Tennis

ATP Rankings Updates January 16th 2023 – Kwon and Gasquet Shine

For the rankings run between January 9th and January 16th, there were two tournaments that impacted the rankings. These two tournaments were both 250-graded events. One of them was the second Adelaide International event, which served as one of the main warm-ups for the 2023 Australian Open. The other was the 250 event held in New Zealand, known as the ASB Classic. 

ATP rankings update Jan 16th 2023

Of course, since this was the direct week prior to the beginning of the Australian Open, some of the bigger names in men’s tennis were missing. Yet some of the top guys still played in order to sharpen their skills before the first slam of the year began. Because of this, we’ve witnessed a fair bit of movement for certain players this week. And below, I’ll be sharing all of the juicy details about who’s up and who’s down.

So let’s get started, shall we?

Week Commencing January 16th – ATP Rankings Updates

As always, I’ll be keeping the focus on the ATP top 100 to ensure I cover the interests of most readers. With that said, of course, there is always movement outside of the top 100 to report each week. Yet if you’d like to check that out, I’d recommend taking a look at the main ATP site. However, if you are eager to see who’s climbed the ladder and who’s been sinking within the top 100, I’ve got all you need to know right here.

The Week’s Biggest Climbers

Generally speaking, the guys that climb the most spots in the rankings on a week-to-week basis are the guys that win the tournaments. The exception to this rule is if they are the defending champions. If this is the case, they can only keep the total points that they have by successfully defending the title. Should they fall short of this, they will lose points since the ATP rankings are done on a 52-week rolling basis.

Anyway, since this is the case, it might be no surprise to learn that the mover of the week is Soonwoo Kwon. This man won the ATP 250 event in Adelaide, and amazingly, he got into the main draw as a lucky loser. Now I can’t remember the last time a player won a tournament who had actually lost in the qualifiers! Yet that’s precisely what Kwon did last week, which is pretty staggering really. He picked up an additional 236 points thanks to this performance and his ranking has been pumped from 84 to 52.

Besides Kwon, the other guy who has enjoyed a big rise over the last 7 days is the veteran, Richard Gasquet. The Frenchman pulled through round after round as an unseeded player and ultimately won the tournament. Again, this was very impressive and he produced some glorious tennis in the later rounds. This title means that Gasquet’s ranking has shot up by 25 spots in just one week. And now, he is ranked 42 compared to 67 in the previous ATP rankings update.

The Week’s Biggest Fallers

Unfortunately, the last seven days haven’t been quite as successful for a few other guys in the ATP top 100. In fact, taking a look at those in the red this week, it’s Aslan Karatsev who takes the unwanted crown of the biggest faller. The Russian who made a name for himself in Australia just a few years back has fallen by 30 spots to a new ranking of 82. He has suffered such a drop as he lost 240 points by not competing last week, which was a complete contrast to what he did this time last year.

But he’s not alone in suffering a bit of a slide down the ladder. Following on from the Russian we have Andy Murray who has gone from 49 in the rankings down to 66. This is obviously far from ideal for the experienced Scotsman, and it must hurt all the more given that he just broke back into the ATP top 50 last week. Then again, that’s all part of the highs and lows that players experience on the ATP Tour.

Much like Karatsev, Murray’s ranking hasn’t dropped due to an early exit in any tournament over the last 7 days. Instead, his ranking has dropped since he didn’t actually compete. This resulted in the loss of 150 rankings points, which is obviously quite substantial in the grand scheme of things. And at 35 years of age, it can’t always be easy to get up and go out there each week to keep trying to pick up these vital points.

Top Rankings Stories

If you look at who has achieved what over the last seven days, the top story just has to be Soonwoo Kwon winning the Adelaide International as a lucky loser. You could not have written a bigger fairytale for this talented man from South Korea. Of course, it’s also rather rare that you get to lose in a tournament and still get another chance at glory. In fact, the only way this can be done is if you lose in qualifiers and receive the lucky loser card. 

Then again, if you do receive this card you’ve got to do something with it. And by ‘something with it’, I mean you’ve got to play some great tennis to hopefully win a few rounds and make the lucky loser position count. As for Soonwoo Kwon, winning a few rounds was clearly never on his mind. Rather than settling for a couple of decent wins, he decided that he’d go on to win the entire thing. 

During this incredible run of matches, Kwon even managed to beat two guys that he had lost to in the previous week. So once again, he displayed that he has the critical ability of resilience to overturn these results and bag the wins. And really, such a sensational tournament deserves the recognition that I hope I have given him in this ATP rankings update.


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