Tennis and mathematics may have a few things in common, but for Frenchman Luca Van Assche, they intertwine daily as he makes a rapid rise on the ATP Challenger Tour.

While travelling weekly to tournaments, the 18-year-old remains in school at Paris Dauphine University, where he is a sophomore. The teen is studying math and handles school while away from home.

“I have a lot of homework when I’m on the road, but of course I manage it,” Van Assche told ATPTour.com. “Sometimes it’s difficult to do both. For the moment I’m enjoying doing both so I will continue like this.

“I cannot do online tests, I have to be in Paris. There are like two weeks of exams this year, one week in June and one in January. I study when I’m at home and on Tour, and for the exams I just need to be in Paris.”

The Belgian-born star, who moved to France at age three, enjoyed a late-season surge on the Challenger Tour. In October at the Brest Challenger, Van Assche downed Portuguese Nuno Borges for his first Top-100 victory. It was an emotional, dramatic three-set match that concluded around 1:30 a.m. Van Assche advanced to the final in France, where he fell short to countryman Gregoire Barrere.

After finishing runner-up at the Lisbon, Brest, and Valencia Challengers, Van Assche was even hungrier to capture his maiden title. At his final tournament of the year, the Maia Open, Van Assche rallied from a set down in the championship match to triumph.

Luca Van Assche celebrates a semi-final win at the 2022 Brest Challenger. Credit: Un Oeil Averty

“It was a great week for me, I’m so happy to win,” Van Assche said in his post-match press conference. “When I lost the first set [in the final], I was thinking about it like, ‘I cannot lose four finals!’ I continued to fight and it worked. It was my goal to win a Challenger this year and I did it at the last tournament of the year.”

Now at a career-high 138 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, Van Assche is the youngest French player in the Top 200.

Van Assche is one of nine teenage Challenger champions this year and the youngest French winner since Corentin Moutet won the Brest Challenger in 2017. Following Van Assche’s title in Portugal, he joined an exclusive list of French Challenger champions aged 18 and under: Richard Gasquet, Sebastien Grosjean, Gael Monfils, Fabrice Santoro, and Moutet.

“I saw that stat the day after I won the title and those guys are a big inspiration for me and French players,” Van Assche said. “I’m very proud to be in that group and I want to have a big career like them.”

Luca Van Assche at the Brest Challenger. Credit: Un Oeil Averty

The #NextGenATP youngster has made quick progress in the early stages of his career. One of his most memorable moments came at Roland Garros in 2021, when Van Assche won the boys’ singles title, where he defeated his countryman and close friend Arthur Fils in the final.

“Winning the Roland Garros juniors title was very special to me,” Van Assche said. “I live in Paris, so it was home. I had my family and loved ones there. I could leave my junior career very happy, I was so proud.

“There were four French players in the semi-finals of the Roland Garros boys’ singles that year, it was very cool for us. I hope that the future of French tennis will be very good.”

Van Assche has many memories to look back on from this year, including making his Tour-level debut at the ATP 250 event in Antwerp, where he pushed Yoshihito Nishioka to a third-set tie-break. The Frenchman finished the season winning nine of his final 10 matches and now looks to build upon his success in 2023.

“My goal is to continue like how I ended the year, with a lot of confidence,” Van Assche said. “I’m just working hard every day and my goal is to be in the Top 100 as soon as possible.”

Cut through all the specialised training programmes and every ATP Tour player has one ultimate, yet simple goal for their game: make it a little bit better each day they step on the court or hit the gym.

The four men nominated for Most Improved Player of the Year in the 2022 ATP Awards succeeded in that pursuit more than most this season, their climbs up the Pepperstone ATP Rankings proof positive of their breakthrough years.

Up for the award this year are: Carlos Alcaraz, Holger Rune, Jack Draper and Maxime Cressy. The winner will be announced later this month.

Carlos Alcaraz, 19
Billed as a budding superstar on the heels of a strong finish to 2021 — one that saw him reach the US Open quarter-finals and later claim the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals title — Alcaraz had a lot to live up to this season. The Spaniard not only met those lofty expectations, he exceeded them in record time.

After winning the first of his five titles on the year at the ATP 500 in Rio de Janeiro to break into the Top 20, Alcaraz showed he could deliver on the game’s biggest stages by winning his first ATP Masters 1000 title in Miami after a semi-final run in Indian Wells. He then brought the show to his home fans, claiming a Spanish trophy double in Barcelona and Madrid, beating Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev in succession in the latter event.

More success put Alcaraz in position to reach the top spot in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings at the US Open, and he took the chance with aplomb to become the youngest World No. 1 since the rankings began in 1973.

“For me it’s a dream come true being No. 1 in the world, to be a Grand Slam champion,” Alcaraz told the ATP Tour after the US Open.

“Everything has come so fast. I didn’t think at the beginning of the year that I’m going to have the year that I’m having right now,” he continued. “I always believe in my team and in my work, so this is something that came with the hard work that I put in every day, the hard preseason, the work during the year with my team. Everything pays off.”

Holger Rune, 19
Rune completed his rise from outside the Top 100 into the Top 10 with a stunning run to the biggest title of his career at the Rolex Paris Masters. By beating five Top 10 players in a row, including Djokovic in the final, the Dane earned himself a place in that elite group — and alternate status at the Nitto ATP Finals — before finishing the year as World No. 11.

It was a fitting end to a stellar indoor season for Rune, during which he reached four straight finals and won two titles (Stockholm, Paris). But his season began to sparkle long before the final months.

During the European clay swing, which he started with an ATP Challenger Tour title in Sanremo, Rune won his first tour-level title in Munich to break into the Top 50 for the first time. He backed that up with a breakout run to the Roland Garros quarter-finals, beating 2021 finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas in the fourth round. 

“It’s crazy in every way” Rune said of his season, speaking with ATP Media in Turin. “It’s been a lot of improvements, beginning the year as World No. 103, and now Top 10. I had a goal to finish Top 25 and now I’m Top 10, so it’s even better.”

Asked to pick out the biggest of those improvements, Rune pointed out his serve and first-serve percentage, his mental game and his physical development.

Jack Draper, 20
Great Britain’s Draper was the lowest-ranked of the four Most Improved nominees at the start of the year, entering 2022 as World No. 265. He put in the hard yards on the ATP Challenger Tour to kickstart his season, winning four titles in three months before taking his powerful lefty game to the ATP Tour.

He splashed onto the scene at tour-level with Top 20 wins against Taylor Fritz at The Queen’s Club and Diego Schwartzman in Eastbourne, going on to reach his first ATP Tour semi-final in the latter event on home soil. 

Draper built on those results during the hard-court swing, beating Top 10 opponents Stefanos Tsitsipas in Montreal and Felix Auger-Aliassime at the US Open. Both of those wins made our lists of best upsets of 2022 on the ATP Tour and at the Grand Slams, respectively.

“I think the most satisfying run was [at] the US Open,” Draper told ATPTour.com ahead of the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals, where he reached the semi-finals. “I feel I beat two players in [Emil] Ruusuvuori and Auger-Aliassime who are top players and people I have been watching the past couple of years. The win against Auger-Aliassime gave me confidence that I can play well and really compete with these guys. The Tsitsipas win as well in Montreal. Playing those top players and getting wins and feeling comfortable is crucial.”

Maxime Cressy, 25
Cressy had yet to break into the Top 100 prior to this season, but the Paris-born American had been trending in that direction since turning pro in 2019 following a four-year collegiate career at UCLA. A late bloomer on the ATP Tour, Cressy wasted no time in starting his rise up the Pepperstone ATP Rankings this year as he fine-tuned his unique, serve-and-volley game.

In his first event, he reached the final as a qualifier at the Melbourne Summer Set and gave Nadal all he could handle in the title match. Cressy backed up that run with his best Grand Slam result as he advanced to the Australian Open fourth round, beating John Isner and taking a set off eventual finalist Daniil Medvedev before bowing out.

Firmly positioned in the Top 100, Cressy soared into the Top 50 after reaching his second ATP Tour final in Eastbourne before an upset win against Auger-Aliassime in the Wimbledon opening round. With his aggressive style perfectly suited to grass courts, Cressy won his first tour-level title on home soil in Newport in July with a third-set tie-break win against Alexander Bublik in the final.

“I think it’s the most incredible feeling that I’ve had in my entire life,” he told ATPTour.com after the victory. “It’s difficult to describe. I’ve been looking forward to that first title for a very long time.”

Refusing to be satisfied with his success to date, Cressy has been bold in setting himself a long-term target of reaching World No. 1.

The offseason is an opportunity for the players of the ATP Tour to enjoy time away from their typical routine. For most of the stars, it is an opportunity to sleep in.

Not for 2017 Nitto ATP Finals champion Grigor Dimitrov.

“[I] wake up at six,” Dimitrov said. “I wake up very early!”

The Bulgarian enjoys taking in the world around him, as often seen on his social media pages. What does it take to snag the perfect offseason photo?

“You’ve just got to have the eye for it,” Dimitrov said. “Sometimes it’s one take, sometimes it doesn’t work. But then all of a sudden you get to the right place at the right time and boom, you have it.”

 

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Tommy Paul said his girlfriend enjoys spending time skiing in the mountains, so they plan to go to Colorado this offseason.

“I would say a good climate [is important],” Paul said. “I mean it could be warm or cold if it’s pretty. It’s just got to be in a pretty place.”

According to Karen Khachanov, the key to the offseason is the ability to spend time with his loved ones.

“My family,” Khachanov said. “During the year it’s a very intense season and you travel a lot, so that’s the only time when you can stay home a little bit more relaxed and you can stay with family.”

What would be the players’ advice to enjoy some time off? Denis Shapovalov’s answer might surprise you.

“Get off of your phone,” he said. “Just enjoy being in the moment.”

This week, ATPTour.com continues its annual season-in-review series, looking back at 2022’s best matches, biggest upsets, most dramatic comebacks and more. In this installment, we look back at Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner’s rivalry this year. On Monday we will focus on Andrey Rublev and Stefanos Tsitsipas’ rivalry.

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are poised to compete against each other for the game’s biggest prizes for the next decade, with the 19-year-old Spaniard and 21-year-old Italian two of the most exciting and talented young players on the ATP Tour.

The pair opened its ATP Head2Head series at the end 2021, when Alcaraz scored a 7-6(1), 7-5 win at the Rolex Paris Masters. After three meetings in 2022, the matchup is now a bona fide rivalry built on mutual respect — particularly after the five-set US Open quarter-final epic which set a record for latest finish in New York.

ATPTour.com looks back on their three matches this season, which also included meetings in the Wimbledon fourth round and the Umag final.

Wimbledon, R16, Sinner d. Alcaraz 6-1, 6-4, 6-7(8), 6-3
Just hours after Wimbledon looked back to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Centre Court, Sinner and Alcaraz provided a glimpse of the future with their first Grand Slam meeting. It was the youngest match by combined age at SW19 since 1985.

In the first Centre Court match for both men, Sinner took control with his pure ballstriking and had two match points to wrap up the win in straight sets before Alcaraz found his rhythm to take the third-set tie-break. After converting on his fourth set point, the Spaniard raised his racquet as he soaked in the crowd’s roar.

As the match grew more physical, Sinner stemmed the tide with two battling holds to open the fourth set, then scored the decisive break to edge ever closer to his third major quarter-final. After missing out on three further match points on return at 5-3, Sinner saved a break point as he served out one of the most entertaining matches of the fortnight. A forehand winner — Sinner’s 35th of the match — completed the victory after three hours, 35 minutes.

“Carlos is a very tough opponent and a very nice person, so it is always a huge pleasure for me to play against him,” the Italian said in his on-court interview. The respect between the pair was on full display as Alcaraz checked on his opponent at net after Sinner fell while chasing a drop shot, the encounter sealed with a good-natured fist bump.

”It’s tough when you have match point, and you still have to play [on],” Sinner continued. “I tried my best. It is just part of the game, part of tennis.”

Photo Credit: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag, Final, Sinner d. Alcaraz 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-1
Sinner claimed his lone title of 2022 with a win against Alcaraz in Croatia, showing his resilience to dominate the final two sets of the match after dropping an opening set of razor-thin margins. With the rivals squaring off for the second time in four weeks, Sinner backed up his Wimbledon victory with a stylish win at the clay-court ATP 250.

Despite the scoreline, Sinner had to work hard for his comeback win as he saved all nine break points against him in the match. Six of those break chances came in the second game of set two, as Alcaraz looked to take command of the match.

But a few untimely unforced errors helped Sinner to hold, and the Italian was able to lift his game as he “found a solution” against the Spaniard — particularly on return, where he relentlessly attacked — to run away with the match.

“I am obviously very happy,” Sinner said after clinching his sixth tour-level title in his first clay final. “I have [had] a tough year until now, I had some unfortunate moments, but we worked every time to play better, to be a better player, to be a better person. I’m very happy to be finally lifting a trophy this year, but I know that I still have a lot of things to improve… It’s all about the process.”

Sinner’s win made it two final losses in as many weeks for Alcaraz, who fell to Lorenzo Musetti in the Hamburg title match the previous Sunday.

US Open, QF, Alcaraz d. Sinner 6-3, 6-7(7), 6-7(0), 7-5, 6-3
In a match that topped our list of best Grand Slam matches of 2022, Alcaraz and Sinner battled later into the New York night than any before them. Across five hours, 15 minutes of twists and turns, the only constant was elite tennis and tireless effort from both men.

With Alcaraz and Sinner flashing their tremendous athleticism and power in equal measures, sensational rallies were the norm. From baseline blasts to surreal angles and deft drop shots, they took turns lighting up Arthur Ashe Stadium.

After he dominated the third-set tie-break to take a two-sets-to-one lead, Sinner carried his momentum into the fourth as he scored an instant break. But the fearless Alcaraz erased a match point with Sinner serving at 5-4 and went on a run of four straight games to force a fifth set. Again trailing by a break in the fifth, the Spaniard repeated that feat by winning four games in a row to claim a victory that will live long in the memory of both men and every fan who had the privilege to watch.

“Honestly, I still don’t know how I did it,” Alcaraz said of his great escape. “You have to believe in yourself. I believed in my game. It was really difficult to close out the match. I tried to stay calm, but it is difficult in the moment.”

He later added: “The energy I received in this court at 3 a.m., it was unbelievable. Probably in other tournaments, everybody [would go] to their house to rest. But they [stayed] in the court, supporting me. It was unbelievable.”

Just as unbelievable was the energy poured into every pulsating point by Alcaraz and Sinner in the standout match of what promises to be a long-running rivalry. Their ATP Head2Head is finely poised at 2-2 heading into 2023.

Photo Credit: Corey Sipkin/AFP via Getty Images

Read more from our Best Of 2022 Series

A full complement of the ATP Tour’s best players are set to compete at the first Grand Slam of 2023, as confirmed by the Australian Open entry list released Thursday by Tennis Australia.

Defending champion Rafael Nadal will bid for his third Australian Open crown after his historic 2022 triumph, when he battled from two sets down in the final to defeat Daniil Medvedev and win a record-breaking 21st major singles title. The Spaniard enters the 2023 season with a record 22 Slam trophies, with Novak Djokovic right behind him on 21.

Djokovic will seek to extend his record of nine AO titles and draw level with Nadal in the overall major count as he returns to the competition for the first time since he beat Medvedev in the 2021 final.

Carlos Alcaraz will play a Grand Slam as the World No. 1 for the first time as he seeks to win back-to-back majors following his US Open triumph in September. By winning his first Slam trophy in New York, Alcaraz secured his debut atop the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, becoming the youngest man to achieve that feat since the first edition of the rankings in 1973. The Spaniard maintained that position to earn year-end No. 1 honours and has an opportunity to extend his lead atop the Pepperstone ATP Rankings by improving on his third-round result one year ago in Melbourne.

Casper Ruud and Stefanos Tsitsipas round out the Top 5 on the entry list, with the Greek Tsitsipas eager to improve on his three semi-finals showings at the event, including in each of the past two years.

2022 Nitto ATP Finals competitors Felix Auger-Aliassime, Medvedev, Andrey Rublev and Taylor Fritz are also among the direct entrants, with Hubert Hurkacz rounding out the Top 10. Other notable names include Holger Rune, who briefly entered the Top 10 in November, and Alexander Zverev, who has not played a tour-level match since his ankle injury during the Roland Garros semi-finals.

The 2023 Australian Open will take place at Melbourne Park from 16-29 January.

Roger Federer is not just one of the most recognisable tennis players in the world, but a global icon who has resonated far beyond the sport. Getting into Wimbledon should not be a problem for the eight-time champion, right?

Wrong.

Two weeks ago, Federer was in London. The Swiss star had two hours to kill before his flight, so he decided to pay the All England Club a visit.

Little did the 20-time Grand Slam champion know he would struggle to get into the facility. Federer recounted the hilarious story Wednesday evening on The Daily Show with friend and comedian Trevor Noah.

That time Wimbledon security wouldn’t let @rogerfederer in 😂 pic.twitter.com/mcREy62E13

— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) December 8, 2022

“I have not really been at Wimbledon when the tournament is not on, so I drive up to the gate, where usually guests come in, where you would arrive and then you go up,” Federer recalled. “I get out and tell my coach who was with me at the time, Severin, I tell him I’ll quickly go out and speak to the security lady, I got this. I did not.

“So then I get out and I’m like, ‘Yes, hello, I was just wondering how I can get in to Wimbledon? Where is the door? Where is the gate?’` She [says], ‘Do you have a membership card?’ I’m like, ‘Uh, we have one?'”

Federer long ago earned his Wimbledon membership by winning the tournament, but he did not have his card with him and did not notify SW19 in advance in case he would be unable to make it. The 41-year-old told the security agent he did not have it, but that he is a member and was just looking for where he could enter.

“I tell her normally when I’m here i’m playing and there’s loads of people and I come in in a different way and it’s the first time I’m here while the tournament’s not on and I don’t know where to get in so, ‘I’m just asking you again, where can I get in?’” Federer said. “She’s like, ‘Well at the side, but you have to be a member.’ So I look at her one last time and I’m in a panic now. I’m so sorry, I still can’t believe I said that, I still feel bad about it, and I look at her and I was like, ‘I have won this tournament eight times. Please believe me, I am a member and where do I get in?’”

Even that did not work, so Federer returned to the car and they pulled around the side. Luckily, a fan in a walkway spotted Federer.

“I get out of the car and a random person walks in the walkway and said, ‘Oh Mr. Federer I can’t believe you’re here at Wimbledon! Can we take a selfie?’ I’m like, ‘Yes! Let’s take a picture!’ And the security guards that are there are like, ‘Oh my God Mr. Federer, what are you doing here? Do you have your membership card?’” Federer recalled. “I’m like, ‘No I don’t, but is it possible to get in?’ ‘Of course we’ll open the door, let me organise it.’

As soon as Federer entered he spoke to the chairman and enjoyed himself at the All England Club. He even paid a visit to an old friend: the Wimbledon trophy he lifted eight times. “Nice to see you again 🫠,” Federer posted on Instagram.

 

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All is well that ends well.

Agnieszka Radwanska, Tim Henman and Gisela Dulko are among the high-profile names to join an all-star line-up of past and current tennis champions to captain teams at the inaugural United Cup.

The United Cup is a new annual mixed team event, played across three Australian cities – Brisbane, Perth and Sydney, set to launch the global tennis season from Thursday 29 December.

In Brisbane, former World No. 2 Radwanska will captain Team Poland in Group B, led by World No.1 Iga Swiatek and World No. 10 Hubert Hurkacz.

In Perth, former World No. 1 doubles player and Australian Open 2011 doubles champion Dulko will lead Team Argentina, who are drawn against Croatia and France in Group F.

Former World No. 4 and Roland Garros champion Iva Majoli will captain Croatia, with players Borna Coric and Donna Vekic to fly the flag for their country.

In Sydney, Tim Henman, who inspired a British tennis revival in the 1990s by becoming the first Briton to reach the men’s semi-finals at Wimbledon in 25 years, will captain Team Great Britain, which includes World No. 14 Cameron Norrie, Daniel Evans and Harriet Dart.

Former World No. 3 doubles player Marc Lopez will oversee Spain, a team featuring Rafael Nadal and Paula Badosa.

Home favourites Australia will also be in Sydney, and will be captained by former World No. 1 and two-time Grand Slam champion Lleyton Hewitt and former World No. 4 and multiple Grand Slam champion Sam Stosur in Group D.

Stosur is one of several high-profile “playing captains” to feature at the United Cup.

Others include Stan Wawrinka as captain of Team Switzerland, and Alexander Bublik overseeing Kazakhstan in the same group in Brisbane.

World No. 28 Grigor Dimitrov will captain Bulgaria while Kirsten Flipkens will captain Belgium and Grand Slam doubles champion Edouard Roger-Vasselin will captain France.

United Cup 2023 Team Captains

View Draw & Schedule

Pat Rafter Arena in Brisbane, RAC Arena in Perth and Ken Rosewall Arena in Sydney will host the United Cup group stage from Thursday 29 December to Wednesday 4 January 2023.

Each host city will feature two groups of three countries, competing in a round-robin format.

Each tie will comprise two men’s and two women’s singles matches and one mixed doubles match to be played across two days.

Group winners in each city will play off for one of three semi-final spots.

Three City Champions will advance to the United Cup Final Four in Sydney to be played at Ken Rosewall Arena from Friday 6 to Sunday 8 January. The next best performing team from the group stage will complete the quartet.

Group stage tickets for adults start from $40 and from $20 for children 14 years and under. Family passes (two adults and two children) start from $100.

The United Cup, an ATP-WTA event presented in partnership with Tennis Australia, offers USD $15 million in prize money as well as up to 500 Pepperstone ATP and 500 WTA rankings points.

Visit UnitedCup.com/tickets to purchase tickets and follow @UnitedCupTennis on social media for all the latest tournament news.