The ‘Mextenis León Open’, in León, Mexico, has been awarded 2023 Tournament of the Year on the ATP Challenger Tour.

This year, a comprehensive rating system was established on the Challenger circuit, giving players the opportunity to evaluate and grade each tournament they compete in, based on various criteria. After a successful inaugural edition, the Mextenis León Open received the highest rating of all 196 Challenger tournaments. Located in the heart of Mexico, it is the fourth award winner from the country since 2015.

“Our commitment with the players, ATP, fans and sponsors will be always our priority,” tournament director Jose Antonio Fernandez said. “We will keep working harder than ever to deliver this kind of experience to our players.”

This year’s León Challenger, held in April, was won by the-then 19-year-old Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, who captured his maiden title at that level in front of a packed crowd. The 6’8″ Frenchman struck 21 aces in the final and played five tie-breaks across his semi-final and title match in Mexico.

The ATP Challenger Tour also recognises the Vitas Gerulaitis Cup in Vilnius, Lithuania, as the top tournament in the Europe/Africa region. The European nation celebrated its debut on the circuit just one year ago, becoming the 91st different country to host a Challenger tournament.

“It is amazing news to find our tournament being acknowledged in such a high level. This recognition is so important for Lithuanian tennis,” assistant tournament director Virginija Paliukaite said. “We worked for so many years just to have an opportunity to organize an ATP Challenger tournament in our country and we came out strongly. This is a proof that we have strong, motivated and competent people and our infrastructure is perfect for such and even higher level tournaments.

“I want to thank the players, our team, volunteers and sponsors. None of this would have happened in the way it did without their contribution. Hopefully, with such a strong debut and inspiration to move and improve forward, Vilnius will stay in the international map of tennis and host more such and better tournaments in the future.”

In South America, the event in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, earned top honours. The Challenger Bolivia also made its second appearance on the calendar in 2023.

“It is a great surprise to have received this award and it fills us with satisfaction to know that the players have selected us as the best ATP Challenger Tour event in South America in 2023,” tournament director Carolina Poehlmann said. “We remain firm in our commitment to continue supporting the growth of tennis in Bolivia and we will try to improve to give the best possible conditions to our international competitors.”

In the Asia-Pacific region, the tournament in Shanghai made its mark in China’s long-awaited return to the Challenger Tour. It is held at the Qizhong Tennis Center, the same site as the Rolex Shanghai Masters.

“We are extremely appreciative and honoured to be named best tournament on the Challenger Tour for 2023 in the Asia/Pacific Region,” tournament director Michael Luevano said. “To be back on the tour after four years took a lot of hard work from a team that relished the opportunity to produce a first-rate event. There was a lot of pride that went into creating, promoting and staging the Road to the Rolex Shanghai Masters Challenger and to receive the support of the players in this way is very gratifying.”

Richard Glover, VP Challenger Tour added: “The Challenger Tour has made great strides in 2023, with elevated tournament standards and unprecedented growth across all categories. I would like to congratulate and commend the Mextenis León Open on exemplifying this progress and our tournaments in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Shanghai and Vilnius, for setting the standard in their respective regions. This award greatly reflects their passion, professionalism and commitment to the players and the Tour.”

Stronger pathway, stronger sport. Elevating the Challenger Tour is core to the #OneVision mission! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/AMtaP5Ya2k

— ATP Tour (@atptour) December 11, 2023

Novak Djokovic was recognised for his record-extending eighth ATP No. 1 presented by Pepperstone honour and Jannik Sinner figured in three categories in the 2023 ATP Awards.

Sinner was named Most Improved Player of the Year and received the Fans’ Favourite Award, capping a breakout season in which the 22-year-old claimed his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title in Toronto, reached the trophy match at the Nitto ATP Finals, and led Italy to its first Davis Cup title in nearly five decades. Additionally, Sinner’s mentors, Darren Cahill and Simone Vagnozzi, shared the Coach of the Year award as voted by their contemporaries. Their charge reached a career-high No. 4 in 2023, matching legend Adriano Panatta as the highest-ranked Italian in Pepperstone ATP Rankings history.

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Longtime friends and ATP Masters 1000 Madrid winners Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev took home the Fans’ Favourite Award in the doubles category.

The 2023 ATP Awards also honours Djokovic and the tandem of Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek, who clinched year-end No. 1 during the Nitto ATP Finals. Djokovic won a tour-best seven singles titles on the year, including the 24th Grand Slam of his career. Dodig and Krajicek accounted for five doubles titles, their biggest coming on clay at Roland-Garros.     

Jan-Lennard Struff was named Comeback Player of the Year after overcoming injury to jump from No. 167 to a career-high No. 21, while 19-year-old Arthur Fils, a first-time ATP Tour titlist in Lyon and the youngest member of the year-end Top 50, is the Newcomer of the Year.

A year after becoming the youngest No. 1 in the history of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, Carlos Alcaraz was selected by his fellow players as the winner of the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award, which recognises fair play, professionalism and integrity on and off the court. He is the fourth Spaniard to receive the honour, joining Jose Higueras (1983), Alex Corretja (1996, 1998) and Rafael Nadal (2010, 2018-21).

Higueras, who worked with legends like Pete Sampras, Jim Courier, Roger Federer and Michael Chang, and later served as director of player development for the United States Tennis Association (USTA), is the recipient of the Tim Gullikson Career Coach Award. 

Felix Auger-Aliassime received the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award in recognition of his efforts to support educational initiatives in his father’s homeland, the West African nation of Togo. The 23-year-old Canadian partnered with BNP Paribas in 2020 to create the #FAAPointsForChange programme and since, $20 for has been donated to EduChange for every point he has won.

The BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells (ATP Masters 1000), the cinch Championships at The Queen’s Club in London (ATP 500), the Nordea Open in Bastad (ATP 250) and the Mextenis León Open (ATP Challenger Tour) have been voted by the players as Tournament of the Year in their respective categories. Meanwhile, L’Équipe is the recipient of the Ron Bookman Media Excellence Award.

2023 ATP Awards Winners

ATP No. 1 presented by Pepperstone
(determined by Pepperstone ATP Rankings)
Novak Djokovic: Djokovic finished as the oldest year-end No. 1 in Pepperstone ATP Rankings history, his record eighth year atop the charts. For the fourth time in his career, he claimed three of the season’s four major titles, only Carlos Alcaraz keeping him from the Grand Slam — winning all four majors in the same season — with a comeback in the Wimbledon final. Djokovic’s 24th major singles title came at the US Open, a number unequalled in the Open Era. The 36-year-old Serbian also triumphed in Cincinnati and Paris, to bring his ATP Masters 1000 title haul to a record 40 at that level, and clinched a record seventh Nitto ATP Finals title.

ATP Doubles No. 1 presented by Pepperstone
(determined by Pepperstone ATP Rankings)
Ivan Dodig & Austin Krajicek: The Croatian-American duo, which launched its partnership last year, earned ATP Doubles No. 1 presented by Pepperstone honours for the first time. Dodig and Krajicek teamed to win five tournaments in 2023, including Roland Garros, the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters and ATP 500-level events in Rotterdam, London (Queen’s Club) and Beijing. Finishing with a 39-15 record, they also reached finals in Miami, Adelaide and Eastbourne, and advanced to the semi-finals of the US Open. 

Comeback Player of the Year

(voted by ATP players)
Jan-Lennard Struff: The German started the season outside the Top 150, but soared after standout ATP Masters 1000 results. He reached the quarter-finals in Monte-Carlo before he became the first lucky loser in history to reach a Masters 1000 final at the Mutua Madrid Open. A run to the title match in Stuttgart followed in June, before a hip injury forced the 33-year-old to miss three months of the season, with Struff not holding a racquet for seven weeks. He made a winning return in Zhuhai in September before he advanced to his third tour-level semi-final of the season in Sofia in November. He ended the year at No. 25. Dominik Koepfer, Gael Monfils and Alexander Zverev were also nominated in this category.  

Most Improved Player of the Year

(voted by ATP players)
Fans’ Favourite Award (Singles)

(voted by fans)
Jannik Sinner: The 22-year-old Italian won four tour-level titles in 2023, including his first ATP Masters 1000 crown in Toronto. He also reached the title match at the Nitto ATP Finals, his first major semi-final at Wimbledon, and led Italy to its first Davis Cup trophy since 1976. Sinner, who held a 64-15 tour-level record in 2023, finished the season at a career-high No. 4 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, becoming the first Italian man to end a season in the Top 5. Sinner won Newcomer of the Year in the 2019 ATP Awards. Matteo Arnaldi, Christopher Eubanks and Ben Shelton were also nominated for Most Improved Player of the Year.

Newcomer of the Year

(voted by ATP players)
Arthur Fils: The Frenchman started the season outside the Top 250 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, but peaked at a career-high No. 36 in October after reaching the final in Antwerp. The 19-year-old was the youngest champion on the ATP Tour in 2023, winning his first tour-level title in Lyon in May. He made the most of opportunities to play at home, also advancing to the tour-level semi-finals in Montpellier and Marseille. Fils finished the season by reaching the title match at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by NEOM. #NextGenATP players Flavio Cobolli, Alex Michelsen, Dominic Stricker and Luca Van Assche were also nominees for Newcomer of the Year.

Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award

(voted by ATP players)
Carlos Alcaraz: The Spaniard has been recognised by fellow players for his fair play, professionalism and integrity on and off the court. Whether sending get-well-soon messages to injured opponents or sharing his umbrella with ballkids during a prolonged rain delay, the two-time major singles titlist has fast gained a reputation as one of the tour’s classiest players. When Fabio Fognini crashed to the court earlier this year in Rio de Janeiro, Alcaraz famously crossed the net and, much to the delight of the fans, helped return his foe to his feet. The 20-year-old has now won three player-voted ATP Awards, receiving Newcomer of the Year in 2020 and Most Improved in 2022. Grigor Dimitrov, Hubert Hurkacz and Jannik Sinner were also nominated in this category.

Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award

(awarded by ATP)
Felix Auger-Aliassime: Joining names like John McEnroe, Andre Agassi and Roger Federer, the Canadian was recognised for his efforts beyond the tennis court. By partnering with BNP Paribas to create the #FAAPointsForChange programme, Auger-Aliassime has been able to spark educational initiatives in his father Sam’s homeland of Togo. This year, the 23-year-old also became the spokesperson for the Grow Beyond Campaign of the Montreal-based CHU Sainte-Justine Foundation, the charitable arm of the hospital where he was born.

Fans’ Favourite Award (Doubles)

(voted by fans)
Karen Khachanov & Andrey Rublev: The longtime friends joined forces to capture their first team title at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Madrid, where they earned Match Tie-break wins in four of their five matches en route to the trophy. Khachanov and Rublev also reached the semi-finals at the ATP 500 event in Beijing.

Coach of the Year

(voted by ATP coaches)
Darren Cahill & Simone Vagnozzi: The Australian and Italian helped guide Jannik Sinner to a career-best season. Vagnozzi has worked with Sinner since February 2022, while Cahill joined the team in June 2022 with a focus on developing Sinner’s mental side. The results have been immediate: Sinner reached three Masters 1000 quarter-finals and a like number of major quarter-finals that first year, then broke through to his first Masters 1000 title (Toronto) and major semi-final (Wimbledon) in 2023. Cahill and Vagnozzi were nominated for Coach of the Year honours along with Craig Boynton (Hubert Hurkacz), 2022 winner Juan Carlos Ferrero (Carlos Alcaraz), Goran Ivanisevic (Novak Djokovic) and Bryan Shelton (Ben Shelton).

Tim Gullikson Career Coach Award

(voted by ATP coaches)
Jose Higueras: A former World No. 6 who made his name in the coaching ranks tutoring the likes of future Hall of Famers Pete Sampras, Jim Courier, Roger Federer, Michael Chang, Jennifer Capriati and Mary Joe Fernandez, the Spaniard exemplifies excellence, leadership, respect, and a true love for the art of coaching. Named for the late Tim Gullikson, the award showcases someone who has inspired generations of young players and fellow coaches to grow the sport.

ATP Masters 1000 Tournament of the Year

(voted by ATP players) 
BNP Paribas Open (Indian Wells): The BNP Paribas Open won in the ATP Masters 1000 category for a record-extending ninth time — all in succession. Held amidst the natural beauty and backdrop of the desert landscape, the Indian Wells Tennis Garden offers top-notch player facilities and amenities; plentiful practice courts that allow fans to watch players up close; and unparalleled dining options.

ATP 500 Tournament of the Year

(voted by ATP players) 
cinch Championships (London): The cinch Championships at The Queen’s Club claimed honours at the ATP 500 level, winning for the fifth time. Also recognised in the ATP Awards in 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2022, the tournament has thrived in its prestigious setting in West Kensington by consistently attracting some of the best singles and doubles players on the ATP Tour.

ATP 250 Tournament of the Year

(voted by ATP players) 
Nordea Open (Bastad): The Nordea Open won in the ATP 250 category for the 12th time overall. It was named Tournament of the Year from 2002-12, sharing honours with Houston two of those years (2003-04). The Nordea Open celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2023. 

ATP Challenger Tournament of the Year

(voted by ATP players) 
Mextenis León Open (León): In 2023, a comprehensive rating system was established on the ATP Challenger Tour circuit, giving players the opportunity to evaluate and grade each tournament they compete in, based on various criteria. After a successful inaugural edition, the Mextenis León Open received the highest rating of all 196 Challenger tournaments. Located in the heart of Mexico, it is the fourth award winner from the country since 2015.

Ron Bookman Media Excellence Award

(awarded by ATP)
L’Équipe: The French media outlet receives the Ron Bookman Media Excellence Award for the third time, also winning this honour in 1999 and 2010. Recognised for excellent coverage of tennis on all their platforms (newspaper, magazine, digital, TV), L’Équipe prides themselves in being present on the Tour all year round, boasting a list of writers whose sole focus is tennis reporting: Lucile Alard, Vincent Cognet, Bertrand Lagacherie, Romain Lefebvre, David Loriot, Quentin Moynet, Franck Ramella and Julien Reboullet. Journalists Anne-Sophie Bourdet and Bruno Garay also play a key role for the magazine.

The BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, the cinch Championships at the Queen’s Club in London and the Nordea Open in Bastad continue to set the standard on the ATP Tour, winning Tournament of the Year honours in their respective categories in the 2023 ATP Awards.

For the ninth consecutive year, Indian Wells has been named the ATP Masters 1000 Tournament of the Year. Held amidst the natural beauty and backdrop of the desert landscape, the Indian Wells Tennis Garden offers top-notch player facilities and amenities; plentiful practice courts that allow fans to watch players up close; and unparalleled dining options.

“We’re honored to see the ATP players once again vote Indian Wells as their favourite 1000-level stop of the year,” said BNP Paribas Open Tournament Director Tommy Haas. “This award reflects the dedicated support from all of our wonderful tournament staff, volunteers, fans and so many others who bring the BNP Paribas Open to life every year and contribute to the sustained success of our one-of-a-kind event.”

Carlos Alcaraz claimed the third Masters 1000 title of his young career at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in March, and Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden teamed to take the doubles crown.

 

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Like the BNP Paribas Open, the cinch Championships is a repeat winner, having also been recognised in 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2022. Alcaraz claimed the singles title at this year’s Queen’s Club-hosted event, with the duo of Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek taking the doubles.

“We’re absolutely delighted to have been voted ATP 500 Tournament of the Year by the players again this year,” said Chris Pollard, the tournament’s Digital, Technology and Events Director. “The LTA takes great pride in continuously improving the experience of the players who take part in the tournament, and this award is recognition of the hard work of the LTA event team and the collaborative way in which they work with The Queen’s Club, the ATP and a number of other sponsors and suppliers to deliver a world-class event.”

 

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Celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2023, the Nordea Open was voted ATP 250 Tournament of the Year for 11 consecutive years between 2002 and 2012. The 2023 singles and doubles titles went to Andrey Rublev and Gonzalo Escobar/Aleksandr Nedovyesov, respectively.

“The whole team and all volunteers are, of course, extremely happy and proud to receive this award,” said Christer Hult, CEO and Managing Director of the Nordea Open. “Our ambition is to provide all players with the highest quality of service both on and off the court regardless of their ranking. We want all players to be treated as they are No. 1. This award is a proof that it has been appreciated by all the players who played the Nordea Open this year and I’d like to thank all the players for their appreciation and welcome everyone back to Båstad 2024.”

 

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On the ATP Challenger Tour, the Mextenis León Open was selected by players as Tournament of the Year.

A year after becoming the youngest No. 1 in the history of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, Carlos Alcaraz has been selected by his fellow players as the winner of the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award, which recognises fair play, professionalism and integrity on and off the court.

“I’m so happy to win the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award,” said Alcaraz. “I’m especially happy that it’s an award chosen by my colleagues on the circuit. It means a lot to me, so thank you all very much.”

 

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Alcaraz becomes the fourth Spaniard to receive the prestigious ATP Awards honour, joining Jose Higueras (1983), Alex Corretja (1996, 1998) and five-time winner Rafael Nadal (2010, 2018-21).

The 20-year-old has now won three player-voted ATP Awards, receiving Newcomer of the Year in 2020 and Most Improved in 2022. 

Whether sending get-well-soon messages to injured opponents or sharing his umbrella with ballkids during a prolonged rain delay, the two-time major singles titlist has fast gained a reputation as one of the tour’s classiest players. When Fabio Fognini crashed to the court earlier this year in Rio de Janeiro, Alcaraz famously crossed the net and, much to the delight of the fans, helped return his foe to his feet.

Alcaraz captured six titles in 2023, his biggest coming via a five-set win over two-time defending champion Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon. He also prevailed in Buenos Aires, Indian Wells, Barcelona, Madrid and London (Queen’s Club). The baseliner was the World No. 1 heading into the US Open, bringing his total to 36 weeks atop the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

Grigor Dimitrov, Hubert Hurkacz and Jannik Sinner were also nominated in this category. Sportsmanship nominees are determined by an International Tennis Writers’ Association (ITWA) vote, and the winner is selected by players from the shortlist.

Tickets for the 2024 Nitto ATP Finals, to be held from 10-17 November at the Palaolimpico, are now on sale.

Fans can buy their tickets for the season finale, where the season’s top eight singles players and doubles teams will compete for the ultimate prize. Turin will host the prestigious event for the third consecutive year.

In the 2023 edition there were 15 sold-out sessions and more than 174,000 fans attended. Fans can now guarantee their 2024 tickets just in time for the holiday season.

Last month, Novak Djokovic captured his seventh Nitto ATP Finals crown in a thrilling week in which he avenged his round-robin loss to Jannik Sinner in the championship match.

Home hero Sinner enjoyed a standout run, surviving three consecutive deciding-set matches against Djokovic, Holger Rune and Daniil Medvedev to make the final.

Buy your Turin tickets now to watch as champions try to become champion at the 2024 Nitto ATP Finals.

Many fans would not have heard of Arthur Fils 12 months ago. Today the 19-year-old Frenchman is regarded as one of the sports’ most promising talents and he has capped his breakthrough year in style, being named the Newcomer of the Year in the 2023 ATP Awards.

“I’m really happy to win the ATP Newcomer of the Year,” said Fils. “It’s been an amazing year for me with a lot of good memories. I hope next year is going to be better, but thanks for the support all around the world.”

Fils started the season outside the Top 250 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings but peaked at a career-high No. 36 in October after reaching the final in Antwerp. The Frenchman’s standout highlight came on home soil in Lyon in May, when he won his first tour-level title. He was the youngest champion on the ATP Tour in 2023.

Fils’ breakthrough season started from day one. He won his first nine matches of the year on the ATP Challenger Tour, including a title run in Oeiras. In February, he made the most of opportunities to play at home, reaching the tour-level semi-finals in Montpellier and Marseille.

He finished the season as strongly as he started, reaching the title match at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by NEOM in the first ATP-sanctioned event in Saudi Arabia.

“It was a nice year for sure. I started at 250 but finished at 36, so that’s pretty good,” Fils said. “It still could have been better. I lost some close matches, but it’s just experience and I will try to do better next year.”

Fils fended off competition from fellow nominees Flavio Cobolli, Alex Michelsen, Dominic Stricker and Luca Van Assche to win the Award. The 19-year-old joins Holger Rune, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner as recent Newcomer of the Year winners.

Selected by players, the award goes to the #NextGenATP player who entered the Top 100 for the first time and made the biggest impact on the ATP Tour during the season.

Jannik Sinner has been selected by peers as the Most Improved Player of the Year. It is the Italian’s second ATP Award of 2023 after he won the Fans’ Favourite Award earlier this week.

The Italian entered the 2023 season at No. 15 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, having clinched six tour-level trophies. With hype surrounding the 22-year-old, Sinner went from strength to strength in 2023, meeting and even exceeding lofty expectations.

The 22-year-old claimed four tour-level titles, including his maiden ATP Masters 1000 crown in Toronto, and reached the Nitto ATP Finals championship match. He also won the Davis Cup title with Italy, rose to a career-high No. 4 and advanced to his first major semi-final at Wimbledon.

By going 64-15, he set an Open Era record for most wins by an Italian player in a single season.

Sinner earned a personal-best 13 Top 10 wins in 2023, including two victories against World No. 1 Novak Djokovic and two wins against Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz. He had clinched nine Top 10 wins across the preceding three seasons.

“I think, especially the second half of the year, mentally I was much, much stronger,” said Sinner. “I was not complaining so much on court when things were going in the wrong way. I think these kind of things, they make difference sometimes…

“One of the things where I can be really happy is that I played many, many important matches in the biggest stadiums we have throughout the whole year. This is something [that] hopefully can help for the next season.”

Earlier this week, Sinner’s coaches Darren Cahill and Simone Vagnozzi won the Coach of the Year award for their work with the Italian.

Matteo Arnaldi, Christopher Eubanks and Ben Shelton were also nominated for Most Improved Player of the Year in the 2023 ATP Awards.

The ATP 250 event in Gijon, Spain, which was held in 2022, will return to the ATP Tour calendar in 2024 as the Watergen Gijon Open. The indoor hard-court tournament will be played in Week 45 alongside the Moselle Open in Metz, from 3-9 November. 

Andrey Rublev triumphed in Gijon in 2022, when the field featured stars including Andy Murray, Dominic Thiem, Roberto Bautista Agut and Pablo Carreno Busta. Rublev defeated Sebastian Korda in the final.

Promoted by Watergen in collaboration with the city of Gijon and the Spanish Tennis Federation, the venue for the tournament will be the same as in 2022, the Palacio de Deportes la Gijon.

With Gijon slotting into Week 45, the BNP Paribas Nordic Open in Stockholm will return to Week 42. The ATP 250 event will be played from 14-20 October.

In the same week, the ATP 250 event previously held in Astana will relocate to Almaty. The tournament will be held at Almaty Arena, the largest sports facility in Kazakhstan. The city served as the country’s capital for almost 70 years and is the financial, scientific, cultural, economic, historical and industrial centre of Kazakhstan. 

The Next Gen ATP Finals presented by NEOM in 2024 will be held from 18-22 December. It will be the event’s second edition in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The 2023 season was a breakthrough year for a host of #NextGenATP stars, with Arthur Fils and Hamad Medjedovic earning standout wins at tour-level events.

From Top 10 victories, to career-high Pepperstone ATP Rankings, ATPTour.com looks back at the brightest young prospects of 2022.

Arthur Fils, 19 years old
Arthur Fils started the season outside the Top 250 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings but peaked at a career-high No. 36 in October after reaching the final in Antwerp, where he defeated Top 10 star Stefanos Tsitsipas. The Frenchman’s standout highlight came on home soil in Lyon in May, when he won his first tour-level title. He was the youngest champion on the ATP Tour in 2023.

“I will remember this forever,” Fils said after triumphing in Lyon. “It has been amazing. I am happy with the win and now I want more.”

Fils’ breakthrough season started from day one. He won his first nine matches of the year on the ATP Challenger Tour, including a title run in Oeiras. In February, he made the most of opportunities to play at home, reaching the tour-level semi-finals in Montpellier and Marseille.

He finished the season as strongly as he started, reaching the title match at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by NEOM in the first ATP-sanctioned event in Saudi Arabia.

Hamad Medjedovic, 20 years old
Twelve months ago, not many fans would have heard of Hamad Medjedovic. Today his name will be on many people’s radar after he ended his season by becoming the sixth champion at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by NEOM. The Serbian blitzed through the field in Jeddah to become an undefeated champion in Saudi Arabia, taking home a tournament-record $514,000 in prize money.

The 20-year-old, who is coached by former World No. 12 Viktor Troicki, received messages of support from Novak Djokovic throughout the event. The World No. 1 has financially supported Medjedovic through the early stages of his blossoming career.

“He’s been helping me out financially, giving me courts, coaches, whatever I need for my career. He’s helped me a lot for sure,” Medjedovic said earlier this season. “Anything a professional tennis player needs, he covered it all. He paid for it. It’s been helpful. He just helped me out when I needed it and he’s still helping me out in all types of ways. I’m glad he’s there for me.”

Earlier this season Medjedovic reached tour-level semi-finals in Gstaad and Astana, while he clinched three ATP Challenger Tour titles.

“The season together [with Troicki] has been good,” Medjedovic said in November. “The first four or three months I was struggling a little bit. It took time to start doing what we were working on during pre-season. After a couple of months, it all clicked. I played well in India in February. I made my first semis after a long time and then everything started going better. I also played in the semi-finals in Gstaad. It was a big thing for me, beating a couple of players from the Top 100.”

Luca Van Assche, 19 years old
Luca Van Assche joins Arthur Fils as one of France’s most promising talents. The 19-year-old is a clean ball striker and played with courageous determination on court throughout 2023 to earn standout results.

Van Assche, who reached the semi-finals at the Next Gen ATP Finals, won consecutive Challenger Tour crowns in February and captured the first tour-level win of his career in Estoril, where he beat Pedro Sousa. The Frenchman won a set against Novak Djokovic in Banja Luka and reached tour-level quarter-finals in Hamburg (ATP 500) and Metz (250). He also advanced to the second round at his home Slam, Roland Garros, where he won the 2021 boys’ singles crown.

“Two years ago, I was like 1,000-something so I don’t think I would’ve expected to be Top 100 now,” Van Assche said in April. “Last year, I was like 400. I was not expecting this maybe a year or two ago. It was very fast. Of course I was dreaming about it. I’m very proud and I just want to be even better now.”

He ended the season at No. 90, having reached a career-high No. 63 earlier this year.

Dominic Stricker, 21 years old
Possessing a thunderous game, Dominic Stricker reached new heights in 2023.

Stricker, who is a two-time Next Gen ATP Finals competitor, enjoyed a consistent year up until September. He won two Challenger Tour events and earned his maiden major main draw win at Wimbledon. However, he hit the big time in ‘The Big Apple’, advancing to the fourth round at the US Open.

The Swiss stunned Stefanos Tsitsipas after firing 78 winners in a five-set, second-round thriller that lasted four hours, 10 minutes. It was the deep run at Flushing Meadows that propelled Stricker into the Top 100 for the first time on 11 September. The 21-year-old became the youngest Swiss to reach the milestone since 20-year-old Stan Wawrinka did so in 2005.

“I feel better on court than I did last year. I feel like my game has improved again,” Stricker told ATPTour.com in August. “I’m also getting fitter body-wise, so that helps for sure. I think off court everything got a bit more serious. I’m also working maybe a little bit harder than I did before. I think everything is more professional than it was and that helps me for sure.”

The lefty earned another Top 10 victory in October, with this triumph coming in front of Stricker’s home crowd, upsetting Casper Ruud in Basel. Stricker closed the season with a second consecutive semi-final appearance at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by NEOM.

Read more of our Best of 2023 Series

As we continue to review the best moments of the 2023 ATP Tour season, we bring you a closer look at one of the year’s unforgettable moments, straight from the source.

Holger Rune might have been feeling extra pressure as defending champion at the BMW Open by American Express in Munich this April, but the Dane handled it in stride. After three dominant wins earned him a place in the final, he claimed the opening set against Botic van de Zandschulp to move to the brink of his first successful title defense on the ATP Tour.

But there would be more twists to come — both literally and figuratively.

One year after van de Zandschulp retired in the Munich final against Rune, the rematch at the ATP 250 overdelivered in both the quality of the tennis and the drama of the scoreline.  

“I knew the final was going to be the toughest match of the tournament,” Rune told ATP Uncovered, speaking ahead of his Nitto ATP Finals debut. “Botic played some of his best tennis in this kind of event, so I knew I had to be really ready. But I was feeling confident.”

Rune entered with clear tactics but was “a little bit confused about the game plan” in the second set, which his opponent dominated. The Dane dealt with several physical issues in the final set, including a twisted ankle, but continued to fight on the red clay despite what he felt was a “three, four per cent chance of winning”.

He trailed 2-5 in the third set and faced two match points in a match that was recognised in ATPTour.com’s Best Of 2023 series.

Watch the full feature above to relive the match — and the dramatic final set — through Rune’s eyes and find out how the exhausted Dane changed his tactics and his mindset to push through the finish.

Read all stories in our Best Of 2023 review.