From Roger Federer to Mukhtar Andu - The oldest and youngest ATP players
The latest ATP ranking list that was released on Monday contains 2042 players for the very last time, with big changes coming in seven days time when the lower-ranked players will drop the points from the Futures events in order for a more composed ranking list to be created. Before those huge shifts, it is interesting to take one last look at the oldest and youngest players on the list, with 30 veterans and the upcoming stars who have managed to leave their mark in the season behind us. The players born in the 70s are slowly but surely disappearing from the list and there are only three of them left in the ranking, led by everlasting Ivo Karlovic who will finish the year in the top-100 at the age of 39 when Ugo Humbert loses his points won on Futures next Monday.
Before we get to Ivo, we have to mention the Spaniard Roberto Menendez, by far the oldest player who has managed to win a pro match in 2018, overpowering Diego Matos in Spain F26 Futures in Oviedo back in September to stay in the ranking 22 years after he entered it for the first time. The Korean Oh-Hee Kwon is the second and the last 40-year-old player on the list, winning five Futures matches at home in Korea to continue his professional tennis journey. Ivo Karlovic is the third player born in the 70s who still has the ranking and he is by far the best player in the world in the group that already turned 38, winning 11 ATP matches in 2018 and becoming the oldest Challenger champion in Calgary.
As we already said, Karlovic will crack the top-100 again next week as the third-oldest year-end top-100 player since 1973 after Ken Rosewall and Jimmy Connors! There are eight players older than 37 on the ATP list and three of them are ranked inside the top-1000, with Stephane Robert and Victor Estrella Burgos joining Karlovic following another great season considering their age. Additional seven players are born in 1981 and they complete the list with 15 oldest competitors in the professional tennis, led by world no. 3 Roger Federer who had another incredible season that brought him the 20th Grand Slam crown and the status of the oldest world no. 1 in the history of the ATP ranking!
Feliciano Lopez is still ranked in the top-100 and it should be interesting to check the same list in 12 months time and find the oldest players who have managed to win the points on the ATP Tour, Challenger Tour and the latter stages of the M25 ITF events that will replace Futures in 2019.
The oldest players on the ATP ranking list:
#1656T Roberto Menendez (ESP, 1976) - 42y 5m #1216 Oh-Hee Kwon (KOR, 1978) - 40y 6m #101 Ivo Karlovic (CRO, 1979) - 39y 9m #1843T Aqeel Khan (PAK, 1980) - 38y 10m #204 Stephane Robert (FRA, 1980) - 38y 7m #1396T Teodor-Dacian Craciun (ROU, 1980) - 38y 6m #319 Victor Estrella Burgos (DOM, 1980) - 38y 4m #1656T Christian Florentin Voinea (ROU, 1980) - 38y 1m #557 Jaroslav Pospisil (CZE, 1981) - 37y 10m #328 Jurgen Melzer (AUT, 1981) - 37y 7m #3 Roger Federer (SUI, 1981) - 37y 4m #1656T Carlos Palencia (MEX, 1981) - 37y 4m #64 Feliciano Lopez (ESP, 1981) - 37y 3m #110 Paolo Lorenzi (ITA, 1981) - 37y #1058 Jiri Vencl (CZE, 1981) - 37y
On the completely opposite part of the ranking list, we can find 15 players who are yet to turn 17, representing the future of our sport and possibly achieving what Alexander Zverev, Borna Coric, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Karen Khachanov and Daniil Medvedev did in the last couple of seasons on the Tour. Of course, they are yet to make an impression and start their full pro circle and the higher ranking positions chase but it should be interesting to follow their progress in the following years. The Briton Mukhtar Andu is the only 14-year-old player on the ATP ranking list, earning one win at Nigeria F5 Futures in Lagos to top the standings.
The Italian Luca Nardi reached the quarter-final on his pro debut at Italy F15 Futures, coming from a set down in both matches to secure two points and the place on the list before he embraces new challenges in 2019 when he will turn 16. Carlos Alcaraz Garfia did the same at Spain F5 Futures back in February when he was still 14, grabbing two wins to deliver the first points for those born in 2003. Another Briton Derrick Chen is the fourth and last player on the list who is yet to turn 16, securing one win at Panama F4 Futures to make a successful pro journey.
Behind them, we can trace 11 16-year-old boys and we will have to wait for a year or two to see the more serious results from them. On the other hand, there are some 90 players born in 2001 and they are led by Jack Draper and Chun Hsin Tseng who have already won three Futures crowns each to find themselves in the top-500.
The youngest players on the ATP ranking list:
#1743T Mukhtar Andu (GBR, 2004) - 14y 4m #1490T Luca Nardi (ITA, 2003) - 15y 4m #1490T Carlos Alcaraz Garfia (ESP, 2003) - 15y 7m #1656T Derrick Chen (GBR, 2003) - 15y 10m #1843T Zachary Svajda (USA, 2002) - 16y #1902T Nicholas David Ionel (ROU, 2002) - 16y 2m #1656T Dalibor Svrcina (CZE, 2002) - 16y 2m #1656T David Cao Pardal (ESP, 2002) - 16y 5m #1743T Alexander Gaponenko (ISR, 2002) - 16y 6m #1500T Fausto Tabacco (ITA, 2002) - 16y 7m #1381T Pedro Araujo (POR, 2002) - 16y 8m #1370T Raul Garcia (BOL, 2002) - 16y 9m #1656T Gustavo Heide (BRA, 2002) - 16y 9m #1743T Max Wiskandt (GER, 2002) - 16y 10m #1500T Terence Das (IND, 2002) - 16y 10m
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2AnhOOB
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