Terence Atmane is open in the quarterfinals of the Western & Southern. After previously won five ATP level competitions in his entire career, he has already won four these two weeks. Atmane qualified for the head draw of Cincinnati Masters and then quickly worked by Yoshihito Nishioka before he started a really improbable run. He staggered consecutive victories over Flavio Cobolli, Joao Fonseca and Taylor Fritz to secure a place in the last eight.
So who is Terence Atmane?
Atmane is a 23-year-old Frenchman whose career-high ranking no. 136 is in the world. The Native Saint-Martin-Boulogne checks in on a slim 6’4 ”and 176 pounds (according to the ATP website). He earned his first ranking points at a Futures event in 2019 and played for the first time on the main tour in 2023, before he defeated his debut competition in Zhuhah in the Zhuhai on Futures level and 4-1 on the Challenger circuit.
But physical and mental struggles have made atmane – so far – made of real noise during the ATP tour.
“In the beginning, [tennis] was almost stressful, because I told my parents when I was seven years old that I wanted to be the best tennis player in the world and I wanted to devote my life to it, “he wrote for it Behind the racket In the summer of 2023. “But it is a choice that I will never regret, and I am glad that my parents are approved and support my decision from that first day.
“I think something that distinguishes me from other players, my instinct is. I am very unpredictable on the field. My IQ is more than 158 – I am designated with hip, a high intellectual potential – so if my brain works correctly on the field, I can be dangerous because I don’t think I can do it, but I can do it on it.
“However, there have been a few difficult moments in my career. It started with some personal problems, which then really started to influence my tennis. I even went through a period in which I no longer had tennis. I was not happy at all, I put myself down and finally got into depression.
“I (also) I partially tore two ligaments in my ankle and eventually had to stop playing for three months. Although my injury was terrible, I decided at that time to stop drowning myself and I went through the journey of fighting my fear and depression. For me it was the biggest victory of my career.”
Finally the victories also arrive on The court. On the basis of his Cincinnati version, Atmane will first break into the Top 100 in his career and it is expected that at least no. 93 in the world will reach. If he surpassed Holger Rune on Thursday evening, Atmane will rise to No. 69 in the live rankings.
Atmane has never won a Grand Slam match (0-3 record in the main table). He will have to qualify for the US Open if he wants to give himself a chance to win one in 2025. Atmane’s ranking boost from Cincinnati comes clear after the deadline of the US Open Entry has passed, causing him to relegate to qualifying.
As Cincinnati has shown us, a qualifying entry may not be bad news for Atmane. It is more likely to be bad news for everyone.
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