte. The World No. 45 fired 28 winners, including 10 aces, to set a second-round matchup against 20th seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
It was a welcome triumph for Nakashima, who will hope he can use it as a basis for improved results in a 2023 season for which he now holds a 3-4 record. The Californian is seeking to back up his strong 2022, when he clinched his maiden ATP Tour title in his hometown of San Diego before lifting the Next Gen ATP Finals trophy in Milan.
It will be a second tour-level meeting of the season between Nakashima and Davidovich Fokina. The Spaniard was a straight-sets winner in their January meeting at the Adelaide International 2.
Taro Daniel also advanced to the second round on Wednesday after the Japanese wild card’s opponent Arthur Rinderknech retired from the pair’s first-round match when trailing 1-4 in the opening set.
Daniel, who reached the third round as a qualifier last week in Indian Wells with a run that included a victory against Matteo Berrettini, will play 13th seed Alexander Zverev next.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]
An ATP Masters 1000 champion, Grand Slam quarter-finalist and World No. 8 by the age of 19, Holger Rune has made a sudden impact on the ATP Tour.
But asked to assess how much of his potential had been fulfilled, the Dane suggested that there was plenty of upside left to come, reflecting his strong desire to succeed and delivering a clear message of intent to his rivals.
“I think [I have reached] maybe 55 or 60 per cent [of my potential],” said Rune. “I’m 19, so I feel like I have a lot to learn still. When I’m out there playing, I feel still like I can be a lot better, which is in a way nice but sometimes frustrating.
“I just have to look at it as a positive thing. I’m No. 8 in the world now, and I’ve reached I think maybe 55 or 60 per cent of my potential, so it’s a positive thing.”
Rune acknowledged that setbacks like his three-set defeat to Stan Wawrinka in the third round at Indian Wells will only help him on his mission to reach a higher level. He will put any new learnings from that loss to the test this week on debut at the Miami Open presented by Itau, where he takes on Marton Fucsovics or Pedro Cachin in his opening match.
“I didn’t play very well, but credit to Stan, he beat me,” said Rune, who is 10-7 for the 2023 season, of the Wawrinka defeat. “You have those kinds of matches sometimes, and you just have to learn a little bit from it and move on as quickly as possible.
“I’ve done that pretty well here [in Miami]. We’ve had a lot of good practice sessions, I feel ready, ready to go out there and have fun. It’s the last hard-court tournament before the clay season, so I’m just going to enjoy it as much as I can.”
Rune’s rapid progress in the past 12 months makes him something of an anomaly on Tour. He is a Top 10 player and won the 2022 Rolex Paris Masters, but has still only competed in the main draw of five of the nine ATP Masters 1000 events. That will become six out of nine this week, when he hopes to add some more positive memories to his mixed past experiences in Miami.
“I never played the junior tournaments [here], like the Orange Bowl, so I came here for the first time for a pre-season that Patrick [Mouratoglou] invited me to,” explained Rune. “The second time was last year here. I only got to play 20 minutes, unfortunately I was injured, in the first round of qualifying, but now I’m here as the seventh seed so it’s a bit of a better feeling this year.
“I’ve played almost all the biggest tournaments in the main draws now. This is a very special tournament, so it’s definitely one I would like to see myself win in future. It’s a great event, I really enjoy being in Miami and I cannot wait to start.”
[NEWSLETTER FORM]
Win or lose, Ben Shelton is making sure he learns from every aspect of his rookie season on the ATP Tour.
The #NextGenATP star is preparing for the second half of his ‘Sunshine Double’ debut this week at the Miami Open presented by Itau. A three-set second-round loss to No. 1-ranked American Taylor Fritz in Indian Wells 10 days ago has done little to dent the 20-year-old Shelton’s confidence as he seeks to continue his rapid rise.
“I definitely took a lot from it,” said Shelton, now at a career-high No. 39 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, of his battle with Fritz in California. “It definitely gave me some confidence, playing someone who was No. 5 in the world, [in a match] that tight. I thought I played a great match, but also I could see some ways that he exposed me or that he picked on.
“[It was good] being able to get that feedback and knowing the things that I’m going to have to improve if I want to compete with the best. I’m always excited when I get to match up with a guy like that who has had so much success lately, so I was happy to be able to play that match.”
In May 2022, Shelton was a college student and the No. 573 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. Across a stellar past 10 months, during which he has lifted three ATP Challenger Tour titles, defeated the then-World No. 5 Casper Ruud in Cincinnati, and reached the quarter-finals on debut at the Australian Open, Shelton has rocketed to a career-high No. 39.
That rapid progress has granted the American direct entry to a host of unfamiliar tour-level events (prior to flying to New Zealand in January, he had never even left the United States). Despite the fact he played college tennis just a five-hour drive from Miami at the University of Florida in Gainesville, even this week’s ATP Masters 1000 event at Hard Rock Stadium will be a completely new experience for Shelton.
“It’s a pretty great stadium, I like the set-up here," said the American, who takes on Adrian Mannarino or Shang Juncheng as the 32nd seed in his Miami opener. "There’s a lot of space, it’s spread out, everything’s really nice. It’s actually my first time being down at the stadium for anything, so I’m enjoying it so far. It’s been good weather, and I’m really looking forward to hopefully playing some good tennis here.”
Shelton’s meteoric rise has coincided with that of another recent breakout star on Tour, Wu Yibing. Wu, who became the first Chinese ATP Tour titlist in Dallas in February this year, defeated Shelton in the championship match of an ATP Challenger Tour event in the U.S. state of Georgia last July. Despite the tension of that first on-court meeting and their emergence as potential rivals on court in future, the pair has become good friends .
“[Our friendship is] really cool," said Shelton. "We go back-and-forth. I try to tell him that he’s better than me, and he tries to tell me that I’m better than him. So we’re really good friends and I like seeing him in the locker room. I’ve been calling him GQ lately because he was doing all the modelling in China!
“He’s a great guy, it was really cool to see what he’s been doing, getting an ATP title in Dallas. It’s pretty impressive, so let's call him the King of Dallas.”
[NEWSLETTER FORM]
The calendar for the 2024 ATP Tour season has been announced, with 63 tournaments set to take place across 29 countries.
The ATP Tour welcomes more than 4.5 million fans on site and entertains a billion global fans each year. It sees the world’s greatest tennis players compete on the game’s biggest stages, across six continents and an action-packed 11-month season.
Highlights and updates for the 2024 season include:
- The second edition of the United Cup, a ground-breaking mixed team event to start the season, held in partnership with the WTA and Tennis Australia.
- Rescheduling of the Abierto de Tenis Mifel (Los Cabos) from July to February, the week prior to the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC (Acapulco).
- A total of five 12-day ATP Masters 1000 tournaments in Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid, Rome and Shanghai, following the recent expansion of events under OneVision.
- A revised summer schedule, featuring the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
- Future location of the existing ATP 250 tournament license in Banja Luka in April to be determined.
- A return to a traditional Asia Swing with the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships (Tokyo) taking place alongside the China Open (Beijing) ahead of the Rolex Shanghai Masters.
- Location and dates of the Next Gen ATP Finals remain to be confirmed, following a soon-to-be-launched RFP process.
- The 54th edition of the Nitto ATP Finals, and fourth in Turin.
Andrea Gaudenzi, ATP Chairman, said: “There are few sports that captivate fans all year round and in so many global markets like tennis. We put everything into creating the best possible experiences for fans as do the players, both on and off the court. From the United Cup in Australia to the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin, it’s going to be another fierce and compelling season on the ATP Tour in 2024.”
View the calendar here.
The first time Wu Yibing stepped on court to compete in an ATP Tour event was in Miami Open presented by Itau qualifying six years ago, when he was 17 and the tournament was held at Crandon Park. The Chinese player had just reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open boys’ singles event and was one of the top juniors in the world.
“I remember before the match I was talking with my coach. I thought I came here [playing] pretty good. I remember I played [Jared] Donaldson. It was a pretty tough match,” Wu told ATPTour.com. “I did a lot of preparation… He was playing very good at that time and I was still young.
“I couldn’t handle his ball and after the match I was sad because it was such a good opportunity to play Masters [1000] qualies. It feels like a long time ago. A really long time ago.”
Donaldson won the match 6-2, 6-2 in 62 minutes. Wu went back to work on his game.
Six years later, the Chinese star is ready for his first appearance at the ATP Masters 1000 event since, and things could not be more different. Not only has his life changed immensely since that match, but it has developed significantly over just the past year.
[ATP APP]
This week last season, Wu was tied for No. 1,869 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings due to three years of injury struggles and the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Now he is World No. 64. One month ago, he reached World No. 58, making him the highest-ranked Chinese man in history.
Wu is under a bright spotlight — especially back home — as one of the top young talents on the ATP Tour. But you would never know it based on how the 23-year-old carries himself, always walking around tournament sites with a smile, and often cracking jokes.
“I think off [the] court there is pressure. People have higher expectations and also me and my team [do], even my family [does]. But I think I’ll be okay because I don’t really see [those] things in a negative way,” Wu said. “If you want to be at the top, it’s not the biggest problem to worry about and I think I have the potential and I trust myself and my team, so things are going to work out if I do [things] the right way, especially keeping myself healthy.”
At his roots, Wu, who will play Kyle Edmund Wednesday, loves what he does. That passion helped him through the tough times and continues to motivate him today.
“I think I still love tennis as much as I used to,” Wu said. “Maybe sometimes I complained about the situations that I had, maybe I didn’t feel good sometimes and I started doubting myself. But now I don’t do that anymore because things come for a reason. You need to find the answer.
“Even when I played Futures or Challengers, I still enjoyed tennis. It’s not about winning or losing. I think some parts of the fun are not always about winning. You want to win. The winning feeling feels the best. But it’s also not bad to lose sometimes. It gives you more energy to practise, to become a better player or person. Nobody can win all the time. Sometimes it’s how you take it when you lose.”
That attitude has paid off during Wu’s rapid ascent. In February, he debuted inside the world’s Top 100. That same week, Wu became the first Chinese titlist in ATP Tour history at the Dallas Open.
The Hangzhou-native has come a long way since he was a junior with a poster on his wall featuring several ATP Tour stars including Roger Federer and David Nalbandian. Marcos Baghdatis was also featured, and the Cypriot recently began working with Wu.
The Chinese star also had something else at home: a world map. Wu drew a plane's path on it from Melbourne to Paris, London and New York, noting the locations of the four Grand Slams. Now Wu is travelling the world as one of the best players in the world.
“It’s pretty funny,” Wu said, cracking a laugh. “I wouldn’t say it’s a dream come true. It’s more like hard work paid off.”
Editor's note: This story was translated from ATPTour.com/es
Conventional wisdom in professional sport tells us that getting to the top is hard, but staying there is even harder. Carlos Alcaraz knows this as well as anyone, but he demonstrated his maturity with a victorious response to the pressure of the 2023 BNP Paribas Open, with his Indian Wells title run making him the youngest tennis player in history to return to No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.
At just 19 years and 10 months of age, the Spaniard is back at the pinnacle of the sport, a position he first reached in September by claiming his maiden Grand Slam title at the US Open. Now, having picked up the third ATP Masters 1000 title of his career in Indian Wells, the smile is back on the face of the Murcia native after he reclaimed the throne on the men’s tour, something no other player has ever managed before the age of 21.
Alcaraz's success in California allowed him to better the achievement of Marat Safin more than 20 years ago, as he continues to break age-old records with astonishing ease. On the list of all players to have enjoyed multiple tenures as World No. 1 since the Pepperstone ATP Rankings began in August 1973 — a list replete with greats of the game, all hungry to call themselves No. 1 — the player from El Palmar now sits proudly above the rest as its youngest member.
Having already become the youngest man ever to rise to World No. 1 (19 years, 4 months) and to close out a season at the top of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings (19 years, 7 months), Alcaraz has added yet another record to his growing list — this time, demonstrating his ability to bounce back.
Players who have returned to No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings
| Player | Age |
| Carlos Alcaraz | 19 years, 10 months |
| Marat Safin | 21 years, 0 months |
| Jim Courier | 21 years, 4 months |
| John McEnroe | 21 years, 6 months |
| Pete Sampras | 22 years, 1 months |
| Lleyton Hewitt | 22 years, 3 months |
| Marcelo Ríos | 22 years, 8 months |
| Björn Borg | 22 years, 10 months |
| Ivan Lendl | 23 years, 7 months |
| Boris Becker | 23 years, 8 months |
| Rafael Nadal | 24 years, 0 months |
| Gustavo Kuerten | 24 years, 5 months |
| Jimmy Connors | 24 years, 11 months |
| Stefan Edberg | 25 years, 1 months |
| Novak Djokovic | 25 years, 6 months |
| Andre Agassi | 25 years, 9 months |
| Daniil Medvedev | 26 years, 4 months |
| Roger Federer | 27 years, 11 months |
| Thomas Muster | 28 years, 5 months |
Alcaraz has written another chapter in the history of tennis with his quick comeback. But Juan Carlos Ferrero’s pupil will have to keep his foot on the gas in the Miami Open presented by Itau, where he is the defending champion. At the venue where he earned his first ATP Masters 1000 title one year ago, Alcaraz will have to mount a successful title defence in order to maintain his status atop the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.
The magnitude of Alcaraz's achievement becomes clear when seen in context: Nine of the 28 players to have been No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings were unable to return to the top of the list once they had been dethroned. Ilie Nastase, John Newcombe, Mats Wilander, Carlos Moya, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Patrick Rafter, Ferrero, Andy Roddick and Andy Murray all had but one spell at the pinnacle of men’s professional tennis.
Now, Alcaraz will be hoping to stay there. The Spaniard is the 16th player in the history of men’s tennis to have surpassed 20 weeks as the singles World No. 1. Only three active players — Murray (41), Rafael Nadal (209) and Novak Djokovic (380) – have spent longer at the top than Alcaraz, whose astonishing career is showing no signs of slowing down.
Stefanos Tsitsipas missed Acapulco late last month with a shoulder injury and continued to feel the effects of the issue in an early Indian Wells exit. But as the Greek prepares for the Miami Open presented by Itau, he is hopeful that he can play pain-free at the year's second ATP Masters 1000.
"Everything is getting better and I'm heading toward the right direction," he said Tuesday during the tournament's media day. "[I hope] to play pain-free and just be able to step out there and show something different than Indian Wells because Indian Wells was a big struggle... I hope I get to play with more of an element of fun on the court and not think too much about my arm."
Tsitsipas is seeded second in Miami, where he has reached at least the fourth round in each of the past three tournament editions, including a career-best quarter-final showing in 2021. After overcoming a wrist injury that required surgery to make a strong start to the 2022 ATP Tour season, the Greek hopes to rebound form his latest setback with similar success.
"My health is the most important thing that I could have in tennis," he said. "When I'm feeling healthy, everything falls into place nicely. I'm enjoying myself on the court, I'm getting creative, I can mix up my game and I feel like nothing can go wrong. This is what my aim is for this tournament, to just play pain-free and see how my arm responds on these next few days."
Last year in Miami, Tsitsipas was knocked out by eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz in the last 16. It was the second of the pair's three ATP Head2Head meetings, with the Greek still seeking his first win. After seeing Alcaraz win Indian Wells and return to the top of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings — a position Tsitsipas was one win away from claiming for the first time in the Australian Open final — the 24-year-old says he is happy to see players from his generation succeed.
"I'm happy for them," he said, responding to a question about Alcaraz and Indian Wells finalist Daniil Medvedev. "I believe in the message of ubuntu... by having others be good, [to] sort of witness greatness of others around me, I am also allowing myself to become better too. I believe in that message and I think the fact that they're doing well is benefitting me too and it's giving me a clear, better view of how I should approach my game."
Tsitsipas, who cannot face Medvedev until the semis or Alcaraz until the final, will open his Miami campaign against Richard Gasquet or a qualifier/lucky loser.
The two-time ATP Masters 1000 champion also shared some insight into his life off the court, explaining how he has changed his habits on the road since his early years on the ATP Tour.
"I have been very open to be a bit more loose and not so strict with myself the last few years, comparing myself to three or four years ago when I got started," he said. "I was extremely disciplined. Not that I'm not now, but I can let go sometimes. For example, I would just spend the entire two weeks sometimes locked inside my room and go nowhere. I do allow myself a little bit more freedom now and I think it has benefitted me a lot and gave me the opportunity to also grow as a person and not be 100 per cent focussed on the tennis every single week."
If Tsitsipas can find the tennis he needs to book a long stay in Miami, he'll certainly have no shortage of options for off-court fun in South Florida.
Last year, Carlos Alcaraz arrived at the Miami Open presented by Itau at No. 16 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. Twelve months on and the Spaniard is back in south Florida as the defending champion and World No. 1.
After triumphing in Indian Wells last week, all eyes will be on Alcaraz as he aims to remain in top spot and become the eighth player to win the Sunshine Double. With expectations high, the 19-year-old is taking everything in his stride.
“I don’t feel the pressure too much. I know the things I have to do,” said Alcaraz, who must win his fourth ATP Masters 1000 crown to hold onto No. 1, because he is dropping the 1000 points he won in Miami last year. “I need to play relaxed and not mind if I lose or if I play well or not.
“My goal is always the same. To feel comfortable on court. To enjoy playing tennis and try to have great thoughts when playing. And that is why I am playing at a good level. I am enjoying every single second and playing relaxed. That is what I am thinking about on court.”
Alcaraz produced lights-out tennis throughout his run to the title in California, becoming the first Indian Wells champion to not drop a set since Roger Federer in 2017, and the first to do so in at least six matches since Rafael Nadal in 2007.
Holding a 14-1 record on the season and back at No. 1, Alcaraz is a dominant force on the ATP Tour. However, he isn’t satisfied with his level yet as he continues to seek improvements in his already well-rounded game.
“I always say that you can improve everything a little bit more,” Alcaraz said during his pre-tournament press conference. “You have to improve, you have to get better every day. That is why the big players, the ‘Big Three’ for example, did throughout their careers, improving a bit every day.”
Alcaraz arrives at the hard-court event in Miami with fond memories, having soared to the title last year. The Spaniard defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas and Casper Ruud en route to the trophy, receiving vocal crowd support throughout.
“I have great supporters here. I remember last year was unbelievable feeling with the crowd,” Alcaraz said. “There are a lot of people who speak Spanish, so I feel at home. Playing here, great matches and against great players, it was an amazing run last year. I am really excited to come here in front of all the fans. I can’t wait.”
The top seed will begin his title defence against Facundo Bagnis or a qualifier and could face two-time Miami champion and former World No. 1 Andy Murray in the third round. The second ATP Masters 1000 event of the season starts on Wednesday. Novak Djokovic will return to World No. 1 if Alcaraz does not win the Miami title.
Preparations are ramping up ahead of the third World Tennis Conference, with many world class coaches signing up for the event.
Organised by the Global Professional Tennis Coaches Association (GPTCA) and the Segal Institute, the event will be held virtually from 30 March – 2 April. After a successful first two editions, the conference continues its mission to connect the world’s top high-performance tennis coaches and sports scientists with other coaches and people around the world.
The four-day programme is thoughtfully designed to raise the level of understanding surrounding player development, while helping ambitious tennis coaches on their journey of self-development.
Visit World Tennis Conference Website To Sign Up
Giles Cervara, Federic Fontang, Vincenzo Santopadre and Toni Nadal are among the 68 talented speakers participating. Hear from some of the coaches who are part of the event as they describe the importance of the conference.
Gilles Cervara – (Coach of World No. 5 Daniil Medvedev)
“I’m very pleased and honoured to be part of the third World Tennis Conference by GPTCA/SI supported by ATP. I am very grateful to be among all these great tennis coaches of the Tour. Congratulations to the organisation. I think it is very important to try to inspire and to help other coaches from all over the world to improve to be a better tennis coach day after day… This is my case too. I will be watching many WTC presentations to keep learning and improving my own style of coaching absorbing some other ideas. I’m glad to be connected and help coaches from all over the world who want to connect with me.”
Frederic Fontang – (Coach of World No. 6 Felix Auger-Aliassime)
“My perception about the importance of the World Tennis Conference by GPTCA/SI supported by ATP for three years now is that it's important to share the knowledge between the coaches and committed people because it is an individual sport where we must take the habit to see and share our knowledge. You as a tennis coach must reflect, to put on paper your ideas, having a reflection on how to improve and of course to share that with other coaches and the tennis community. It is very important because tennis is growing and improving. When you give in general in life, you receive. I hope you will enjoy WTC3.”
Alberto Castellani – (Former coach of Rainer Schuettler, Marc Rosset, Hicham Arazi, Janko Tipsarevic and Ivo Karlovic)
“As GPTCA President and a tennis coach, I always believe that the tennis coach needs to know a lot of things. The knowledge has to improve during all their careers. I also said that the coach is like an artist. We must put together these two things. The coach must use imagination and creativity a lot of time to work on a lot of exercises, in every project and with the player´s relationship. Also, we need to use our social intelligence using empathy to everyone in our project. In the same way, we should use a scientific approach and rules of planification. We are artists and scientists together. This conference puts us in front of so many experts in different fields.”
Marco Panichi – (Physical coach of World No. 2 Novak Djokovic)
“The process of sharing information with an open mind to improve the training of players, as well as the processes and programmes, applied is a need and a common goal of each of us in our profession. In my third participation in the World Tennis Conference by GPTCA/SI with ATP support, I believe that we are on a path of continuous improvement, and I am honoured to be one of the many speakers who contribute their ideas and experience to develop more and better player projects.”
Vincenzo Santopadre – (Coach of World No. 23 Matteo Berrettini)
“I think all of us were born to be better each day. In that sense, it is important to observe what’s happening in the tennis world and in general to continue having an open mentality to keep learning and feel that we are going in the right pathway in our lives. We need to be curious, and passionate in what to do, to be ready to learn and grow especially in different areas. The World Tennis Conference is helping us a lot to listen to several ideas and concepts from others. This is a way to create growth having the will to be better each day by day with optimism and a positive mentality. The best I can wish for everybody is to have that kind of open mentality and to help each other.”
Liam Smith – (Former coach of Gael Monfils, Coco Gauff and Radu Albot)
“Tennis coaches getting together and sharing ideas, knowledge and experiences is incredibly valuable. There is always something to learn by no matter how long you have been coaching. There is always new ideas, and new ways to look at things from different perspectives and that is what makes coach conferences like World Tennis Conference so valuable. I am really looking forward to seeing all the presentations and I feel honoured to be part of the 3rd edition of WTC.”
Franco Davin – (Coach of World No. 45 Brandon Nakashima and WTA World No. 11 Veronika Kudermetova – Former coach of Juan Martin Del Potro and Gaston Gaudio)
“I believe in continuous learning in our profession. It is very important and good for our sport to have an event like the World Tennis Conference by GPTCA/SI with ATP Support. It is key to have important coaches on the circuit together with experts and legends all together giving their opinion, and sharing knowledge with everyone, since tennis is a sport that has so many edges to analyse and learn and it is very good for everyone to participate. This is a great conference and opportunity to be a better coach and I am very glad to be part of it.”
Dominik Hrbaty – (Slovakia Davis Cup captain)
“The World Tennis Conference is one of the best ways to learn, to see other approaches in tennis, and is a huge library of knowledge for me. It´s crazy how much you can find, how much you can search in all aspects of the game and just going on and on. Whatever you need to have with your player or you try to find some response to help someone like a coach, you can always find it there. I learned so much of it because I like to listen, I like to see different styles of different ways of other coaches.”
Nuno Borges is a man in a hurry. But success can put a spring in your step when you need to hustle.
Within 24 hours, the Portuguese World No. 68 went from winning the ATP 175 Challenger title in Phoenix, Arizona in America’s south-west to winning a first-round qualifying match at the Miami Open presented by Itau, the ATP Masters 1000 event in south-east Florida.
“When I won that second match on Saturday I knew it would be complicated,” Borges said. “There were not many options and the direct flights were fully booked and I knew I had to play Monday. Thankfully I got a late start.”
By the time Borges defeated Alexander Shevchenko in Sunday’s three-set final of the Arizona Tennis Classic, it was already 7pm in Miami. He was due on court to play Steve Johnson at 4.30pm Monday.
[ATP APP]“We went back to the hotel, got some food, then headed to the airport for a flight at 11.20pm (Pacific time, 2.30am Miami time). Borges landed in Atlanta at 5.30am ET for a 7.10am connection. And then there was a hiccup.
“We got on the plane and we had a 30-minute wait and then we were told we would need to change planes due to a technical issue. For a second I had a thought that I wouldn’t make it to today’s match,” he said.
Borges landed in Miami around 11am, headed to the hotel for a quick nap and then took the 2pm shuttle to the site.
“I didn’t properly warm up to be honest. Just got a feel for the court with a 20-30 minute hit at 3,” he said. “Headed to physio, had a quick warm up and somehow played a great match. I felt better than I expected, to be honest. I’ve got a lot of confidence from the matches I played last week and before that.
“I probably got about 4 ½ hours total sleep. Maybe two hours on the first flight, 90 minutes on the second flight and then an hour’s nap at the hotel.”
Borges is on a 10-match winning streak at the Challenger level, having also won the title in Monterrey, Mexico. And he is sitting at a career-high in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. The top seed in Miami qualifying on Tuesday plays Croatian Borna Gojo for a place in the main draw.
Carlos Alcaraz’s path to becoming the eighth player to win the Sunshine Double was set on Monday. But the Spaniard will need to overcome a series of difficult tests if he is to defend his Miami Open presented by Itau title and hold onto top spot in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.
The Spaniard lifted the trophy in south Florida last year and arrives this week off the back of a run to the title in Indian Wells, which propelled him back to World No. 1. The 19-year-old must win his fourth ATP Masters 1000 crown in Miami to remain on top, though, where he begins against Argentine Facundo Bagnis or a qualifier.
Alcaraz could face former World No. 1 and two-time Miami champion Andy Murray in the third round and in-form American Tommy Paul in the fourth round. The top seed is seeded to face ninth seed Taylor Fritz or seventh seed Holger Rune in the quarter-finals and could renew his rivalry against Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals.
The Italian Sinner, who could meet Andrey Rublev in the fourth round and third seed Casper Ruud in the quarter-finals, lost to Alcaraz in the Indian Wells semi-finals last week in their fifth ATP Head2Head meeting.
[ATP APP]
The third seed Casper Ruud reached his first ATP Masters 1000 final in Miami last year and will be hoping the hard-court event can once again provide him with a springboard to build from. Holding a 4-5 record on the season, the Norwegian opens against Ilya Ivashka or a qualifier and is seeded to meet Alexander Zverev in the fourth round. The German Zverev starts against Arthur Rinderknech or Taro Daniel.
In the bottom half of the draw, Daniil Medvedev will look to begin another winning run when he opens against Bernabe Zapata Miralles or Roberto Carballes Baena. The 27-year-old won 19 matches in a row before Alcaraz defeated him in the Indian Wells final.
[FOLLOW ACTION]
The fourth seed could meet Matteo Berrettini in a blockbuster fourth-round clash and Hubert Hurkacz or Cameron Norrie in the quarter-finals. Hurkacz lifted the biggest trophy of his career in Miami in 2021 and reached the semi-finals last year.
Second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas will look to bounce back from an opening-round exit in Indian Wells when he takes on Richard Gasquet or a qualifier. The Greek, who enjoyed a run to the quarter-finals in Miami in 2021, is seeded to meet seventh seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in the last eight. The Canadian Auger-Aliassime, currently at a career-high No. 6 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, could play Indian Wells semi-finalist Frances Tiafoe in the fourth round. Auger-Aliassime reached the semi-finals in Miami on his debut in 2019.
#NextGenATP American Ben Shelton will play Chinese wild card Juncheng Shang or Adrian Mannarino on his debut in Maimi, with Hurkacz a potential third-round opponent.