Competing at the ATP Finals for the first time in his career, Australian Jason Kubler is relishing the opportunity.
Turin, Italy, 17 November 2023 | Rhys de Deugd
In 2023, Jason Kubler has broken new ground in both singles and doubles. Now, his outstanding season is being capped off with a career-first appearance at the ATP Finals in Turin.
Kubler memorably captured his first Grand Slam doubles title alongside compatriot Rinky Hijikata at the Australian Open this year, which has led to the pair qualifying for the prestigious season-ending championships in Italy.
The 30-year-old has faced his fair share of injury setbacks throughout his career, including a reoccurring knee issue that hampered his US Open campaign in August.
Playing his first tournament since then, Kubler is relishing the experience of being around the best players in the world, soaking it up, and feeling fortunate for the opportunity.
“Just to be at a tournament like this, surrounded by the best players in the world, is pretty cool,” Kubler said.
“I find myself talking to the players that I don’t talk to so much at the other tournaments, and then having the ability to watch some of the singles matches and the other doubles matches.”
Rinky Hijikata and Jason Kubler at ATP Finals (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)
Despite his recent time on the sidelines, Kubler has won a career-high 13 tour-level main-draw singles matches this season, hit a career-high ranking of No.63 in April and contested all four Grand Slams in a calendar year for the first time.
Kubler also soared to a new career-high doubles ranking, rising from world No.165 in January to peak at No.27 in May.
The ATP Finals qualification has been a great reward for his ceaseless effort, which is made more notable alongside a fellow Aussie and good friend.
“To also share this experience with Rinky has been pretty special,” Kubler said. “It felt like a while ago now that we had that Aussie Open run, but to be able to play an event like this together has been cool.
“It’s another big court that both of us can play on, in front of thousands of people, which you don’t really get to experience too often.”
Kubler and Hijikata fell short in their first two round-robin matches at the ATP Finals and will next face Brit Joe Salisbury and American Rajeev Ram in their final match of the tournament.
“One of the good things about this tournament is that regardless of if you can…
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