LONDON, December 19, 2019 (ATP Press Release)
Bob and Mike Bryan, Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal have been named among the recipients in the 2019 ATP Awards, along with first-time winners Kevin Anderson, Matteo Berrettini and Jannik Sinner.
Nadal, who was honoured with the 2019 ATP Tour No. 1 trophy during the Nitto ATP Finals, has been voted by fellow players as the winner of the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award for a second straight year and third time overall. Former World No. 1 Andy Murray, who underwent hip surgery in January, has been selected as Comeback Player of the Year after successfully returning to win the Fever-Tree Championships doubles title at The Queen’s Club and the singles title at the European Open in Antwerp.
A pair of Italians, Berrettini and Sinner, take home honours in the two other player-voted categories. Berrettini, 23, claims Most Improved Player of the Year after climbing to a career-high No. 8 (from No. 54 in 2018) and qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals. The 18-year-old Sinner, who went from outside the Top 700 (No. 763 in 2018) to a career-high No. 78 and also took the Next Gen ATP Finals title, wins Newcomer of the Year. Sinner is the youngest player in the year-end Top 80 since 17-year-old Nadal finished No. 47 in 2003.
The ATPTour.com Fans’ Favourite Awards go to Federer and the Bryan Brothers, who respectively win the popular vote for a record-extending 17th straight year and 14th time.
Frenchman Gilles Cervara, who guided Daniil Medvedev to an ATP Tour-best 59 match wins and nine finals in 2019, has been named by his peers as ATP Coach of the Year. Meanwhile, Tony Roche has been selected as the winner of the inaugural Tim Gullikson Career Coach award, which recognises coaches who, throughout their careers, have had a major impact on the sport of tennis, both on and off the court.
Other winners include Colombians Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah, the year-end ATP Tour No. 1 Doubles Team; Anderson, who receives the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award; and The Australian’s Courtney Walsh, the recipient of the Ron Bookman Media Excellence Award.
The best tournaments on the ATP Tour and ATP Challenger Tour have also been revealed, with the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells (Masters 1000), the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC (500) and the Qatar ExxonMobil Open (250) named the Tournaments of the Year in their respective categories. On the ATP Challenger Tour, four tournaments share top honours: the Puerto Vallarta Open, the Sparkassen Open in Braunschweig, the NECKARCUP in Heilbronn, and the Pekao Szczecin Open.
2019 ATP Awards Winners
ATP Tour No. 1
(determined by ATP Rankings)
Rafael Nadal: At 33, Nadal is the oldest player to finish as the year-end No. 1 in the history of the ATP Rankings. The Mallorcan captured four trophies this season, including a historic 12th title at Roland Garros and a fourth at the US Open. He won a ninth Internazionali BNL d’Italia crown in Rome and a record-extending 35th ATP Masters 1000 trophy at the Coupe Rogers in Montreal. Having previously finished at the top in 2008, 2010, 2013 and 2017, Nadal is the first player to hold, lose and regain the year-end No. 1 on four occasions and to finish No. 1 five times in non-consecutive years. The 11-year gap between his first year-end No. 1 season (2008) and his last (2019) is also a record. Nadal joins Jimmy Connors, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic for the second-most top finishes, behind only Pete Sampras (6).
ATP Tour No. 1 Doubles Team
(determined by ATP Rankings)
Juan Sebastian Cabal & Robert Farah: The Colombians, friends for close to 30 years, are the second all-South American team to finish year-end No. 1 (in the history of the ATP Doubles Team Rankings since 1984), following in the footsteps of Chile’s Hans Gildemeister and Andres Gomez of Ecuador in 1986. Cabal, 33, and Farah, 32, won five titles from seven finals in 2019, including their first two Grand Slam titles at Wimbledon and the US Open. They successfully defended their ATP Masters 1000 title at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, and also triumphed at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell and Nature Valley International in Eastbourne.
Comeback Player of the Year
(voted by ATP players)
Andy Murray: The former World No. 1 missed the second half of the 2017 season and been limited to six tournaments in 2018 due to chronic hip problems. After questioning retirement during the Australian Open, Murray underwent hip resurfacing surgery. He returned to tour-level action in June, teaming up with Feliciano Lopez to clinch the doubles title at the Fever-Tree Championships at The Queen’s Club in his first tournament back, and made his singles return in August at the Western & Southern Open. In October, the 32-year-old Brit reached the China Open quarter-finals and capped off his 2019 campaign with triumph at the European Open in Antwerp. It was Murray’s first singles title since 2017 at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. Andrey Rublev, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Stan Wawrinka were also nominated in this category.
Most Improved Player of the Year
(voted by ATP players)
Matteo Berrettini: In Berrettini’s second full year on the ATP Tour, the 23-year-old Italian rose from No. 54 to a career-high No. 8 ATP Ranking, with 43 match wins and a pair of titles. Berrettini started making his move in April, when he reached back-to-back clay-court finals at the Hungarian Open (d. Krajinovic) and BMW Open by FWU (l. to Garin). He rose into the Top 20 with a strong grass-court campaign that included the MercedesCup title in Stuttgart, the Grass Court Open Halle semi-finals and Wimbledon Round of 16. A trio of semi-final runs – his first at a Grand Slam (US Open), first at an ATP Masters 1000 (Rolex Shanghai Masters) and at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna – led him into the Top 10. Berrettini clinched the final qualification spot at the 2019 Nitto ATP Finals. Felix Auger-Aliassime, Danill Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas were also nominated in this category.
Newcomer of the Year
(voted by ATP players)
Jannik Sinner: One year after watching the Next Gen ATP Finals as a spectator, the 18-year-old Italian clinched the title in Milan. He climbed from No. 553 at the start of the season to a year-end No. 78, becoming the youngest player to finish in the Top 80 since 17-year-old Nadal in 2003. Sinner made a winning ATP Tour debut at the Hungarian Open in April. The following month, he saved one match point to win on his Masters 1000 debut at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome (d. Johnson). Sinner became the youngest ATP Tour semi-finalist in five years with his run at the European Open, and afterward broke into the Top 100. He also became the second youngest player to win three ATP Challenger Tour titles in a season, behind Richard Gasquet in 2003. Seven other #NextGenATP stars – Felix Auger-Aliassime, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Miomir Kecmanovic, Corentin Moutet, Alexei Popyrin, Casper Ruud and Mikael Ymer – were also candidates for this Award after breaking into the Top 100 for the first time in 2019.
Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award
(voted by ATP players)
Rafael Nadal: Fellow players have chosen World No. 1 Nadal as the winner of the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award for a second straight year and third time overall, recognising the Spaniard for his fair play, professionalism and integrity on and off the court. The Spaniard also received this honour in 2010. Roger Federer, Diego Schwartzman and Dominic Thiem were also nominated in this category.
Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award
(awarded by ATP)
Kevin Anderson: The South African supports a number of charitable causes, including First Serve, an organisation to help under-served children in Palm Beach County; Dezzy’s Second Chance Animal Rescue in South Florida; and Ocean Conservancy’s Trash Free Seas Alliance. Anderson raised more than $100,000 through Cause for the Paws last December, and recently hosted his third charity event, Courtside Cause. Through a previous partnership with Spark Ventures, Anderson also helped to empower children living in extreme poverty in Zambia.
ATPTour.com Fans’ Favourite (Singles)
(voted by fans)
Roger Federer: The 38-year-old Swiss has been selected by fans as ATPTour.com Fans’ Favourite for a record 17th straight year, taking his record haul of ATP Awards to 38. This season, Federer became just the second man to win 100 tour-level titles with his triumph at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. He added three more titles at the Miami Open presented by Itau, Grass Court Open Halle and Swiss Indoors Basel, and was also a finalist at the BNP Paribas Open and at Wimbledon.
ATPTour.com Fans’ Favourite (Doubles)
(voted by fans)
Bob Bryan & Mike Bryan: The 41-year-old American twins once again win the popular vote from fans to claim this award together for a 14th time. In 2018, Mike Bryan had won in this category alongside fellow American Jack Sock, whom he partnered while Bob Bryan was sidelined following hip surgery. The Bryans re-joined forces in 2019, capturing titles at the Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com and the Miami Open presented by Itau. They announced in November that they would finish their career at the 2020 US Open.
ATP Coach of the Year
(voted by ATP coaches)
Gilles Cervara: Daniil Medvedev’s coach guided the 23-year-old Russian to an ATP Tour-best 59 match wins, 46 hard-court wins and nine final appearances in 2019, in addition to a career-high No. 4 ATP Ranking. “My team is a big part of my success,” said Medvedev at the Rolex Shanghai Masters before he went on to reach his sixth straight tour-level final and win his second straight Masters 1000 title. The 38-year-old Cervara, a native of Cannes, was selected as the winner from a shortlist that included Nicolas Massu (Dominic Thiem), Carlos Moya (Rafael Nadal), Vincenzo Santopadre (Matteo Berrettini) and Apostolos Tsitsipas (Stefanos Tsitsipas).
Tim Gullikson Career Coach Award
(voted by ATP coaches)
Tony Roche: The 74-year-old Australian, who formerly coached the likes of Roger Federer, Lleyton Hewitt, Patrick Rafter and Ivan Lendl, has been unanimously selected as the winner of this new award. The recipient exemplifies excellence, leadership, respect, and a true love for the sport of tennis and the art of coaching. Named after the late Tim Gullikson, the award showcases someone who has inspired generations of young players and fellow coaches to grow the sport of tennis. It will be presented every two years.
Ron Bookman Media Excellence Award
(awarded by ATP)
Courtney Walsh: A sports writer for The Australian, Walsh specialises in tennis and AFL. He has worked as a tennis coach and is a graduate of the University of Melbourne, where he attained a Full Blue when named an All Australian in tennis. He has also written for the Herald Sun, mX and various tennis magazines.
ATP Masters 1000 Tournament of the Year
(voted by ATP players)
BNP Paribas Open (Indian Wells): The BNP Paribas Open wins in the ATP Masters 1000 category for a record-breaking sixth time. 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. The BNP Paribas Open is the only tournament to feature Hawk-Eye on all match courts for both main draw and qualifying matches.
ATP 500 Tournament of the Year
(voted by ATP players)
Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC (Acapulco): The Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC has been selected by players as the ATP 500 Tournament of the Year for a third time. It previously won the award in 2007 and 2017. The event, held at the Acapulco Princess Mundo Imperial, switched to blue hard courts in 2014 after 20 years on clay. The Acapulco tournament enjoyed record attendance in 2019, welcoming more than 55k fans.
ATP 250 Tournament of the Year
(voted by ATP players)
Qatar ExxonMobil Open (Doha): The Qatar ExxonMobil Open claims the Tournament of the Year award in the 250 category for the third time in five years. Held in the opening week of the ATP Tour season, Doha has set high standards since its inception in 1993 and under the guidance of former player Karim Alami, the tournament continues to build its reputation for its superb facility, world-class hospitality and welcoming fans.
ATP Challenger Tournaments of the Year
(voted by ATP players)
Puerto Vallarta Open (Puerto Vallarta): The Puerto Vallarta Open goes back-to-back after earning this honour in its debut edition in 2018. An oceanside oasis on the west coast of Mexico, the scenic setting has quickly become a favourite among players.
2019 ATP Challenger Tournaments of the Year…
Puerto Vallarta
Braunschweig
Heilbronn
Szczecin#ATPAwards pic.twitter.com/P2W7lOIkfz— ATP Tour (@atptour) December 19, 2019
Sparkassen Open (Braunschweig): The Sparkassen Open earns its fifth award in six years. Located in a public park in central Germany, tens of thousands of fans come for the tennis and stay for the tournament’s nightly concerts.
NECKARCUP (Heilbronn): The NECKARCUP is honoured for a third straight season. Held at one of the oldest clubs on the Challenger circuit, the 127-year-old facility welcomes fans for a week of world-class tennis, entertainment and food.
Pekao Szczecin Open (Szczecin): For 27 years, the Pekao Szczecin Open has established itself as a top destination on the ATP Challenger Tour for both players and fans. After first receiving the award in 2016, the clay-court Polish event has been recognised once again.
