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Throughout the season the world’s best tennis players battle each week to become champion. From continent to continent and surface to surface, they work hard to earn glory, with everyone pursuing a place at the Nitto ATP Finals at the end of the year. This year's season finale will be played in Turin from 12-19 November.

We take a look at all the champions of 2023.

United Cup, Australia - United States
In the first edition of the United Cup, the mixed teams event played across Sydney, Brisbane and Perth, the United States prevailed, led by Taylor Fritz, Jessica Pegula, Frances Tiafoe and Madison Keys.

Adelaide International 1, Adelaide - Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic made a quick start to his season in Adelaide. During his semi-final victory against Daniil Medvedev, he suffered an injury scare. The next day he managed that to save championship point and defeat Sebastian Korda 6-7(8), 7-6(3), 6-4 for his first trophy of 2022.

Tata Open Maharashtra, Pune - Tallon Griekspoor
The Pune championship match featured two first-time finalists in Tallon Griekspoor and Benjamin Bonzi. It was the Dutchman Griekspoor who entered the winners’ circle with a 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 triumph at the Indian ATP 250.

Take time away to prepare. Relentlessly come forward to pressure. Get under your opponent’s skin.

Carlos Alcaraz survived a blistering attack from Jan-Lennard Stuff to win the Mutua Madrid Open final 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 on Sunday with something resembling his B or C-level game. It certainly wasn’t his A game, as Struff swarmed the net and mentally rattled the 20-year-old’s cage. But it’s a testament to the Spaniard’s mental toughness that he was made to feel so uncomfortable on the court and still found a way to be first over the finish line.

The match was very much dictated by Struff, who came to the net a staggering 52 times in three sets, winning 33 points up front (63 per cent). That was vastly superior to the German’s win percentage at the back of the court, which ended up at just 43 per cent (32/75).

Struff’s harrowing forays forward created discomfort and despair at times for Alcaraz. Struff turned the Magic Box into a pressure cooker and was on a roll early in the third set, holding break point on Alcaraz’s serve at 1-1, Ad out. Alcaraz saved break point and won seven of the next nine points to break Struff and surge to a 3-1 lead in the deciding set. That sequence proved to be the most pivotal in the final.

Alcaraz Serve Direction
Alcaraz served primarily to Struff’s backhand return, making the German hit 70 per cent (58/83) backhand returns for the match. That was mainly due to Struff successfully crushing his forehand return at the start of the match. Struff’s initial seven forehand returns in Set One produced one return winner and forced four forehand Serve +1 errors from Alcaraz. Alcaraz cleverly moved the battle to the backhand return, where he extracted 10 return errors in Set 1, five in Set 2, and critically, 10 again in the Set 3.

Twelve days ago, Jan-Lennard Struff lost against Aslan Karatsev in the final round of qualifying at the Mutua Madrid Open. After receiving a lucky loser spot, the German more than grabbed his chance, becoming the first lucky loser to reach the final at an ATP Masters 1000.

The German is proud of his remarkable run in the Spanish capital despite falling in the final against Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday.

“It's been an incredible journey from lucky loser to be in the final [and] runner-up here,” Struff said. “I hope that it gives me a lot of push for in the next weeks and months. It was a best-career achievement so far.”

“Of course I wanted to go all the way to win today, but I would definitely say if someone told me two weeks ago you're going to play the finals, I would take it,” Struff later added. “I'm proud of the way I played. I am proud of the way I presented myself today.”

Struff upset Stefanos Tsitsipas and earned a revenge win against Karatsev in the Spanish capital after falling against the 29-year-old in qualifying. Despite playing six three-set matches en route to the championship match, the 33-year-old was pleased with how his body held up against Alcaraz.

Carlos Alcaraz made history on Sunday when he captured the Mutua Madrid Open title. The Spaniard became the sixth-youngest player to reach 10 tour-level titles in the Open Era.

The 20-year-old, whose birthday was Friday, was only beaten to the mark by five 19-year-olds: Mats Wilander, Bjorn Borg, Rafael Nadal, Boris Becker and Andre Agassi.

Quickest To 10 Tour-Level Titles (Open Era)

Alcaraz was also champion at the 2022 Next Gen ATP Finals, which does not count towards players’ tour-level trophy collection.

Ugo Humbert capped a dramatic week Sunday, when he captured the title at ATP Challenger Tour 175 event in Cagliari, Italy.

The Frenchman downed fourth seed Laslo Djere 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 in the final to lift the trophy at the Sardegna Open. Humbert fended off 12 of 16 break points in an entertaining three-hour, eight-minute battle.

A three-time tour-level titlist, World No. 77 Humbert saved three match points against Taro Daniel in a four-hour, 13-minute quarter-final marathon on Friday to keep his title hopes alive.

Hear from the Cagliari champ himself ?#ATPChallenger | @HumbertUgo pic.twitter.com/2QMOaTnUa7

Humbert’s first clay-court title came as a welcomed surprise to the Metz-native.

Carlos Alcaraz took the lead in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin on Sunday by winning the Mutua Madrid Open. It is the first time this season the Spaniard has led the Live Race.

The 20-year-old in Madrid passed both Daniil Medvedev (3,300 points) and Novak Djokovic (2,565 points) to surge into the top spot. He owns a 110-point advantage over Medvedev leading into the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, the season’s fifth ATP Masters 1000 event.

Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin

The Live Race serves as the year-to-date standings and the barometer for the battle to finish as the year-end ATP No. 1 presented by Pepperstone. Last year, then-19-year-old Alcaraz became the youngest year-end No. 1 in history. The Live Race also determines the qualifiers for the Nitto ATP Finals, which will be held in Turin at the Pala Alpitour from 12-19 November.

After Rome, Alcaraz is also poised to return to World No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, which accounts for a player’s results over the past 52 weeks.

Roger Federer and Juan Martin del Potro enjoyed a reunion on Sunday at the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix.

The pair shared a hug before the start of the race, which is held around Hard Rock Stadium, home of the Miami Open presented by Itau.

@rogerfederer @F1 @f1miami @atptour
❤️ pic.twitter.com/lh5jOZNK4y

Federer and Del Potro shared a special ATP Head2Head rivalry, competing in 25 tour-level matches — including six finals — against one another. 

Both men have shown an interest in Formula 1 before. Last year, Federer spent time with the likes of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell at the Spanish Grand Prix.

Carlos Alcaraz has moved to within one set of capturing his fifth ATP Masters 1000 crown Sunday at the Mutua Madrid Open, where he leads German lucky loser Jan-Lennard Struff 6-4.

The 20-year-old is aiming to join Rafael Nadal as the only consecutive Madrid champions in tournament history, while he is trying to become the youngest player to successfully defend an ATP Masters 1000 title since Nadal at Monte-Carlo and Rome in 2005-06.

If Alcaraz can clinch his 29th win of the season and 10th tour-level crown, he will rise to No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings after playing his opening match in Rome.

The defending champion survived an attacking bombardment from the big-serving German throughout the 53-minute first set, hanging in rallies with his exceptional agility to force Struff into errors. Alcaraz gained what proved to be the decisive break of the first set at 3-3 when Struff double faulted, battled from 0/40 to hold when serving for the set.

Alcaraz, who is on a 20-match winning streak in Spanish clay-court events, is locked at 1-1 in his ATP Head2Head series against Struff. The German is the first lucky loser to reach an ATP Masters 1000 final since the series started in 1990 and is aiming to become just the fourth player and first in more than 20 years to win his first tour-level trophy at an ATP Masters 1000.

Andy Murray overcame a slow start and World No. 17 Tommy Paul to triumph Sunday at the ATP Challenger Tour 175 event in Aix-en-Provence.

In front of a packed stadium in southern France, the Scot found consistency from the baseline to rally to a 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory against top seed Paul at the Open Aix Provence Credit Agricole.

“This last year, 18 months has been a bit of struggle with my game. But [my team] have been there supporting me and working with me to try and get better,” Murray said during the trophy presentation. “We keep going from here.”

Sunday's final between Andy Murray and Tommy Paul filled the stands in Aix-en-Provence. Credit: Jared Wickerham/ATP Tour

Murray earned his third Top-20 win of the season Sunday by defeating the World No. 17 Paul en route to capturing his third Challenger title and first since the Binghamton Challenger in 2005.

Nearly 24 hours after winning a four-hour quarter-final marathon, Ugo Humbert returned to court Saturday, when he advanced to the championship match at the Sardegna Open. The Frenchman will fight for the title against Laslo Djere, who rallied to upset second seed Ben Shelton at the ATP Challenger Tour 175 event in Cagliari.

The Frenchman Humbert ousted Daniel Elahi Galan 6-2, 7-6(3). Despite holding a 5-2 lead in the second set, including a match point on serve at 5-4, the 24-year-old was pushed to a tie-break before closing out the match in one hour, 41 minutes; a sharp contrast to Humbert’s four-hour, 13-minute victory against Taro Daniel in the quarter-finals, where he saved three match points to survive.

“I was just trying to do my best every point, even if I was serving for the match,” Humbert said in his post-match press conference. “You have to stay focused and wait for a good opportunity.”

Humbert, a seven-time Challenger champion, will aim for his first clay-court title in Sunday’s final.

“Normally I only win one or two matches on clay per year, but I’m enjoying it this year,” Humbert said. “Super proud to be in the final.”

Fans at the ATP Challenger Tour 175 event in Aix-en-Provence, France are in for a treat Sunday, when three-time major champion Andy Murray and World No. 17 Tommy Paul will battle for the title.

Murray and Paul both earned straight-set victories in Saturday’s semifinals at the Open Aix Provence Credit Agricole. The Briton Murray displayed superb all-court coverage and fended off all four break points faced to down home hope Harold Mayot 7-5, 6-1.

Mayot, 21, showed a variety of tactics, often deploying drop shots and working his way forward in his first Challenger semi-final of the year.

Top seed Paul, who is yet to drop a set this week, defeated David Goffin 6-4, 6-2 in the last four after the American won 54 per cent of return points.

“Goffin is an unreal player, he’s had an unreal career,” Paul said. “I think I returned really well and played the big points well. There were a couple times where I was down break point and I came up with a first serve. I was really happy with that.”

Typically you call someone a loser at your own peril.

But in tennis, when a player is told by tournament officials that he is a ‘lucky loser’, those two words are music to his ears.

A lucky loser is a player who lost in the qualifying rounds but later was given passage into the main draw following a player’s withdrawal from the main draw, typically due to illness or injury.

On Sunday, German Jan-Lennard Struff will attempt to become the first lucky loser to win an ATP Masters 1000 title when he plays top seed Carlos Alcaraz in the Mutua Madrid Open final. In the semi-finals, Struff also had the rare satisfaction of avenging his defeat in the final round of qualifying to Aslan Karatsev.

[ATP APP]

Long-time friends Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev captured their first tour-level doubles title together Saturday when they defeated seventh seeds Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden 6-3, 3-6, 10-3 at the Mutua Madrid Open.

Competing in front of a lively crowd on Manolo Santana Stadium, the singles stars produced a strong serving performance to triumph after 71 minutes. They won 83 per cent (25/30) of their first-serve points and raced away in the Match Tie-break to seal victory.

Khachanov and Rublev showed grit throughout their run to the trophy, earning Match Tie-break wins in four of their five matches. They also defeated seeds Nikola Mektic/Mate Pavic and Marcelo Arevalo/Jean-Julien Rojer.

[ATP APP]

Khachanov and Rublev were competing in their third ATP Masters 1000 final, having advanced to the championship match in Miami in 2018 and Paris in 2019. With their victory, Rublev has now won four doubles trophies. It is Khachanov’s first tour-level doubles title.

Carlos Alcaraz and lucky loser Jan-Lennard Struff will chase history when they meet in the Mutua Madrid Open final on Sunday.

The 20-year-old Alcaraz triumphed in the Spanish capital 12 months ago and is trying to become just the second player alongside Rafael Nadal to clinch consecutive crowns at the clay-court event. On the other side of the net, the 33-year-old Struff is aiming to become the first lucky loser to win an ATP Masters 1000 title since the series began in 1990.

Despite being 13 years his junior, Alcaraz has the edge against Struff when it comes to big-match experience. The four-time ATP Masters 1000 champion is competing in his 13th tour-level final and is chasing his 10th title. If he wins the trophy, the Spaniard can seal his return to No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings on Monday, 22 May simply by playing a match later this month at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome. In contrast, Struff is making just his second appearance in a tour-level final, having lost in the Munich title match in 2021.

With an expectant home crowd set to roar the Spaniard on inside Manolo Santana Stadium, Alcaraz is relishing the chance to shine on the big stage once again.

“I enjoy playing here in Madrid. I always try to make [the fans] happy and myself happy as well,” said Alcaraz, when asked about the pressure of playing at home. “I don’t think about the pressure here, I just think about playing a great game, getting good results. It’s a really special place for me, I enjoy every second here, so that’s all I think about.”

Back in 2003, a then-16-year-old Andy Murray made his ATP Challenger Tour debut when he competed in Manchester. Since then, the Scot has gone on to reach the pinnacle of the game. He has risen to No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings and lifted 46 tour-level titles, including 14 ATP Masters 1000 crowns and three Grand Slams.

This week, the Scot is once game competing on the ATP Challenger Tour, advancing to the semi-finals in Aix en Provence in France. While at the Challenger 175, Murray took time to reminisce on his early Challenger Tour days.

A launching pad to greatness ??@andy_murray takes a stroll down Challenger memory lane ?#ATPChallenger pic.twitter.com/oYDuxC728A

“My first memories of playing on the Challenger Tour were in Manchester,” Murray said. “I played a grass-court challenger there and I had my dad there as my tennis coach. He is not a tennis player or a coach but he was there with me.

“I remember being unbelievably shy. I didn’t ask anyone to warm up with me before my match, so I had my dad throwing balls to me out of a shopping bag and I ended up actually getting a couple of good wins there.”

Former pro Tony Graham, who was a long-time friend of Vitas Gerulaitis, John McEnroe and everyone in U.S. tennis circles, passed away on Tuesday aged 66.

The two-time All-American at UCLA, who reached the 1977 NCAA singles final (l. to Matt Mitchell) before a five-season pro career, was front and centre each day for more than 30 years at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells and at the US Open.

Graham rose to a career-high No. 100 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings and beat John Alexander, Jimmy Arias and Johan Kriek, en route to losing to Brian Gottfried in the 1981 Stowe singles final. He captured two tour-level doubles titles at 1980 Lagos (w/Bruce Nichols) and 1981 Maui (w/Mitchell).

Trey Waltke, who first met Graham aged 15 at the US National Indoors and later became roommates, told ATPTour.com, “He was a big guy, who had a lot of touch. He didn’t hit the ball super hard, but he had good hands and a great lob. He had a good serve; he really had no weakness. The backhand lob was special, he could put it on a dime, and he covered the net well.”

Graham started playing tennis against a wall aged 12, and later ranked in the Top 10 under-16 players in the United States. With little family support, Graham trained with the likes of Chris Lewis and Bruce Manson at the Los Angeles Tennis Club. He turned pro after the 1978 US Open, having gone 59-6 at UCLA across three seasons.

Jan-Lennard Struff became the first lucky loser to reach an ATP Masters 1000 final on Friday when he moved past qualifier Aslan Karatsev 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 at the Mutua Madrid Open.

Last week, Karatsev defeated Struff in the final round of qualifying to advance to the main draw. Ten days on and the players were competing in their first ATP Masters 1000 semi-final after earning a series of stunning wins in the Spanish capital.

In front of a packed Manolo Santana Stadium, Struff gained revenge to reach his first ATP Masters 1000 final and move to within one win of his first title. After struggling to deal with Karatsev’s pace in the first set, the German readjusted and produced a clean-hitting and aggressive display in the second and third sets to blast a tiring Karatsev off court. The 33-year-old struck 37 winners and broke the qualifier’s serve three times to advance to his second tour-level championship match.

"It is amazing," Struff said. "I didn't think about this. I played one final before in Munich [2021] but there was no crowd because of Covid. Now I am here and [there is] an amazing crowd. I think on Sunday it will also be a very good crowd. I am very happy to reach a final and very happy with the win."

With his two-hour, 18-minute victory, Struff has climbed to No. 28 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings. The German, who reached a previous career-high No. 29 in August 2020, will play for his first tour-level title when he faces defending champion Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday.

Twenty consecutive ATP Tour wins on Spanish soil for the 20-year-old Carlos Alcaraz.

The top seed celebrated his birthday with another relentless performance in his homeland on Friday at the Mutua Madrid Open, where he overcame stiff resistance from Borna Coric to complete a 6-4, 6-3 semi-final victory at the clay-court ATP Masters 1000.

Alcaraz had to be at his best to overcome a resolute display from Coric. The extra variety in the Spaniard’s game proved key to his triumph, as he frequently pulled the energetic Coric around Manolo Santana Stadium and converted four of six break points to seal victory in one hour, 41 minutes.

Having successfully defended his Barcelona crown two weeks ago, Alcaraz will bid for his fourth consecutive ATP Tour title in Spain on Sunday when he takes on Aslan Karatsev or Jan-Lennard Struff in the championship match. Should he defend the trophy at the Caja Magica, the Spaniard can return to No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings simply by playing a match at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia later this month.

More to follow…

Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from the Internazionali BNL d'Italia. The 10-time Rome champion has been dealing with a leg injury that he suffered at the Australian Open in January.

"Hello everyone! I'm so sorry to announce that I won't be able to play in Rome," wrote Nadal in Spanish on social media. "You all know how much it hurts me to miss another of the tournaments that has been so important to me, both professionally and personally, because of all the affection and support of the Italian fans.

"Despite having noticed an improvement in the last few days, it has been many months since I’ve been able to train at a high level and the adaptation process takes time. All that is left for me to do is accept it and keep working. Best wishes to everyone."

¡Hola a todos!
Siento mucho anunciar que no voy a poder estar en Roma. Todos sabéis cuánto me duele perderme otro de los torneos que han marcado mi carrera profesional y personal por todo el cariño y apoyo de los tifosi italianos. pic.twitter.com/attH8MQWU4

In Nadal’s first three appearances (2005-07) at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Italy, the Spaniard won a trio of titles and tallied a 17-match winning streak. The Spaniard last won the Rome title in 2021 and boasts a 69-8 event record.

Ugo Humbert mounted a comeback Friday at the Sardegna Open, where he saved three match points to reach the semi-finals of the ATP Challenger Tour 175 event in Cagliari, Italy.

After four hours, 13 minutes, Humbert defeated Taro Daniel 7-6(11), 7-6(7), 6-4. The Japanese player had two match points on his serve at 5-3 in the second set and another chance to close the match in the tie-break. But the sixth seed Humbert held his nerve to reach the last four, where he will next face Daniel Elahi Galan or Borna Gojo.

Aix-en-Provence
Top seed Tommy Paul and David Goffin are set to meet in the semi-finals at the Challenger 175 event in France after securing victories on Friday. American Paul fended off all three break points faced to down Austrian Jurij Rodionov 6-4, 6-2. Goffin rallied from a set down to oust #NextGenATP star Arthur Fils 1-6, 6-3, 7-6(6) at the Open Aix Provence Credit Agricole.