This time, Taylor Fritz feels as if it can last. Two years ago, Fritz, then 18, became “The Next Big Thing” on the ATP World Tour. He reached the Memphis Open final, becoming the youngest American to make a tour-level title match since 17-year-old Michael Chang won 1989 Wembley. Months after, Fritz made the quarter-finals of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC in Acapulco, an ATP World Tour 500 event. “The Next Big Thing” seemed like he was here to stay. But he couldn't produce it week after week, and his ATP Ranking, which had risen to No. 53 in August 2016, fell to No. 135 last June. This year, Fritz is on the rise again, but he's confident...
In the era of social media, access to the past can be instant and there’s now rarely a need to look through books on dusty shelves. So if curiosity gets the better of 12-year-old Ryan and 15-year-old Christian Sampras today, they can simply type ‘Pete Sampras’ online and see for themselves the commitment, will and drive of their father, an iconic figure in the sport of tennis. “They are now both interested in what I did, watching clips on YouTube, and seek my advice about what they need to do and how much commitment it takes,” Sampras told ATPWorldTour.com. “Ryan’s now 12, and at the stage where he must take his tennis more seriously if he is to get better.”...
Every star has had their start here. Regardless of potential and promise, all players have come through the ATP Challenger Tour as they begin their climb to the upper echelons of the game. For some, the ascent to the top is lightning fast, rapidly progressing through the level en route to the ATP World Tour. Only seven players have lifted a Challenger trophy at the age of 16 and under. It's no surprise that Rafael Nadal belongs to that exclusive club. Exactly 15 years ago, Nadal stepped on the clay courts of the Tennis Club Hugo Simmen in Barletta, Italy, and the future World No. 1 would emerge with his first crown. It was a harbinger of the Spaniard's future,...
Looking back on it, it was weird that I hadn't heard from Mom in a few days. We usually talked every day, sometimes more, even if I was busy with tennis and classes at the University of Georgia. It was February 2004, and I was in the second semester of my freshman year. We were beginning our spring tennis season, my game was in a good place, and we had just finished another weekend of matches. Life was good. But when I woke up at around 8 a.m. in my McWhorter Hall dorm room to two missed calls, I thought something was definitely up. Maybe something had happened to one of my grandparents? Maybe, but surely nothing to Mom, not...
Nick Kyrgios explains why he decided to make his debut at the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men's Clay Court Championship this year and why he is excited to get started. Photo Credit: Aaron M. Sprecher/ROCC.
