Welcome to "Next Up," where USOpen.org will showcase rising stars on the ATP and WTA tours who could be in line to make a splash to remember at the 2022 US Open. Today, the spotlight shifts to American Jenson Brooksby; after reaching Round 4 in New York as a wild card last year, what can the 21-year-old from Sacramento do for his next act?
At March's BNP Paribas Open, Stefanos Tsitsipas was still smarting from a shocking 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 loss to Jenson Brooksby, a boyish but bold newcomer from just up the I-5 in California’s capital. Asked what made Brooksby, only 21 and into the fourth round in Indian Wells for the first time, so tough—his anticipation, his speed, his defense-to-offense pivot, etc.—Tsitspas instead went to the backhand, as in backhanded compliment.
“He’s not a very explosive player, but he’s able to get balls back. He’s not the most athletic player, as well. He’s just able to read the game well, play with his pace, play with the opponent’s pace.”
Then came the kicker. “There’s nothing that he has that kills, I would say.”
Could have fooled us.
The previous summer, Brooksby had reached his first ATP final in his grass-court debut in Newport; as a 130th-ranked wildcard punched past the likes of Felix Auger-Aliassime en route to the Washington semis; and outlasted Aslan Karatsev in five sets to advance to the Round of 16 of the 2021 US Open, where he impressed (and took a set off of) world No. 1 Novak Djokovic on the sport’s biggest stage, the 23,000-plus-seat Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Then 20, he was the youngest American man to reach the fourth round in Flushing Meadows in nearly two decades.
That fall, he extended No. 4 Alexander Zverev to three sets in the autumnal edition of Indian Wells, then followed with a final-four romp in Antwerp.
Now here he was, having upset the fifth-ranked Tsitsipas for the biggest win of his career, still standing in the business end of a tournament he attended as a 10-, 11-year-old wannabe, when his dad and he would make the drive down from their home in Sacramento, there to see the stars and maybe grab a few autographs, too.
“I think a lot of players, coaches maybe don’t see how I could be as good of a level as I am,” said Brooksby when informed of Tsitsipas’ scouting summation. “That’s what we shoot for in our games and strategy, to not be too easily figured out. That’s how the top players over history have been. I’m not too surprised to hear that.”
Tsitsipas wasn’t all wrong. Brooksby certainly won’t serve you off the court. He might not overpower you from the baseline, either. But he’s got a certain indefinable something; he can hurt you with a superpower all his own.
“I think my superpower would be exploiting weaknesses in other people,” asserted Brooksby, who in June climbed to a career-high No. 33 in the ATP rankings.
Despite an ill-advised racquet-toss in Miami, and some late-spring and early-summer stumbles on the clay and grass, John McEnroe remains convinced the 6-foot-4 Brooksby has the stuff make his mark on the game, and perhaps even the highest ceiling of the Class of ‘00/’01 American men, which includes countrymen Sebastian Korda and Brandon Nakashima.
“He’s got some great hands. He’s a great mover. To me, he’s got Top 5 talent,” said McEnroe, who as a Laver Cup captain might consider adding Brooksby to his Team World roster.
“I’ve wanted to try to meet this kid, get to know him a little bit just from the standpoint of an interesting level because I think he’s one of, if not the most talented, of his crop at the moment. I truly believe if a few things are ironed out with him, he could be a top player and contend for majors.”
