Chris Eubanks left Tech in 2017 as a two-time ACC Player of the Year and All-American. The Atlanta native made his professional debut soon after in the 2017 BB&T Atlanta Open, where he reached the quarterfinals through victories over Taylor Fritz, a player who was ranked fifth in the world in February 2023, along with
Jared Donaldson.
From this performance, Eubanks received his first bid to a Grand Slam event: the US Open as a wildcard.
Although he would fall in the first round event, Eubanks’ performance made a statement that he could compete with anybody on the big stage.
Eubanks spent the following six years making various appearances in tournaments but was unable to make a big run to solidify himself among the elite.
It was at the 2023 Mallorca Championships that Eubanks got his run. After a sensational performance that ended in the quarterfinals at the 2023 Miami Open, Eubanks came into the Mallorca Championships as a top 100 singles player for the first time in his career.
Eubanks knocked off everyone who stepped on the court against him as he went on to win his first Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Championship. This win boosted Eubanks’ confidence going into Wimbledon, a tournament he had been working to qualify for since 2018.
Eubanks then stepped into Wimbledon this year as the 43rd-ranked player in the world, his highest ranking so far, and was up against the world’s best.
With much to prove and a dream at stake, Eubanks took down Thiago Montero in the first round in a four-set match. Montero had no answer for his opening serve as Eubanks dropped 28 aces compared to Montero’s 10. The second round was a new match but a similar story.
Eubanks took down 12th-ranked Cameron Norrie in four sets where he had 21 aces to Norrie’s 8. Moving into the third round, players were yet to have an answer for Eubanks’ quick serve, and he was beginning to attract attention with an underdog storyline.
In a three-set nailbiter of a sweep, Eubanks would take down Christopher O’Connell in a match where every set went to a tiebreaker.
Eubanks had the edge in the match as O’Connell, much like everyone else, had no answer for his quick serve as the ace advantage was 23 for Eubanks and just 5 for O’Connell.
Eubanks was now living his long-standing dream as he was in the Round of 16 and was the last American competing in the entire tournament. The nation and the world’s eyes were now watching and rooting for him as he took on the famed Stefanos Tsitsipas, the fifth-ranked player in the world. Tsitsipas dominated Eubanks in the first set of the game, toppling him 6-3.
Eubanks appeared to be out of his league as Tsitsipas became the first player in the tournament to answer his serves.
However, Eubanks stormed back in the second set, taking it in a tiebreaker. Tsitsipas took the third set 6-3, but Eubanks made an in-match adjustment in the fourth set in a way that stumped Tsitsipas.
He outsized Tsitsipas by three inches and had a wingspan that could shorten the
court for him in comparison.
Thus, Eubanks changed his strategy and began moving up to the front half of the court to challenge Tsitsipas to either play over or past him.
Point after point went to Eubanks, and Tsitsipas had no answer as Eubanks took the fourth set 6-4 and forced a fifth set to determine who would move to the quarterfinal.
Tsitsipas could not contest his opponent’s fourth set adjustment as Eubanks took the final set 6-4, moving him to the quarterfinals of Wimbledon in his first-ever appearance.
Eubanks had pulled off his first win over a top-five international player and was looking to pull it off again as third-ranked Daniil Medvedev awaited him in the quarterfinals. With a shot at the semifinals of Wimbledon on the line, Eubanks had the entire country on his side. The first set went to Medvedev 6-4, but the second set
saw Eubanks dominate.
He hit ace after ace and could not stop. Fueled by a dream, Eubanks took the second set 6-1 and carried over into the third set, taking it 6-4.
Thus, he went into the fourth set with the upper hand and a shot at the semifinals.
Eubanks and Medvedev exchanged game after game and remained gridlocked.
Entering a tiebreaker, the pair clearly wanted this for themselves. Medvedev, however, was able to pull away in the tiebreaker 7-4 and forced a fifth set.
After that, Eubanks appeared to be tiring and could not battle back as Medvedev dominated the fifth set and ended Eubanks’ run on a 6-1 final set.
Chris Eubanks journeyed to the quarterfinals of Wimbledon in his first appearance and kept pace with the best players in the world.
He has since reached a ranking as high as 29th in the world and continues to
compete in tournaments.
Eubanks’ run was something of a dream and truly pushes the classic moniker of
Tech: “We can do that.”