The 10 biggest ATP Rankings rises in 2023: American star makes stunning 500-place surge

Shahida Jacobs 04 Dec 2023 4:00 PM

Alex Michelsen celebrates during his tennis match

The 2023 award for the biggest jump into the ATP Rankings top 100 has gone to Alex Michelsen on the back of his stunning rise this year.

The 19-year-old Michelsen found himself at No 601 in the rankings at the beginning of the 2023 ATP Tour season, but the young American surged an incredible 504 places to finish the year at No 97.

It is similar to Ben Shelton’s impressive rise last year as the youngster started the 2022 season at No 568 and surged 474 places to No 97.

But without further ado, here are the top 10 biggest movers into the top 100 of the 2023 ATP Rankings.

10. Alexander Shevchenko – 107 places

The 23-year-old Alexander Shevchenko was at No 155 at the beginning of the 2023 season, but a run to the final of the Moselle Open and two ATP Challenger Tour titles saw him surge just over 100 places.

Shevchenko, who beat the likes of Taylor Fritz and Stan Wawrinka this year, is at No 48 in the latest ATP Rankings.

9. Fabian Marozsan – 108 places

Fabian Marozsan hit the headlines in May when he upset world No 2 Carlos Alcaraz en route to the fourth round of the Italian Open while he also reached the quarter-final of the Shanghai Masters.

The Hungarian started the year at No 172 and finished at No 64.

8. Dominik Koepfer – 124 places

Dominik Koepfer reached a career-high of No 50 in 2021 but went through a slump last year and dropped out of the top 200.

He was ranked No 201 in January, but two ATP Challenger Tour titles and a first-ever ATP Tour runners-up trophy helped him to move up to No 77.

7. Jan-Lennard Struff – 126 places

Former world No 21 Jan-Lennard Struff’s best days appeared to be behind him as he was at No 151 when the 2023 tennis season got underway, but he bounced back to reach the Monte Carlo Masters quarter-final.

He followed it up with a remarkable run at the Madrid Open as he became the first-ever lucky loser to reach a Masters final. He lost against Carlos Alcaraz in three sets while finishing runner-up at the Stuttgart Open.

The German is back in the top 30 as he sits at No 35.

6. Nicolas Jarry – 134 places

Nicolas Jarry finished the year as the South American No 1 as he is the only player from the continent inside the top 20.

The Chilean was at No 153 at the start of the year, but he won his home title – the Chile Open – and the Geneva Open to finish the campaign at No 19.

5. Sebastian Ofner – 152 places

Austrian Sebastian Ofner reached an incredible six ATP Challenger Tour finals, but he won only one title, the Salzburg Open in July.

Away from the Challenger Tour, he reached the fourth round at Roland Garros as he took out the likes of Sebastian Korda and Fabio Fognini and reached his maiden ATP Tour semi-final at the Astana Open.

4. Max Purcell – 178 places

Max Purcell was outside the top 200 at the start of the year, but he won three ATP Challenger Tour events and also finished runner-up in another three tournaments.

At ATP Tour level he was a quarter-finalist at the Cincinnati Masters, defeating fifth seed Casper Ruud along the way for his maiden top-10 win.

The Australian finished the year at No 45.

3. Arthur Fils – 213 places

Next Gen ATP Finals runner-up Arthur Fils is third for the biggest jump into the top 100, although he got the award for biggest jump into the top 50.

Fils started the year at No 249 and won the Lyon Open in May before finishing runner-up at the European Open in October.

The 19-year-old, who finished at No 36, picked up wins over Casper Ruud, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Stan Wawrinka this year.

2. Thiago Seyboth Wild – 313 places

Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild – who stunned Daniil Medvedev in the second round at Roland Garros – was at No 317 at the start of the year, but currently sits at No 79.

The 23-year-old also won four ATP Challenger Tour trophies.

1. Alex Michelsen – 504 places

American Alex Michelsen’s biggest success story on the ATP Tour came at the Hall of Fame Open in July when he reached his maiden top-level final, finishing runner-up to Adrian Mannarino, which earned him 150 points, while he also reached the second round of the US Open.

He lifted three trophies on the ATP Challenger Tour as he won titles in Chicago, Knoxville and Champaign.

Michelsen’s brilliant season helped him to qualify for the Next Gen ATP Finals, but he lost all three of his round-robin matches.