Koolhof/Skupski Honoured As ATP Doubles No. 1 presented by Pepperstone In Turin

Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour

After a standout first year together on the ATP Tour, Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski’s 2022 achievements were recognised on Thursday when they were crowned ATP Doubles No. 1 presented by Pepperstone in a special ceremony at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin.

The Dutch-British team was presented the year-end No. 1 doubles trophy by ATP Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi on court at the Pala Alpitour, where Koolhof and Skupski are competing as the top seeds at the prestigious season finale.

“It’s incredible,” said Skupski. “We only came together in January. One of our goals was just to make the Nitto ATP Finals. We’ve come in and won seven titles this year and come in as the No. 1 seeds. So this is a dream come true, to end the year No. 1.”

Koolhof and Skupski currently hold a 55-18 record for the season, which has been headlined by ATP Masters 1000 titles in Madrid, Montreal and Paris. The pair also lifted ATP 250 trophies in Melbourne, Adelaide, Doha and ‘s-Hertogenbosch.

“That’s the main thing, the main difference between singles and doubles,” said Koolhof, when asked about what made the duo such a great team. “We win together, lose together, share moments on and off court together… In January the click was there from the beginning. We have the same interests off the court as well, we have the same idea of how to practise and how to play tennis in general.”

^{Photo Credit: Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour}
Koolhof and Skupski defeated Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios on their Nitto ATP Finals team debut on Monday in Turin but were then defeated in two tight sets on Wednesday by Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic. They face a crucial match on Friday against Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek as they bid to reach the semi-finals.

“We’ve won one, lost one, this week, we’ve got it all to do tomorrow in an all-or-nothing tie, so hopefully we can continue our good form and progress to the semi-finals,” said Skupski. “It’s been an amazing year and hopefully it continues.

“We’ve done very well this year, seven titles and three Masters titles," added Koolhof. "So hopefully we can still finish strong here tomorrow.”