How Chris Eubanks leveled up to the big time

Chris Eubanks was on this podcast last November, having just completed a year of tennis that left him very optimisic. The American had just notched his first victory in a Grand Slam tournament and was ready to pick up where he left off when the new year arrived. Eubanks was always open about trusting the process he was following to become the best version of himself on the court, and he never lost the belief that if he kept putting the work in, he could rise up to the upper echelons of the pro game.

But nobody could have forseen what his 2023 season would produce.

Eubanks broke into the Top 100, collected his maiden title and debuted at Wimbledon in sensational fashion, reaching the quarterfinals. As his ranking kept rising and newfound fame approached at a warp speed, Eubanks never lost sight of who he was and what it took to churn out the results that made him popular. He returned to the Inside-In Podcast to recap his whirldwhind season, his deepening love for broadcasting, and why two of his friends are only getting started in taking over tennis.

Eubanks' remarkable season almost started on rocky terms, had it not been for a wise decision out of the gate. He traveled to Pune, India, for a tournament during the opening week, but felt completely off physically and mentally. He decided to pullout and sacrifce the financial and ranking opportunities so that he could start his campaign fresh in Auckland the following week.

That was the event where Eubanks made his first real charge in 2023, making his way through qualifying and defeating surging Frenchmen Ugo Humbert in the main draw.

"I wanted to make sure the first time I step foot on the court in 2023, I was all there," Eubanks recounted. "When I started to have the results I said, OK, that was the right decision. I'm glad I can keep that momentum from the end of last year going to start fresh this year. And I think it just kind of started rolling."

If Auckland was the event that Eubanks started knocking on the door of being an ATP mainstay, then the Miami Open was when he charged right through it. His run to the semifinals stunned the tennis world, and it included wins over established tour players like Adrian Mannarino and Borna Coric.

Those wins were impressive, but they pailed in comparison to the emotional reaction Eubanks had in his victory over Grégoire Barrère, which featured several rain delays and an impromtu peptalk with Frances Tiafoe in the lockeroom. Eubanks came back from 6-2 down in the second-set tiebreak to stun Barrère in straight sets—a win that resulted in his first appearance in the Top 100.

"I was just stunned. Couldn't believe it. My hands went above my head, I'm looking at my coach like, what just happened? I can't believe I won that match," the Atlanta native explained. He then hugged his coach Ruan Roelofse, who let Eubanks know of the milestone he had just reached. "He had his phone in his hand and he goes, 'just so you know, that was the match for Top 100.' And that's when the emotion came out."

The summer of 2023 will always go down as the moment Eubanks entered the big time of the tennis ecosystem. He won his first ATP title on grass in Mallorca, but he had no time to savor his success, with Wimbledon mere days later. It was the American's debut in the main draw at the All England club, and it was one for the ages.

Eubanks took out 2022 semifinalist Cam Norrie in the second, then shook up the draw with a win over No. 5 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the fourth round. He gave world No. 3 Daniil Medvedev all he could handle in a thrilling, five-set quarterfinal loss.

At the start of the year Eubanks was on the outskirts of the ATP, and by the summer he was one of the game's most talked about and well-liked players. After beating Tsitsipas, he realized that he was no longer under the radar.

"The moment security opened the door (after the match had ended), I've never in my life seen that many people almost like mobbing to try to get at me," Eubanks vividly remembers. "They (security) just grabbed my right arm and we just boomed through people. And that was when I realized, oh I think things are a lot different now."

Eubanks has remained grounded despite his new found fame and success on court, and he continues to take pride in the accomplishments of his ultra-talented friends. He explains that Ben Shelton always had the ingredients to take the game over by storm, something he found out the hard way as an opponent over the summer. And Coco Gauff's US Open title run meant the world to Eubanks, who had known her since she was a young prodigy player trying to manage all the hopes and expectations. Eubanks goes into depth about several other topics on this podcast, including the work he put into strengthening his backhand, and how his commentary career has made him a smarter player in matches.

At 27 years of age, there's still plenty of beautiful shots to hit and accolades to achieve on the court for Chris Eubanks. But it continues to be about the process, and not the results.

"The biggest thing is just saying hey, this is my process. We're going to devise a plan in the off-season of going into next year. When we're at tournaments, this is what we're going to do," Eubanks summarized. "I'm going to continue and trust this process, because I know what this process can do for me. And we'll just see what happens."