5 things to know about rising American tennis star Christopher Eubanks

The last time an American man won Wimbledon was in 2000 when tennis legend Pete Sampras defeated Patrick Rafter to earn his 14th Grand Slam title.

Rising American tennis star Christopher Eubanks is now giving the U.S. some hope as the 27-year-old player surprisingly finds himself in the Wimbledon quarterfinals after a string of impressive victories.

The world No. 43 upset No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Round of 16 in five sets to book his spot in the final 8 and earn a matchup against Russia’s Daniil Medvedev — the tournament’s third seed.

Ahead of Wednesday’s quarterfinal clash, here are five things to know about Christopher Eubanks:

Eubanks hadn’t gone past the second round of a Grand Slam before Wimbledon

Eubanks is setting personal records.

Ahead of 2023 Wimbledon, his best result in singles at a Grand Slam was reaching the second round at the Australian Open earlier this year and the U.S. Open in 2022.

The only other time the American reached the quarterfinals was in doubles at the 2020 U.S. Open with fellow American Mackenzie McDonald.

Eubanks messaged Kim Clijsters for tips on grasscourt tennis

Who can Eubanks credit for making it to the Wimbledon quarterfinals? Tennis legend Kim Clijsters.

Ahead of Wimbledon, Eubanks messaged the former WTA No. 1 saying, “Kim! Grass is the stupidest surface to play tennis on…”

Clijsters responded, ” Hi Chris, how come?” To which Eubanks said, “It’s not really that stupid. Just frustrated with the inconsistent bounces when Im trying to take the ball early. Plus the grass is slow and taking away from the effectiveness of my serve lol. Im gonna have a problem solve a little bit until I get back on the hard courts.”

Clijsters gave some on point tips for Eubanks to apply immediately and it’s safe to say that the pointers worked.

Eubanks played tennis at Georgia Tech

Go Yellow Jackets!

Eubanks attended three seasons at Georgia Tech before forgoing his senior year of eligibility to make a run on the pro tour.

He was just the fifth player in program history to be named a two-time All-American, finishing with 90 career wins with a win percentage of .732.

Georgia Tech is hosting a Wimbledon watch party to cheer Eubanks on in his quarterfinal showdown at the Coda Courtyard, located in Tech Square (756 W. Peachtree Street NW). The festivities begin at 10 a.m. ET.

Eubanks was coached by his father at a young age

Eubanks was coached by his father, Chris until he was 13.

The 6-foot-7 tennis star noted that he had been playing tennis since he would walk along with a clip of himself out on the tennis court.

“People for some reason have a hard time believing that I’ve been playing tennis since I could walk. This is my dad and I at 3 not even taller than the net but hitting from the baseline. 🎾 IS LIFE! 😂😂😂,” Eubanks wrote on Instagram back in 2014.

Young Eubanks idolized tennis pro Donald Young

After the Eubanks family moved from Chicago to Atlanta, they became close friends with tennis professional Donald Young and his family. Eubanks was just starting high school at the time.

Eubanks began training with Young’s parents and got some opportunities to hit with Donald — who was already top 100 in the ATP rankings.

“When I got around Donald and got to get better and better, that’s when I got back to, ‘Maybe I could do this one day,'” Eubanks said about hits with one of his idols.