Czech tennis on the decline! For the sixth time in a row, the Tournament of Champions will be without a Czech representative

The Tournament of Champions always features the top eight players from the previous calendar year. Now it is certain that none of the Czech tennis players will participate in this event this year. Who, on the other hand, will not miss out?

The last Czech tennis player to play singles at the Tournament of Champions is the now thirty-seven-year-old Tomas Berdych. He was a regular among the elite between 2010 and 2015.

During his second appearance, he even made it to the semi-finals, where he lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga after 3:6 and 5:7 sets.

If we look even further back in time, we would find that Radek Stepanek also made it to the Tournament of Champions in 2008. He was nominated as the first alternate and got into the game due to Andy Roddick’s health complications.

The two-time Davis Cup winner played against Roger Federer and Gilles Simon in the Red Group. He may not have managed to win a single set, but it was certainly one of the biggest career achievements for him.

Since 2015, however, not a single tennis player from the Czech Republic has been able to make it to the final tournament. At the moment, he is far from it, as Jiri Lehecka is the best in the 2022 ATP rankings, ranked 69th. However, he will most likely play the ATP Next Gen Finals, which is a great promise for the future.

Jiri Vesely is ranked 98th (mainly thanks to the final in Dubai) with 524 points, Tomas Machac is ranked 112th with 460 points. Thirty positions lower with 368 points is Vít Kopřiva.

Carlos Alcaraz, Rafael Nadal, Casper Ruud, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Novak Djokovic have already secured their participation in one of the most prestigious ATP events. Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev are also very close. Taylor Fritz, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Hubert Hurkacz will fight for the remaining one spot.

Source: ATP