challenger
How American Boyer Has Argentinian Talent
The 23-year-old has won three Challenger claycourt titles this season.
November 26, 2024
Joao Pires
Tristan Boyer is only the second American in ATP Challenger Tour history to record 44 wins in a season.
grant thompson
The late-season swing on South American clay courts is not where you typically see Americans competing on the ATP Challenger Tour. But California native Tristan Boyer feels at home playing on red soil, having visited countries including Argentina, Brazil, Peru and Uruguay during non-traditional seasons.
Over the past month, Boyer has been the only American in the singles main draw for Campinas and Montevideo Challengers. Who received the trophy in each event? Boyer, 23, tied the Challenger record for most wins in a season (44) by an American this year.
“It’s definitely the best I’ve ever played,” Boyer told ATPTour.com. “It’s an unbelievable feeling. It’s crazy to end the year with a title. I called coach. [Alejandro Fabbri] Immediately afterwards he said, ‘Okay, you should appreciate this. Not many people end the year with a title.”
Boyer turned pro in 2022 after one season at Stanford University and did not have a PIF ATP ranking as recently as March 2023. Boyer, currently ranked 134th in the world, is the first American to win three clay-court Challengers events in a single year. His first victory came in March in Mérida, Mexico.
What helped Boyer become a natural who, on the surface, could be an enemy to many Americans? It starts with Zibu Ncube, Boyer’s junior coach from Zimbabwe. Los Angeles-based Kochi began importing red clay from Europe.
“When he bought the court, it worked like a green clay court. It was like that. He then began importing real brick-colored clay. He ships it from Italy,” Boyer said. “It’s like a real red clay coat. That’s what I played from when I was 16 until I was about 17 and a half.
“It’s a bit difficult in the winter. It gets a little wet and damp, but in the summer it’s really nice to play like a European red clay court. When I need a clay court in LA, I still go there. I think I’ve played more on clay courts than hard courts since I was 16. I like it a lot. Probably just as much, if not more, on hard courts.”
Tristan Boyer in action at Campinas Challenger.” style=”width:100%;” src=”https://www.atptour.com/-/media/images/news/2024/10/21/03/59 / boyer-campinasch-2024.jpg”>
Tristan Boyer in action at Campinas Challenger. Credit: Joao Pires
Boyer still lives in the United States, but is spending significant time in Argentina and is heading into three weeks of pre-season training with the team. Boyer’s coach, Fabbri, worked with a roster that included Diego Schwartzman, Leonardo Mayer, Victor Estrella Burgos, Federico Coria and 31-year-old Hugo Dellien, whom the American beat in the final in Montevideo.
As Boyer prepared for two of his five games in Montevideo, his hitting partner was Uruguayan former soccer star Diego Forlan. He made his professional tennis debut that week, playing doubles with Korea.
“He’s a really, really good guy,” Boyer said of Forlan. “And a solid tennis player who can keep me warm as much as your average sparring partner. “Honestly, it’s pretty impressive.”
Adding another humorous twist to Boyer’s South American run is that Fabbri coaches Argentina’s Juan Pablo Ficovich. He had been competing on hard courts in the United States for two weeks while the American was fighting on red clay. “It was fun,” Boyer said. In October, Boyer defeated Ficovich in the final of the Campinas Challenger.
After winning in Montevideo, Boyer addressed the crowd in Spanish, which he learned in school and refined during his time in South America. He is coming off an outstanding season at the Challenger level with a 44-23 record. Kevin Kim is the only American to have 44 wins (2004) on the ATP Challenger Tour.
Tristan Boyer wins the Montevideo Challenger.” style=”width:100%;” src=”https://www.atptour.com/-/media/images/news/2024/11/25/ 22/18/boyer- Montevideoch-2024-check.jpg”>
Tristan Boyer won the Montevideo Challenger. Credit: Uruguay Open
“One of the secrets I’m really grateful for is that I’ve been healthy all year. That was really, really key.” “I’m not going to be able to play,” said Boyer, who was sidelined for most of the entire 2022 season due to a bone swelling injury in his left foot. “Playing the entire season without missing a tournament due to injury was one of the goals we set at the beginning of the year. My physical training team, Tennis Training Pros from Buenos Aires, always do a really, really good job.”
Always quick to credit the entire team for his success, Boyer is determined to build on Challenger’s breakthrough as he looks ahead to next year.
“My next goal is to be in the top 100 based on rankings,” Boyer said. “Being the best I can be is always the goal. Doing the right things, being smart about the process. Making the right decisions about what we are doing and how we can get better so we can stay on the right path. We will see the results one day.”
Did you know?
Boyer and Frances Tiafoe are the only Americans to win three clay-court Challengers in the past decade. Tiafoe had two wins in 2017 and one in 2020.
