TCU Men's Tennis Greats Continue to Rise Through the ATP Ranks
3/16/2023 9:48:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Alastair Gray, Reese Stalder, Alex Rybakov and Nick Chappell are enjoying landmark seasons
FORT WORTH – Playing on the purple courts has been a proven pathway to the pros over the last decade, and the 2022 and 2023 seasons have further established TCU men's tennis as one of the sport's preeminent developmental arms.
TCU legend Cam Norrie is weeks removed from a momentous victory in his professional journey. Norrie, ranked No. 12 in the world, downed reigning US Open Champion Carlos Alcaraz to win the Rio Open on Feb. 26. The championship triumph was his fifth ATP title since turning professional in 2017. Norrie, a three-time All-American at TCU, has notched a Tour-leading 21 victories this year.
On top of Norrie's success, a quartet of Horned Frog greats are continuing to make inroads on the ATP Tour.
Alastair Gray, Reese Stalder Alex Rybakov and Nick Chappell have steadily risen through the world singles and doubles rankings with landmark performances in ATP tournaments across the globe.
Gray broke out in a big way in 2022, joining his countryman Norrie at the Wimbledon Championships after receiving wild cards into the main singles and doubles draws. He made the most of the opportunity, defeating Chung Hsin Tseng in straight sets in the opening round to earn his first Grand Slam victory. Gray then dropped a closely contested battle to world No. 5 Taylor Fritz.
The breakthrough at Wimbledon proved to be a springboard into sustained success. Over the last 14 months, Gray has won three ATP Futures tournaments and claimed five doubles titles. Gray achieved a career-high ATP singles ranking of No. 237 in September and holds a current ranking of No. 302.
Stalder, a 2017 All-American, has continued to turn heads in doubles on the ATP Challenger Tour. He is knocking on the door of cracking the world top-100, as he's currently ranked a career-high No. 108. Since January 2022, Stalder has won two doubles titles, been a finalist in four tournaments and reached the semifinals on seven separate occasions.
Rybakov has delivered consistent results in singles and doubles at the ATP Challenger Tour level over the last two seasons. Last month, Rybakov played his way into the main singles draw of the Dallas Open. He won two qualifying matches to secure his spot in the main draw of an ATP Tour 250 event for the first time in his career. Rybakov then pushed world No. 55 Marcos Giron to the brim in the round of 32. He dropped a close three-set affair 4-6, 7-6, 1-6.
Chappell, TCU's Big 12 era leader in career victories, has been a fixture in singles and doubles action alongside Rybakov. He has reached two quarterfinals and one semifinal in singles play over the last 14 months. In August, Chappell received his first invitation to an ATP Tour 250 event at the Los Cabos Open, where he fell to current world No. 84 Tseng in a tight match.
Chappell, the Horned Frogs' current volunteer assistant coach, again raised eyebrows earlier in March. He qualified for the ATP 500 Mexican Open in Acapulco, where he squared off with world No. 85 Nuno Borgesbeat.
All four Horned Frogs are continuing to climb the ITF leaderboards as they inch toward the ultimate goal of regularly competing alongside Norrie in ATP main singles and doubles draws.
TCU legend Cam Norrie is weeks removed from a momentous victory in his professional journey. Norrie, ranked No. 12 in the world, downed reigning US Open Champion Carlos Alcaraz to win the Rio Open on Feb. 26. The championship triumph was his fifth ATP title since turning professional in 2017. Norrie, a three-time All-American at TCU, has notched a Tour-leading 21 victories this year.
On top of Norrie's success, a quartet of Horned Frog greats are continuing to make inroads on the ATP Tour.
Alastair Gray, Reese Stalder Alex Rybakov and Nick Chappell have steadily risen through the world singles and doubles rankings with landmark performances in ATP tournaments across the globe.
Gray broke out in a big way in 2022, joining his countryman Norrie at the Wimbledon Championships after receiving wild cards into the main singles and doubles draws. He made the most of the opportunity, defeating Chung Hsin Tseng in straight sets in the opening round to earn his first Grand Slam victory. Gray then dropped a closely contested battle to world No. 5 Taylor Fritz.
"We're all pushing & inspiring each other"
— LTA (@the_LTA) June 29, 2022
Alastair Gray reflects on an EPIC debut @Wimbledon win#BackTheBrits 🇬🇧 | #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/HTBI452BKt
The breakthrough at Wimbledon proved to be a springboard into sustained success. Over the last 14 months, Gray has won three ATP Futures tournaments and claimed five doubles titles. Gray achieved a career-high ATP singles ranking of No. 237 in September and holds a current ranking of No. 302.
Stalder, a 2017 All-American, has continued to turn heads in doubles on the ATP Challenger Tour. He is knocking on the door of cracking the world top-100, as he's currently ranked a career-high No. 108. Since January 2022, Stalder has won two doubles titles, been a finalist in four tournaments and reached the semifinals on seven separate occasions.
In February, Stalder competed in his first ATP World Tour 250 event, the Delray Beach Open. There, Stalder earned his biggest professional triumph. Stalder and his doubles partner, Rinky Hijikata posted a runner-up finish at the tournament, defeating former world No. 1 Hamie Murray and his 15th-ranked partner Michael Venus along the way.Calm before the storm here at @CLEChallenger @IlliniMTennis' Ruben Gonzales & @TCUMensTennis' Reese Stalder getting prepped for the dubs final with some reaction drills @ITA_Tennis 👉 pros
— Cracked Racquets ® (@CrackedRacquets) February 4, 2023
(there may or may not be a reoccurring theme here 😎) pic.twitter.com/sCkNO6lxrC
Rybakov has delivered consistent results in singles and doubles at the ATP Challenger Tour level over the last two seasons. Last month, Rybakov played his way into the main singles draw of the Dallas Open. He won two qualifying matches to secure his spot in the main draw of an ATP Tour 250 event for the first time in his career. Rybakov then pushed world No. 55 Marcos Giron to the brim in the round of 32. He dropped a close three-set affair 4-6, 7-6, 1-6.
A three-time All-American from 2017-2019, Rybakov has ascended as high as No. 289 in the ATP singles rankings and is currently No. 360.Former TCU All-American Alex Rybakov 🇺🇸 comes through qualifying to earn a spot in an ATP 250 main draw for the first time:
— TennisONE App (@TennisONEApp) February 6, 2023
7-5, 6-3 over Ejupovic #DALOpen @DALOpenTennis pic.twitter.com/Rzce58yndL
Chappell, TCU's Big 12 era leader in career victories, has been a fixture in singles and doubles action alongside Rybakov. He has reached two quarterfinals and one semifinal in singles play over the last 14 months. In August, Chappell received his first invitation to an ATP Tour 250 event at the Los Cabos Open, where he fell to current world No. 84 Tseng in a tight match.
Chappell, the Horned Frogs' current volunteer assistant coach, again raised eyebrows earlier in March. He qualified for the ATP 500 Mexican Open in Acapulco, where he squared off with world No. 85 Nuno Borgesbeat.
All four Horned Frogs are continuing to climb the ITF leaderboards as they inch toward the ultimate goal of regularly competing alongside Norrie in ATP main singles and doubles draws.
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