How patience, perspective and a TV gig pulled Chris Eubanks out of tennis obscurity and into the spotlight

By
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Published Aug. 28, 2023, 10:00 a.m. ET
Christopher Eubanks of the United States smiles while playing doubles with partner Sebastian Korda of the United States against Hubert Hurkacz of Poland and Frances Tiafoe of the United States during Day 3 of the Mubadala Citi DC Open at Rock Creek Tennis Center on July 31, 2023 in Washington, DC.
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The prime real estate sat empty. The seats in the sun went unoccupied. Sweat and sunburns are for stars; not strangers. 

Chris Eubanks entered last year’s U.S. Open ranked No. 147 in the world. Fans had far superior American options (Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, Reilly Opelka, Tommy Paul, Maxime Cressy, Jenson Brooksby, John Isner, Sebastian Korda, Marcos Giron) to pin their hopes to.

The 6-foot-7 Atlanta native Eubanks needed to win three qualifying matches to make the main draw, before claiming his first-ever grand slam victory and landing at Louis Armstrong Stadium for his second round match against 11th-seeded Jannik Sinner.

“Nobody had any idea who he was,” said Rob Simmelkjaer, Eubanks’ former colleague at Tennis Channel. “There was nobody there. Me and his family, that was his cheering section. That’s all.”