Youngest winner of an ATP Tour 500 event

Italy’s rising star Jannik Sinner (b. 16 August 2001) made history as the youngest player, and the first teenager, to win an ATP 500 tour event. In the final of the Citi Open (aka Washington Open) in the US capital city on 8 August 2021, fifth seed Sinner defeated home favourite Mackenzie McDonald 7-5, 4-6, 7-5 at the age of 19 years 357 days.

It was Sinner’s third ATP Tour triumph, having previously won a couple of ATP 250 events in Bulgaria (2020) and Australia (2021). Later in 2021, he retained his Sofia Open title and won Belgium’s European Open to take his title tally to five. Sinner’s first Masters 1000 final, at the Miami Open in Florida, USA, on 4 April 2021, ended in a straight-sets loss to Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz. In 2022, Sinner made it to the quarter-finals of the Australian Open.

The 13 annual ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Tour 500 events, inaugurated in 2009, are the fourth tier of men’s tennis, below the four Grand Slams, the ATP Finals and the nine Masters 1000 tournaments. Sinner pocketed $350,755 (£252,769) and 500 ranking points for his success on the hard outdoor courts at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center.

The 2021 Citi Open was the 146th 500-level event staged by the ATP. The youngest title-winner before Sinner was Alexander Zverev (b. 20 April 1997), who took the Citi Open on 6 August 2017 at the age of 20 years 108 days.