With the influx of all the new faces and young guns like Alexander Zverev, Borna Coric, Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul and Hyeon Chung on the ATP horizon, it’s natural that some old faces suddenly vanish. Let’s take a look at some of the disappearing acts of the ATP…
Marinko Matosevic: Three years ago the eccentric Aussie was at no. 39 in the world. Recently he’s been battling back up the ranks from the 400 range playing Futures. Still just 30 Marinko has plenty of time to pull a Victor Estrella Burgos.
Adrian Ungur: The now 30 year old Romanian who had a full page in the 2014 ATP media guide was no. 79 in the world in 2012 but his name has fallen off the radar.
Janko Tipsarevic: 31 year old was once no. 8 in the world. Has been off the Tour for a long time because of injuries and lost protected ranking.
Pablo Andujar: Spanish grinder is presumably injured.
Bradley Klahn: 25 year old was once in the ATP top 60 two years ago. But he’s vanished.
Tobias Kamke: ATP 2010 Newcomer of the Year and soon to turn 30 years old is MIA at the ATP Tour level. But is fighting his way back towards the Top 100 – he won the Challenger in Kazan and also reached the QF in St Brieuc just last week.
Jesse Huta Galung: 30 year old Dutch player who cracked the top 100 three years ago hasn’t been a factor in an ATP main draw since making the Amersfoort doubles final in 2008 with Sijsling.
Victor Hanescu: The 35 year old Romanian is still grinding – but on the Futures circuit. Ranking was in the 200-33 range. Reached career high of no. 26 in 2009.
Jurgen Melzer: Turns 35 in May but is out with a long term injury. The former no. 8 in the world hasn’t retired just yet.
Somdev Devvarman: Virginia University standout hit no. 62 in the world in 2011. Last seen playing IPTL last December.
Julien Benneteau: French vet seems to be out with an injury. 35 year old is 0-9 in ATP finals.
Igor Sijsling: Was no. 55 in 2013 but a big ranking drop has put him deep out of the top 100. Former Dusseldorf semifinalist and conqueror of Tsonga in Rotterdam is still out there grinding.
Tommy Robredo: Ageless Tommy turns 34 on May 1. The former world no. 5 and winner of 12 titles is presumably out with injury.
Floran Mayer: 33 year old German also presumably beset by injury.
Yen Hsun Lu: Former top 50 stalwart and world no. 33 (in 2010) hasn’t played a main draw match all year. Not sure what has happened to Lu.
-Compiled by Scoop Malinowski
Dan Markowitz · April 7, 2016 at 8:19 am
How about that Agassi cat? I remember seeing him in the finals of the US Open ten years ago and then poof, he was gone. What happened to him?
And what happened to Ryan Sweeting’s comeback?
Moskova Moskova · April 7, 2016 at 8:33 am
haas ?
Rob · April 7, 2016 at 9:15 am
How about Tim Henman? Look he was number 4 and won I get he doesn t belong on this list but I really feel like he should have won a slam. I know you lot are hot on Rios but Henman was the complete package, plus he made it to a semi at RG.
Scoop Malinowski · April 7, 2016 at 9:34 am
Haas was injured and ranking dropped – he could be done – he was at Indian Wells in Ellison’s box a few days –
Scoop Malinowski · April 7, 2016 at 9:34 am
Who is Agassi?
Scoop Malinowski · April 7, 2016 at 9:36 am
Henman is off the radar now – think he plays seniors – Greg Rusedski is a TV analyst for Sky of BBC –
catherine bell · April 7, 2016 at 10:13 am
PS Tim Henman – In Britain he’s all over the place, in media etc. and especially around W’don time. He simply retired when he knew he’d peaked – players do. Still plays recreationally.
BTW I was trying to think of women examples and I couldn’t, off hand, unless we go back a long way. There’s some who just stopped playing, Andrea Jaeger eg but we know where they went.
Andrew Miller · April 7, 2016 at 11:26 am
Sweeting, winner both of the US Open junior tournament (2005) and HOUSTON’s clay court championship, where he beat…Nishikori for his first and only title in 2011 at age 23.
Sweeting soon thereafter opted for the high life. He met Kelly Cuoco through friends and then that pretty much bit the dust. He was reluctant to go back to playing much tennis and when he finally did he retired soon thereafter. Now he’s suing Cuoco for the big bucks.
Sweeting was once seen as part of a promising crop of players that included Alex Kusnetsov, a French Open junior finalist a year or so earlier than Sweeting’s breakout US Open junior win. I remember both players were on the sidelines watching DY play against Davydenko and then being interviewed on TV whether they were there to support DY.
They said, basically, no – we’re here to watch Davydenko! I was pretty shocked because here you have two guys who are on the same team basically as DY actively pulling for Davydenko.
After the match, Davydenko in his press match says to the effect that DY had the best game of any U.S. player he’d seen in a while – best forehand, best backhand, best technically of anyone. Coming from a Russian it meant something, given they stress the fundamentals.
I just thought it was messed up though. Neither of them ever got the results of DY, though Kusnetsov in recent years has had a couple of good qualifying results.
The same can’t be said for Sweeting. It’s easy enough to write the guy off, but maybe he’ll man up and try to play the sport again. I’m guessing he’s cut his losses.
loreley · April 7, 2016 at 1:20 pm
Melzer got shoulder surgery end of 2015.
https://twitter.com/jojomelzer/status/670565082095579136?lang=de
Scoop Malinowski · April 7, 2016 at 1:24 pm
Sweeting was a big time prospect but his pro career fizzled. I think he had a drunk driving charge early on. He had some good results but something was missing. I did a Biofile with him once at the Forest Hills Challenger about ten years ago. He tried a comeback last year but it produced sub mediocre results. Guess Sweeting can be chalked up as a major talent with a bright future who, like many other top juniors, didn’t make the successful transition to pro ball. Probably needs a coach like Spadea to crack the whip. He’s still got to be under age 30. Plenty of time to pull off a Victor Estrella Burgos. 🙂
Andrew Miller · April 7, 2016 at 1:35 pm
Scoop, I was going to say something similar to what you said – some of the players have all the talent and don’t pay for the coaching they need. Sweeting got himself a respectable ranking of #64 in 2011, not bad.
For whatever reason players similar to Sweeting, who get career highs, then fall to the depths.
It’s worth celebrating players who keep at it state-side. There are a bunch who never throw in the towel and claim good results every year. No need to lament what might have been, they are getting everything out of the last drop of talent they have, get the proper coaching, do service to the profession.
Might be too easy to pile on Sweeting. But it’s hard to feel any sympathy here, or even appreciate his choices. I can’t say he was a favorite of the U.S. tennis establishment, but I can’t say either that he did much to endear himself there.
He’s a guy who did better than many of the touted U.S. juniors before throwing in the towel. It’s too much to ask that he throw his hat back in the ring, and it’s clear he doesn’t want back in on the tour.
Scoop Malinowski · April 7, 2016 at 1:45 pm
Sweeting wasn’t American, he was actually from Bahamas, Andrew. The most memorable match I have of Sweeting was when he played Brian Baker four years ago at the Sarasota Open on Longboat Key. It was Baker’s very very beginning of his comeback after six years of being out with injuries. I saw the warmup on the outer court. Sweeting was projecting this casual attitude like it was going to be a piece of cake win. Looked like he phoned in the result already. But then a funny thing happened. Baker was on FIRE. Baker wasn’t missing anything and suddenly Sweeting could barely win points. Boom. Just like that 6-1 for Baker. Second set starts and it’s the same thing. Baker on fire. Sweeting totally underestimated Baker and did not expect a battle. Sweeting quit the match very early in the second set. I asked an older woman watching why he quit and she couldn’t tell either. I think he played the I’m feeling ill card. But one thing was obvious: Baker was back and if he keeps playing like that he will have a very interesting comeback. He qualified won a main draw match or two. Think it was Querrey who finally beat him. That’s my lasting memory of Sweeting.
catherine bell · April 7, 2016 at 2:06 pm
Basically there are a lot of promising players at a certain age who never make it to the higher ranks – probability says that. Whether it’s sheer innate skill, psychological make-up – these are inponderables.
It’s true of all fields of endeavour – but good stories though, and maybe tell us more about essentials of the game than examining the 0.1% who emerge as champions.
Andrew Miller · April 7, 2016 at 2:17 pm
Sweeting U.S. citizen in 2008. He was a practice partner for the U.S. team but – amazingly – he played Davis Cup for the Bahamas.
Funny though Scoop – guys like Tim Neilly was also a top U.S. junior, but ended up playing for the Bahamas (originally from the Bahamas like Sweeting). Both of them moves to the U.S. for their tennis, but Neilly went back and committed full-time to Bahamas’ squad.
Maybe Bahamas doesn’t support tennis much – but the Bahamas’ “U.S. tennis squad” of Sweeting and Neilly would probably have been better to follow Mark Knowles and Roger Smith. Those guys were good.
From some news clips it seems like there may be a few solid Bahamas players coming up the ranks.
Dan Markowitz · April 7, 2016 at 7:06 pm
Well, for the women there’s the 19-year-old Aussie, Ashleigh Barty, who was projected to be a coming star, she reached the 2013 Aussie O doubles. But now she’s playing pro cricket.
It also seems like Melanie Oudin quit a long time ago and then Alexandra Stevenson and Dokic, who both played in that big Wimby semis about 20 years ago, they both took time off the tour.
Scoop Malinowski · April 7, 2016 at 8:11 pm
Not sure if the Bahamas tennis federation has the funds to back their top juniors or if they even have interest – Pretty sure Sweeting trained in FL as a kid – Roger smith was a solid top 100 pro from I believe Bahamas – Knowles trained at Bollettieri as a kid but always played for Bahamas –
Scoop Malinowski · April 7, 2016 at 8:20 pm
Im working on a vanished WTA players feature too – Barty actually returned to pro tennis earlier this year and won a title somewhere in Australia – Oudin just played qualies of a 25k ITF as did Stevenson and Schnyder – Larcher De Brito (age 23) is 0-5 on the year and her ranking is dropping to the 230 range – Townsend just won a doubles but her singles ranking is still around 400 – Lauren Albanese is still grinding too –
Michael in UK · April 8, 2016 at 10:36 am
I immediately thought of Robin Soderling, who has not played since 2011. Wikepedia says he announced his retirement only in December 2015. Also says he is tournament director for Stockholm Open and has marketed a brand of tennis balls in his name.
catherine bell · April 8, 2016 at 12:51 pm
I think the idea for this article is good, but it would apply best to players who made a bit of a mark and then really did just ‘disappear’.
Of course the problem with a true ‘disappearance’ is that it might be a bit difficult to track these people down.
I’m in UK and follow cricket quite a bit and this subject turns up now and again – some stories uncovered are a bit sad. I imagine in same in US sports.
Dan Markowitz · April 8, 2016 at 10:10 pm
Soderling was at the Delray tournament promoting/selling his new tennis ball. Looks like he’s done which is a shame because he slammed the ball and had an edge to him.
Reece · April 9, 2016 at 12:33 am
It’s natural, players have to disappear for other players to come to prominence that’s how it works. And pro tennis players are judged awfully harshly, top 100 or you are nothing and make nothing. There seem to be thousands of soccer & golf “stars” that are not even close to top hundred players in the world!
Scoop Malinowski · April 9, 2016 at 8:19 am
True Reece – and it is interesting to think about and remember the missing players who drift away to obscurity and off the radar –