It seemed a dizzying rise when Christopher Eubanks unleashed his power-packed game in a career-best quarterfinal campaign at Wimbledon. Weeks earlier, the 27-year-old American had lost in the second round of the Surbiton Challenger and promptly declared that grass-court tennis was “stupid.”
Fortunately, the Atlanta-born-and-based Eubanks has some handy tennis connections. He texted his friend, former world No.1 Kim Clijsters, who advised patience and a focus on footwork.
Soon afterwards, Eubanks had celebrated both a breakthrough first ATP title in Mallorca, plus wins over No.11 seed Cameron Norrie and fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in a career-best Grand Slam campaign at The Championships.
“I'm loving the grass right now,” laughed Eubanks. “That person who texted Kim was not too high on it.”
It wasn’t the first time the American had learned the value of persistence. In fact, it wasn’t even the most important one, with a despondent Eubanks almost quitting the sport completely as he struggled to gain traction when the tennis tours resumed after the pandemic.
“I had a real sit-down with my agent in 2021 and I said, ‘Listen, if I'm still 200 by next year and injuries haven't played a part, I can do something else with my time’,” reflected Eubanks, who subsequently lost in the second round of Australian Open 2022 qualifying.
“It's not that glamorous if you're ranked around 200.”
And it wasn’t as if the charismatic Eubanks lacked options. With a business degree earned as he pursued the college tennis pathway at Georgia Tech, he’d developed a broader skillset. A commentary role with Tennis Channel became a welcome side gig – and carried the silver lining that it actually helped his tennis.
“Now I think doing the commentary has kind of helped my game in a sense,” said Eubanks, explaining how it helped him develop a more analytical mindset in reading patterns of play. “It’s something that I'm looking forward to continuing, no matter what my ranking is.”
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But as that ranking continues to rise – from a top-100 debut in April, he’s climbed to a career-high No.43 after his Mallorca title and is projected to crack the top 35 post-Wimbledon – the focus for Eubanks is now entirely on his tennis.
At 201 centimetres tall, Eubanks is armed with a booming serve, firing 85 aces in his first four Wimbledon matches. Dazzling groundstrokes are helped by tremendous reach, with thrilling athleticism completing the package.
But as a growing band of supporters have caught on to the Eubanks success story at Wimbledon – even enthusiastic Brits were forgiving him for a five-set second-round win over Norrie – it was arguably his outlook that is most appealing.
The 27-year-old expressed his gratitude for every aspect of his successful debut at The All England Club, after four previous attempts were thwarted in qualifying.
“Everything from realising that I have two credentials at Wimbledon for the rest of my life, to checking my phone and seeing my name as an ESPN alert, to realising how much I disliked grass at the beginning of the grass court season, to now look at where I am,” he said of the life-changing experience.
The American is equally quick to gratefully acknowledge his many supporters. The son of father Chris (a Baptist minister) and mother Carla, Eubanks grew up alongside some prominent American tennis figures, including Jarmere Jenkins (Serena Williams’ long-time hitting partner) and Jarmere’s brother Jermaine (a high-profile USTA coach), with former pro player Donald Young another notable influence.
There are also valuable friendships with WTA superstars Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka, who helped instill critical lessons.
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“They've been saying for a long time that they feel like I belong at this level. For a long time I questioned, again, whether or not I was consistent enough to play at this level really consistently,” Eubanks revealed.
“I knew I could come out on any match and maybe light it up, could cause some guys some trouble. I don't know if I really believed I could put it together match after match after match against quality opponents.
“That's something Coco has been telling me for a long time. Naomi even says the same thing … When I'm around them, to hear them talk about their belief, it's a bit infectious. It does rub off on you.”
There’s also inspiration from another tennis superstar; Eubanks was honoured to portray the late Arthur Ashe in a recent documentary.
“It was really, really cool. It was an experience not just doing film… but also having to do the research that I did, having to go back and watch old film to try to get the technique down,” he explained.
“Also watching tons of interviews of him just to try to learn his demeanor, his perspective on things, his philosophy, how important education was. So many different things that it challenged me. But it was also super, super rewarding when I got to see the final project.”
Equally enriching is Eubanks’ dream debut at Wimbledon.
“I just think the entire experience all together has just been a whirlwind. It's been something that you dream about,” he smiled.
“But I think for me I didn't really know if that dream would actually come true.
“I'm sitting here in it now, so it's pretty cool.”