By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Saturday July 8, 2023
The American is thriving like never before a year after he took a commentating gig with a very different future in mind.
Photo Source: Rob Newell/CameraSport
By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Saturday July 8, 2023
Chris Eubanks made his debut as a tennis commentator on Tennis Channel in April of 2022. Outside of the Top 150, at the age of 25 (he turned 27 in May), he figured it might be a good time to start thinking about a life beyond the grind of challenger tennis.
At that point of his career he had played 29 Grand Slam matches, 24 of them in qualifying, and another five first-round matches in main draw play at the majors.
Based on those numbers, we can see why he was not banking on hitting the big time on tour back then.
But something has clicked since.
Since last spring, Eubanks has won a round at three of the four majors he has played, reached the quarterfinals of the Miami Open, made his Top 100 debut, his Top 50 debut and – just this week – reached the second week at Wimbledon for the first time.
We’ve heard of the commentator’s curse. With Eubanks, the opposite is in play.
After his second-round win over Cameron Norrie on Friday at Wimbledon (since backed up by today’s straight-set win over Christopher O’Connell), Eubanks talked about how commentating has helped him gain more perspective on his game.
“I think since since I started doing a little bit of commentary, it really helps my perception on the court,” he said. “I can take a little bit of the emotion out and say like, ‘Hey, if I were watching this match and calling it, what would I be telling myself, and stop getting so emotionally charged when things don't go my way.’ There are certain times where I might make errors and make mistakes, but if I'm in the booth, I can say that's a good error and that's okay, that's gonna pay off in the long run.
“So I think commentary has really helped my game hone my ability to watch the match and play it to a style, and yeah, I plan on continuing to do it.”
Low Moments, No Glamour
Eubanks admitted that he had a vastly different vision of his long-term future in the sport a few years ago, when he first decided to take to commentating.
Here’s how he told the story:
“There were definitely some low moments,” he said. “I think that part of the reason I even got into commentary was because I had a real sit-down with my agent in 2021 and I said, “Listen, if I'm still 200 by next year and injuries haven't played a part, I can do something else with my time.’ Like, it's not that glamorous if you're ranked around 200.
Eubanks admitted that playing a career on the lower rungs of the tennis tour can be extremely frustrating. It’s a well known fact that being the 200th best player in the world is a ticket to obscurity, rather than fame and fortune.
“Luckily I've been pretty fortunate because I've been able to qualify into a few Grand Slams or get wild cards. I've had a little bit of taste of the bigger events,” he said. “I've gotten extremely frustrated, just kind of getting a little bit of a taste of it and then going back to the challengers and not being able to produce consistently.”
Eubanks was thinking of commentating far differently two years ago. Now, he’s using it as a tool to better prepare him for the challenges he will face on the biggest stages in the sport.
“That was one of the driving forces behind me even starting to do commentary. I said, Man, this isn't fun. If I have to keep doing this, I could try to find something else to do with my time. Now I think doing the commentary has kind of helped my game in a sense, and it's something that I'm looking forward to continuing, no matter what, no matter what my ranking is.”