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Ruud family receives three nods; Alcaraz, Murray, Nadal among nominees
Nominees have been announced in the 2021 ATP Awards for all player-voted categories — Comeback Player of the Year, Most Improved Player of the Year, Newcomer of the Year, Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award — and for Coach of the Year.

Casper Ruud and his coach, father Christian Ruud, have picked up a total of three nominations following a season in which the Norwegian won five tour-level titles and broke into the Top 10 of the FedEx ATP Rankings. Casper, 22, is up for Most Improved Player of the Year and the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award, while Christian is one of five nominees for Coach of the Year.

Carlos Alcaraz, Aslan Karatsev and Cameron Norrie round out the Most Improved Player of the Year candidates, while Felix Auger-Aliassime, Rafael Nadal and Frances Tiafoe have been shortlisted alongside Ruud for Sportsmanship. Nadal has been voted by his peers as winner of the award for three straight years.

ATP Awards winners, including Fans' Favourite, will be revealed later this month. Fans can vote for their favourite singles player and doubles team through Tuesday, 7 December.

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View the complete list of 2021 ATP Awards nominees:

Voted By Players

Comeback Player of the Year: The player who has overcome serious injury in re-establishing himself as one of the top players on the ATP Tour.

Thanasi Kokkinakis
Mackenzie McDonald
Andy Murray
Jack Sock

Most Improved Player of the Year: The player who reached a significantly higher FedEx ATP Ranking by year’s end and who demonstrated an increasingly improved level of performance through the year.

Carlos Alcaraz
Aslan Karatsev
Cameron Norrie
Casper Ruud

Newcomer of the Year: The #NextGenATP player who broke into the Top 100 for the first time in 2021* and made the biggest impact on the ATP Tour this season.

Sebastian Baez
Jenson Brooksby
Juan Manuel Cerundolo
Hugo Gaston
Brandon Nakashima

Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award: The player who, throughout the year, conducted himself at the highest level of professionalism and integrity, who competed with his fellow players with the utmost spirit of fairness and who promoted the game through his off-court activities.

Felix Auger-Aliassime
Rafael Nadal
Casper Ruud
Frances Tiafoe

Voted By Coaches

Coach of the Year: Nominated and voted on by fellow ATP coach members, this award goes to the ATP coach who helped guide his players to a higher level of performance during the year.

Craig Boynton (Hubert Hurkacz)
Gilles Cervara (Daniil Medvedev)
Juan Carlos Ferrero (Carlos Alcaraz)
Facundo Lugones (Cameron Norrie)
Christian Ruud (Casper Ruud)

Nominees for Comeback Player of the Year, Most Improved Player of the Year and the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award are determined by an ITWA vote. Coach of the Year nominees are selected through first-round voting by ATP coaches.

* Previous Newcomer of the Year nominees are not eligible

Nominees reached a significantly higher FedEx ATP Ranking by year’s end
Most Improved Player of the Year in the 2021 ATP Awards goes to the player who reached a significantly higher FedEx ATP Ranking by year’s end, and who demonstrated an increasingly improved level of performance through the season. This year’s nominees are Carlos Alcaraz, Aslan Karatsev, Cameron Norrie and Casper Ruud.

Player 2020 Year-End 2021 Year-End Career-High (Date)
Carlos Alcaraz No. 141 No. 32 (+109) No. 32 (Nov.
Aslan Karatsev No. 112 No. 18 (+94) No. 15 (Nov.
Cameron Norrie No. 71 No. 12 (+59) No. 12 (Nov.
Casper Ruud No. 27 No. 8 (+19) No. 8 (Oct. 25)
Carlos Alcaraz
Carlos Alcaraz made headlines in 2021 as he enjoyed a standout season. The Spaniard began the year at No. 141 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, but soared to a current career-high No. 32 under the guidance of coach Juan Carlos Ferrero.

In a historic year, the 18-year-old became the youngest man to reach the third round at Roland Garros since 17-year-old Andrei Medvedev in 1992, before earning his first tour-level title in Umag, defeating Richard Gasquet in the final.

Fuelled with confidence, Alcaraz upset then-World No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas en route to the quarter-finals at the US Open and defeated Top 10 stars Matteo Berrettini and Jannik Sinner respectively in Vienna and Paris. He rounded out his season in style by lifting the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals trophy.

“It has been a really good season for me,” Alcaraz said following his title run in Milan. “I am really happy about the moments I have experienced — beating Stefanos [Tsitsipas] at the US Open, reaching the quarter-finals at a Grand Slam and winning my first ATP [Tour title].”


Aslan Karatsev
Aslan Karatsev’s season began against Brandon Nakashima in the first round of qualifying at the Australian Open when the Russian was No. 114 in the FedEx ATP Rankings. Fast forward one month and he had reached the semi-finals at the first major of the season, defeating Diego Schwartzman, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Grigor Dimitrov before losing to Novak Djokovic.

It was a run that gave Karatsev a renewed sense of belief and confidence, which he showcased in Dubai, where he soared to his first tour-level title, defeating Lloyd Harris in the championship match.

In a breakthrough season, the 28-year-old also triumphed on home soil in Moscow, reached the final in Belgrade and scored Top 2 wins against Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev, finishing the year in the Top 20 of the FedEx ATP Rankings.

“It’s not just happening right now, there is [a lot of] work that was done before [to get here],” Karatsev said in April. “I had some injuries before and some troubles, and now we’re doing a good job with my coach. It’s been two and a half years and it’s just paying off in 2021... It’s coming from the hard work every day, and it’s a long process. You have to be there every day and work hard.”


Cameron Norrie
When Cameron Norrie was asked in January who he thought was going to have a breakthrough season, the 26-year-old bravely backed himself. It is a statement that Norrie backed up in style, rising from No. 71 in the FedEx ATP Rankings at the start of the year to a current career-high No. 12.

The Briton won his first tour-level title at the Mifel Open in Los Cabos and claimed his maiden ATP Masters 1000 trophy at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.

The 26-year-old, who earned Top 10 wins against Dominic Thiem and Andrey Rublev, also reached tour-level finals in Estoril, Lyon, at the Queen’s Club, and San Diego. Norrie finished the season by making his debut at the Nitto ATP Finals as the second alternate in Turin.

On competing at the season finale and reflecting on his year overall, Norrie said: “It was one of the biggest matches for my career, so I just tried to learn from Indian Wells and take from that the experience, the emotions, playing big matches and playing well under the pressure there. It has been a lot of fun playing at this level and playing at this level all year.”


Casper Ruud
Casper Ruud continuously broke new barriers throughout his remarkable 2021 campaign as he rose into the game’s upper echelons by translating his clay-court success onto hard.

He enjoyed semi-final runs at back-to-back ATP Masters 1000 events in Monte Carlo and Madrid, before he captured his first tour-level trophy of the season in Geneva. However, this was just the start for Ruud, who triumphed in Bastad, Gstaad and Kitzbühel to become the first player since Andy Murray in October 2011 to win three titles in three consecutive weeks.

With the foundations laid for Nitto ATP Finals qualification, Ruud then won his first hard-court title in San Diego. The 22-year-old, who also became the first Norwegian to crack the Top 10 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, delivered at the season finale, advancing to the semi-finals at the Pala Alpitour.

“I think the biggest change for me is my self-confidence and belief that I can play at this level is much higher,” Ruud said in Turin. “I am a guy that hasn’t played as much on the biggest stage. I’ve had a taste of it, but I’ve worked my way up slowly and steady. I hope players respect me a little more now than a year or two ago.”

Norway plays Chile, Serbia and Spain in Group A
Casper Ruud believes Norway is in a good position to have a strong run at the 16-team ATP Cup as he looks to guide Norway out of Group A in Sydney.

Ruud enjoyed a standout 2021 season, winning five tour-level titles and becoming the first Norwegian to crack the Top 10 in the FedEx ATP Rankings. The 23-year-old is the highest-ranked player in Group A and is relishing the opportunity to return to match action.

“I have three good matches to start the year, so I'm just happy to get to play some matches again,” Ruud said in Norway’s pre-tournament press conference. “Hopefully I can bring some wins for the team. I'm not going to think too much about the pressure, but I'm coming here a better player than two years ago, so I will maybe feel some pressure.”

In the inaugural edition of ATP Cup in 2020, Norway played Italy, the United States and Russia. Despite finishing third in the group, Ruud earned two wins. The World No. 8 Ruud and No. 2 singles player Viktor Durasovic both believe they will benefit from their prior experience at this year’s event.

“We were underdogs in every match we played,” Ruud said. I was able to get two good wins in Perth, which was kind of the beginning of a good year for me.”

“[It was] definitely a lot of fun, even though it was hard to enjoy to the max, because of obviously experiencing something new,” Durasovic added. “But I had few experiences like that [at the time], so I'm hoping that those experiences can prepare me a little better this time for the challenges ahead.”



Norway begins its 2022 ATP Cup quest on Saturday against Serbia, before also facing Chile and Spain. Christian Ruud, Norway’s captain, is preparing his squad of son Casper, Durasovic, Lukas Hellum-Lilleengen, Leyton Rivera and Andreja Petrovic for a hard week.

“I think we look very much forward to coming here again and playing for the second time,” captain Ruud said. “Of course we play a strong team in the first round, but I think all the players on the Norwegian team have developed. I think we are coming here with also positive energy and I believe we can win more matches this year also.”

Before arriving in Australia, Ruud’s team was training in colder conditions in Norway, but the former World No. 39 does not feel this has hampered their preparations.

“We have been practicing indoors [in Norway] and it's cold,” Ruud said “I think only Leyton was playing some tournaments in Doha, so all others are coming from Norway with the winter. So it's a little bit difficult, but we have done it a couple of times now before, so the players are good at adapting to the heat and outdoors. It shouldn't be a problem for us.”

Ruud inspired by father, but has no memories of his playing career
Casper Ruud will make his second ATP Cup appearance this week as he leads Norway at the 16-team event in Sydney.

The 23-year-old, who earned wins against John Isner and Fabio Fognini on his tournament debut in 2020, arrives in Australia following a standout 2021 season, in which he won five tour-level titles.

Ahead of his opening Group A match against Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic, Ruud spoke to ATPTour.com about team dynamics, his earliest tennis memories and more.

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If you could take one shot from any member of your team and add it to your game what would it be?
I think our number two player Viktor [Durasovic] has a very good return of serve, so when we practise, it always amazes me how well he can return the ball. I feel I can serve well but he just slaps them back, so that is one shot I envy him for.

Who on the team would most likely be late for practice or a team dinner?
It is a very easy answer, it is Lukas [Hellum-Lilleengen]. He is always late; we tell him but he never learns.



What countryman inspired you when you were younger to get into tennis?
I think my father is an obvious choice. But I never got to watch him on Tour because I was too young and he retired too early for me to have any memories of him on Tour.

When I grew up it was mostly winter sports athletes that were dominating a little bit in the sports world in Norway. We have an alpine skier, who I didn’t look up to with my tennis, but as a good athlete and nice person. His name is Aksel Lund Svindal. He just retired a couple of years ago and I have met him and played tennis with him and he is a really nice guy. He shows a little bit of what Norway is about with his attitude and aura is very nice.

Tell me about your first tennis club in Norway?
My first tennis club was a nice one. Quite a small one a little bit outside Oslo where I grew up. It is close to the sea, so it can get windy at times and I think that experience helps me to this day dealing with the wind. We had five outdoor clay courts and five indoor hard courts.

I played inside the bubble, which was quite cold in the winter because sometimes the heating pump didn’t work, so it was quite cold some days. I don’t miss those practices.

It was easier in the summer because we had more courts. But indoors it was three courts inside this bubble and it was freezing. You had this big echo, which was a good thing because you feel like you hit the ball so hard. Even when I was young I got that echo going.

Three things you love about Norway?
It is my home; it is where I grew up. The people are nice and the food is great. We are a small country of only five million people, so it is nice where I grew up that everyone knows each other. It is calm. I enjoy living in a country that has four seasons: winter, spring, summer and fall.

I always recommend people to come in the summer because it is beautiful when you can go to the coast and you go to the fjords and also up north you have the midnight sun when the sun never goes down. It is about to go down and then changes and comes up again, so you never have complete dark in the north, so that is quite fun to experience.

On the fjords and west coast of Norway, I have never been able to go myself. But I need to do it at some time, it is just tennis has been everything since I was young and I never had the time. After my career, I will probably go on more trips in my country.

In 2020, Casper Ruud showed clear signs of his potential thanks to a maiden ATP title, a first Masters-level semifinal in Rome and his top-30 debut.

But in 2021 he truly made the tennis world notice his presence.

He collected five ATP titles, developed into a consistent force at Masters events, won 56 matches and became the first Norwegian player to ever crack the world’s top 10.

He also enjoyed a Grand Slam breakthrough at Australian Open 2021, and it’s there where we begin to document his rise to elite top-eight star.

15 February 2021: Fourth round at Australian Open, cracks top 25
Ruud advanced to the last 16 at a major tournament for the first time at Melbourne Park, before an abdominal injury ended his prospects during his fourth-round match against Andrey Rublev. Despite that disappointment, it was an impressive result given it came on a different surface to his preferred clay and saw him emulate his father Christian, who reached the same stage of the draw at Australian Open 1997.
(Rankings rise after Australian Open: +4 to world No.24)


16 April 2021: Reaches Monte Carlo Masters semifinals
In his second tournament of the year on clay, it didn’t take Ruud long to find his groove. He beat a succession of seeds – Diego Schwartzman, Pablo Carreno Busta and 2019 winner Fabio Fognini – to arrive in the semifinals, where eventual champion Rublev again stopped him.
(Rankings rise after Monte Carlo: +3 to world No.24)

8 May 2021: Advances to Madrid Masters semis, cracks top 20
Ruud made it back-to-back Masters semifinals by reaching the final four in Madrid; he did not drop a set along the way, progress that included wins over 15th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime and fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas. While Matteo Berrettini ended his campaign in the semis, Ruud had already built an 11-4 win loss record on European clay in the spring, and jumped 10 ranking places in that same span.
(Rankings rise after Madrid: +6 to world No.16)

23 May 2021: Wins ATP title in Geneva
Ruud improved his clay-court record to 16-4 after storming through the draw in Geneva, dropping just one set en route to the 250-level title. He had slipped back to world No.21 after not playing in Rome – and thus not defending his 2020 semifinal points – but restored his ranking with a winning week in Switzerland, capped with a 7-6(6) 6-4 triumph over No.2 seed Denis Shapovalov. It marked just the second ATP title of Ruud’s career, but the first of five he would win in 2021
(Rankings rise after Geneva: +5 to world No.16)



31 July 2021: Post-Wimbledon clay-court sweep
After losing to Jordan Thompson in five sets in the first round of Wimbledon, Ruud returned to clay and made a statement with three consecutive ATP 250 titles – Bastad in Sweden, Gstaad in Switzerland and Kitzbuhel in Austria. While dominant in Bastad and Gstaad, the 23-year-old laboured in Kitzbuhel, extended to three sets in all but one of his matches and forced to save a match point in his quarterfinal against Mikael Ymer. He ultimately beat Pedro Martinez in the Kitzbuhel final to become the first player since Andy Murray a decade earlier to win trophies in three successive weeks. In that same timeframe he built an 11-match winning streak and improved his ranking by four places.
(Rankings rise after Kitzbuhel: +2 to world No.12)

13 September 2021: Cracks top 10 after US Open
He may have fallen in the second round at Flushing Meadows to Botic van de Zandschulp, but it was enough for Ruud to ascend to world No.10 as Shapovalov exited the top 10 for failing to match his quarterfinal run in 2020. Earlier in the North American summer hard-court swing, Ruud made back-to-back Masters quarterfinals in Toronto and Cincinnati.
(Rankings rise after US Open: +1 to world No.10)

4 October 2021: Wins first career hard-court title in San Diego
After heading home and notching two wins in Davis Cup play for Norway, Ruud returned to the United States and enjoyed a brilliant week on the hard courts of San Diego. He beat Andy Murray and Grigor Dimitrov on his way to the final, where he crushed the vastly-improved Cameron Norrie 6-0 6-2. It was his fifth title of 2021 and the first of his career off clay. He then headed to Indian Wells and took his winning streak to eight matches before a fourth-round loss to Schwartzman, a run elevating him to world No.9.
(Rankings rise after San Diego: none)

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25 October 2021: peaks at world No.8
A week later, Ruud hit a career-high ranking of No.8, then went on to make indoor hard-court quarterfinals in Vienna and at the Paris Masters. Reward for his consistently excellent results came in the form of a debut at the ATP Finals in Turin, where he advanced to the semifinals – helped by a first career victory over Rublev.