"I think I have more self-confidence than from a year ago" - Auger-Aliassime on his breakthrough season
ATP
Felix Auger-Aliassime has had a stellar 2021 season with runs to the Wimbledon quarterfinals and his maiden Grand Slam semifinal at the US Open, and the World No.11 is set to break into the top 10 for the first time in his career.
Having also finished runner-up in Melbourne and Stuttgart, the Canadian has credited his boost in self-confidence as the key behind his success.
"I feel more mature as a player and as a person," revealed Auger-Aliassime. "I feel like I know more what I want to do on the court. I know how I want to handle myself, how I want to play, how I want to approach the game. It might not be so precise explaining it but that's really what I feel inside."
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The 21-year old has been a consistent figure on tour this season, having reached another ATP semifinal this week at the Stockholm Open (lost to Shapovalov).
"When things come together and I have more and more of a clear idea what of what I want to do, I play good tennis," added Auger-Aliassime. "And I think I have more confidence than from a year ago that I can compete with all the best players in the world, that I have a shot of beating e everybody.
"Yes, I have proved it in a way through my results. But to have that self-confidence that you can do it, really deep in yourself, I think that's the big thing that has been improved in the last year, that winning mentality."
Growing up in a household where soccer was king, my earliest memories are filled with chants from packed stadiums and the rhythm of a ball being passed across neighborhood streets. But somewhere along the way, the quiet elegance and raw emotion of tennis pulled me in. What began as a curiosity became a lifelong passion; not just for the sport itself, but for the stories it tells: of grit, of heartbreak, of improbable comebacks and human resilience.
As a tennis writer, I bring the observational lens of someone who didn’t grow up in the sport, but fell in love with it as an outsider; a perspective that lets me see both its technical beauty and its emotional depth. Over the years working with TennisUpToDate, I’ve had the privilege of reaching more than 3.5 million readers worldwide, with one of my features ranking among the site’s top three articles.
With a background in storytelling and a creative mind always searching for meaning beyond the scoreboard, I aim to craft narratives that go deeper than results and rankings. Whether it’s a rising star breaking through or a veteran fighting off Father Time, I try to capture the heartbeat behind the headlines.
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mandoist12-11-2026 - I predicted whenthe list was finalised that Linda Noskova would win the WTA Finals and her matches against Gauff and Kostyuk prove that. She is the best (underrated) player in the world!Rapunzel11-11-2026
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mandoist08-11-2026








