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Renowned coach Patrick Mouratoglou, who has worked with stars including Serena Williams and Simona Halep, recalls meeting Holger Rune when the Dane was 13. His first impression of Rune’s game was that he was an all-court player with no strokes that stood out.

“The fact that he was doing so well in terms of results got my interest because there is always a reason for that,” Mouratoglou, who is Rune's coach alongside Lars Christensen, told ATPTour.com. “I remember seeing him play points with guys and I thought ‘Oh, okay. I get it now.’

That ‘it’ was not related to technique or his strokes at all. It was an intangible.

“Some guys have this competitiveness that is at another level. They are able to play their best when it’s important,” Mouratoglou said. “They’re able to feel the moment when the guy is more stressed on the other side and keep the ball in the court and let the guy make the mistakes. Feel when is the moment to push and accelerate.”

Mouratoglou remembers discussing that with Rune and his team, including Christensen and mother Aneke Rune. His passion stood out.

The ATP Challenger Tour held no shortage of historic moments this season. From crowning champions who went on to showcase their talent at the season’s most prestigious events, to Argentina’s record-setting 23 titles, or Li Tu’s emotional victory in Seoul.

As the 2023 season approaches, ATPTour.com reviews five memorable moments from the ATP Challenger Tour this year.

ATP Tour and Challenger Tour Champions
Six players, including Borna Coric and Holger Rune, claimed titles on the Challenger Tour and at a Tour-level tournament.

Coric, who won the Parma Challenger in June, upset three Top-10 players en route to winning the title in Cincinnati to become the first player since 1993 to win a Challenger and an ATP Masters 1000 title in the same season. And then it was the Danish teen’s turn in Bercy.

Rune, 19, claimed the Sanremo Challenger in April before rising to three Tour-level titles, including the ATP Masters 1000 event in Paris.

Sven Swinnen still remembers the first time he watched Dominic Stricker play. The lefty, who was 14 at the time, visited the Swiss Tennis Academy in Biel, Switzerland. Not to put any pressure on the juniors training there with big dreams, the facility is located on Roger-Federer-Allee.

“He was hitting the ball already pretty clean. He had the ball nicely on his racquet already at a young age,” Swinnen told ATPTour.com. “Obviously maybe his footwork wasn’t the best yet. He still can improve on that today. But slowly it’s getting better and better.”

Stricker was just visiting for a couple days of practice at the country’s national training centre. Six years later he is 20 years old, and Swinnen is his full-time coach. The lefty is on the rise.

Stricker finished his 2022 season playing some of the best tennis of his career, winning a main-draw match at the ATP 250 in Antwerp and another at the ATP 500 in Basel, his home event. Then he shone at the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals, defeating Jack Draper, Lorenzo Musetti and Chun-Hsin Tseng in round-robin play before falling in the semi-finals.

“We try to take one step at a time. Now obviously he’s close to the Top 100, so the next goal if you talk rankings-wise will be to get a spot in the Top 100 and try to keep it for some time,” Swinnen said of his charge, who is No. 118 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. “Don’t get too caught up in trying to get points or think too much about points, try to keep working on the things you have to improve on court and then all the stuff will come automatically.”

ATPTour.com’s annual season-in-review series looks back at 2022’s best matches, biggest upsets, most dramatic comebacks and more. Today, we recap some of the most notable player retirements from the year.

From Juan Martin del Potro's Buenos Aires farewell in February to Roger Federer's Laver Cup send-off in September, the 2022 ATP Tour season saw the close of many storied careers. Some players bowed out on home soil, while others saved their final outing for the Grand Slam stage.

Former Top 5 stars Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Kevin Anderson and Tommy Robredo were among those to sign off this season, along with former doubles World No. 2 Bruno Soares. ATPTour.com looks at the careers of all those men and more who called time on their playing careers this year.

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Philipp Kohlschreiber (Career High: No. 6 singles)
“I really didn’t plan to announce it… It was just that day I felt, ‘OK, it’s time.’”

As someone who knows what it takes to reach the top of the game, Queensland tennis legend Patrick Rafter is in no doubt about the level WTA World No. 1 Iga Swiatek will bring to Brisbane for the inaugural United Cup.

“Swiatek is a great player,” said Rafter of the three-time Grand Slam champion and Team Poland star on Sunday during a visit to Pat Rafter Arena, the venue which bears his name and is set to host group-stage action at the new mixed teams event. “I saw [her play] a lot because I watched a lot of Ash [Barty] playing. So whenever I watched Ash as well, they were coming up against each other, and she's had a really great year.

“She's got a lot of smarts about her, she's one of those girls that I thought had that sort of X element part of the game and by all accounts is a really lovely girl as well. I know Ash is a really big fan of hers, so she'll be great to have here.”

World No. 12 Belinda Bencic and No. 15 Beatriz Haddad Maia are among the other WTA stars representing their countries from 29 December to 4 January in Brisbane, where they will be joined by some heavy-hitters from the ATP Tour. ATP World No. 3 Casper Ruud, No. 10 Hubert Hurkacz, No. 16 Matteo Berrettini and 2014 Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka will all hope to help their respective nations qualify for the United Cup Final Four, to be held in Sydney from 6-8 January.

“Ruud [is here], Hurkacz is here, Berrettini, you've got some really strong players here,” said Rafter. “But you're also going to see some fresh faces and names that you might not know who are actually very, very good players too, and probably the next up-and-comers. So this will be a pretty exciting tournament.”

Roger Federer retired earlier this year following the Laver Cup. But the Swiss legend is still giving back to the fans.

Federer loaned his kit and shoes from the final match of his career to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, where fans can see it. The outfit and an autographed copy of his retirement letter are on display in the museum.

“This addition to the International Tennis Hall of Fame is a fitting tribute to the final chapter in a defining career," said International Tennis Hall of Fame CEO Todd Martin. “We are tremendously grateful to Roger for this generous loan, and for valuing our mission to preserve tennis history as it happens. The ITHF congratulates Roger on all his achievements, the example he has set for everyone in the sport, and for his dedication to the sport’s history. We know this exhibit will inspire countless fans and visitors.”

There are several items relating to Federer in the museum, one of which is a hologram experience that bears his likeness.

The International Tennis Hall of Fame is home to the Infosys Hall of Fame Open, an ATP 250 event that in 2023 will be played from 17-23 July.

ATPTour.com’s annual season-in-review series looks back at 2022’s best matches, biggest upsets, most dramatic comebacks and more. Today, we feature the first-time ATP Tour title winners of the season.

Securing a match win on the ATP Tour is hard enough, but stringing together a series of back-to-back victories across a single week to lift a trophy requires even greater technical consistency, physical discipline and mental focus.

This year, 12 players managed that feat for the first time, hitting a milestone that will forever stand out in the context of their careers. As part of our annual season-in-review series, ATPTour.com reflects on the lineup of stars who clinched their maiden ATP Tour title in 2022.

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Thanasi Kokkinakis, Adelaide
Kokkinakis clinched an emotional victory in his hometown at the Adelaide International 2 in January, a reward for the Australian’s commitment and hard work after a series of devastating injuries. His run at the ATP 250 event included hard-fought three-set wins against three of the biggest servers on Tour in John Isner, Marin Cilic and Arthur Rinderknech.

The United Cup, a magnificent new hallmarked sterling silver and 24-carat gold-plated trophy, was today unveiled at Cottesloe Beach in Perth, Western Australia.

Grand Slam mixed doubles champion and Perth-born Casey Dellacqua, Western Australian Minister for Sport, the Hon. David Templeman MLA, United Cup Tournament Director Stephen Farrow, and United Cup Perth General Manager Brett Patten revealed the new silverware, 10 days out from the inaugural event.

The United Cup will showcase equality at the highest level of the sport when the world’s best players unite and compete side by side across Brisbane, Perth and Sydney from Thursday 29 December to Sunday 8 January 2023.

Standing at 50cm tall, the hand-crafted United Cup features 36 sweeping rods to represent the 18-country mixed doubles partnerships, each shaped by hand.

“We wanted a trophy that was instantly iconic, that was very special and unique for the United Cup. And we wanted something that really symbolises bringing together the male and female players,” Farrow said.

The margins are razor thin between the ATP Challenger Tour and Tour-level players.

While every tennis player dreams of competing under the bright lights and on big stages, they must first pave their pathway on the Challenger Tour. Tennis legends like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic all started on the Challenger circuit before embarking on illustrious careers.

This season, players such as Holger Rune, Wu Yibing, and Jack Draper enjoyed great success at not only Challenger Tour events, but also at the season’s four Grand Slams.

ATPTour.com reviews five players who went from Challengers to enjoying a breakthrough moment at a major in 2022.

Rafael Nadal announced Monday that Gustavo Marcaccio has joined his coaching team ahead of the 2023 ATP Tour season.

In an Instagram post sharing the news, Nadal said that Argentina's Marcaccio has worked at his academy since April 2021, calling him "a good addition to the team". "It will surely help us a lot to continue on the path," Nadal posted in Spanish, looking forward to the new year.

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Marcaccio previously coached countryman Guido Pella from 2016-18 and has been the sub-captain for the Argentina Davis Cup team since 2018. He has also worked with Argentines Juan Monaco and Maximo Gonzalez, as well as Ecuador's Giovanni Lapentti in the past. On the Hologic WTA Tour, Marcaccio has coached Svetlana Kuznetsova and Paula Ormaechea.

A former college player at Arizona State University, he reached a career-high of No. 284 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings in 2004.

It was a historic season for Carlos Alcaraz, whose accomplishments in 2022 include winning his first ATP Masters 1000 title, his maiden Grand Slam championship and climbing to World No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

To wrap his year, ATPTour.com asked the Spaniard for the best, biggest, coolest and craziest things to happen to him this season.

Carlos’ Biggest Thing: Ending The Year As World No. 1
Alcaraz at the Nitto ATP Finals was recognised as the youngest year-end No. 1 in the history of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings (since 1973). The 19-year-old became the first teen to accomplish the feat.

“It means a lot to me,” Alcaraz said. “To get this trophy, the World No. 1, to be part of tennis history along with a lot of legends, for me is an amazing feeling.”

Photo Credit: Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour
Carlos’ Best Thing: Winning The US Open & Reaching World No. 1
Fans and analysts alike had Alcaraz on their radar well before the start of the 2022 season, but few could have predicted how quickly he soared. By defeating Casper Ruud in the US Open final, he claimed his maiden major crown and with it, the No. 1 Pepperstone ATP Ranking.

It all starts and ends with the return landing back in the court.

An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of return points won by the year-end Top 10 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings when the return was successfully put back in play highlights a key strategic advantage that Novak Djokovic enjoyed over his closest rivals.

Djokovic was the peak performer at winning both first and second serve points when his return was put back in play. The data set comes from the ATP Serve & Return Tracker and includes 13,215 first and second serve returns from the 2022 season.

First Serve Return Points Won When Return In Play (Top 10 Average = 45.9%)

Imagine an opponent making a powerful first serve and Djokovic successfully blocking it back in play. Who is now favoured to win the point?

As a player who has always done things his own way on the tennis court, Nick Kyrgios appreciates the importance of innovation in the game. It comes as no surprise that the Australian is looking forward to the inaugural edition of the United Cup.

“I think it’s just a great event to have,” said Kyrgios as he prepares to lead the host nation at the new mixed teams event to be held from 29 December to 8 January. “An event where females and males come together as one to represent their nation, I think that’s incredibly important, and for the fans to see their favourite female players and male players come together and play for their country, [with] all the best athletes from around the world. I think it’s a very special, special event.”

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The teams competition will kick off the 2023 season on both the ATP and WTA Tours, with 18 nations competing in Brisbane, Perth and Sydney. As Team Australia’s leading men’s singles player, Canberra-born Kyrgios is set for a pair of blockbuster clashes against Team Great Britain’s Cameron Norrie and Team Spain’s Rafael Nadal in Sydney, the city he now calls home.

“There’s nothing better, to play the Australian summer is one of my favourite times of the year,” said Kyrgios. “Obviously being home, but being able to play in Sydney, in front of the home fans, my family, my friends, there’s nothing more that I love.

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal headlined ATP Tour stars who reacted to the epic FIFA World Cup Final on social media Sunday, when Lionel Messi led Argentina past France for the trophy.

Federer wrote on Instagram, “Fairytale stuff Argentina! ⚽️ Time and time again you @leomessi have redefined greatness. It’s a privilege to watch you. Congrats Leo & ?? . Special and historic ???.”

Nadal posted on Instagram stories congratulating both the Argentines and French on the classic match. “Enjoy it champions,” he wrote in one of his posts.

Argentines, led by Juan Martin del Potro, quickly took to social media to celebrate their country’s victory.

True tennis fanatics find joy in sharing any random fact or record that they can recite from memory. The 2022 ATP Challenger Tour season held no shortage of historic moments that can be shared as your next trivia question.

After 11 months of nonstop tennis, ATPTour.com takes a deep dive into the facts and figures from the 2022 Challenger Tour season.

Halys Held Most Wins
For the second straight year, a Frenchman topped the Challenger match wins leaderboard. This season, Quentin Halys was nearly unstoppable as he collected a 43-10 record on the Challenger Tour.

The 26-year-old reached seven Challenger finals, including in Pau, Lille, and Ismaning, where he captured the title. Halys finished the year at a career-high 64 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. 

Title Leaders
Pedro Cachin and Jack Draper finished with a season-leading four Challenger titles. While the Argentine Cachin competed in seven finals, he was crowned champion in Madrid, Prague, Todi, and Santo Domingo. Draper’s early-season surge helped pave the path of his graduation to Tour-level tournaments and qualification for the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals. The Briton triumphed at the Forli-2, Forli-4, Forli-5, and Saint-Brieuc Challengers.

Coaches have for years drilled into budding tennis players and professionals that serving to the backhand provides a stronger chance of winning second-serve points. In fact, it is clear that this tactic is the norm on the ATP Tour. Fifty per cent of serves have been directed to the backhand corner and 35 per cent to the body – mainly to the backhand side – leaving only 15 per cent of serves delivered to the forehand.

The thinking is simple: Serving to the backhand provides a safer option when sending down a slower delivery on the second serve. Naturally, forehand returns are more dangerous, so a high ball to the backhand provides a better chance of neutralising the opponent's return, while reducing the risk of double faulting.

Animation 1: Serve Zone Trajectories on second serves to Deuce court: Win % and In %

However, the growth of increasingly sophisticated data and analysis of each and every action in the sport of tennis undermines the logic behind this long-held belief.

ATP players win 51 per cent of points when serving to the forehand corner versus just 49 per cent when serving to the backhand corner.

This July, Holger Rune’s rapid rise had come to a screeching halt.

A 2021 Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals competitor, Rune’s season had started well. The teen, who began the year outside the Top 100 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, quickly climbed into the Top 50 by lifting his first ATP Tour trophy in Munich and advancing to the Roland Garros quarter-finals. The only player younger than the Dane in the Top 50 was Carlos Alcaraz.

But what seemed a bump-free road revealed potholes. After losing to Casper Ruud in the last eight on the Parisian clay, Rune lost seven consecutive matches. For nearly two months, he did not win a set against a Top 100 player.

“It was tough for sure. When you lose a couple of matches in a row, you’ve got to get back at it and you have [to think about] your goals that you want to achieve. But I think it’s normal in a way,” Rune told ATPTour.com. “It’s going up and then sometimes it’s going a little bit down. You’ve got to accept it because this is sports. Everybody can beat everybody, so it’s just about accepting it and keep believing.

“[To] keep having belief is the most important. That’s also what kept me going. I’m basically a guy who is very motivated no matter what happens, so that’s one thing that is also helping me.”

World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz and coach Juan Carlos Ferrero combine for three honours in the 2022 ATP Awards, following the 19-year-old’s historic season on the ATP Tour. Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal, Holger Rune and Casper Ruud have also been named among the winners.

Alcaraz and Ferrero have been selected by their peers as the Most Improved Player of the Year and Coach of the Year, respectively. Alcaraz, also honoured as the ATP No. 1 presented Pepperstone in the 2022 ATP Awards, made the biggest jump to year-end No. 1 in history and is the first teenager to finish in the top spot. He won five titles in 2022, including a first Grand Slam crown at the US Open and a pair of ATP Masters 1000 titles at the Miami Open presented by Itau and Mutua Madrid Open. 

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Two other Masters 1000 champions claim ATP Awards in player-voted categories. Rune, 19, has been named Newcomer of the Year while 26-year-old Coric takes home Comeback Player of the Year honours. Rune finished the season by winning 19 of his final 21 matches, defeating five Top 10 opponents en route to the Rolex Paris Masters title. Coric, a former World No. 12, returned from a shoulder injury to win the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati. 

Ruud has been voted by fellow players as the first Scandinavian winner of the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award since the award’s namesake in 1995. The Norwegian is also the first player other than Roger Federer and Nadal to win this category since 2003. 

Meanwhile, Nadal adds to his ATP Awards haul by winning his first Fans’ Favourite Award. The 36-year-old Spaniard’s collection includes a full set in the player-voted categories – Newcomer (2003), Most Improved (2005), Comeback (2013) and Sportsmanship (2010, 2018-2021) – in addition to the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award (2011) and ATP No. 1 presented by Pepperstone (2008, 2010, 2013, 2017, 2019).

Murray has been named recipient of the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award for a second time, in recognition of his support for the humanitarian efforts in Ukraine. The 35-year-old Brit, who has written an essay about his charity work for ATPTour.com, donated his 2022 prize money to a UNICEF campaign for children. 

The 2022 ATP Awards also recognises Wesley Koolhof & Neal Skupski, winners of seven titles during the first year of their partnership, as the ATP Doubles No. 1 presented by Pepperstone. Australian Open champions Thanasi Kokkinakis & Nick Kyrgios have been voted as Fans’ Favourite doubles team. 

The BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells (ATP Masters 1000), the cinch Championships at the Queen’s Club in London (ATP 500) and the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha (ATP 250) have been voted by players as Tournament of the Year in their respective categories. Meanwhile, Argentine journalist Sebastian Torok of LA NACION, has been recognised as the recipient of the Ron Bookman Media Excellence Award.

2022 ATP Awards Winners

ATP No. 1 presented by Pepperstone
(determined by Pepperstone ATP Rankings)
Most Improved Player of the Year
(voted by ATP players)
Carlos Alcaraz: The 19-year-old Spaniard is the first teenager and youngest player to finish No. 1 in the 50 editions of the year-end Pepperstone ATP Rankings. He made the biggest jump to year-end No. 1 in history, rising from No. 32 at the end of 2021. Alcaraz, the 2020 Newcomer of the Year, became the youngest ATP 500 champion (since 2009) by winning Rio de Janeiro in February. He also led the Tour with two ATP Masters 1000 titles (Miami and Madrid) and five titles overall (tied with Novak Djokovic). Alcaraz clinched his first Grand Slam title in September, when he became the youngest men’s singles winner at the US Open since 19-year-old Pete Sampras in 1990.

ATP Doubles No. 1 presented by Pepperstone
(determined by Pepperstone ATP Rankings)
Wesley Koolhof & Neal Skupski: The Dutchman and Briton won seven titles in their first year as a team, highlighted by their triumphs at three ATP Masters 1000 events (Madrid, Montreal and Paris). They were successful across different surfaces – outdoor and indoor hard courts, clay and grass – also picking up trophies in Melbourne, Adelaide, Doha and ‘s-Hertogenbosch. In addition to reaching the top as a team, Koolhof hit No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Rankings on 7 November. Skupski joined him as joint World No. 1 a week later.

Comeback Player of the Year
(voted by ATP players)
Borna Coric: After missing a year due to a shoulder injury and surgery in May 2021, the 26-year-old Croatian surged back up the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, from No. 278 in May to a year-end No. 26. Coric, who started his comeback in March, won an ATP Challenger Tour title in June. The former World No. 12 then charged back into the ATP Tour winners’ circle in style at the Western & Southern Open in August. Coric took out five Top 20 players in a row, including Rafael Nadal, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Stefanos Tsitsipas, to claim his first ATP Masters 1000 title in Cincinnati. Dominic Thiem, Stan Wawrinka and Wu Yibing were also nominated for Comeback Player of the Year. 

Newcomer of the Year
(voted by ATP players)
Holger Rune: The Dane enjoyed a standout season that saw him claim three titles and break into the Top 10 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. Rune lifted his maiden ATP Tour title in Munich in May, two days after turning 19. He won 19 of his final 21 matches of the year, reaching four straight finals during that run. Rune won the Stockholm title in between runner-up finishes in Sofia and Basel. He then capped off his 2022 campaign by defeating five Top 10 opponents in a row – including Novak Djokovic in the final – to win the ATP Masters 1000 title at the Rolex Paris Masters. #NextGenATP players Jack Draper, Jiri Lehecka, Ben Shelton and Chun-Hsin Tseng were also nominees for Newcomer of the Year.

Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award
(voted by ATP players)
Casper Ruud: The Norwegian has been recognised by fellow players for his fair play, professionalism and integrity on and off the court. By winning the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award, Ruud breaks the dominance of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, who combined to win it each year since 2004 — Federer 13 times and Nadal five. The 23-year-old is also the award's first Scandinavian winner since Sweden's Edberg won it for a fifth time in 1995; the following year, it was renamed in his honour. This season, Ruud reached a career-high World No. 2 and won three ATP Tour titles. Carlos Alcaraz, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Nadal and Frances Tiafoe were also nominated in this category.

Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award
(awarded by ATP)
Andy Murray: The 35-year-old Brit has been named the 2022 Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award recipient in recognition of his support for the humanitarian efforts in Ukraine. Murray donated his prize money for 2022 – more than US$630,000, starting in March with Indian Wells – to a UNICEF campaign for children affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Murray, a UNICEF UK Ambassador since 2014, is the fourth player who has earned the award multiple times, joining Andre Agassi, Roger Federer and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi. 

Fans’ Favourite Award (Singles)
(voted by fans)
Rafael Nadal: The 36-year-old wins the fan-voted ATP Award for the first time, adding to his full set of Awards in the player-voted categories: Newcomer, Most Improved, Comeback and Sportsmanship. Nadal was also named Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year in 2011 and crowned ATP No. 1 presented by Pepperstone five times. The Spaniard made his best start to an ATP Tour season by winning his first 20 matches of 2022, a run that included a record 21st Grand Slam crown at the Australian Open. He made it 22 major titles with victory at Roland Garros.

Fans’ Favourite Award (Doubles)
(voted by fans)
Thanasi Kokkinakis & Nick Kyrgios: The Australians have been voted as the Fans' Favourite doubles team for the first time. The longtime friends started the season by winning a first team title at the Australian Open. Kokkinakis, 26, and 27-year-old Kyrgios also reached the Miami semi-finals and clinched the Atlanta title, before capping off their 2022 campaign with debut at the Nitto ATP Finals.

Coach of the Year
(voted by ATP coaches)
Juan Carlos Ferrero: The former World No. 1 helped Carlos Alcaraz achieve a record-breaking season on Tour. Ferrero first set eyes on his countryman at the Equelite Sport Academy when the 2021 Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals champion was just 13 years old. He witnessed Alcaraz earn his first ATP Tour point aged 14, before the pair started officially working together in 2018. Ferrero was selected as the winner from a shortlist that included Frederic Fontang (Felix Auger-Aliassime), Goran Ivanisevic (Novak Djokovic), Michael Russell (Taylor Fritz) and Christian Ruud (Casper Ruud).

ATP Masters 1000 Tournament of the Year
(voted by ATP players) 
BNP Paribas Open (Indian Wells): The BNP Paribas Open wins in the ATP Masters 1000 category for a record-extending eighth time — all in succession. Held amidst the natural beauty and backdrop of the desert landscape, the Indian Wells Tennis Garden offers top-notch player facilities and amenities; plentiful practice courts that allow fans to watch players up close; and unparalleled dining options.

ATP 500 Tournament of the Year
(voted by ATP players) 
cinch Championships (London): The cinch Championships at The Queen's Club claims honours at the ATP 500 level, winning for the fourth time. Also recognised in the ATP Awards in 2015, 2016 and 2018, the tournament has thrived in its prestigious setting in West Kensington by consistently attracting some of the best singles and doubles players on the ATP Tour.

ATP 250 Tournament of the Year
(voted by ATP players) 
Qatar ExxonMobil Open (Doha): The Qatar ExxonMobil Open repeats as winner in the ATP 250 category, claiming the Tournament of the Year award for the fifth time overall (2015, 2017, 2019, 2021). Doha has set high standards since its inception in 1993 and under the guidance of former player Karim Alami, the tournament continues to build its reputation for its superb facility, world-class hospitality and welcoming fans.

Ron Bookman Media Excellence Award
(awarded by ATP)
Sebastian Torok: Torok has been a journalist for the Argentine newspaper LA NACION since 2000. He has covered football, rugby, boxing and handball, but specialises in tennis. He has been a radio columnist and, since 2018, has been a commentator on ESPN Latin America. He also wrote biographies on Juan Martin del Potro ('El milagro Del Potro' and 'The Gentle Giant') and Gustavo Fernandez, a leading figure in wheelchair tennis ('Hambre de Lobo'). The Argentine received international recognition at the AIPS Sport Media Awards for various investigations.

Rafael Nadal announced Friday on social media that his longtime coach, Francisco Roig, is leaving his team.

“I want to inform you that Francis Roig is leaving my team and starting a new personal project as a coach... He started joining the team and worked with us together with my Uncle Toni and later with Carlos Moyá and recently Marc López,” Nadal wrote. “Francis has been an important person in my career and I am very grateful to him for all these years of work and friendship.”

Roig has worked with Nadal since 2005, before the lefty claimed his first Grand Slam title. Now Nadal is a 22-time major winner and has spent 209 weeks at World No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings in his career.

“When we started working together I was a child and together with my Uncle Toni, we started on the circuit,” Nadal said. “Francis is a great coach who knows tennis very well and has helped me a lot to get better and better. I only have words of gratitude and I wish him all the luck in the world in his new project!”

The BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells (ATP Masters 1000), the cinch Championships in London (ATP 500) and the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha (ATP 250) have been named as Tournament of the Year in their respective categories in the 2022 ATP Awards. The tournament awards, voted by ATP players, recognise the leading standards set across events on the ATP Tour.

The BNP Paribas Open continues its recent dominance in the ATP Masters 1000 category, winning the honour for a record-extending eighth time — all in succession. Held amidst the natural beauty and backdrop of the desert landscape, the Indian Wells Tennis Garden offers top-notch player facilities and amenities; plentiful practice courts that allow fans to watch players up close; and unparalleled dining options.

The 2022 singles title was won by Southern California's Taylor Fritz, while Americans John Isner and Jack Sock claimed the doubles crown.

“We are truly humbled to have been voted Tournament of the Year by ATP players for a record eighth straight year,” Tournament Director Tommy Haas said. “To have the hard work of our entire team recognised in this way is something that we take great pride in. We are already hard at work to ensure that the 2023 event is the best yet for players, fans and visitors from around the world, and look forward to welcoming everyone to Tennis Paradise again this March.”

The cinch Championships at The Queen's Club in London claims the honour at the ATP 500 level, winning the award for the fourth time. Also recognised in the ATP Awards in 2015, 2016 and 2018, the tournament has thrived in its prestigious setting in West Kensington by consistently attracting some of the best singles and doubles players on the ATP Tour.

Founded in 1989, the event was won by Matteo Berrettini in each of the past two years. Croatians Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic won the 2022 doubles title.

“Given the quality of tournaments in this category, it is an honour to be voted by players as the ATP 500 Tournament of the Year,” said Chris Pollard, Events and Digital Director, LTA. “It is recognition of the outstanding work from the LTA tournament team and the support from a large number of sponsors, partners and suppliers who collaborate so effectively with the LTA, the Queen’s Club and the ATP in delivering the Tournament. As well as hosting our highest event attendance in 2022, the LTA introduced a number of innovative sustainability and inclusion initiatives that opened up the event to new audiences – we look forward to further enhancing the event experience for players, spectators and sponsors in 2023.”

The Qatar ExxonMobil Open repeats as winner in the ATP 250 category, claiming the Tournament of the Year award for the fifth time overall (2015, 2017, 2019, 2021). Doha has set high standards since its inception in 1993 and under the guidance of former player Karim Alami, the tournament continues to build its reputation for its superb facility, world-class hospitality and welcoming fans.

Roberto Baustista Agut was this season's singles champion, while the year-end No. 1 doubles duo of Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski won the doubles title.

“The Qatar Tennis Federation and all the members of the team organising the Qatar ExxonMobil Open are delighted to be selected as best ATP 250 for the fifth time in the last eight years,” said Alami. “This award is a recognition of our team's efforts to evolve, improve and adapt, while maintaining the focus on creating a warm and attractive environment that makes all guests and participants feel welcome despite the unusual conditions faced these last couple of years. We want to thank our loyal sponsors, the local government and leadership for their commitment, trust and vision.”