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Andy Roddick names the ATP player who he claims hasn’t been talked about enough this year

Originally posted on HITC | By Matthew Johns | Last updated Dec 23, 2025 10:00 AM ET

Andy Roddick believes more should have been said about this ATP player after the 2025 season.

A lot of the conversation in men’s tennis this year has been about the dominance of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, who have won all four Grand Slam titles once again.

There has also been a lot of talk surrounding 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic, who failed to reach a major final for the first year since 2017.

However, Roddick believes that there is a former top 10 player who has not been spoken about enough.

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Andy Roddick says Denis Shapovalov has not been talked about enough

Denis Shapovalov is a former Wimbledon semifinalist and has been ranked as high as world number 10.

However, the Canadian fell to as low as world number 140 in 2024 and began this season ranked outside the top 50 as well.

Shapovalov has enjoyed a very resurgent 2025 season, which includes winning the biggest title of his career so far at the Dallas Open.

The 26-year-old also won the Los Cabos Open, with Shapovalov finishing the season as the world number 23, which is his best year-end ranking since 2022.

As a result of this, Roddick believes that Shapovalov’s climb back up the rankings should be spoken about more.

“One of the more under told stories this year I think is Denis Shapovalov,” Roddick said on his podcast. “Goes from top 10 down to 150 and is kind of like searching for an extended period of time.

“He’s 23 in the world right now, again that’s pretty good playing and that’s a nice comeback story that I don’t think anyone has talked about enough just because we we apply the expectations from five years ago to him at all times.

“But like going from 150 and kind of having lost the plot a little bit, maybe being uninspired and then you look up and I’m going s*** Shapo’s at 23 in the world, that’s where he finished this year, so props to him, I don’t think that was talked about enough.”

Where is Denis Shapovalov playing before the Australian Open?

Shapovalov will look to continue climbing up the rankings in 2026, which he will begin on Australian hard courts.

The first tournament Shapovalov will play is at the Brisbane International, where Daniil Medvedev is the top seed.

He will then head to the Australian Open, where Shapovalov has not surpassed the third round since 2022, when he reached the quarterfinals.

Shapovalov will likely see the Australian Open swing as a good opportunity to climb up the ATP rankings, as he has just 75 points to defend during this period.

The first tournament of Shapovalov’s 2026 season in Brisbane gets underway on January 4.

This article first appeared on HITC and was syndicated with permission.

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