Yoshihito Nishioka, like so many tennis players, is no stranger to injury. In 2017 he tore his left ACL (anterior cruciate ligament), which needed surgical repair. I have always maintained that hard courts are the toughest on the body. When your knees start to bother you, hard courts will aggravate them more easily than the other surfaces.
Nishioka Not Derailed By American Crowd
Despite his surgically repaired knee, Yoshihito Nishioka still favors the hard courts. All three of his titles have come on the hard courts. This title, the Atlanta Open, was perhaps the most difficult one, because he took on not only an American opponent, but also a stadium full of American fans. Furthermore, he had to get by three American men to get to the final. Kudos to the Japanese player for staying focused on his objective, win the title. He defeated Jared Thompson in three sets, 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-2 to claim the title.
Embed from Getty ImagesTop 100 ATP & WTA Ranking Changes
| ATP | RANKING CHANGES | CURRENT RANK |
| Yoshihito Nishioka (JPN) | UP 36 | 50 |
| Hugo Gaston (FRA) | UP 30 | 61 |
| Aleksandar Vukic (AUS) | DOWN 25 | 85 |
| Alexei Popyrin (AUS) | DOWN 17 | 63 |
| Jakub Mensik (CZE) | UP 16 | 65 |
| Juncheng Shang (CHN) | UP 16 | 73 CAREER HIGH |
| Daniel Altmaier (GER) | DOWN 16 | 87 |
| Facundo Diaz Acosta (ARG) | UP 15 | 62 |
| Francisco Cerundolo (ARG) | UP 11 | 26 |
| Matteo Berrettini (ITA) | UP 10 | 40 |
| Zhizhen Zhang (CHN) | DOWN 10 | 41 |
| WTA | RANKING CHANGES | CURRENT RANK |
| Laura Siegemund (GER) | DOWN 29 | 93 |
| Elina Avanesyan (RUS) | UP 18 | 58 CAREER HIGH |
| Elisabetta Cocciaretto (ITA) | DOWN 15 | 61 |
| Daria Saville (AUS) | DOWN 15 | 92 |
| Clara Burel (FRA) | DOWN 11 | 55 |
ATP & WTA Top Ten Ranking Changes
ATP: there were two positional changes in the top ten. Andrey Rublev and Casper Ruud traded places to #8 and #9, respectively. The top four players are still: [1] Jannik Sinner; [2] Novak Djokovic; [3] Carlos Alcaraz; and [4] Alexander Zverev.
Embed from Getty ImagesWTA: there were no changes in the top ten. The top four players are still: [1] Iga Swatek; [2] Coco Gauff; [3] Aryna Sabalenka; and [4] Elena Rybakina.
SOURCE OF IMAGES: Getty Images
