Eliot Spizzirri
_04.jpg) Spizzirri at the 2023 Cary Challenger | |
| Country (sports) |  United States |
|---|---|
| Born | December 23, 2001 Stamford, Connecticut, United States |
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) |
| Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
| College | University of Texas |
| Prize money | US $286,319 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 1–3 |
| Career titles | 0 |
| Highest ranking | No. 223 (November 18, 2024) |
| Current ranking | No. 223 (November 18, 2024) |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| US Open | 1R (2024) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 0–3 |
| Career titles | 0 |
| Highest ranking | No. 322 (November 11, 2024) |
| Current ranking | No. 325 (November 18, 2024) |
| Grand Slam doubles results | |
| US Open | 1R (2021, 2023) |
| Last updated on: November 15, 2024. | |
Eliot Spizzirri (born December 23, 2001) is an American tennis player. Spizzirri has a career-high ATP singles ranking of No. 223 achieved on November 18, 2024, and a doubles ranking of No. 322 achieved on November 11, 2024.
Junior career
[edit]Spizzirri achieved a career-high ITF Junior Ranking of No. 20 on 9 September 2019.[1]
He played singles and doubles in all four 2019 junior grand slam events. Spizzirri reached the doubles round of 16 in all four junior grand slams and the singles round of 32 at the Australian Open.[2]
During his ITF junior career, Spizzirri secured five other ITF doubles titles and two singles titles from 2016 to 2018.[3]
In 2017, Spizzirri won the 16s doubles title at the USTA Easter Bowl with Spencer Whitaker [4]
On November 18, 2018, Spizzirri won an ITF title in doubles at the Campeche, Mexico Grade 1 tournament.[5]
College career
[edit]He played college tennis at the University of Texas, where in 2023 and 2024 he was the ITA National Player of the Year, one of only four college tennis players to finish as the top-ranked singles player twice since the ITA rankings began in 1981.[6] In 2023, he was also the ITA Senior Player of the Year.[7] Both years his ranking qualified him for the Accelerator Programme, an ATP/ITA collaboration to accelerate the professional development pathway for players in the American Collegiate system.[8]
In both 2023 and 2024, Spizzirri was named to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-American Men's Tennis Team, earning first-team honors both years and in 2024, he was named the Team Member of the Year, the organization's top honor for men's tennis.[9] He finished the 2023 season as the No. 2 ITA Collegiate Doubles player with partner Cleeve Harper.[10]
In October 2023, Spizzirri captured the singles title at the ITA Men's All-American Championships, becoming the third player from Texas to do so.[11]
Spizzirri was a four-time ITA All-American in doubles and a three-time ITA All-American in singles.[12] In the Big 12, he was a two-time Player of the Year, the first player in Texas history to win the award twice. The 2024 season was the fourth straight Spizzirri earned All-Big 12 recognition, having been on the first team in both singles and doubles in 2023, the second team in both in 2022 when he played through injury, and the first team in both in 2021.[13] He set two Big 12 Player of the Week Award records, achieving the honor 5 times during a season, which he has done twice, and 11 times during his career.[14]
He was the No.1 national tennis recruit in 2019.[15]
Professional career
[edit]2021-2023: Grand Slam debut in doubles
[edit]In 2021, Spizzirri won the singles ITF Futures title in Decatur, Illinois and captured the doubles ITF Futures title in Champaign, Illinois, with Ben Shelton[16]
Spizzirri received a wildcard into the singles qualifying round of the 2021 US Open, where he defeated world No. 163 Alejandro Tabilo 5–7, 7–6, 6–3 in the first round. He also received a wildcard into the doubles main draw that year with Tyler Zink, where they lost in the first round.
Spizzirri competed in the ATP 2023 Lexington Challenger, winning the doubles championship with Tyler Zink with a defeat over George Goldhoff and Vasil Kirkov, and also reached the second round in singles.
He also received a wildcard into the singles qualifying round of the 2023 US Open, where he defeated No. 167 Matteo Gigante 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-1 in the first round, No. 122 Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-4, 6-4 in the second round before he had to retire in the third set of the final round due to heat exhaustion in his match against No. 154 Emilio Nava. That year he also received a wildcard into the doubles main draw again with Tyler Zink, where they lost to French duo Adrian Mannarino (No. 35) and Arthur Rinderknech (No. 73).
2024: First ATP win, Grand Slam debut in singles, top 300
[edit]Spizzirri received a wildcard into the singles qualifying round of the 2024 Miami Open but lost to JJ Wolf in the first round.
Spizzirri has won two ITF World Tennis titles in 2024, capturing the M25 Tulsa, USA in June[17] and the M25 Laval, Canada in July.[18] He also reached the finals of the M25 Wichita, USA, in June, losing to former Texas teammate Micah Braswell, as well as the double final with Cleve Harper.[19]
He recorded his first main draw ATP Tour win at the 2024 Hall of Fame Open over Li Tu as a wildcard.[20]
Ranked No. 343, he made his singles Grand Slam debut at the 2024 US Open after qualifying for the main draw.[21]
Personal life
[edit]Spizzirri's twin brother, Nick, is a first-team All-American[22] squash player at the University of Pennsylvania who finished 11th at the 2019 World Junior Squash Championships.[23]
ATP Challenger and ITF World Tennis Tour finals
[edit]Singles: 5 (3 titles, 2 runner-ups)
[edit]
|
|
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 0–1 | Sep 2024 | Tiburon Challenger, USA | Challenger | Hard |  Nishesh Basavareddy
|
1–6, 1–6 |
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1–0 | Aug 2021 | M25 Decatur, USA | WTT | Hard |  Aidan McHugh
|
6–2, 7–5 |
| Loss | 1–1 | Jun 2024 | M25 Wichita, USA | WTT | Hard | Micah Braswell
|
4–6, 3–6 |
| Win | 2–1 | Jun 2024 | M25 Tulsa, USA | WTT | Hard |  Bernard Tomic
|
6–4, 3–6, 7–6(7–3) |
| Win | 3–1 | Jul 2024 | M25 Laval, Canada | WTT | Hard | Karl Poling
|
6–4, 6–3 |
Doubles: 6 (3 titles, 3 runner-ups)
[edit]
|
|
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1–0 | Jul 2023 | Lexington Challenger, USA | Challenger | Hard | Tyler Zink
|
George Goldhoff Vasil Kirkov
|
4–6, 6–3, [10–8] |
| Loss | 1–1 | Sep 2024 | Tiburon Challenger, USA | Challenger | Hard | Patrick Kypson
|
Luke Saville Tristan Schoolkate
|
4–6, 2–6 |
| Loss | 1–2 | Nov 2024 | Knoxville Challenger, USA | Challenger | Hard (i) | Micah Braswell
|
Patrick Harper Johannus Monday
|
2–6, 2–6 |
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1–0 | Nov 2019 | M15 Austin, USA | WTT | Hard | Tyler Zink
|
Ian Dempster Justin Butsch
|
4–6, 6–3, [10–7] |
| Win | 2–0 | Jul 2021 | M25 Champaign, USA | WTT | Hard | Ben Shelton
|
 Chung Yun-seong  Rio Noguchi
|
6–4, 6–0 |
| Loss | 2–1 | Jun 2024 | M25 Wichita, USA | WTT | Hard |  Cleeve Harper
|
Pranav Kumar Joshua Sheehy
|
7–6(7–4), 3–6, [8–10] |
Junior Grand Slam finals
[edit]Doubles: 1 (1 title)
[edit]| Result | Year | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 2019 | US Open | Hard | Tyler Zink
|
 Andrew Paulson Alexander Zgirovsky
|
7–6(7–4), 6–4 |
References
[edit]- ^ "Eliot Spizzirri Juniors Singles Overview".
- ^ "2022-2023 Men's Tennis Roster".
- ^ "2022-2023 Men's Tennis Roster".
- ^ "Past Champions - Easter Bowl champions since 1968".
- ^ "COPA MUNDIAL CAMPECHE FMT".
- ^ "ITA National Player of the Year".
- ^ "2023 Division 1 Men's Tennis National Awards".
- ^ "ATP and ITA Unite to Accelerate Professional Development for US Collegiate Players".
- ^ "2023-24 Academic All-America® Men's Tennis teams announced for all NCAA and NAIA divisions".
- ^ "ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings sponsored by Tennis-Point".
- ^ "2023 ITA Men's All-American Championships".
- ^ "Three from Men's Tennis earn ITA All-America honors".
- ^ "No. 3 Men's Tennis sweeps Big 12 postseason awards".
- ^ "Spizzirri named Big 12 Men's Tennis Player of the Week".
- ^ "Player record Eliot Spizzirri".
- ^ "2022-2023 Men's Tennis Roster".
- ^ "M25 Tulsa".
- ^ "M25 Laval".
- ^ "M25 Wichita".
- ^ "Former College stars Quinn, Spizzirri win in Newport". 16 July 2024.
- ^ "Spizzirri recovers from missed match points, qualifies for US Open main draw". ATPTour. 22 August 2024.
- ^ "Five Named College Squash All-America; Taha, Kueh, and Spizzirri Named to First Team".
- ^ "2022-2023 Men's Squash Roster".
