For the first time since Andy Roddick in 2002, an American 20-year-old has finished in the Top 50 of the ATP Rankings.
After a season in which he reached a pair of ATP Finals, Alex Michelsen ended 2024 ranked No. 41 in the world, and he has committed to make the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship part of his 2025 schedule.
Michelsen will be joined at River Oaks by countryman Tommy Paul as well as Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry and Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo for the March 29-April 6 tournament.
“We are delighted to welcome Alex back again in 2025,” said Tournament Director Bronwyn Greer. “It’s always an honor to showcase the ATP’s up-and-coming talent, and we enjoy the chance to see these players develop into stars and follow them throughout their careers.”
The Dec.19 announcement of Michelsen’s participation comes 100 days before the tournament and on the same day Michelsen has advanced to the semifinals while making his second straight appearance at the ATP’s Next Gen Finals, an event for the eight-best 20-and-under players from the season.
Michelsen finished 2024 as the second-youngest player in the ATP Top 50 and the youngest American in the Top 100. He climbed in the rankings by reaching a pair of ATP finals – at Newport and Winston-Salem – while also making one semifinal and five quarterfinals and defeating four Top 20 foes along the way. He also teamed with Mackenzie McDonald to reach the doubles final at the Masters 1000 in Cincinnati.
In 2023, Michelsen came to River Oaks for the first time where he fell in a difficult three-set battle to Max Purcell. Later in the season, he broke through to reach his first ATP final at Newport. He also claimed a pair of Challenger titles from four finals.
Tennis is certainly in Michelsen’s pedigree, as both of his parents played college tennis. His junior career was highlighted by a junior Wimbledon double title.
Paul will lead the American contingent at River Oaks in 2025. The Olympic doubles bronze medalist finished at a career-best year-end ranking of No. 12 after winning three ATP titles and personal-best 45 match wins. He will be making his fourth appearance at River Oaks, where he claimed his first-ever ATP match victory in 2016.
Etcheverry was the 2023 US Clay finalist and returned in 2024 to reach the semifinals. A 2023 French Open quarterfinalist, he boasts a 40-33 career clay court record. In 2024, he was runner-up in Lyon, semifinalist in Barcelona and reached the quarterfinals at Buenos Aires and Cordoba – all clay court events.
Tabilo won a pair of titles in 2024 and broke into the ATP’s Top 20 for the first time. The left-hander claimed his first career title in January by winning Auckland as a qualifier, then lifted the trophy at the grass court event in Mallorca. On clay, he was finalist in Santiago and semifinalist at the ATP Masters 1000 in Rome.
At US Clay in 2024, Ben Shelton defeated Frances Tiafoe in an all-American singles final while the Australian duo of Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson won their second straight doubles title. The 2025 U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship will be the 15th edition of the century-old tournament to be held at River Oaks Country Club.
