Founded in 1881, the Surbiton Racket & Fitness Club’s rich history permeates throughout the prestigious stop on the ATP Challenger Tour, as the three-week grass-court swing kicks off each year in the U.K. The atmosphere provides a quaint and traditional setting that the players overwhelmingly appreciate.

Located 15 minutes from central London, the club, which hosted last week’s Fuzion 100 Surbiton Trophy, has become a popular attraction with more than 1,500 members. The site’s many amenities include 20 tennis courts (11 grass, three clay and six hard, two of which are covered for indoor play), a gym and a bar/lounge area and a main pavilion that was built in 1900.

Some of the members have even offered to donate their time to ensure the tournament runs smoothly.

“We have around 80-100 volunteers do jobs at the event, including stewarding, driving and supporting the tournament in all aspects,” said Roy Staniland, director of the Surbiton Racket & Fitness Club for the past 30 years. “Some put up players in their own houses and really embrace the event. The members are very proud that their club is hosting such a prestigious tournament.”

The historic 137-year-old facility hosted the renowned Surrey Grass Court Championships for 70 editions, before holding its first ATP Challenger Tour event in 1998. The tournament ran for 11 consecutive years and returned to the circuit in 2015 after a brief hiatus.

“I was really happy with the tournament,” said Sunday’s champion Jeremy Chardy. “There were a lot of courts to practise on and the conditions were great. I’m always happy to play on grass. Some years are more difficult than others, but the game here is a lot of fun. For the moment I’m winning, so it’s easy to enjoy.”

“We are looking to have more grass-court opportunities for players at the Challenger level in particular,” said tournament director George Donnelly. “It’s to give these players the best opportunity to practise on grass with good facilities. And now we’re seeing those players breaking through at the bigger stages, so it’s exciting. 

“We had great weather in Surbiton with many spectators coming through the doors. We even had our first queue which we hadn’t had at this level for a while. But essentially it’s the level of player committed to this tournament, which is fantastic. It really helped and is a great start to the season, as we move on to Nottingham and Ilkley and then The Championships at Wimbledon.”

Surbiton is also known for its history-making performances on the court. Past champions include former Top 10 stars Mardy Fish (2006) and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (2007), with Roger Federer, Lleyton Hewitt, Andy Murray, Greg Rusedski and Thomas Johansson also competing there. 

In fact, future Wimbledon champions Hewitt and Federer both kicked off their professional grass-court careers at this very club, in 1998 and 1999, respectively.

And last year, Japan’s Yuichi Sugita became the first player to win grass-court titles on both the ATP Challenger Tour and ATP World Tour in a single season. After winning in Surbiton, he lifted his maiden tour-level trophy in Antalya.

“It was a very relaxing week in Surbiton,” added Taylor Fritz, who was making his second tournament appearance. “I think it helps me prepare for the bigger [ATP World Tour] events. It’s such a nice, cozy tournament and just being in this environment is good for me to mentally recharge. You feel the energy here, with the fans so close to the court.”

Fritz is one of many current #NextGenATP stars to grace the grass courts of Surbiton. Last year, Denis Shapovalov, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alex de Minaur all featured in the same section of the qualifying draw. Today, the trio are the only teenagers in the Top 100 of the ATP Rankings.

Far more planning was devoted to organising the tournament this year than when it first launched. Preparations began 10 to 11 months away from when the first ball was hit and two weeks were devoted to building the venue out to accommodate spectators, compared to the three-day build in the tournament’s first year.

“It’s good to be playing at home and being around the other British boys,” said semi-finalist Daniel Evans, who was the last remaining British player in the draw. “The club has a traditional English feel to it and it’s nice that there’s a lot of people here watching.”

Rafa is gaining on Roger.

After his 11^th Roland Garros title, Rafael Nadal now stands only four “Big Titles” away from catching Roger Federer in the chase for “Big Titles” – a combination of Grand Slam, ATP World Tour Masters 1000 and Nitto ATP Finals crowns. Nadal won his 17^th Grand Slam crown and 49^th Big Title on Sunday when he beat Dominic Thiem for the seventh time in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series (7-3).

The Spaniard also cushioned his Big Title advantage against former No. 1 Novak Djokovic. Nadal now has 49 Big Titles to the Serbian’s 47. More than two years ago, after the 2016 Mutua Madrid Open, Djokovic had 45 and Nadal 42.

Current and Former Champions’ Big Titles Won (Records Since 1990) 

* Becker’s four other Grand Slam titles came before 1990.
** Edberg’s three other Grand Slam titles came before 1990.

But Nadal and Djokovic remain even in their Big Title conversion rates. The Spaniard has won 49 Big Titles from 171 opportunities, a conversion rate of 3.5. Djokovic has won 47 Big Titles from 165 chances, also yielding a conversion rate of 3.5. The 36-year-old Federer, though, has won a Big Title every 4.1 chances (53/216).

Nadal’s historic Roland Garros crown – no man or woman in the Open Era has won 11 titles at the same Grand Slam tournament – completed another mesmerising European clay-court swing for the Spaniard. He won 26 of his 27 matches, including four titles: his 11^th Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell; his 11^th Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, his 31^st Masters 1000 title; and his eighth Internazionali BNL d’Italia, Nadal’s 32^nd Masters 1000 triumph.

Nadal and Federer have now won the past six Grand Slams, tying their second longest streak of Grand Slam titles won exclusively by the two legends.

Longest streaks of Grand Slam titles won by Federer and Nadal

#NextGenATP Canadian Denis Shapovalov, who will pursue his first ATP World Tour title this week at the MercedesCup as the No.6 seed, was recently featured by GQ Magazine.

The left-hander could potentially face Roger Federer for the first time in the Stuttgart quarter-finals. In the feature, the teenager recalls his epic match against Rafael Nadal at last year’s Rogers Cup:

In the third set tie-break against Nadal, Shapovalov was exhausted and in pain. “I thought, Hey, just remember you can be out here with these guys, you can’t win yet, but you can fight, you can push them until the end. On match point, I thought, screw it, let me go for the down-the-line and see what happens. If I make it, I’ll win. If I don’t, I’ll probably lose the match.” Shapovalov made it, notching the biggest win of his young career. “I blacked out after that. The stadium was so loud. My ears almost popped. It was the loudest thing I’ve ever heard in any sport event ever.”

Shapovalov’s game is a high-wire act, risky and elegant. Every swing of his racket is full, unchecked. He hits his lefty, one-handed backhand so hard that it launches his feet off the ground. He flies. He’s fast and chases down every ball with the ferocious energy reminiscent of a young Nadal. But the way he skips across the court, skimming the surface, seeking out every offensive opportunity, is a style of play clearly inspired by his favorite player, Federer.

“Growing up, I would always come forward and play aggressive, and my opponents would just lob over me and hit shots past me. My mom [who is also his coach] was constantly telling me, ‘Don’t worry, one day you’ll grow and you’ll be able to get these balls. Keep coming to the net, keep being aggressive.’ So a lot of my style came from my mom.” 

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