Six men and twelve women, this is the crop of debuting champions that the 2023 season has left us. From veterans like Arantxa Rus, intermediates like Pedro Cachín or precocious talents like Ben Shelton and Maria Tomofeeva.
It is one of our most classic summary articles, listing all the tenistas who won their first individual title in 2023. The season has left a good harvest in both circuits, a list of 18 names that will never forget this calendar, that of their baptism as champions at professional levels. Below we review all the stops on the course that saw the birth of a future star, one who can already boast of having fulfilled her dream at least once.
TALLON GREEK TRACK (26). The Dutchman had been making headlines for years, being a regular in the Grand Slam draws, but he needed to make a name for himself. He did it quickly, in the first tournament of the season, defeating rivals like Cecchinato and Karatsev at the ATP 250 in Pune. He liked it so much that in the summer he repeated on the grass at the ATP 250 in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, where he surprised De Miñaur, Ruusuvuoro and Popyrin.
LIN ZHU (29). We have been warning about the wardrobe that Chinese tennis has lately, although we are still waiting for that player to make it into the top 10. For now, Lin Zhu was one of the great revelations of the month of January, winning a great Australian Open and then launching her record at the WTA 250 in Hua Hin. Much merit goes to a player who will blow out the 30 candles in a few weeks, boasting of being in the best moment of her career.
ALYCIA PARKS (22). The year 2022 ended like a shot and 2023 began intermittently. Of course, when the light came on, Parks showed why so much had been written about her. She demonstrated it in the second tournament on her calendar, conquering the WT 250 in Lyon, defeating Caroline Garcia in the final. Many of us were excited, but that was only a mirage of what we imagined. That joy did not continue, closing the curtain with a balance of 22-28 and outside the top60. It’s very good, but we expected more.
YIBING WU (23). Back with Chinese tennis, although now in the men’s branch. It has been a tremendously favorable calendar for them, especially for this 23-year-old man who has broken all the molds. Get into the top 100, reach advanced rounds of Grand Slam and, if anything was missing, champion at the ATP 250 in Dallas, the first man from his country to achieve it in all of history. It seems that it is only the beginning, since new profiles come behind it wanting to make noise.
MARTA KOSTYUK (20). Without being able to boast about a great season – the feeling is that she hasn’t been – the young Kostyuk will be able to leave satisfied for having appeared in the photo for the first time with the big trophy. It happened at the WTA 250 in Austin, those crazy weeks that always come in February, after the first major of the year. A friendly team where the Ukrainian found herself comfortable taking on dangerous profiles like Collins or Gracheva.
LUCIA BRONZETTI (24). In the renaissance season for Italian women’s tennis, this girl took the best shots of her on the spring clay court tour, occupying the throne of the WTA 250 in Rabat. A specialist in the field, Julia Grabher, was defeated in the final, although the real challenge was to defeat Tatjana Maria, Peterson, Parks and Stephens in the previous rounds.
ARTHUR SONS (18). The youngest to appear on this list, although it feels like we’ve been talking about his quality for a long time. That talent materialized, as it could not be otherwise, on the clay court tour and in the home tournament, the ATP 250 in Lyon. After a great start to the season, growing and adding many victories in the Challengers, Fils left its mark forever on the French clay. Many more will come.
KATIE BOULTER (26). A leap in quality from a woman whom we no longer placed on that launching pad, but a title of this magnitude can change so much. Boulter found peace with herself in the most special moment of the year, the British grass tour, where she brought out her best weapons to rule the WTA 250 in Nottingham and debut her record in a dream place. He didn’t lose a set all week, confirming that for an Englishman there is nothing better than a bit of grass.
CHRISTOPHER EUBANKS (27). Americans don’t mind grass either, especially when you have a powerful serve and a backhand with one-handed spin. He served the ATP 250 in Mallorca to confirm the potential that Eubanks had behind that face of a comedy actor, or a television presenter, or a fashion designer. A face that we love and that would later reach the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. Of course, it later took him quite a while to assimilate the success achieved on this tour.
MARIA TIMOFEEVA (19). Surely one of the most surprising cases that can be analyzed this season. For being only 19 years old, for being located outside the top200 and, also, for entering at the last minute as LL in the WTA 250 in Budapest. None of these factors could stop the young Russian, who ended up getting a master’s degree in the third sets. Of course, it was lifting that trophy in August and we never heard anything else from her.
QINWEN ZHENG (20). We are not ones to demand anything from anyone, but it is true that it would have been a great disappointment to end the season without seeing Qinwen Zheng’s name on this list. Someone who at 20 years old is already in the top20 had to find the moment to shine, and so he did. First in the WRA 250 in Palermo, on the European clay. Secondly, at the WTA 500 in Zhengzhou, changing to cement and in front of his audience. There are no secrets with Pere Riba’s pupil, a player who can compete for everything.
ARANXA RUS (32). The oldest to appear on this list and, possibly, the one with the most merit. A tireless member of the circuit, a fighter like few others, someone who when in doubt has always taken refuge in the ITF, seeking the confidence necessary to win in the events above. The goal was finally achieved this summer, at the WTA 250 in Hamburg, although the Dutchwoman had already won four minor trophies in the previous months. The work paid off for Julián Alonso’s pupil.
PEDRO CACHIN (28). And if we said that Rus had a lot of merit, what do we say now about Cachín? Another warrior on the slopes, a journeyman on the circuit who never stopped believing, who always bet everything he had to fulfill his dream. In the end he is fulfilling it and, at the ATP 250 in Gstaad, he was even able to look at the sky and feel like a champion. A story like that of the Argentine could not lack a chapter as important as this one.
ELISABETTA COCCIARETTO (22). More successes for Italian women’s tennis, although they lacked the finishing touch at the BJKC Finals in Seville. Of course, on an individual level there is nothing to object to. She had been knocking on the Cocciaretto door for a long time, but she had to wait until the summer, at the WTA 250 in Lausanne. There she completely emptied herself in the physical field, reaching the third set in four of her five matches. Such was her effort that it would cost her an injury, which is why since July she has only been able to play three games, losing all three. The title in Switzerland no longer takes it from anyone, of course.
ASHLYN KRUEGER (19). A longer Asian tour than usual left us several surprises on the women’s side, starting with the first event that was held, the WTA 250 in Osaka. An unknown profile, far from the big American names, signed the week of her life in mid-September. Not one set delivered the good performance of Krueger, who relied on these triumphs to make himself known, delve deeper into the top 100 and remind everyone of the wardrobe that the United States still has.
XIYU WANG (22). Third and final chapter regarding Chinese tennis, this time with Qinwen Zheng’s direct rival. If the former had taken advantage with her first title, Xiyu Wang could not be left behind, so she bet everything in the week of the WTA 250 in Guangzhou, leaving a memorable performance in the final, losing only two games to Linette. What was the bad news? That she had to stay round after that, since she has not won any more matches.
TAMARA KORPATSCH (28). What a joy the German got at the WTA 250 in Cluj-Napoca, who was going to tell her that her first professional title would come far from the clay. But that’s how fate wanted it, in the cold cement of Romania and, in the middle of a war with her Federation for not taking her into account for the BJKC calls, Tamara took out her thorn by embracing an unforgettable week where she showed that she can be competitive on any surface, the only method that pushes you to consolidate within the top100.
BEN SHELTON (21). He had never played a tournament outside his country. He reached the Australian Open and reached the quarterfinals. He played his first dirt tour and won matches. At the US Open, with the pressure of playing at home, he made the semifinals. We couldn’t ask anything more from good old Shelton, but he insisted on getting an A in the exam, which is why he became champion of the ATP 500 in Tokyo, confirming the reality that is coming in the next decade. A star is born in 2023.
2023-12-07 19:30:55
#Season #Eighteen #champions
