The ATP released lists of nominees for their annual Awards Week on Thursday, with Carlos Alcaraz nominated for the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award and Ben Shelton’s father, Bryan, shortlisted for ‘Coach of the Year’.
The winners in each category will be announced during the Awards Week, scheduled to begin on December 8.
Alcaraz is up against Felix Auger-Aliassime, Grigor Dimitrov and Casper Ruud in his category. He won the accolade in 2023. Dimitrov and Ruud also received the honour in 2024 and 2022, respectively.
The Spaniard’s coaches, Juan Carlos Ferrero and Samuel Lopez, are in the running for ‘Coach of the Year’. Ferrero and Lopez helped him secure eight titles, including the French Open and US Open. He also won three ATP Masters 1000 titles and finished the season as the world No. 1.
Another nominee in the category is Bryan Shelton, who helped his son Ben Shelton win his first Masters 1000 trophy and debut in the ATP Top 10. Shelton reached his career-high ranking of world No. 5 on November 10 and currently sits in ninth place.
Other nominees on the same list are Jannik Sinner’s team members Darren Cahill and Simone Vagnozzi. Sinner started the year by winning the Australian Open and finished with an ATP Finals triumph. Between the two, he lifted four more trophies, including the Wimbledon cup. He also became the first player in ATP stats history to finish as the leader of both serve and return ratings. He topped the serving leaderboard with 297.4 points and the returning tally with 168.6 points, underscoring his all-round prowess.
Frederic Fontang, who has been coaching Auger-Aliassime since 2017, is also among the nominees. Fontang guided the Canadian through three championship runs in Adelaide, Montpellier and Brussels. Auger-Aliassime finished the season on a career-high ranking of world No. 5.
Another name in the running for ‘Coach of the Year’ is Benjamin Balleret, courtesy of the on-court heroics of Valentin Vacherot. Vacherot did the unthinkable at this year’s Shanghai Masters as he became the lowest-ranked player to win a Masters title.
World No. 204 at the time, he entered the tournament as a qualifier and overcame the likes of Novak Djokovic, Holger Rune and Alexander Bublik during his title-winning run. He backed it up by reaching the quarter-finals of the Paris Masters and climbed to 30th spot in the world rankings.
Valentin Vacherot defeated his cousin Arthur Rinderknech in the Shanghai Masters 1000 finals | Image Credit: IMAGO / Xinhua
Valentin Vacherot’s exploits also earned him a nomination for the Breakthrough of the Year award. He will face opposition from Brazilian Joao Fonseca, Brit Jack Draper and Czech Jakub Mensik.
Fonseca, the 19-year-old Brazilian, continued his steady rise during the season. He earned his first ATP silverware by winning the ATP 250 Buenos Aires in February and doubled his tally in October with a triumphant run at the ATP 500 Basel. His performances have propelled him to a career-high ranking of world No. 24.
Draper’s season was cut short by an arm injury that forced him to pull out of the US Open in the second round. He ended as the world No. 10, with an impressive 30-9 win-loss record. He picked up momentum late last year and carried on with the same intensity that led him to glory at Indian Wells.
Mensik, the final nominee for ‘Breakthrough of the Year’, also achieved his top ranking in 2025. He climbed up to world No. 16 in August and is currently ranked 19th in singles. The Czech won his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title this season. He downed Novak Djokovic in the Miami Masters final to clinch the title in March.
