As the year approaches its climax, the selection process for the annual ATP Awards has begun. The head of Ubitennis is one of the members of the media invited to vote, but this time our nominees will be decided by our readers.
Started in the 1970s, the ATP awards recognize players, coaches and tournaments for their achievements over the season. The voting process differs for each category with both players and fans taking part. Meanwhile, the Emirates rankings dictates which player will receive the year-end number one honour.
Ubitennis will be voting on which players should be shortlisted for three different categories. The most improved player, the comeback player of the year and the Stefan Edberg sportsmanship award.
The most improved player recognizes those who has risen up the rankings and improved their performance over the past 12 months. Alexander Zverev is a nominee for this category following his stellar year. Rising 20 places to fourth in the world since the start of the season, the German has won five ATP titles, including two Masters 1000 trophies. Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta has broken new territory by reaching the quarter-finals at two grand slams (French Open and Wimbledon). The 26-year-old now lies at a ranking high of 10th in the world, claiming his sole title of the season so far in Estoril, Portugal. Another candidate is Denis Shapovalov, who has risen almost 200 places to 51st in the world. At the age of 18 he has already won two Challenger titles and reached the fourth round of the US Open.
Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are likely to battle it out for the comeback player of the year trophy. Each player has won two grand slam titles since returning to the tour from injury. 36-year-old Federer missed six months last year due to a knee injury, but returned to the tour winning both the Australian Open and Wimbledon Championships. Meanwhile, Nadal previously experienced problems with his wrist before returning to world No.1 this season. The Spaniard currently has five ATP titles under his belt in 2017, including a tenth French Open trophy as well as the US Open. Other contenders include US Open finalist Kevin Anderson and Janko Tipsarevic.
Finally, the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship award recognizes those who has conducted a high level of professionalism and integrity. Federer has dominated the category in recent years, winning it a record 12 times. Candidates this season include Rafael Nadal, David Ferrer, Juan Martin del Potro and Marin Cilic.
How does the Ubitennis vote work?
Those invited to participate in the selection process are asked to rank players. Ubitennis will invite our readers to fill out a short survey (see below) to pick who they think should win each category. The four players with the highest score for each category will then be officially nominated to the awards by us. Putting the decision in the hands of our readers.
We also invite readers to comment at the bottom on this article if they feel that there is a name missing and deserve to be nominated. We will also take those comments into consideration.
The poll will be open for 48 hours to allow enough time for the votes to be counted and submitted to the ATP.
The ATP Awards will take place in November.
