#NextGenATP stars Mensik, Shang nominated for Newcomer of the Year | 2024 ATP Awards | ATP Tour

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#NextGenATP stars Mensik, Shang nominated for Newcomer of the Year

Both 19-year-olds will compete in Jeddah to close the season

December 02, 2024

Jakub Mensik and Shang Juncheng both moved up the PIF ATP Rankings this season, climbing more than 100 places to finish the year in the Top 50. The 19-year-olds are already comfortable in the big stages of the game, but they are just getting started. .

Both nominees for the 2024 ATP Awards Newcomer of the Year will close their seasons at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF in Jeddah. Before that event, which will be played from December 18-22, one of these up-and-comers will have another honor to his name. The winners of the ATP Awards will be announced during Awards Week, starting on Monday, 9 December.

Voted by the players, the Newcomer of the Year award goes to the #NextGenATP player who breaks into the Top 100 for the first time in 2024 and makes the biggest impact on the ATP Tour this season.

Jakub Mensik
En route to his first ATP Tour final in February in Doha, Mensik defeated Andy Murray, Andrey Rublev and Gael Monfils in straight sets. His win against World No. 5 Rublev made him the youngest player to win a Top 5 since Carlos Alcaraz beat Stefanos Tsitsipas at the 2021 US Open.

“I [Doha] I will never forget my week,” said Mensik. “I think that in the future, this tournament has shown me that I can play with these players and that I can be at the top soon.”

That run earned him his top 100 achievement in the PIF ATP Rankings, and he continued his steady rise in the months that followed. After a win representing Czechia at the Olympics, Mensik achieved his biggest result of the season by reaching the third round of the US Open — matching his first major result last season in New York.

The month of October saw Mensik hit his stride after two deep runs in Shanghai and Vienna. At the Rolex Shanghai Masters, he earned two more Top 10 finishes against Rublev and Grigor Dimitrov before taking the opening break with a draw against Novak Djokovic in the quarters. In Vienna he again reached the quarter-finals, this time winning the first break against Alex de Minaur before bowing out.

Those results helped him break into the Top 50 at World No.

“Before the season, I set myself the goal of qualifying for Jeddah and playing there,” Mensik told ATPTour.com in June. “It would be good to play this type of event because for us young players it is very exciting. It is a good opportunity to see how it works and to taste something after the ATP.”

Shang Juncheng
One of three Chinese players in the Top 100 of the PIF ATP Rankings, Shang made history this year in Chengdu by becoming the first player from an Asian nation to win an ATP Tour title on home soil. He secured a Top 20 victory over Lorenzo Musetti in the final, carrying the weight of the home crowd like a veteran on the tough ATP 250 field.

“It's very important to me, especially to do it at home,” Shang said at the time. “Overall I am very happy to be here in Chengdu.”

His success there came eight months after a semi-final in Hong Kong to open the season and took him to the edge of the Top 50. Buoyed by his first title and deep tour runs this season at Eastbourne (quarter-final) and Atlanta (semis), Shang peaked at World No. Alcaraz in a stadium entertainment show.

Throughout the season, Shang has shown the motivation to compete in the sport's biggest events. He earned four ATP Masters 1000 wins on the year and posted a 5-3 record at Grand Slams, reaching the third round at the Australian Open and the US Open for his combined majors.

To cap off his stellar season, the Chinese star earned an opportunity to compete in the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF. Like Mensik, Shang is happy to grace a stage where the likes of Jannik Sinner, Alcaraz and Stefanos Tsitsipas have all appeared as champions.

“I've had an amazing year and the Next Gen ATP Finals is very important for my future,” Shang said on ATPTour.com's new 'Journey To Jeddah' series. “In that event, all the highlights of tennis are on you because you know there are only eight players.”

His qualification in Jeddah made more history for Chinese tennis: Shang is the first player from his hometown to qualify for the 20-and-under tournament.