Despite being just 22 years old, Nick Kyrgios is proving that it is never too early to begin charity work. Earlier this year, Kyrgios announced his support for the victims of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, upping what was originally $10 per ace the rest of the season after the tragedy to $50 per ace. It was not the first time that Kyrgios had donated to charity, as he also pledged $50 per ace he hit to the Elena Baltacha Foundation in 2015 as of 7 October.

The Australian has launched the NK Foundation, which strives to “increase access to, and provide sport facilities to underprivileged and disadvantaged youths”. Kyrgios is currently planning a facility of his own to allow children those opportunities. He donated $100,000 of his appearance fee from a recent exhibition against Juan Martin del Potro in Argentina straight to his NK Foundation. Kyrgios also recently wrote in the Players Voice about how he has found his purpose in charity:

“A couple of years ago I had a vision: to build a facility for disadvantaged and underprivileged kids where they could hang out, be safe and feel like they were part of a family. There’d be tennis courts and basketball courts and a gym and an oval to kick the footy. There’d be things to eat and beds to sleep in.

A few months ago, I discussed this with my Mum, Norlaila, and my Brother, Christos. It’s all I’ve been thinking about outside of tennis since then. When I’m not playing, training or traveling, I’m working on this.

We are currently in the process of scoping out land in Melbourne and looking for organisations and businesses to partner with us. This dream is going to become a reality.

For the first time, I feel like there is a reason for me to be doing what I’m doing. Tennis is a great life – we’re well paid and the perks are pretty good – but it can feel empty if you’re just doing it for the money.

I know what it’s all for now. You’ve probably heard me say a few times over the years that I don’t want tennis badly enough. But when I’m working on the NK Foundation and our Melbourne facility, I cast my mind forward to all the disadvantaged kids I’ll be helping. I’m playing for them now.

I love kids. I get more happiness from helping kids out and watching them succeed than I do from my own wins on the tennis tour. It’s always been that way.

I remember Piotr with happiness and sadness. He was a little guy with terminal brain cancer. The We The People organisation put us in touch.

I had a hit-up with Piotr instead of a practice session before my match at the Australian Open this year.

Piotr said it was one of the best days of his life but, honestly, I’m not sure which of us had the better day! It was awesome.

Piotr passed away a few months later. I will never forget him.

FROM THE HEART

If my vision is realised, it’s my hope that I’ll be remembered for this more than anything I have done or will do on the tennis court.

I’m going to be hands-on whenever I’m home. I’ll spend a few days catching up with everyone in Canberra and then I’ll drive to Melbourne to get stuck in at the facility.

I’ll run tennis camps, shoot hoops, cook, clean-up… whatever is needed.

I don’t reckon there can be anything better in life than giving kids a chance when they otherwise wouldn’t have had one.

Everything should be well under way by the time the Australian Open comes around. There are more meetings planned for this week and we’re in negotiations to gauge whether local councils and the Victorian state government would like to provide support or grants.

We’ll know more about the timeframes when we determine whether we’re building everything from scratch or taking over an existing facility and upgrading it in line with my vision.

Some of the factors we’re considering when selecting the land include: a lower socio-economic area to be closest to those who need us, proximity to transport lines so kids can get there and more.

We’re already well down the track of planning a fundraising event with Tennis Australia early in the New Year. We’re also speaking to commercial partners.

We’re doing this in Melbourne because it’s the sporting capital of Australia. It’s a big population and it has a bit more going on than where I’m from. Sorry, Canberra! You know I love you…

I’ve been lucky enough to travel around the world and I want this facility to be unlike any of those I’ve seen elsewhere.

This isn’t a replica of something I’ve seen elsewhere.

This is from me and my family. And it’s from the heart.”

Read more of Kyrgios’ story in the Players Voice.

Continuing our Season In Review series, ATPWorldTour.com looks back at five #NextGenATP players who impressed in 2017.

Daniil Medvedev, 21

Medvedev was the last player to qualify directly for the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals, but the Russian made good use of his time in Milan. The Moscow native upset second-seeded countryman Karen Khachanov and American Jared Donaldson to reach the semi-finals, where he fell in five sets to eventual champion Hyeon Chung, 1-4, 1-4, 4-3(4), 4-1, 0-4.

Earlier in the year, Medvedev earned his first Grand Slam win and his first Top 5 victory by beating Stan Wawrinka on Centre Court at The Championships, Wimbledon. Medvedev also reached his first ATP World Tour final at the Aircel Chennai Open in India (l. to Bautista Agut).

Denis Shapovalov, 18

As far as breakout stretches go, the Canadian had one of the best in recent memory this season. Shapovalov stunned Juan Martin del Potro and No. 2 Rafael Nadal en route to reaching his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semi-final (l. to Zverev) at the Coupe Rogers in Montreal. Shapovalov became the youngest ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semi-finalist.

Weeks later, at his first US Open, the Canadian upset another ATP World Tour mainstay in Jo-Wilfried Tsonga before reaching the fourth round at the season’s final Grand Slam. The left-hander enters 2018 at No. 51 in the Emirates ATP Rankings.

Karen Khachanov, 21

The 6’6” Russian might have the biggest game of all of his #NextGenATP peers, a key reason many pundits and fans have compared him to countryman and former World No. 1 Marat Safin. This season, Khachanov, who won his first ATP World Tour title in October 2016 (Chengdu), made four quarter-finals – Barcelona, Lyon, Bastad and Hamburg – and the semi-finals of the ATP World Tour 500 event in Halle, the Gerry Weber Open. Khachanov, who turns 22 in May, can’t return to the 21-and-under Next Gen ATP Finals, but he’ll go for his second tour-level title in 2018.

Andrey Rublev, 20

The top seed at the Next Gen ATP Finals, who is already No. 39 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, showed all week why he could be a Top 10 player in the very near future. After a slow start in Milan – a five-set win against Italian wild card Gianluigi Quinzi and a straight-sets loss to Chung – Rublev gained his composure, beating Shapovalov and Croatian Borna Coric to make the first Next Gen ATP Finals championship match (l. to Chung).

Rublev sat atop the Milan bracket because of his stellar second half of 2017. The Russian won his maiden ATP World Tour title in Umag and made the US Open quarter-finals (l. to Nadal).

Hyeon Chung, 21

South Korea’s No. 1 entered the Next Gen ATP Finals under the radar: Chung was the second to last player to qualify directly for the tournament, and the trio of Russians, along with Shapovalov, had garnered much of the attention in the tournament preamble.

But that all changed once Chung took the court. The 21-year-old finished the week 5-0 and captured the title at the 21-and-under event. The sixth-seeded Chung had reached only a tour-level semi-final before Milan, but he beat Rublev twice – in group play and in the final – to celebrate the perfect ending to his 2017 season.

In Milan, Chung was at his best when he needed to bail himself out of trouble. The right-hander saved 77 per cent of his break points (34/44) in Italy.

The Rio Open presented by Claro performs a plethora of charity work, supporting five social projects that benefit hundreds of children and their families.

But this year, some of those children got a special treat. Six boys — a champion from each of the Futuro Bom Institute, Tenis na Lagoa, Tenis Solidario, Fabiano de Paula Tennis School and Arremessar Para O Futuro as well as one additional player — were provided the opportunity to travel to Florida and train for a week at the IMG Academy.

“I felt it as much as the kids,” said Marcus Fonseca, the founder of the Futuro Bom Institute. “I never had that opportunity at IMG and the Rio Open gave us the opportunity of a lifetime.”

The players who participated in the trip ranged from ages 11 to 18 — Valter Albuquerque (11), Caua Ostenta (11), Joao Gabriel Oliveira (18), Marcus Rocha (16), Ryan Souza (16) and José André (18) — and they were accompanied by the leaders of their respective projects and Rio Open Tournament Director Luiz Carvalho.

The group got to undergo a week of first-class training, including an exclusive practice with Nick Bolletieri himself. They also learned more about physical conditioning, strategy and mental conditioning. Off the court, the children got to play baseball, meet other tennis players at the academy and visit Walt Disney World to cap off the experience of a lifetime.

“The trip was really great!” the 11-year-old Albuquerque said.

“When the trip was over, everybody was really sad to separate,” Carvalho said. “But the truth is they are family forever, the Rio Open family, the winners family, and certainly we’re going to see each other many times here in Rio.”

The Rio Open’s effort was one of nine charitable causes nominated by ATP World Tour players, tournaments and alumni that received a $15,000 grant from ATP ACES For Charity in 2017.

The ability to quickly adjust to different surfaces and conditions is a necessity on the 64-tournament circuit. Here’s a look at some of the best performers in 2017 by surface this year:

Hard Courts (minimum 10 matches)
Roger Federer won five of his seven titles on hard courts in 2017, including his fifth Australian Open and three ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crowns. David Goffin, who recorded the most hard-court match wins this season, contested five hard-court title matches (2-3 record) for a .717 winning percentage.

Clay Courts (minimum 10 matches)
‘King of Clay’ Rafael Nadal recorded historic 10th titles at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell and at Roland Garros. He also won a fifth Mutua Madrid Open trophy and now has a record 53 red dirt crowns. Dominic Thiem also excelled, compiling a 24-5 (.828) mark on the surface (1-2 record in finals).

Grass Courts (minimum 5 matches)
Federer reigned supreme on the grass, lifting his ninth Gerry Weber Open title and a record eighth Wimbledon crown. His lone loss on mown lawns came to Tommy Haas at the Mercedes Cup, following a two-month absence from competitive play. Marin Cilic, who fell to Federer in the Wimbledon final, also finished as runner-up in his third Queen’s Club Championships final (l. to Lopez).

Indoors (minimum 10 matches)
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga won three indoor crowns at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament, the Open 13 Marseille and the European Open from four finals (Erste Bank Open 500). The Frenchman has an 11-8 mark in indoor finals (16-12 overall). Goffin and Grigor Dimitrov, who contested the title match at the Nitto ATP Finals, also performed strongly.