Jason Kubler, who is among five Australians in action at this week’s ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Madrid, is celebrating a new rankings high.
Australia, 24 April 2023 | Vivienne Christie
Men’s singles
Jason Kubler is celebrating a new career high, with the Australian peaking at world No.53 in the latest release of the ATP rankings.
It rewards all-round consistency for the hard-working 29-year-old, who followed a quarterfinal run in Houston with another quarterfinal at the ATP Challenger in Sarastosa, Florida. Kubler launched his 2023 European clay-court season with victory over Daniel Rincon in Barcelona last week.
James Duckworth – who like, Kubler, has overcome numerous injury challenges throughout his career – is on the brink of a top-100 return after his runner-up finish to Thiago Agustin Tirante at the ATP Challenger tournament in Cuernavaca, Mexico.
The 31-year-old Duckworth, who climbed 11 places to world No.102, was also a finalist at the Bengaluru Challenger (where countryman Max Purcell claimed the title) earlier this year.
Alexei Popyrin will also take heart from his return to world No.75, after dipping outside the top 100 late last year. The 23-year-old has qualified and won main draw matches at ATP Masters 1000 tournaments at Indian Wells and Monte Carlo this year.
Last week, Popyrin defeated No.5 seed Tallon Griekspoor at the inaugural ATP 250 tournament in Banja Luka.
Alex de Minaur, who remains the top-ranked Australian player, leads five countrymen as the No.16 seed at this week’s Mutua Madrid Open.
Kubler, Chris O’Connell – a first-time semifinalist on clay in Munich last week – Popyrin and Thanasi Kokkinakis are also in action at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament.
| AUSSIE TOP 10 | ||
| Player | Rank | Move |
| Alex de Minaur | No.19 | 0 |
| Nick Kyrgios | No.26 | -2 |
| Jason Kubler | No.63 | +3 |
| Alexei Popyrin | No.75 | +6 |
| Chris O’Connell | No.81 | +1 |
| Max Purcell | No.89 | -1 |
| Jordan Thompson | No.91 | 0 |
| James Duckworth | No.102 | +11 |
| Thanasi Kokkinakis | No.111 | 0 |
| Rinky Hijikata | No.141 | -3 |
> READ: De Minaur targeting a top-10 breakthrough
Women’s singles
Maddison Inglis is the big mover among Australian players in the latest WTA Tour women’s singles rankings, the West Australian climbing 44 places to world No.253 after her title run at the ITF 25k event in Osaka, Japan.
READ: Maddison Inglis – “It’s really important to give everything that you’ve got”
Ajla Tomljanovic continues to dip as she remains…
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