Thompson the Tiger! Rugby-loving Aussie on training with his favourite NRL team

Jordan Thompson has plenty of highlights to look back on across his ATP Tour career so far.

A high of No. 30 in the PIF ATP Rankings, one singles title and six doubles crowns on the ATP Tour, and four victories against Top 10 opponents all feature on his tennis resume. Yet for the Australian, perhaps the thrill of all those achievements pales in comparison with one summer's day in Sydney earlier this year.

A rugby league fanatic, Thompson was invited to join a training session with his beloved National Rugby League (NRL) side, Wests Tigers. He didn’t need asking twice.

“Honestly, when I finished, I went out for dinner and drinks at the end of the night, and I was like, ‘That was the best day of my life’,” Thompson told ATPTour.com. “I guess I'd always looked up to the coaches that were there, and they were running the show, and they were so welcoming.

“They let me join in on pretty much everything apart from the full-on game. I didn't want a part of that anyway, I would have got destroyed! But I got to play, and it was honestly the best experience of my life.”

Thompson has previously stated that if he had not become a tennis player, he would have played rugby. So how did his skills match up compared to the Tigers’ roster?

“I don't think they were too bad,” said the Sydneysider. “Obviously, I'm a lot smaller than them, but I think if I played rugby league, I'd try and beef up. I think I went okay, my speed was alright, my stamina was probably at the top end. I guess it was like I was on the court, trying to be pretty solid.”

Although life travelling the world on the ATP Tour can make being a committed NRL fan difficult, Thompson’s passion for the Tigers often overrides barriers such as tricky time zones or an inconveniently scheduled tennis match.

“I [get up in the mornings] to watch it,” he said. “I haven't missed a game yet. And if it's on at like, 3 a.m. I'll turn my phone off, I won't check any messages until I watch the game.

“Last year when I went back [to Australia], I went to a game in the middle of winter, and they won [66-18]. So it's like the record that they’ve put on, and I was there to see it. It was pretty cool, so I guess I have to get back more often.”

Thompson’s support has been reciprocated in the past by the Tigers, who celebrated on social media in 2022 when he helped Australia reach its first Davis Cup final for 19 years.

Finals bound! 👏🏼🐯 @jordanthommmo2 @TennisAustralia #showyourstripes https://t.co/lYwwzIjvPc

Thompson’s love of rugby has hardly distracted him from going from strength to strength on the tennis court. On Friday, he will attempt to notch his second match win against a No. 1-ranked opponent when he takes on Jannik Sinner in the third round at the Cincinnati Open. The 30-year-old’s previous win against a top-ranked player came against Andy Murray at Queen’s Club in 2017, but he can also look to a more recent victory against another great of the game for extra confidence.

In the opening week of the 2024 season, Thompson ended Rafael Nadal’s comeback run in the quarter-finals in Brisbane, where he saved three match points en route to defeating the Spanish lefty. The victory set the tone for what has been the best season of the 30-year-old’s career.

“Yeah, that gave me a lot of confidence, beating Rafa in Australia, in a quarter-final of the first week of the year, it's pretty special,” reflected Thompson, who went on to lift his maiden ATP tour singles title in February in Los Cabos and is now 28-19 for 2024. “You put in all the hard yards during the offseason and then to get rewarded like that was very special. But not only like that, the guy has won over 20 Grand Slams.

“I know he was coming back from injury, but you’ve still got to beat him. I was in primary school when he was first winning Grand Slams, so to share the court with him was special and then to beat him was even more special. I've played him a few times, he got the better of me then, but also, I was a little bit more experienced now and he was coming back from injury. That made it a little bit easier for me, but it was still incredibly tough.”

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