Mensik makes his mark: #NextGenATP Czech wins 2024 Newcomer of the Year

  • Posted: Dec 11, 2024

Jakub Mensik has carved a name for himself on the ATP Tour over the past 12 months. In recognition of his promising talent and eye-catching ascent, the 19-year-old Czech has been named Newcomer of the Year in the 2024 ATP Awards.

“I’m super happy and honoured to be the Newcomer of the Year and win this ATP Award,” Mensik said. “I would like to say a big thank you for the votes, and to all of the fans around the world for your support and love. It really means a lot.”

After seeing off fellow breakthrough star Shang Juncheng to win the ATP Award, Mensik joins Arthur Fils, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz as recent Newcomer of the Year winners. Selected by players, the award goes to the #NextGenATP player who entered the Top 100 for the first time and made the biggest impact on the ATP Tour during the season.

Mensik’s 2024 season is underpinned by the impressive run he forged to reach his maiden ATP Tour final in Doha in February. Competing in the main draw of a tour-level event for the first time, Mensik defeated Andy Murray, Andrey Rublev and Gael Monfils in consecutive matches before falling to Karen Khachanov in the title tilt.

Victory over Rublev ensured Mensik became the youngest player to oust a Top 5 opponent since Alcaraz beat Stefanos Tsitsipas at the 2021 US Open. With his memorable run in Doha, Mensik cracked the Top 100 in the PIF ATP Rankings for the first time.

“The [Doha] week will be for me unforgettable,” Mensik said. “I think for the future, this tournament showed me that I can play with these players and that I can be soon on top.”

 

Mensik earned a win representing Czechia at the Paris Olympics before matching his best result at a Grand Slam by reaching the third round at the US Open. Yet the rising star found another gear in October, when he advanced to back-to-back quarter-finals at the Rolex Shanghai Masters and Erste Bank Open in Vienna.

In Shanghai, Mensik battled past Rublev and Grigor Dimitrov for his third and fourth victories over Top 10 opponents, but fell to Novak Djokovic in the last eight. This run helped him climb inside the Top 50 for the first time, reaching a career high of No. 48 in the PIF ATP Rankings. 

Mensik will tie the bow on his 2024 season at the upcoming Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF in Jeddah, where the top 20-and-under players will compete from 18-22 December.

[NEWSLETTER FORM]

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