Misc Tennis

Australian men achieve 25-year first in year-end singles rankings | 4 December, 2023 | All News | News and Features | News and Events

Australian men achieve 25-year first in year-end singles rankings | 4 December, 2023 | All News | News and Features | News and Events

Alex de Minaur is among eight Australian men to finish the 2023 season inside the top 100 in singles, the most to achieve this feat since 1998.

Australia, 4 December 2023 | Leigh Rogers

Men’s singles

The depth in Australian men’s tennis is evident in this year’s ATP Tour year-end top-100 rankings, which feature eight Aussie players for the first time since 1998.

Alex de Minaur leads the way, ending his outstanding season at world No.12. This is the 24-year-old’s highest year-end finish.

It also marks the fifth time in the past six years that De Minaur is the Australian No.1 at season’s end.

Incredibly, 10 of Australia’s top-15 men recorded their highest year-end finish. This includes Max Purcell, Aleksandar Vukic and Rinky Hijikata, with all achieving their first top-100 year-end ranking.

Other players recording career-best finishes are Alexei Popyrin, Thanasi Kokkinakis, Chris O’Connell, Jason Kubler, Adam Walton and Tristan Schoolkate.

Australia’s top-ranked player at the end of the 2022 season was Nick Kyrgios at world No.22. The 28-year-old is now unranked, after injury restricted him to only one competitive match during 2023.

In 2022, five Australians recorded top-100 finishes. Just two featured inside the top 75, as opposed to the eight who achieved this feat in 2023.

Player Year-end ranking Difference in 12 months
1 Alex de Minaur No.12 +12
2 Alexei Popyrin No.40 +81
3 Max Purcell No.45 +168
4 Jordan Thompson No.55 +29
5 Aleksandar Vukic No.62 +70
6 Thanasi Kokkinakis No.65 +29
7 Chris O’Connell No.68 +10
8 Rinky Hijikata No.71 +96
9 Jason Kubler No.102 +8
10 James Duckworth No.116 +41
11 Marc Polmans No.150 +186
12 Adam Walton No.178 +254
13 Li Tu No.225 -12
14 Dane Sweeny No.256 -5
15 Tristan Schoolkate No.260 +116

> VIEW: Full ATP Tour year-end singles rankings

Men’s doubles

For the first time in his career, Matt Ebden is Australia’s year-end No.1 doubles player.

The 36-year-old Ebden is also the first Aussie to record a top-five finish since John Peers in 2017.

The enduring Peers remains a doubles force, featuring in the year-end top-40 for the ninth year in a row.

Rinky Hijikata ends his career-best season at world No.23. The 22-year-old is the second youngest player inside the world’s top 100, behind only 21-year-old American Ben Shelton at world No.95.

Ebden and Hijikata are among eight players inside the Australian top 15 achieving their…

Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Tennis.com.au – Tennis Australia…