Wikipedia

J. J. Wolf

Jeffrey John "J. J." Wolf (born December 21, 1998) is an American professional tennis player. He achieved a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 39 on 13 February 2023. Wolf played collegiately at Ohio State University.[1]

J. J. Wolf
Wolf at the 2023 US Open
Full nameJeffrey John Wolf
Country (sports) United States
ResidenceCincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
Born (1998-12-21) December 21, 1998 (age 25)
Indian Hill, Ohio, U.S.
Height6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Turned pro2019
PlaysRight-handed (two handed-backhand)
CollegeOhio State University
CoachPatrick Thompson, David Kass, Matt Vaughn
Prize money$2,184,301
Singles
Career record44–49 (47.3%)
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 39 (13 February 2023)
Current rankingNo. 102 (8 April 2024)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open4R (2023)
French Open1R (2023)
Wimbledon2R (2023)
US Open3R (2020, 2022)
Doubles
Career record1–4
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 543 (22 May 2023)
Current rankingNo. 583 (29 January 2024)
Grand Slam doubles results
Wimbledon1R (2023)
US Open1R (2016)
Last updated on: 30 January 2024.

Early years edit

Wolf was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and attended Cincinnati Country Day School in Indian Hill, Ohio.[2] He is the grandson of NBA basketball coach Charles Wolf.[3]

In 2016, as the nation's third ranked recruit, he committed to playing collegiate tennis for the Ohio State Buckeyes.[4]

On the junior tour, Wolf has a career-high ranking of No. 18 achieved on May 16, 2016.

College edit

In his first season, at Ohio State University, Wolf was named 2017 Big Ten Freshman of the Year and First-Team All Big Ten.[5]

As of April 23, 2019 Wolf was the No. 1 ranked college player in the U.S.[6]

In 2019, Wolf had a combined record of 45–3 between singles and doubles.[7] On April 25, 2019, Wolf was named Big Ten Men's Tennis Athlete of the Year.[8]

Career edit

2016–2017: Major doubles debut edit

Wolf made his Grand Slam main-draw debut at the 2016 US Open in the doubles event, partnering with John McNally. He received a wildcard to play in the men's singles qualifying competition for the 2017 US Open, but did not win a set.[9]

2018: First top 100 win edit

On August 12, 2018, Wolf defeated world No. 85 Jozef Kovalik in the first round of qualifying at the 2018 Western and Southern Open in Mason, Ohio.[10] Wolf won the match 7–6, 7–6. This upset marked Wolf's first win against an ATP top 100 player.

2019: Turning professional edit

Wolf began playing semi-pro tennis in 2016 and three years later, in July 2019, signed with Topnotch Management to play professionally.[11] He turned pro after going 35–2 and earning Big Ten Player of the Year honors as a junior at Ohio State.

On September 22, Wolf made it to the finals of the Columbus 3 Challenger event, losing to Peter Polansky. He beat fellow rising American Michael Mmoh in the round of 16 and top seed Emilio Gómez in the semifinals.[12]

Wolf reached a career-high of No. 189 in the ATP singles rankings on November 18, 2019, after winning the 2019 Champaign Challenger, defeating Sebastian Korda in a tight two-and-a-half hour match.[13][14] In January 2020 he started the year by winning the ATP Challenger Tour final in Nouméa, defeating Yuichi Sugita in the final.

2020: Top 150 & Major debut & third round at US Open edit

As of August 2020, Wolf won four Challenger titles and was victorious in three of his last five events dating back to the previous season. He was 14–2 with two titles during the first two months of 2020 before play was suspended due to the pandemic and made his top 150 debut on March 2, 2020, at World No. 144.

He qualified for the Western & Southern Open and was awarded a wildcard to the main draw at the 2020 U.S. Open. At the U.S. Open, Wolf defeated 29th-seeded Guido Pella of Argentina 6–2, 0–6, 6–3, 6–3 in the first round. Wolf went on to defeat Spain's Roberto Carballés Baena 6–2, 6–4, 6–3 in round two, before losing in the third round to Russian Daniil Medvedev 6–3, 6–3, 6–2.[15] Wolf is only the third Ohio State Buckeye to reach the third round at the US Open after Francisco González in 1980 and Roger Smith in 1994.[16]

2021: Hiatus after hernia operations edit

In early 2021, Wolf underwent two hernia operations and could not compete for seven months.[17]

2022: First two Masters wins & ATP final, US Open third round, top 60 edit

 
Wolf practicing at Citi Open, August 3, 2022

Ranked 209th at the 2022 Abierto Mexicano Telcel in Acapulco, Wolf reached the second round as a qualifier after defeating World No. 21 Lorenzo Sonego. It was his first ATP win since the 2020 US Open and only the third of his career.

At his next tournament in Indian Wells, Wolf, having qualified for the tournament again, beat Hugo Gaston in straight sets before losing in three sets to 15th seed Roberto Bautista Agut, despite having a match point in the third set. Wolf then reached the semifinals at the Phoenix Challenger, losing to eventual champion Denis Kudla. Wolf then qualified for Miami, and beat Daniel Altmaier in the first round.[18] He lost in three sets to third seed and world No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second round.[19]

He reached the top 100 at World No. 99 on 1 August 2022. Also in August, at the 2022 Citi Open, he reached the round of 16 after defeating 6th seed Denis Shapovalov.[20] He reached an ATP 500 quarterfinal for the first time in his career after defeating 9th seed Holger Rune.[21] The same day he lost in his quarterfinal match to top seed Andrey Rublev. As a result, he moved up 15 positions to a new career-high of World No. 84 on August 8, 2022.

At the US Open he upset 16th seed Roberto Bautista Agut.[22] Next he defeated Alejandro Tabilo to reach the third round for a second time at this Major. He lost to Nick Kyrgios in straight sets.[23] As a result, he moved into the top 75 in the rankings to a new career-high of No. 72 on September 12, 2022.

At the 2022 Firenze Open he reached his first ATP semifinal in his career by defeating fourth seed Maxime Cressy in the round of 16 [24] and seventh seed Alexander Bublik in the quarterfinals.[25] He defeated qualifier Mikael Ymer in the semifinals to reach the first final of his career which he lost in straight sets to Félix Auger-Aliassime. As a result, he moved 20 positions up into the top 60 in the rankings at world No. 56 on October 17, 2022.[26]

2023: Australian Open debut and fourth round, Masters fourth round, top 40 edit

At the 2023 Australian Open, Wolf reached the fourth round, defeating Jordan Thompson, 23rd seed Diego Schwartzman and Michael Mmoh before losing to fellow American Ben Shelton in five sets.[27] Following this match, Wolf rose into the top 50 in the ATP rankings at world No. 48 on 30 January 2023.[28]

He reached the third round of a Masters 1000 for the first time on his debut at the 2023 Italian Open (tennis), defeating 14th seed Hubert Hurkacz.

Seeded sixth at the 2023 Dallas Open, he reached his second tour-level semifinal in his career after defeating qualifier Brandon Holt, Radu Albot and second seed Frances Tiafoe.[29] As a result, he moved into the top 40 in the rankings at No. 39 on 13 February 2023. Seeded ninth at the 2023 Delray Beach Open, he lost in the round of 16 to Adrian Mannarino. Seeded fifth in Houston he lost in the quarterfinals to Gijs Brouwer.

At the 2023 Rolex Shanghai Masters he reached the third round of a Masters 1000 for a second time in his career and also in his debut at this tournament, defeating 15th seed Cameron Norrie.[30] Next he defeated Matteo Arnaldi to reach the fourth round for the first time at a Masters 1000.[31] He qualified at the 2023 Rolex Paris Masters on his debut at this tournament.

ATP career finals edit

Singles: 1 (1 runner-up) edit

Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
ATP Tour Finals (0–0)
ATP Tour Masters 1000 (0–0)
ATP Tour 500 Series (0–0)
ATP Tour 250 Series (0–1)
Finals by surface
Hard (0–1)
Clay (0–0)
Grass (0–0)
Finals by setting
Outdoor (0–0)
Indoor (0–1)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Loss 0–1 Oct 2022 Firenze Open, Italy 250 Series Hard (i)   Félix Auger-Aliassime 4–6, 4–6

ATP Challenger and ITF Futures finals edit

Singles: 7 (6–1) edit

Legend (singles)
ATP Challenger Tour (5–1)
ITF Futures Tour (1–0)
Titles by surface
Hard (6–1)
Clay (0–0)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Win 1–0 Oct 2017 USA F34, Harlingen Futures Hard   Evan Zhu 6–7(1–7), 6–1, 6–2
Win 2–0 Jan 2019 Columbus, USA Challenger Hard (i)   Mikael Torpegaard 6–7(4–7), 6–3, 6–4
Loss 2–1 Sep 2019 Columbus, USA Challenger Hard (i)   Peter Polansky 3–6, 6–7(4–7)
Win 3–1 Nov 2019 Champaign, USA Challenger Hard (i)   Sebastian Korda 6–4, 6–7(3–7), 7–6(8–6)
Win 4–1 Jan 2020 Nouméa, New Caledonia Challenger Hard   Yūichi Sugita 6–2, 6–2
Win 5–1 Mar 2020 Columbus, USA Challenger Hard (i)   Denis Istomin 6–4, 6–2
Win 6–1 Oct 2021 Las Vegas, USA Challenger Hard   Stefan Kozlov 6–4, 6–4

Performance timeline edit

Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.

Singles edit

Current through the 2024 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships.

Tournament 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 SR W–L Win %
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A A A Q2 A Q2 4R 1R 0 / 2 3–2 60%
French Open A A A Q1 A A 1R 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Wimbledon A A A NH A A 2R 0 / 1 1–1 50%
US Open Q1 A Q1 3R Q2 3R 1R 0 / 3 4–3 67%
Win–loss 0–0 0–0 0–0 2–1 0–0 2–1 4–4 0–1 0 / 7 8–7 53%
ATP Tour Masters 1000
Indian Wells Masters A A Q2 NH 1R 2R 1R 1R 0 / 4 1–4 20%
Miami Open A A A NH A 2R 2R Q2 0 / 2 2–2 50%
Monte-Carlo Masters A A A NH A A A A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Madrid Open A A A NH A A 1R A 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Italian Open A A A A A A 3R 0 / 1 2–1 67%
Canadian Open A A A NH Q1 A 1R 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Cincinnati Masters A Q2 Q2 1R Q1 1R 1R 0 / 3 0–3 0%
Shanghai Masters A A A NH 4R 0 / 1 3–1 75%
Paris Masters A A A A A A 1R 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Win–loss 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–1 0–1 2–3 6–8 0–1 0 / 14 8–14 36%
Career statistics
Tournaments 0 0 0 3 3 13 25 5 Career total: 49
Titles 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Career total: 0
Finals 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 Career total: 1
Overall win–loss 0–0 0–0 0–0 2–3 0–3 15–13 26–25 1–5 0 / 49 44–49 47%
Year-end ranking 658 364 188 127 174 66 53 $2,090,586

References edit

  1. ^ "JJ Wolf – Player Profile". Ohio State Buckeyes. The Ohio State University. May 21, 2018. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
  2. ^ "JJ Wolf – Player Information". Tennis Recruiting Network.
  3. ^ "Glory Days: Dances with 'Wolfs'".
  4. ^ Jones, Ali (April 25, 2016). "JJ Wolf Stays Home at Ohio State". tennisrecruiting.net. Tennis Recruiting Network. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
  5. ^ "Big Ten Men's Tennis All-Conference Teams and Individual Awards Announced". BIG TEN Men's Tennis. BIG TEN. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
  6. ^ "ITA Men's Singles Rankings". Intercollegiate Tennis Association. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  7. ^ "Men's Tennis Season Statistics". Ohio State Buckeyes. The Ohio State University. January 27, 2019. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  8. ^ "Big Ten Men's Tennis All-Conference Teams and Individual Awards Announced". BIGTen. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
  9. ^ "Kypson Digs Deep For Second Kalamazoo Title". Tennis Recruiting Network. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  10. ^ Brennan, Patrick (August 12, 2018). "Cincinnati Country Day's J.J. Wolf Scores Upset at Western & Southern Open". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
  11. ^ "JJ Wolf Signs With Topnotch Management". TopNotch. July 19, 2019. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  12. ^ "Polansky Takes Columbus Challenger Title". September 23, 2019. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  13. ^ "ATP Singles Rankings". Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  14. ^ "JJ Wolf Wins Champaign Challenger". Ohio State University. November 17, 2019. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  15. ^ "Daniil Medvedev ends J.J. Wolf's run at the 2020 US Open". US Open. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  16. ^ "J.J. Wolf onto the third round at the US Open". Ohio State Buckeyes. September 3, 2020. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  17. ^ "J.J. Wolf | Bio | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  18. ^ "With Mullet Gone, J.J. Wolf Fully Focussed on Stefanos Tsitsipas | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  19. ^ "Tsitsipas Pulls Away Late In Wolf Rematch". ATP Tour. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
  20. ^ "Wolf's Shapovalov Upset Leads American Charge In Washington". ATP Tour. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  21. ^ "Citi Open: Wolf into last eight after upsetting Rune". August 5, 2022.
  22. ^ "J.J. Wolf Upsets Roberto Bautista Agut at US Open | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  23. ^ "My Tennis Life: J.J. Wolf gathers Wolf Pack for Nick Kyrgios showdown at US Open".
  24. ^ "Roberto Carballes Baena Stuns Matteo Berrettini in Florence | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  25. ^ "Wolf Back: J.J. Wolf Fights into First Semifinal in Florence - Tennis Now".
  26. ^ "JJ Wolf Powers into Florence Final | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  27. ^ "Ben Shelton Reaches The QFs At The Australian Open | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  28. ^ "Ranking Reaction: Novak Djokovic returns to No. 1 after winning 10th Australian Open title".
  29. ^ "Wolf's Comeback Topples Tiafoe in Dallas QFS | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  30. ^ "Casper Ruud Defeats Christopher Eubanks in Shanghai | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  31. ^ "Ugo Humbert Upsets Stefanos Tsitsipas After Midnight in Shanghai | ATP Tour | Tennis".

External links edit

 
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