Taking his shot: Sacramento native Jenson Brooksby’s fight to join the tennis elite
Jenson Brooksby doesn’t have the style many associate with modern American tennis.
He isn’t known for a big powerful forehand or a bomb of a serve. He isn’t biggest player on the ATP Tour, nor the most athletic. But the 21-year-old Sacramento native has a chance to become one of the best in the world following the promising start to his career in 2021.
“He can go big time,” ESPN tennis analyst Brad Gilbert recently told The Bee. “He can go top five for sure. And maybe even higher. I think he has great potential.”
Gilbert’s lofty praise came with a caveat: He needs to develop his serve into a threatening weapon. That’s the only question in Gilbert’s mind about how good Brooksby could become.
After all, Brooksby was named the ATP’s Newcomer of the Year in 2021. His rise was just short of remarkable, ascending from outside the top 300 in the FedEx ATP Rankings to No. 56 in the world at the end of the year. He’s the third American to win the award since 2000, joining Taylor Fritz in 2016 and former U.S. Open champion, Andy Roddick, who won it in 2001.
Americans have struggled in the tennis rankings for more than a decade. Taylor Fritz was the highest-ranked American at No. 22 last week. An American hasn’t won a Grand Slam event since Andy Roddick won the 2003 U.S. Open. Maybe, just maybe, Brooksby can help the Americans reclaim tennis glory.
“It’s obtainable. But that (serve) is priority No. 1,” Gilbert said. “And if he does develop that, he’s going to do great things.”
On serve and style
Brooksby’s camp doesn’t necessarily agree with Gilbert’s assessment, saying his serve will develop as he continues to grow and work on his body. They want to focus on what’s gotten Brooksby to this point.
How can a player without a serve like Roddick, Pete Sampras or Roger Federer join the elite ranks? They can follow Brooksby’s template, which was cultivated by his coach, Sacramento’s Joe Gilbert (no relation to Brad), who runs JGM Tennis Academy in the Arden Arcade.
Joe Gilbert has been working with Brooksby for 14 years, since he was 7. He has focused on refining Brooksby’s all-around game while watching him develop from a scrappy, undersized youth to a gangly, 6-foot-4 rookie on the ATP Tour.
Gilbert has emphasized minimizing weaknesses and having a sound game plan for opponents. Brooksby is known for intangibles like competitiveness and discipline, his mind for the game and the way he executes game plans.
“We went more with targets, we went more with patterns, we went more with consistency, we went more with changing the different spins and the different angles,” Gilbert said.
Those were the qualities that stood out to Gilbert when Brooksby was young, and Gilbert’s job since Brooksby committed to his tennis career as a 12-year-old was to maximize them. It appears to be working.
“If he would have played the same style as the Americans coming out, he wouldn’t be as successful as he is,” Gilbert said. “He wasn’t big enough, he wasn’t strong enough, he wasn’t physical enough, with the big serve and big forehand and hitting really hard and playing really fast.
“Those weren’t his qualities when he was younger. And so if I would have asked him to that, that would have stunted his growth, hurt his confidence, and I don’t think we’d be where we are today.”
Promising American tennis star
Brooksby starts 2022 atop the list of the promising Americans on tour.
He hit an early season snag last week when he and Gilbert tested positive for COVID-19 less than a week before the Australian Open, which is set to begin Jan. 17.
Neither Brooksby nor Gilbert experienced severe symptoms. But given the time needed to quarantine, test negative and the 17-hour flight to Australia, Brooksby decided to pull out of the tournament a week before to focus on training for the Dallas Open in February.
“It isn’t easy to miss a slam; there are many out there who have suffered worse so I can’t complain!” Brooksby wrote on Instagram. “I look forward to making my Aussie Open debut next year!”
Brooksby made his debut in the U.S. Open last September. He made it to the fourth round, where he took on one of the best players in history, world No. 1 Novak Djokovic.
The match took place under the lights at the center court of Arthur Ashe Stadium, offering Brooksby his first taste of the sport’s biggest stage on his home soil.
Part of what got Brooksby to that point is a mature and professional approach, which isn’t always common for athletes his age. He turned 21 the following month. The stage couldn’t get much bigger, but he didn’t approach it differently than he would another match.
“Because of how I trained and how our culture is, and our mindset in general, I think I was able to focus on that match and try to win that match like any other,” Brooksby said.
“But at the same time, but I appreciated having the opportunity to be able to test my body and my skills and everything in such a place like that. I did really appreciate that. You can learn a lot from all these different stages and have different experiences.”
One point in particular exemplified Brooksby’s game. After a long rally, he fended off Djokovic’s overhand shot near the net, only to set up an unforced error, generating a roar from the American crowd.
After taking the first set, Brooksby succumbed to Djokovic in four sets. His body wore down over the rigors of his first season on the ATP Tour to the point where his fitness was the top offseason priority.
Still, Brooksby caught the attention of Djokovic, who wound up finishing second in the tournament.
“He’s young. He’s 20. He’s got plenty of time,” Djokovic told reporters after the match. “I think we’re going to see a lot of him in the future. Now, obviously, a lot of things have to come together, but he has a bit of an unorthodox game, does a lot with feel. But he’s smart. He knows how to win points.”
Unusual tennis style
Brooksby’s unorthodox game might not be the most aesthetically pleasing. He doesn’t appear to be the most fleet of foot, nor would his form appear in a tennis training manual. But that doesn’t make his style any less effective.
Brad Gilbert, the ESPN analyst, noted Brooksby’s ability to anticipate his opponents’ shots and react to them. It’s the part of his game that stands out, even if it’s hard to pick up for most fans watching on TV. It’s clear those have been some of his best attributes throughout his entire tennis life.
“It doesn’t matter what level he’s playing at,” Gilbert said. “He’s got this great ability to defend. Counter-punch, he attacks from tougher positions than he does from still positions. Andy Murray’s like that. That’s the genius in his game.
“So he has a good ability to vary his paces and surprise you,” Gilbert continued. “But his defending skills, and understanding the court, and understanding his opponents’ strengths that are excellent. That’s why he’s winning the juniors. That’s why he won at the challengers quickly and that’s why he’s winning at the pro level. He understands his opponents.”
There’s also the daily work that goes into improving Brooksby’s body and his game.
Joe Gilbert, Brooksby’s coach, said Brooksby arrives at the tennis academy at 7 or 8 a.m. each day when he’s in town, which he was for the holidays. From there, he works on his fitness for one to two hours, does an hour of work on the court, goes back into the gym to recover, eat lunch, and then goes back to the court for roughly two hours in the afternoon to spar with other players. Then he cools down, stretches, works out for two more hours in the gym, does his recovery routine and heads home for dinner.
“It’s just a physical battle out there to keep him healthy,” Gilbert said. “And that was one of our big issues throughout the year.”
If he can stay healthy, and perhaps develop a stronger serve, Brooksby could win far more than newcomer of the year. And if he could ever win a Grand Slam, maybe he’ll change what we know about American tennis.
