The nominees for the ATP Most Improved Player Award for the 2023 season have been announced. Jannik Sinner and Ben Shelton are among the favourites to win this award and join a long list of tennis stars to win this award. However, one of the all-time great players have been devoid of this prestigious award. Roger Federer, the 20-time Grand Slam champion has never won the ATP Most Improved Player Award during his career.
Other Grand Slam champions like Andy Murray, Martin Cilic, Stan Wawrinka and Juan Martin del Potro have also failed to win the award. Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have been successful in winning the prize due to their big breakthrough seasons in tennis.
During his illustrious career, Roger Federer has won multiple ATP awards. The Swiss maestro dominated tennis in the early 2000s and won multiple Grand Slams during his era of dominance. Due to his amazing performances, Roger Federer won the ‘ATP Player of the Year’ award for four consecutive years from 2004 to 2007. The Swiss won his fifth and final player of the year award in 2009.
Roger Federer has always been a fan favorite. The Swiss superstar, known for his humble and graceful nature, has won fans all over the world. It is no surprise to see Federer dominating the ATP Fans Favorite Award. Federer has won that award for a record 19 times during his career. This run includes consecutive awards from 2003 to 2021.
Federer has also won the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award, given to the player who conducted himself at the highest level of professionalism. The Swiss won the award 13 times in his career. Federer has also won the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award twice in his career.
Ben Shelton aims to win the award that Roger Federer couldn’t
In 2023, Ben Shelton will challenge Jannik Sinner for the ATP Most Improved Player Award. The American and the Italian have both enjoyed incredible growth in 2023, making a name for himself. Shelton enjoyed a rapid rise to fame due to his US Open run. The young American made it to the semifinals of the US Open where he was defeated by Novak Djokovic.
Furthermore, due to his brilliant run at the US Open, Shelton was drafted into the Laver Cup team. Shelton and Team World defeated Team Europe to win the Laver Cup again, further increasing Shelton’s reputation. Now, Shelton is set to challenge Sinner for the prestigious award at the year-end ATP awards.
Interestingly, Ben Shelton is managed by Roger Federer-owned Team8 and also shares a sponsor with the legend, On Shoes. Federer is also an investor in On, with a 3 percent stake in it. Shelton can surely be considered a Federer protege at the moment with both of them speaking extremely highly of each other. So winning the ATP Most Improved Player Award for Ben Shelton will be a big achievement and a shot in the arm for Team8 and On.
