Five Wimbledon storylines to look out for
Raducanu returns, Draper looks to pick up Murray’s baton, and more key things to watch out for when Wimbledon starts on Monday.
Raducanu returns, Draper looks to pick up Murray’s baton, and more key things to watch out for when Wimbledon starts on Monday.
When the Wimbledon draw was made Friday morning at The All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club, Jannik Sinner was drawn against German Yannick Hanfmann in the first round.
Hanfmann, a 32-year-old who is No. 95 in the PIF ATP Rankings, was not in the middle of practice, on the physio table or glued to the draw on his phone. The former World No. 45 was a mile away from the tournament venue at the ATP Tour’s London office, participating in the new ATP Player Mentoring Programme.
The objectives of the programme are to help players learn from industry-leading experts about areas of business that interest them, expand their professional networks and support the athletes through their journey as they begin to think about life after tennis and post-career opportunities.
“I’m actually glad that we have something like this. It’s new, it’s the first time, so thank you to the ATP for actually providing us with this. I’m really excited,” Hanfmann told ATPTour.com. “I just finished the ATP Business Education Programme, which is already a lot of knowledge for us, a lot of great speakers. And now we actually are provided with someone one on one to help with us and to have a mentor to guide you a little bit with the post-career opportunities.
“I think it’s amazing, because I’m 32 thinking a little bit of what’s ahead. And life is not only tennis, but of course, it’s something that we were good at. So now trying to navigate, maybe a little bit the ways after tennis and to get into certain parts of business. And we have great speakers, great people here to help us. The mentors, all of them are excellent leaders. We’re really fortunate to be able to be in this programme.”
As of now, Hanfmann does not know what he wants to do after his career. He met with his mentor, Oli Barnett, a partner at Baringa Partners LLP, who has plenty of experience with different businesses.
“I just kind of try to learn from him and see what he did. Maybe also some of the mistakes he made, some of the experiences he has to help me maybe make my own decisions,” Hanfmann said. “And then just to learn from his experience and to hopefully find myself in a place where I’m passionate about something. Maybe it is sports, maybe it’s something else. And I think they can help shape us in this way.”
The German knows he might only have a few more years competing on the ATP Tour and is eager to learn as much as he can ahead of the next phase of his journey. Education is nothing new for Hanfmann, who attended college at the University of Southern California, where he studied international relations.
“I actually really liked going to classes, learning about new things and being involved with just something other than tennis,” Hanfmann said. “So I’m excited actually to move my brain in different direction as well to learn about new opportunities.
“We’re always involved with tennis, tennis, tennis, tennis. So it’s nice to have your brain a little bit moving off of it, have some other things that are interesting. I think it also takes maybe sometimes a little bit of pressure away from everything that’s going on these majors, especially Wimbledon, there’s always a lot of things going on, which is nice. But to be here at the ATP office, to see them for the first time, it is really nice. I’m very thankful to be part of this.”
<img src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/06/29/23/26/nys-rinderknech-atp-player-mentoring-programme-2024.jpg” style=”width:100%;” alt=”Hugo Nys and Arthur Rinderknech are being mentored by Denise Melone —Managing Director, Havas.” />
Hugo Nys and Arthur Rinderknech are being mentored by Denise Melone, Managing Director, Havas.
Hanfmann is joined by fellow players Daniel Altmaier, Zizou Bergs, Kimmer Coppejans, Taro Daniel, Alexis Galarneau, Robin Haase, Austin Krajicek, Matwe Middelkoop, Jamie Murray, Hugo Nys, Arthur Rinderknech, Jan-Lennard Struff, Michael Venus and Aleksandar Vukic in the programme.
Bergs said: “I’ve always been interested in what my dad was doing, what my grandfather was doing. So somewhere I always also feel this passion for [business and management]. And I think this programme, meeting some legends in business — especially today, I got to meet Sachin Dev Duggal — I think this is a great step up for us to see, for me personally, what are the opportunities, maybe already during and a little bit after my tennis career, to really keep building on things.
“What gets me the most happy is really to wake up with a vision and to go to sleep with it with a clear mission or a clear goal. And I really hope that after my tennis, I will also get something like that, that I really live for.”
[ATP APP]Krajicek said: “It was important for me to participate in the ATP Player Mentoring Programme to try to expand my network. I’m always trying to learn things off the court. Unfortunately, we can’t play tennis forever. So as we go into the next phase of our life, I think it’s important to network and open up opportunities, and you never know where that may lead you. But I’m trying to learn as much as I can and educate myself so I can make that transition as smooth as possible.”
The industry-leading mentors participating in the programme are Karl Altenburg, Oli Barnett, Chris Beltran, James Cluskey, Sachin Dev Duggal, Anthony Goonetilleke, Kurt Long, Fernando Martin del Agua, Denise Melone, Ander Michelena, Eric Murciano, Peter Norris, Geoff Robinson and Stephen Twaddle.
Chris Beltran, Founder, Investor and Creator said: “What first got me about the ATP Player Mentoring Programme is it represents sort of an inflection point in the athletes’ life. It’s not the beginning of their career, when they’re excited about approaching the sport and all of the things that come with it. It’s more at a point where they can feel like it’s the end of something. And yet, a lot of them are so young, and being a startup founder myself, and running companies and things like that, you can really see where, ‘Oh, you get to an exit of a company and your whole identity is enveloped in what you do, and where do I go from there?’
“I think there’s just a really, really positive, interesting opportunity there for these athletes to figure out that there’s so much happiness and joy after the sport. Sometimes that includes the sport and involves it, other times it doesn’t. But there’s so much optimism and positivity after. And I think it’s really, really important for them to realise that. I’m just so excited to be part of that.”
Denise Melone, Managing Director, Havas, said: “I think professional athletes live and breathe their sport. And what they do on a daily basis is in the moment. I think the reason why I’m so excited about this programme, why I think it’s so important, is that there is life after tennis. And I think the ATP Player Mentor Programme ultimately is going to be able to help them prepare now for their future. It’s not to say that tennis isn’t their future, it’s just to say that the life after tennis is just as important as their life today. So if we can help them to be prepared for that, to start thinking about that early, then we’re going to be winning.”
[NEWSLETTER FORM]All eyes will be on World No. 1 Jannik Sinner and Roland Garros champion Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon. Not as many fans will be focussed on a player who defeated them both in the juniors: wild card Jacob Fearnley of Great Britain.
Fresh off a distinguished five-year career playing college tennis at Texas Christian University, the 22-year-old will make his major debut as a wild card at The Championships, the same event where he hit with eight-time champion Roger Federer four times as a teen.
Fearnley is well aware that he has not followed the same path as those three superstars, all of whom reached the top of the PIF ATP Rankings. Instead, the Briton put professional tennis on hold and became a four-time ITA All-American for TCU and two-time qualifier for the ATP Next Gen Accelerator, which increases the development pathway for top players in the American Collegiate system by providing direct entry into ATP Challenger Tour events.
Earlier this month, Fearnley, who just completed his college career, had never cracked the world’s Top 500. But everything changed when he entered qualifying at the Rothesay Open in Nottingham as an alternate. After battling through a final-set tie-break in his opening match, he successfully qualified for an ATP Challenger Tour main draw for the first time. One week later, the former college standout lifted the trophy.
On 19 June, Fearnley was awarded a main draw wild card into Wimbledon.
“It feels a bit surreal, but it’s a great feeling,” Fearnley told ATPTour.com. “I was a bit surprised that I was able to win, but I’ve been working hard and played well. So yeah, just super, super happy and super grateful to be given the opportunity to play.”
One week before competing in Nottingham, Fearnley was at the LTA’s National Training Centre in London practising with the likes of in-form Jack Draper and Cameron Norrie, another former TCU star. “It just gave me confidence that I could play with these guys,” he said.
Suddenly, just days after storming to glory on the Nottingham grass, Fearnley’s phone was ringing. British Davis Cup Captain Leon Smith called him with the news of his Wimbledon wild card.
“I didn’t really know how to react to be honest. It’s not something that you really prepare for,” Fearnley said. “I honestly didn’t really know what I was going to get. I thought I was going to get qualifying for sure. But I know how difficult it is to get a Wimbledon main draw wild card, so I was just super, super excited.”
<img src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/06/29/22/36/fearnley-nottingham-2024-trophy.jpg?w=100%25&hash=C1CAEB92F809A92CBB55283DC218A0CA” style=”width:100%;” alt=”Jacob Fearnley” />
Photo: Nathan Stirk/Getty Images for LTA
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Fearnley’s tennis journey began in Scotland, where he grew up with his mother, Samantha. She woke up early to provide for him by heading into work at the National Health Service as a human resources manager.
“My mom obviously has made a huge impact on me just supporting me, believing in me more than anyone. I’m super grateful for her,” Fearnley said. “She’s an unbelievable human and she’s done so much for me, especially in tennis.”
The Briton also made sure to point out the role played by his grandparents, who have since passed away.
“They were huge. They actually got me into tennis when I was younger. They had a big back garden and I used to play with them on it when I was really young. They were huge, my biggest supporters,” Fearnley said. “My mom had to go to work pretty early after I was born, so I would spend my whole days at my grandparents’ throughout my childhood. So it’s probably since I could walk. I was either playing with a table tennis bat and a table tennis ball when I was about two into hitting volleys, maybe when I was about four or five.”
Fearnley would develop into one of the Top 30 juniors in the world. He defeated both Sinner and Alcaraz when they were 15. The match against Alcaraz was in the final of a Grade 2 event held in Spain, and the older Briton triumphed in a final-set tie-break.
“Obviously those guys, their careers went in a totally different way than mine,” Fearnley said. “I went to college and those guys are the best in the world. It’s still a pretty cool thing to tell people.”
Coaches who played a role in his development include David Brewer and Marcel du Coudray. Despite his junior success, Fearnley opted to postpone a potential professional career to continue his growth at TCU.
“I think college helped me a lot. TCU was the best decision I ever made. I learned so much from being there. I got the opportunity to be coached by, I think, two of the best coaches in the world,” Fearnley said of head coach David Roditi and associate head coach Devin Bowen. “Aside from the fact of physically developing more, I think I’m definitely mentally stronger and deal with things a little bit better than maybe I did in the past. And I think that the other big thing is that I just believe in myself a little bit more. And that belief has come through just a lot of hard work and a lot of people supporting me. I’d say that’s the big thing that’s changed, just the belief in myself.”
That was something Bowen specifically pointed to. According to the coach, who has long been a trusted resource for Norrie, Fearnley’s story has been about finding the belief that he belongs and can play the sport at a high level.
“It took him all five years to mature, and he’s still 22 years old,” Bowen said. “But he’s definitely one of those players that if he had tried to go play at 18 or 19, you’d be throwing him to the wolves, and I think that’s the case with a lot of players.”
[ATP APP]It was more than just a mental challenge, though. Fearnley suffered a series of injuries that hindered his progress in college: a stress reaction in his rib, a torn posterior tibialis, a right rotator cuff injury, pubic osteitis in his pubic bone, a lower back injury due to a trapped nerve and “a lot” of torn abdominals.
Bowen worked hard to help Fearnley with his serve, at first to more significantly revamp it as well as after it was affected by injuries. Jake even hit underarm serves at one point.
“At one stage, I kid you not, he was probably averaging 15, 20 double faults a match. Couldn’t put a serve in the court. Just would go and double fault match after match,” Bowen said. “That summer he ended up staying at TCU and we rebuilt his serve completely, which was great, because it gave him a fresh start on it and probably his best shot right now is probably the serve.”
From struggles with confidence to trouble with injuries, Fearnley has consistently persevered. He made the decision to prioritise tennis and the results have shown as much. The former Horned Frog this year became a two-time ATP Next Gen Accelerator and no matter how he performs at Wimbledon, wild cards on the ATP Challenger Tour await.
“It’s huge. It’s a great incentive for all the college guys. It’s just more motivation to work hard and to do well in college,” Fearnley said. “It’s also great assurance that you’ll have opportunities coming out of college because a lot of guys like myself, while I was a bit lucky to play some pro tournaments in the fall, they don’t have the chance to play, to get ATP points until they’re out of college. So to have those tournaments to get into, it’s huge just to kick-start your pro career.”
At a career-high No. 271 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Fearnley has already made a good start. He plays Spanish qualifier Alejandro Moro Canas in the Wimbledon first round and could face seven-time champion Novak Djokovic in the second round.
Bowen summed up the 22-year-old’s journey thus far: “This is really a special player in that he’s been through a lot in college in terms of just his tennis, the ups and downs, probably more so than any player that we’ve worked with, and the struggles emotionally and physically. He was injured a tonne. And he really made a decision a couple of years ago that he was going to put everything into tennis… He just put his head down and has been so determined ever since. It’s been an incredible story.”
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Andy Murray practises as he tries to make a Wimbledon farewell, while Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka provide fitness updates.
Novak Djokovic provided a positive update regarding his recovery from knee surgery on Saturday ahead of Wimbledon. The 24-time major champion underwent an operation to repair a torn meniscus after withdrawing before his Roland Garros quarter-final.
“I arrived here on Sunday. It’s been a week of training. Very good week of training. I had, particularly the past three days, very intense tennis sessions. I had points. Practice sets played with Sinner, with Frances Tiafoe, with Medvedev yesterday, and Emil Ruusuvuori, actually double session, and then today with Rune, as well,” said Djokovic, who is set to play Czech qualifier Vit Kopriva in the first round. “High intensity. Lots of I guess situations on the court where the knee is tested to almost the maximum. Change of directions, so forth.
“The knee has responded very well to all of that so far, which of course then is a great sign for my participation in Wimbledon. That’s why I decided to be in the draw.”
Djokovic pointed out that he still has time before he begins his tournament Tuesday, but explained that he is “confident” about the health of his knee and general physical state.
“Obviously once the tournament starts, I’ll have more I guess sensations and more feedback from how knee reacts to a best-of-five Grand Slam match,” Djokovic said. “So far everything that was done was very positive.”
The Serbian revealed that he “made a very quick decision” to undergo surgery and that he “was very much in doubt of making Wimbledon”. But he spoke to Taylor Fritz, who went through a very similar situation three years ago.
“He said 21 days after [the injury] he played his first round in Wimbledon. Wawrinka, Lindsey Vonn, they all shared their experiences,” Djokovic said. “Really, that gave me faith and optimism that if rehab is done right and correct, and if of course the knee responds well, which is something that is very unpredictable, then there is a pretty good chance that I’ll make Wimbledon.”
[ATP APP]A reporter asked Djokovic why it was so important for him to return to action so quickly, given the wealth of experience and success he has already achieved at this level.
In part, Djokovic explained that, “It’s this incredible desire to play, just to compete. Particularly because it is Wimbledon, the tournament that always has been a dream tournament for me when I was a kid. I always dreamed of playing Wimbledon. Just the thought of me missing Wimbledon was just not correct. I didn’t want to deal with that.”
The 37-year-old also made clear he did not arrive at Wimbledon just to prove he can compete in “one or two matches”.
“I really want to go for the title,” Djokovic said. “So the last three days have given me enough optimism and good signs that I can actually be in a state to compete on the highest level for the next few weeks, hopefully.”
The best news for Djokovic is that he has not had a setback during his recovery.
“If I had one setback, I would be then questioning whether I should be here or not,” Djokovic said. “But I haven’t had a single one. Why not give it a shot?”
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Jacob Fearnley is just weeks out of college tennis but after taking a first ATP Challenge title, is one win from facing Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon.
Carlos Alcaraz proved a quick study on grass courts last season, when he won both Queen’s Club and Wimbledon. As he was learning to adapt his game to the lawns, he watched videos of Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal to analyse their play on the surface.
The 21-year-old is still watching footage of those legends this year, but he now has another player to learn from: himself.
“I put in videos of myself last year, I’m not going to lie,” he said with a smile. “Just to see what I did or how I did it. Just moving, hitting shots, to do the same as I did last year.”
[ATP APP]In terms of success on grass courts and in Grand Slams, there are few players in the history of the game who can match or exceed Alcaraz’s early return of three major titles. Fewer still have been able to complete the rare Roland Garros-Wimbledon double in the same season, a feat Alcaraz can accomplish this fortnight.
“Winning Grand Slams is difficult. Obviously changing from clay to a grass court, totally different surfaces, totally different game of play,” he said when asked about his opportunity. “Let’s say I’m going to try. Obviously I want to put my name on that short list to win Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the same year. I know that’s going to be a really difficult and big challenge for me, but I think I’m ready to do it.
“I’m doing a great work these last weeks just to get ready, just to feel comfortable to play Wimbledon here in my 100 per cent.”
❤️🌱 <a href=”https://twitter.com/Wimbledon?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@Wimbledon
📸 Getty pic.twitter.com/4ZdGAMcpkU
— Carlos Alcaraz (@carlosalcaraz) June 27, 2024
Alcaraz entered Wimbledon with more momentum last year after winning the Queen’s title. He said his grass-court game began to click in the later rounds of the ATP 500, but he could not progress beyond the second round this year. An early defeat to Jack Draper meant Alcaraz would have only two grass matches under his belt before Wimbledon. Still, his confidence is unwavering.
“I’m feeling great. Honestly, after Queen’s, I had a lot of days to adapt my game, to practise, to get better,” he explained. “I remember after losing in Queen’s, the next day I started practising my movement, my shots, just to be more comfortable moving on grass, playing on grass this year.
“Right now I had great practices with great players just to see how is my level. Right now I think I’m ready to start the tournament.”
Alcaraz will face Mark Lajal on Monday in the traditional opening day match for the defending champion on Centre Court.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Taylor Fritz wins his third Eastbourne International title with victory over outsider Max Purcell.
Taylor Fritz completed his Eastbourne hat-trick Saturday at the Rothesay International, where the American became the first three-time champion in tournament history.
The 26-year-old did not lose a set en route to his eighth tour-level title, defeating Australian Max Purcell 6-4, 6-3 in the final. Fritz dropped just four points behind his first serve in the title match, according to Infosys ATP Stats.
[ATP APP]“I’m pumped. I always feel like I play well here,” said Fritz, who won Eastbourne in 2019 and 2022. “I kind of just had that feeling coming into the week as well. I did a great job.”
Fritz relied on his booming serve and aggressive play to twice dig out of a 0/30 hole in the opening set. The top seed earned a decisive break at 5-4, with Purcell double faulting down set point. Fritz struck the ball cleanly and remained the more consistent player in baseline rallies, winning 12 consecutive points from 2-2 in the second set.
The first-ever 3x CHAMPION in Eastbourne 🙌
2019 🏆
2022 🏆
2024 🏆@Taylor_Fritz97 | @the_LTA | #RothesayInternational pic.twitter.com/AGglUx0JqI— ATP Tour (@atptour) June 29, 2024
The California native closed the one-hour, 10-minute final on his fourth match point and improved to 2-0 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with the qualifier Purcell, who was competing in his first tour-level final. Fritz was unbroken all week at the ATP 250, saving all five break points he faced.
Fritz, who also won Delray Beach in February, has earned multiple titles in a single season for the third consecutive year. He is up one spot to No. 12 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, reclaiming American No. 1 honours.
Another USA title on grass 👑🌱@Taylor_Fritz97 with a high Serve #ShotQuality to help create a high #InAttack score 👇#ShotQuality is calculated in real-time by analysing each shot’s speed, spin, depth, width, and the impact it has on the opponent#TennisInsights | @atptour… pic.twitter.com/KwzhRGFIwf
— Tennis Insights (@tennis_insights) June 29, 2024
Entering Roland Garros, there were questions regarding Jannik Sinner’s hip injury. The Italian made clear Saturday ahead of Wimbledon that there are no such doubts entering the grass-court major.
“After Paris I took some days off and then back to work. I mean, there are no secrets. I feel physically much better than in the beginning of Roland Garros because there I arrived with some doubts,” Sinner said. “Here I have no doubts about my body. We have been working a lot in the last days.
“I’m not concerned about my body shape. I’m just happy to be here and hopefully ready to compete.”
The 22-year-old, the first player from his country to reach No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings, is the top seed at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time. He carries plenty of confidence into London after claiming his maiden grass-court title at the ATP 500 event in Halle.
“Obviously last week for me was an important week. Last year I played semis here, so in my mind I know that I can play also some good tennis on this surface. Obviously every year is a bit different. In Halle the conditions are different than here,” Sinner said. “I’m just trying to get used to it, building my confidence here on this court. That’s it. Thinking about seeding or all the rest, it doesn’t make any sense. Everyone wants to win and show their best here.”
There was plenty of chatter when Sinner <a rel=”noopener noreferrer” href=”https://x.com/Wimbledon/status/1806635761564828009″ target=”_blank”>took to Centre Court for practice with seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic, who underwent knee surgery after Roland Garros.
“We hit only 45 minutes there playing points. It’s also tough to understand what level he is,” Sinner said. “But for sure he is one of the greatest to play on this court. So for me [it] was a huge privilege and honour to practise with him.”
[ATP APP]Djokovic was part of a documentary on the end of Roger Federer’s career, FEDERER: Twelve Final Days, which was just released. Sinner took note of how Federer, Djokovic and Rafael Nadal pushed each other by competing against one another. Sinner’s Lexus ATP Head2Head rivalry with Carlos Alcaraz has become one of the most interesting matchups in the sport.
“At some point Rafa arrived, then Roger was struggling. After he tried to find a way how to beat him, then Novak arrived,” Sinner said. “I think that’s something that evolves the player and also increases the level of each of them. They have reached their 100 per cent of everything. This would be also my dream, to arrive at the point at the end of the career where I reached 100 per cent of my physical ability in the tennis and also [the] mental [side].
“I think that was the most impressive thing that they have done.”
Now Sinner is fully focused on Wimbledon, where he will try to claim his second major title after his triumph at the Australian Open earlier in the season. Last year, the Italian reached the semi-finals at SW19.
“Very happy to be back here. It’s a very, very special tournament coming up,” Sinner said. “Obviously I’m happy how I played last week. I’m trying to find a good form here on these courts, hopefully being ready for this tournament.”
[NEWSLETTER FORM]