Full list of nominees for 2021 ATP player awards: Andy Murray nominated for Comeback Player of the Year, Rafael Nadal for Sportsmanship Award

With the 2021 men's tennis season drawing to a close, the ATP has announced the names of players who have made a major impact on the tour. Nominees for the annual ATP Player Awards have been announced, and here's how the lists look in each category:

2021 Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award of the Year

Nominees:

Rafael Nadal

Frances Tiafoe

Casper Ruud

Felix Auger-Aliassime

Rafael Nadal has won the award in the last three years, but could face stiff competition from Next Gen players Casper Ruud, Frances Tiafoe and Felix Auger-Aliassime this time around.

2021 Comeback Player of the Year

Nominees:

Andy Murray

Jack Sock

Mackenzie McDonald

Thanasi Kokkinakis

Murray won the award in 2019, and is once again in contention following a decent season. McDonald reached his maiden final at the Washington Open and also made the fourth round of the Australian Open in what was a solid season for the American.

Kokkinakis returned from injury this year, but played only four events.

Sock, meanwhile, ground it out on the Challenger circuit at the start of the year, before progressing to the main tour. He won his first title in more than three years in doubles at the Hall of Fame Open and is the slight favorite to triumph in this category.

2021 Newcomer of the Year

Nominees:

Brandon Nakashima

Sebastian Baez

Jenson Brooksby

Hugo Gaston

Juan Manuel Cerundolo

Jenson Brooksby is the overwhelming favorite to win this award. The American reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career at the US Open and also advanced to the final of the Hall of Fame Open.

2021 Most Improved Player of the Year

Nominees:

Carlos Alcaraz

Cameron Norrie

Aslan Karatsev

Casper Ruud

With five titles, a semifinal appearance at the ATP Finals and a career-high ranking of No. 8, Ruud made giant strides this season and is the favorite to win in this category.

While Alcaraz continued to deliver on his potential, Karatsev made a breakthrough, reaching the semifinals of the Australian Open on his Grand Slam debut at the age of 27.

Norrie also turned out to be a relatively late bloomer, winning his maiden ATP 1000 title at the BNP Paribas Open.

2021 ATP Coach of the Year

Daniil Medvedev and Gilles Cervara at the 2020 Paris Masters.

Nominees:

Gilles Cervara (Medvedev)

Christian Ruud (Ruud)

Juan Carlos Ferrero (Alcaraz)

Facundo Lugones (Norrie)

Craig Boynton (Hurkacz)

Gilles Cervara won the award in 2019 and is a strong contender to double up after leading Daniil Medvedev to his maiden Grand Slam title at the US Open.

While the rest of the coaches on this list have helped their respective players progress tremendously, Medvedev's achievements under Cervara this year tilt the balance in his coach's favor.

Also Check Out: Updated Tennis Schedule 2022

About the author

Rohit is a journalist at Sportskeeda who specializes in covering tennis. Having been with the company for four years, he has proven himself as a formidable force in the field. With a Master's degree in law, Rohit brings his analytical and research skills to the forefront as a journalist. He stays on top of the game by using social media platforms and never misses a match for on-court insights. He values giving credit where it's due, keeping his reporting fair and accurate.

At the outset of his career, Rohit found his niche in writing previews and SEO pieces and it's this expertise that continues to define his role at Sportskeeda. He is particularly proud of one article that garnered an impressive 750k views and surpassed his "wildest dreams." Rohit is not particularly fond of (GOAT) debates and it is one of the reasons why he left the legal world behind. He prefers to view players in "tiers," where they're all esteemed to an extent. However, if pressed to name favorites, he would choose Serena and Venus Williams. The Williams sisters' journey from humble beginnings to the pinnacle of tennis has been his greatest source of inspiration.

When he isn't busy making spot-on predictions about match outcomes, Rohit likes reading, particularly fantasy, sci-fi, and comics. As an X-Men fanatic, he's also passionate about board games and enjoys watching movies in his spare time. And don't be surprised if you catch him silently wishing to the tennis gods for the removal of ad scoring from doubles.

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Edited by Arvind Sriram