A Stunning Comeback! From Obscurity to Rapid Rise, Brooksby Leads as the Fastest Improving Player

Without realizing it, 2026 is now upon us. Here, on behalf of everyone at Tennis Home, I extend my New Year’s greetings to all, wishing you success and improvement in your pursuits. Last season, seven players saw significant jumps in their ATP world rankings, making them the top ranking improvers of 2025. So, who are these seven players? Let this article take you through their stories.

Although he won his first Challenger title and reached his first tour final and Grand Slam round of 16 back in 2021, American Brooksby was suspended starting July 2023. When he returned in the 2025 season, his ranking had fallen beyond the top 1000. In April, he won seven consecutive matches beginning from the ATP250 Houston qualifiers to claim his first tour title. Then in June, he won six matches at the ATP250 Eastbourne qualifiers to reach the final. By the end of the year, his world ranking had climbed to 49.

In the 2021 season, American Opelka also reached his first Grand Slam round of 16 and had won two tour titles. However, injuries forced him to miss a long stretch of tournaments, leaving his world ranking outside the top 290 at the start of 2025. Early January, Opelka reached the final of the ATP250 Brisbane event, his first tour final in three years; in early June, he entered the semifinals of the ATP250 ’s-Hertogenbosch as a lucky loser. By year-end, he had risen over 200 spots to rank 60.

Austrian player Miesolich won his first Challenger title in 2022 and also reached his first tour final that year. At the start of 2025, his ranking was beyond 300. This year, he claimed two Challenger titles and made his first Grand Slam round of 32 at the French Open in May. By the end of the year, he broke into the top 80 for the first time, having never been inside the top 100 before.

In 2023, Japanese player Shintaro Mochizuki reached the semifinals of the ATP500 Tokyo event as a wildcard and won his first Challenger title. Still, at the start of 2025, his ranking was outside the top 230. In January, he won a Challenger title and later achieved his first Grand Slam main draw win at Wimbledon. He also won a match in the US Open main draw. Although his form dipped late in the season, finishing 110th in the rankings, Mochizuki became Japan’s top male player with a rise of over 100 spots.

Additionally, American players Spizziri and Quinn, along with Frenchman Royer, showed significant improvements in 2025, each climbing over 100 places in the rankings. Together with Brooksby, Opelka, Miesolich, and Mochizuki, they became the fastest rising men’s tennis players of the 2025 season. Which of these seven do you consider the biggest dark horse of 2025? That’s the tennis story for today — more to come tomorrow.(Source: Tennis Home Author: Yixin Jushi)