Mpetshi Perricard named Most Improved Player of the Year in 2024 ATP Awards
Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard has been selected by his peers as the Most Improved Player of the Year in the 2024 ATP Awards. The 21-year-old Frenchman earned this honour after winning his first two tour-level titles this season and rising from outside the Top 200 to a career-high PIF ATP Ranking of No. 30.
“I’m very happy to win the Most Improved Player award,” Mpetshi Perricard said. “It was a good year for me and my team. Now we are looking [forward to] 2025.”
See you back on court soon 👋@MpetshiG | #ATPAwards 🥳 pic.twitter.com/SdcLtABDiN
— ATP Tour (@atptour) December 12, 2024
Having played just five tour-level matches prior to 2024, Mpetshi Perricard posted a 16-12 record this season. In his first ATP Tour main draw appearance of 2024, he completed a storybook run to the title in his hometown of Lyon.
As a wild card at the ATP 250, he saved a match point against Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the final before winning a dramatic third-set tie-break for the trophy.
“It means a lot. A lot of dedication, a lot of hard training, a lot of questions about my game,” Mpetshi Perricard said after his victory. “But I’m very happy to win this one in Lyon especially, my hometown.”
A regular on the ATP Tour since that triumph, which earned him his Top 100 breakthrough in the PIF ATP Rankings, the big-serving Frenchman backed up his maiden title with a second trophy in Basel in October. Across his runs in Lyon and Basel, Mpetshi Perricard earned five Top 30 wins, including straight-sets victories against Felix Auger-Aliassime, Holger Rune and Ben Shelton at the Basel ATP 500.
[ATP APP]Back on home soil at the Rolex Paris Masters, he beat Frances Tiafoe before closing the season at World No. 31 — 175 places higher than he started the year in the PIF ATP Rankings.
Jack Draper, Tomas Machac and Alejandro Tabilo were also nominated for Most Improved Player of the Year in the 2024 ATP Awards. Nominees are determined by an International Tennis Writers’ Association (ITWA) vote, with the winner selected by players from the shortlist.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]