Jenson Brooksby

Jenson Brooksby is one of American tennis's genuine originals — a Sacramento product who skipped a Baylor scholarship to turn pro after losing the entire 2020 season to injury. The pedigree was already there: he beat Brandon Nakashima for the 2018 USTA Boys' 18s national title and a US Open wildcard, then broke through for real in 2021 with a fourth-round run in New York that included a win over compatriot Taylor Fritz.

Nobody on tour plays quite like him. Brooksby is a right-handed counterpuncher who builds points out of disguise and off-pace junk — flat, low slices, sudden change-ups, and a knack for redirecting pace that drags bigger hitters into errors. The serve is a liability and he doesn't overpower anyone; the value is in the maze. At his best he's a problem for the elite — he pushed Novak Djokovic and built an early lead on Carlos Alcaraz before falling, the kind of results that hinted at a much higher ceiling than his ranking suggested.

The arc bent hard in the middle. Brooksby reached a career high in the top 35 before a wrist that needed multiple surgeries and an 18-month doping ban — for missed tests, not a positive — wiped out chunks of 2023 and 2024. He has also been open about living with autism spectrum disorder, having been nonverbal until age four, a detail he made public around his comeback. The return has been a slow climb back through the rankings rather than a straight line.

Now ranked 73, Brooksby is rebuilding through the back half of the tour, still capable of derailing a seed on a given afternoon. For a player whose whole game is about making opponents uncomfortable, the comeback fits the profile.