Yuki Bhambri

[PKBasu]

Hopefully it only suggests a full commitment to Korea rather than Uzbekistan; it would be bizarre to fly first to Uzbekistan for a Futures and then go all the way to Korea for the Challengers there.

[PKBasu]

Yuki is still in the entry list with his protected ranking at Gimcheon (Korea) but the following week has entered the Karshi (Uzbekistan) Challenger with his raw ranking (which gets him into the main draw there). Fingers crossed that he is able to play one or both!

[arjun2761]

Good sign that he is actually entering tournaments instead of withdrawing from them. Seems to indicate that he feels ready to play. Keeping fingers crossed....

[sameerph]

With his SF run at Karshi challenger, Yuki back inside top 250 being ranked #241 and also back as India #1 as RamK drops to 262. He has played 5 challengers this year and reached SF in 3 of them. He has a 14-7 record against top 250 players this year which indicates that he is playing better than his current top 250 ranking. It looks like some fitness issues are still holding him back for going deeper in tournaments. Hope he is able to do that soon.

[PKBasu]

I think entry into Wimbledon qualifying will be touch and go for Yuki with this ranking. Although many clay-courters skip the grass season, I think fewer will skip Wimbledon, given the higher prize money available now. I hope Yuki wins a few matches at Roland Garros.

[prashanthm]

First things first, I hope Yuki makes it to the main draw of Roland Garros.....

[arjun2761]

I suspect PKB meant including the qualifiers at Roland Garros as there is some points and significant prize money in winning rounds at a GS qualifier...

BTW, it appears that Yuki's 9 month period for using his PR ends on June 26 (if it is based on tournament date and not entry date of which I'm not sure if that is the case). Ideally, he should have waited one week in coming back and then he would have a direct entry into Wimbledon qualies as well...

[PKBasu]

Yes, Arjun is right about what I meant. If Yuki wins a round at FO qualifying, his ranking will rise to around 234 (still touch and go for Wimbledon), but will rise to 223 if he wins two rounds, thereby guaranteeing his place at W qualifying in Roehampton. Of course we are all interpreting the rule based on date of first tournament entry (rather than the date on which those points enter the computer; if it is the latter then Yuki might still be able to use his PR at Wimbledon, and our anxious discussions are moot).

[sameerph]

FO qualifying points are updated only after FO is completed. i.e 12th June. So, they won't count for Wimbledon qualies cut off.

Incidentally, last year for Wimbledon qualies final cut off was 254 ( although initial cut off was 231). So, hopefully Yuki's ranking of 241 would be good enough to get him an entry ( that is assuming his SE eligibility expires before that).

[prasen9]

Yes, Arjun is right about what I meant. If Yuki wins a round at FO qualifying, his ranking will rise to around 234 (still touch and go for Wimbledon), but will rise to 223 if he wins two rounds, thereby guaranteeing his place at W qualifying in Roehampton. Of course we are all interpreting the rule based on date of first tournament entry (rather than the date on which those points enter the computer; if it is the latter then Yuki might still be able to use his PR at Wimbledon, and our anxious discussions are moot).

Here is the rule:

If a player is physically injured and does not compete in any tennis event for
a period of at least six (6) months but less than twelve (12) months, the entry
protection shall be in effect for the first nine (9) singles and the first nine (9)
doubles tournaments that the player competes in using the entry protection
(excluding wild cards and entries as a direct acceptance with his current position
in the Emirates ATP Rankings) or for the period up to nine (9) months
beginning with the first tennis event, including Special Events – Exhibitions,
that the player competes in, whichever occurs first.

It seems like 9 months from the first day of the first tennis event he comes back in. But, I am not sure since the language is somewhat ambiguous.

[arjun2761]

Yes, the language is a little ambiguous but I'm sure the ATP tour now has precedent on what it means. Based on plain meaning, it's more likely that the tournaments you "compete in" cover tournaments actually played in the 9 month window in which case Yuki's September 26, 2016 return date would exclude the main Wimbledon which starts on the week of July 2. However, the qualifying tournament does start on the week of June 26, 2017, so perhaps he would still be eligible for that as he not used his 9 singles tournaments yet.

[sameerph]

It will be touch and go as technically 9 month period ends on June 25 a day before Wimbledon qualies start.

As of now Yuki has used up 5 of his 9 SE spots. He will use the 6th one next week at French open qualies.

3 more left. Just saw that he has entered Surbiton challenger starting June 5 using SE . He can certainly save the last one for Wimbledon qualies if eligible.

[arjun2761]

It will be touch and go as technically 9 month period ends on June 25 a day before Wimbledon qualies start.

As of now Yuki has used up 5 of his 9 SE spots. He will use the 6th one next week at French open qualies.

3 more left. Just saw that he has entered Surbiton challenger starting June 5 using SE . He can certainly save the last one for Wimbledon qualies if eligible.

Not sure how the ATP calculates the time period but at least in the US most legal deadlines are calculated excluding the first day. So, a 9 month deadline from Sep 26, 2016 would end on June 26, 2017.

[prasen9]

It's possible he got clarification from the ATP that they will allow him to use it and that is why he saved one. Otherwise, he would have used it. It should be easy for him to check.

[PKBasu]

There is some ambiguity over the interpretation of time. Yuki could have avoided it by not coming back on 26 September (because he actually wasn't completely injury-free as we now know), and he could have got himself an extra cushion by winning a match or two at Samarkand. But hopefully (belying his old problems of organising such things) Yuki did actually check with ATP last September before coming back, which is why he appears to be leaving the last PR for Wimbledon. (If he has checked in advance, our anxieties will be allayed, but we can't know for sure unless someone checks with him…).