ATP Awards 2024: Nominees. Alcaraz will be eligible for the Sportsmanship Award

Carlos Navarro | 25 Nov 2024 | 18.39

Carlos Alcaraz. Source: Getty

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The ATP season finale has come to an end, and as usual, it's time to reflect, recap, and why not, reward those who have left a greater mark. This is something the ATP does with its customary ATP Awards, a way to recognize skills and progress throughout a whole year and allow the season to end on a high note for several players. Carlos Alcaraz appears in a category, the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award, but the list goes much further and includes names of all kinds.

We kick off with a category that always leaves a great taste in the mouth, the "Comeback of the Year", an award that honors those players who returned to form after a serious injury. Three nominees with honors: all made it to a Grand Slam final... and also, of course, endured a nightmare of injuries that now seems to be behind them. Kei Nishikori and his incredible resilience to keep competing and even stepping down to the Challenger level, Matteo Berrettini with his remarkable year in terms of titles (three ATP crowns and the Davis Cup), and the impressive story of Marin Cilic who reached metal again in his first ATP tournament after a year and a half of absence: all of them certainly have a strong candidacy for the crown.

TURN FOR THE HIGHLY PREPARED YOUNGSTERS

From there, we move on to a category well-known to the public, where we usually see young players who have made a big impact on the circuit. It is the "Most Improved Player" category, with a theoretically quite open field. Jack Draper is the nominee with the best performance in a Grand Slam (reached the semifinals at the US Open), but Alejandro Tabilo and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard have conquered ATP titles on different surfaces, and Tomas Machac has achieved highly commendable victories against the top players in the world (Alcaraz in Shanghai, Djokovic in Geneva).

There is also a lot of young presence in the "Rookie of the Year" category. The list of nominees is a bit shorter than in previous seasons, but the two names that emerge promise a very intense battle: Jakub Mensik, already among the top 50 in the world, and Juncheng Shang, who won his first ATP title in Chengdu. Equally competitive seems to be the fight for the "Coach of the Year" award, whose nominees have been chosen by the coaches themselves: perhaps Michael Russell, at the forefront of Taylor Fritz's tremendous improvement and progression, stands as a slight favorite.

ALCARAZ COULD CLAIM THE SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD

And yes, Spanish representation in these awards is guaranteed by Carlos Alcaraz, who stands a chance to win the "Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award." Always courteous on the court and with the little ones, Carlos shares the nomination, however, with other players of impeccable behavior: Grigor Dimitrov, Casper Ruud, and Dominic Thiem. As always, we leave you below the complete lists of nominees, remembering that the nominations have been selected by the players and coaches themselves:

COMEBACK OF THE YEAR