Following the conclusion of the 2024 ATP season, several awards are set to be given out in various different categories.
2024 saw some big names impress on the ATP Tour, as the world’s top ten saw a shift towards the next generation of tennis stars.
Novak Djokovic won the Olympic Games but failed to add to his 99 titles on the ATP Tour as he fell to number seven in the world rankings.
Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
Carlos Alcaraz continued his form as he won two Major titles, whilst Jannik Sinner won the Australian Open, and the US Open in New York.
Elsewhere, however, plenty of ATP stars made big improvements, as they continued their rise up the rankings.
Just a few of those names include Jack Draper, Tomas Machac, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, and Alejandro Tabilo, who have all been nominated for the 2024 ATP ‘Most Improved Player of the Year award’.
One former ATP star has made his pick, as he chooses his most improved player of 2024.
Steve Johnson says ‘very unheard of’ Alejandro Tabilo should win ATP award
Speaking on the Nothing Major podcast, former world number 21 Steve Johnson, made his pick for the award.
“My pick is one Alejandro Tabilo,” he said.
“He has a title on hard, a title on grass, a final on clay, all three surfaces, semi-finals of a Masters series.
“Very unheard of if you’re not an avid tennis fan, and he’s top 20 in the world.
“It’s a great year.”
Tabilo enjoyed the best year of his career in 2024, as he reached a career-high of 19th in the world.
Tabilo beat Djokovic in straight sets at the Italian Open earlier this year, on his way to the semi-finals in Rome as he announced himself on the world’s stage.
His performances saw him selected for Team World at the Laver Cup, where John McEnroe admitted he was surprised by Tabilo’s level.
As Johnson mentioned, the Chilean number one picked up two ATP titles in 2024, as Tabilo performed well on all three surfaces, making him a big threat going into the new year.
At 27 years old, Tabilo is one of the older nominees for ‘Most Improved Player’, but he has certainly made a big jump in 2024 that cannot be denied.
YearYear-end rankingBest Grand Slam resultBest Masters 1000 resultATP titles won2024233R – WimbledonSF – Italian Open2202385Q3 – French Open4R – Indian Wells02022862R – Wimbledon, US OpenQ2 – Madrid Open02021141Q3 – French Open2R – Indian Wells020201692R – Australian Open–0Assessing Alejandro Tabilo’s improvement on the ATP Tour
Tabilo improved in every single metric this year, establishing himself as a genuine contender on the ATP Tour.
He’ll be hoping to achieve more success at the Grand Slam level in the new year, and if he continues with his current trajectory, you wouldn’t bet against him doing so.
Sam Querrey tips Jack Draper to win ‘Most Improved’ ATP award ahead of Alejandro Tabilo
Draper was another star who shone this year, as he finally began to put his injury problems behind him.
Sam Querrey, Johnson’s co-host, thinks the Brit could well be the most deserving of the award.
Photo by Adam Pretty/Getty Images
“I’m going with [Jack] Draper,” he said.
“I think he made the final of Adelaide, won Stuttgart, won Vienna.
“That’s a tournament at the beginning of the year, the middle of the year, the end of the year, a consistent year.
“He’s top 15, had some big wins, beat [Carlos] Alcaraz, I know it’s Queens which is always a bit of a weird tournament, [Hubert] Hurkacz, [Alex] de Minaur, Draper’s my guy, just by a little bit though.”
The 22-year-old enjoyed the best year of his career by some distance in 2024 as he secured several career-best results.
January – Reaches second-ever ATP final at Adelaide InternationalJune – Wins first ATP title at Stuttgart OpenJune – Scores highest-ranked win over Carlos Alcaraz at QueensSeptember – Reaches first Grand Slam semi-final at US OpenOctober – Wins first ATP 500 title at Vienna OpenDecember – Finishes year as career-high 15th in the world
It was a fantastic year, and one that Draper will be looking to build upon in 2025.
Who else has won ATP ‘Most Improved Player’ in the past?
Any award recognizing your hard work and talents is worth cherishing, but have any of the previous winners gone on to do big things on the ATP Tour?
It’s all well and good ‘improving’, but does the award guarantee future success in the sport?
Year wonNameBest Grand Slam result sinceBest Masters 1000 result sinceATP titles won since2023Jannik SinnerW – 2024 Australian Open, 2024 US OpenW – 2024 Miami Open, 2024 Cincinnati Open, 2024 Shanghai Masters82022Carlos AlcarazW – 2023 Wimbledon, 2024 French Open, 2024 WimbledonW – 2023 Indian Wells, 2023 Madrid Open, 2024 Indian Wells102021Aslan Karatsev3R – 2022 Australian Open, 2023 US OpenSF – 2023 Madrid Open12020Andrey RublevQF – Australian Open X 3, US Open X 2, French Open, WimbledonW – 2023 Monte-Carlo Masters, 2024 Madrid Open92019Matteo BerrettiniF – 2021 WimbledonF – 2021 Madrid Open72018Stefanos TsitsipasF – 2021 French Open, 2023 Australian OpenW – 2021 Monte-Carlo Masters, 2022 Monte-Carlo Masters, 2024 Monte-Carlo Masters102017Denis ShapovalovSF – 2021 WimbledonF – 2019 Paris Masters22016Lucas PouilleSF – 2019 Australian OpenSF – 2017 Monte-Carlo Masters42015Hyeon ChungSF – 2018 Australian OpenQF – 2018 Indian Wells, 2018 Miami Open02014Roberto Bautista AgutSF – 2019 WimbledonF – 2016 Shanghai Masters10Comparing the success of the last ten winners of ATP ‘Most improved player’
All but one of the last ten winners of the award have gone on to win further trophies on the ATP Tour, with the unfortunately injured Hyeon Chung the outlier.
The previous two winners, Alcaraz and Sinner both went on to Major success, having shared the four Slams available in 2024.
The likes of Andrey Rublev, Matteo Berrettini, and Stefanos Tsitsipas all established themselves as regular top-ten players after winning the award, with the latter two reaching Grand Slam finals.
Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
It remains to be seen what the future holds for Tabilo, Draper, Machac, or Mpetshi Perricard, but if history is anything to go by, they’ll be hoping that taking home this award, could be an important step in their tennis journey.
The winner of the ATP ‘Most Improved Player of the Year’ will be announced during Awards Week which begins on December 9.
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