Peng Shuai: Criticism of IOC response 'complete rubbish', says Dick Pound
Criticism of the International Olympic Committee’s handling of the Peng Shuai situation is “complete nonsense”, says senior IOC official Dick Pound.
Criticism of the International Olympic Committee’s handling of the Peng Shuai situation is “complete nonsense”, says senior IOC official Dick Pound.
As questions remain over the tennis star’s wellbeing, China insists it is not a diplomatic matter.
Britons Andy Murray and Emma Raducanu will take part in the Mubadala World Tennis Championship exhibition event in December.
ATP has announced new rules relating to toilet breaks, attire changes to come into effect from 2022, in addition to a proposed change to the Medical Time Out rule (start date TBC).
Toilet Break & Change of Attire (Effective 2022)
Medical Time Out (Effective Date TBD)
Further updates will be provided in due course.
For Sebastian Baez, this was the cherry on top of a historic 2021 campaign.
One week after showing off his talents on the global stage of the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals, the charismatic 20-year-old from Buenos Aires celebrated his biggest milestone yet. On Monday, the pride of Argentina surged into the Top 100 of the FedEx ATP Rankings after clinching his sixth ATP Challenger Tour title of the year.
A semi-finalist at the Allianz Cloud in Milan, Baez showcased his supreme agility and abundance of energy with the world watching. And he would carry the momentum to his final tournament of the year, nearly 6,000 miles away, in Campinas, Brazil. His reward for a breakthrough 2021 season? A shiny new ‘No. 97’ next to his name.
“It is a very nice feeling to enter the Top 100,” said Baez. “I was rising in the rankings during the year and I felt it was getting closer and closer. Ending 2021 like this, it is the icing on the cake.”
Photo: Joao Pires/Fotojump
Baez culminated a historic 2021 season with a dominant 6-1, 6-4 victory over World No. 94 Thiago Monteiro in the Campinas final. The Buenos Aires native is the youngest player in Challenger history to win six titles in a season, while also claiming the most match wins in a single campaign among players aged 20 & under. He posted a 44-7 record, which is also good for second place on the 2021 win percentage list (86.2), behind only Jenson Brooksby (88.5).
After opening the season just outside the Top 300 of the FedEx ATP Rankings, he joins countryman Juan Manuel Cerundolo as #NextGenATP Argentines in the Top 100.
“For me, playing on clay is natural, so moving from hard courts in Milan to Campinas was no problem,” added Baez. “I arrived in Brazil on Saturday and had the weekend to adapt. I was able to do it and played very well. The confidence of playing good matches at the highest level (in Milan) helped make this week feel more comfortable and easier.
“I think it was not the goal to win so many matches this year, but I started at No. 320 and the fruit of a lot of work over many years and being so attentive to detail helped. Me and my coach can continue to achieve big goals.”
Most Challenger Match Wins In A Season (age 20 & under)
| Player | Match Wins | Age |
| Sebastian Baez (2021) |
44 | 20 |
| Frances Tiafoe (2016) | 42 | 18 |
| Jiri Novak (1995) | 42 | 20 |
| Mario Ancic (2002) | 40 | 18 |
Entering 2021, only three players had won six Challenger titles in a single season: Younes El Aynaoui (1998), Juan Ignacio Chela (2001) and Facundo Bagnis (2016). In 2021 alone, Baez joined Tallon Griekspoor and Benjamin Bonzi in achieving the feat.
Ready to graduate to the ATP Tour in 2022, the Argentine is here for the challenge.
“Now I want to have the greatness that the best players in the world have. I know I can still improve. My ceiling is high and every day I want to be better than the day before.”
The ATP Tour today published the 2021 year-end FedEx ATP Rankings on ATPTour.com with Novak Djokovic headlining a season of breakthroughs and milestones.
Djokovic earned a record seventh year-end No. 1 finish, breaking a tie with Pete Sampras for the most in history. Rafael Nadal finished in the Top 10 for a record 17th consecutive year at No. 6, breaking the record he shared with Jimmy Connors.
Daniil Medvedev became the first player outside Djokovic, Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Nadal to finish year-end No. 2 since Andy Roddick in 2004. He also became the first Russian to finish No. 2 since Marat Safin in 2000.
There were three new faces in the Top 10: No. 8 Casper Ruud (22), No. 9 Hubert Hurkacz (24) and No. 10 Jannik Sinner (20), the youngest to finish in the Top 10 since No. 9 Juan Martin del Potro (20) in 2008.
There were eight players aged 25-and-under in the year-end Top 10 for the first time since 1995. Four of the Top 5 players were 25-and-under, the first year-end occurrence since 2009.
The average age of the Top 10 was less than 26 years old (at 25.6), the youngest since 2009 (25.0).
The Top 10 of 2021
1. Novak Djokovic (SRB) – Oldest year-end No. 1 at 34, record seventh time at year-end No. 1 and most overall weeks at No. 1 with 348. Back-to-back years at No. 1 for third time (2011-12, 2014-15, 2020-21).
2. Daniil Medvedev (RUS) – Third straight year-end Top 10 finish and first Russian to finish in Top 2 since No. 2 Marat Safin in 2000, third overall (No. 2 Yevgeny Kafelnikov in 1999).
3. Alexander Zverev (GER) – First German to finish in Top 3 since No. 3 Boris Becker in 1994. Also fifth straight Top 10 season, most since Becker finished in elite group in eight straight years from 1985-92.
4. Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) – Greek native finishes in Top 10 for the third straight season with year-end best ranking (was No. 6 in 2019-20).
5. Andrey Rublev (RUS) – Finishes in Top 10 for second straight year. This is the second consecutive year with two Russians in Top 10 and first in year-end Top 5 since 2000 (Kafelnikov, Safin).
6. Rafael Nadal (ESP) – Oldest in year-end Top 10 at 35 and finishes a record 17th straight year in the Top 10. He has the second-most Top 10 year-end finishes in history (behind Federer with 18).
7. Matteo Berrettini (ITA) – First Italian to finish in the year-end Top 10 three times. It is the first time two Italians are in the year-end Top 10 in history of the FedEx ATP Rankings (since 1973).
8. Casper Ruud (NOR) – First Norwegian to finish in Top 10 in history of FedEx ATP Rankings after climbing from No. 27 last season.
9. Hubert Hurkacz (POL) – First Pole to finish in Top 10 in history of the FedEx ATP Rankings. The World No. 9 made second-biggest jump into the Top 10 from last year (No. 34).
10. Jannik Sinner (ITA) – Youngest player (20) to finish in the Top 10 since World No. 9 Juan Martin del Potro (20) in 2008. The Italian made biggest jump into Top 10 from 2020 (No. 37).
View Full 2021 Year-End FedEx ATP Rankings
2021 Year-End FedEx ATP Rankings Quick Facts
– There were no changes at No. 1 during the season for the first time since 2015, the only other time Djokovic held the top spot without any interruptions in the year.
– The United States led all countries with 12 players in the Top 100 (most since 1996), followed by Spain with 10, France with 9, Italy with eight and Argentina with 7. It was the third straight year eight Italians were in the year-end Top 100. Spain and the U.S. had the most players in the Top 50 with six followed by Italy with four. The six Americans in the year-end Top 50 was the most since seven in 2003.
– Roger Federer, 40, finished as the oldest player in the Top 100 at No. 16. It was the Swiss superstar’s record 21st consecutive year in the Top 20. There were 31 players 30 and older in the year-end Top 100.
– There were three Russians in the year-end Top 20 for the second straight year with No. 2 Daniil Medvedev, No. 5 Andrey Rublev and No. 18 Aslan Karatsev, who jumped from No. 112 last year.
– No. 23 Taylor Fritz finished as the top American for the first time while No. 24 John Isner finished in the Top 25 for the 12th straight year. No. 26 Reilly Opelka gave the Americans three players in the year-end Top 30 for the first time since 2017.
– There were 14 players 25 and younger in the year-end Top 30 for the second season in a row.
– Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals champion Carlos Alcaraz made the biggest jump in the Top 50, climbing 109 positions from No. 141 to No. 32. The 18-year-old Spaniard is the youngest player in the Top 100 and the top player in the year-end rankings at his age since 18-year-old Andrei Medvedev was No. 24 in 1992. Alcaraz was one of 10 first-time winners on the ATP Tour this season.
– #NextGenATP players Juan Manuel Cerundolo, 20, and Jenson Brooksby, 21, made the biggest jumps into the Top 100 from last year. Cerundolo climbed 252 spots from No. 341 to No. 89 and Brooksby improved 251 spots from No. 307 to No. 56. There were 10 #NextGenATP players (21 & under) in the Top 100 of the year-end FedEx ATP Rankings.
– Overall there are 34 countries represented in the year-end Top 100 of the FedEx ATP Rankings.
– Croatians Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic finished No. 1 in the year-end FedEx ATP Doubles Team Rankings. Pavic finished No. 1 last year (w/Soares) and in 2018 (w/Oliver Marach).
Alfie Hewett says he “hasn’t stopped smiling” since being told he can continue his wheelchair tennis career.
Players on the ATP Tour are limited to bathroom breaks of no more than 3 minutes from the start of next season.
When Alexander Zverev lifted the trophy on Sunday at the Pala Alpitour, it ended the Nitto ATP Finals, but it also signalled the close of ATP Director of Officiating Operations Tom Barnes’ career.
Barnes, who has been involved in the tennis officiating community for more than three decades, served as the ATP Supervisor for the final time in Turin.
“Before I came to work for the ATP, I never kept a job more than three years in my whole life,” Barnes said. “It’s been a fantastic journey. I’ve loved every bit of it.”
Barnes’ mother played tennis when he was a kid. She had an old wooden racquet from which they cut off the handle to allow Tom to hit against the garage door.
“I played a little bit as a junior,” Barnes said. “But I wasn’t very good.”
In California, juniors who lost in tournaments had to serve as umpires, so Barnes said he, “got more experience as an umpire than playing”. He served in the United States Marine Corps from 1960-64 and played tennis during his time there.
Later on, Barnes had a manufacturing company that built cabinets for hospitals and schools. When he sold the business, he worked on a couple of projects for the manager of his local club.
“The pro asked to help with a clinic. One thing led to another and the pro quit, so I became the club pro,” Barnes said. “While I was doing that, that’s when I entered a national tournament and that’s when my officiating career started.”
Tournament Referee Gerry Armstrong poses with ATP Supervisor Tom Barnes at the Nitto ATP Finals.
Barnes called to see when he was scheduled to play at the 30-and-over tournament. Officials told him Monday afternoon, and another tournament staffer confirmed that when he called back.
“I showed up a couple hours early to get a hit with somebody and checked in with the referee and he said, ‘Oh, Barnes! Where have you been? You were supposed to be here this morning,’” Barnes said. “They had defaulted me and put an alternate in my spot and I was out of luck.
“The referee challenged me and said, ‘If you think you’re so good go sit in that chair and call that baseline.’ So I did. It turned out I liked it and that started the whole process.”
Barnes received his international certification as a chair umpire in 1983 and would later serve as the US Open referee for two years. His first tournament as a supervisor for the ATP was an ATP Challenger Tour event in Guam in 1990.
“I get to do everything I like to do. I like to manage people, I get to do that. I like the rules structure, and so I administer the rules,” Barnes said. “I’m just very comfortable.”
Barnes will continue assisting on a contractual basis with officiating development. But he will be missed on Tour, and was enthusiastically greeted by ATP staff earlier in the week during a special ceremony at the entrance to centre court.
ATP SVP Rules and Competition Miro Bratoev said: “I’d like to thank Tom for his invaluable contributions to the ATP, officiating and the entire sport over the past several decades. His service to the tennis community has helped elevate the sport’s officiating standards and pushed all of us to constantly improve and evolve. His efforts will have a lasting effect that will carry down to officials for years to come, and I look forward to seeing him continue to mentor officials in the future.”
Peng Shuai disappeared from the public eye after making sex assault allegations against a Chinese official.
