Chris Eubanks has spoken about how his life has changed following a fairytale run at
Wimbledon.
Earlier this year, Eubanks had just broken into the top 100 in the
ATP world rankings. The 27-year-old recorded his first win at a major at the 2022 US Open, defeating Pedro Martinez in the first round before being knocked out by Jannik Sinner in his next match.
Therefore, it was a pleasant surprise to see the American make such huge leaps in the sport this season.
An epic run for Eubanks
The first sign of Eubanks' success came at the
Mallorca Championships in June, where he won his first ATP Tour title.
Along the way, he defeated the likes of Ben Shelton, Arthur Rinderknech and Lloyd Harris before taking victory in the final against Adrian Mannarino 6-1, 6-4.
He then began his debut run at the SW19 and much to the surprise of many fans, he made it all the way to the quarter-finals. In order to do so, he beat twelfth seed Cameron Norrie in the second round, before winning against world No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas in the round of 16.
He was eventually defeated by Daniil Medvedev in his next match but Eubanks refused to go down without a fight, taking the third seed to five sets.
People 'recognising' Eubanks
Upon Eubanks' return to his hometown tournament at the
Atlanta Open this week, it became clear just how much his life has changed. Fans were waiting in line for selfies with the player, and he was introduced onto the court as "our hometown hero."
Speaking after his first-match win at the event against Andres Martin, Eubanks mentioned the changes, saying
"It’s a lot different. I’m going to the grocery store & people are stopping & recognizing me. I used to get stopped & get asked if I played basketball. Those questions have stopped altogether."
Now ranked at No. 31 in the world, Eubanks is able to qualify automatically for ATP events, fuelling many fans' hopes to see him continue to improve in the future.