Miami, USA, 21 March 2024 | Leigh Rogers

Less than three months into the 2024 season, Adam Walton has already tallied some impressive milestones.

The 24-year-old from Brisbane qualified at an ATP tournament for the first time at the Adelaide International in January, where he scored two top-100 wins.

“I’d never played a guy inside the top 100 until this summer, so to beat two of the guys inside the top 100 was a big achievement,” Walton told tennis.com.au.

A week later he made his Grand Slam main-draw debut at the Australian Open.

“I loved it. The crowds were really energetic and I can’t wait to hopefully be back next year,” the wildcard said of the experience.

Since then, Walton has contested two ATP Challenger singles finals and claimed a title at Burnie in February.

He has also featured in two ATP Challenger doubles finals alongside Tristan Schoolkate, with the Aussie pair scooping a title in Pune last month.

Walton qualified at an ATP Masters 1000 tournament for the first time in Miami this week, scoring a hard-fought final round win against world No.88 Pedro Martinez to earn his main-draw spot.

His season record stands at 18 wins from his 27 singles matches. He has also recorded nine victories from 13 doubles matches.

These efforts have been rewarded in the rankings, with Walton skyrocketing to career-highs of world No.145 in singles and world No.134 in doubles.

“I haven’t really put a number on it,” Walton said of his ranking goals this season. “But obviously if I could finish as high as I can that would be a great result.”

Adam Walton in action at Australian Open 2024. Picture: Tennis Australia

Walton faces a big test in the Miami main draw tomorrow, facing former world No.6 Felix Auger-Aliassime from Canada.

“I feel like my level has definitely increased a lot over the last year or two to where I’m able to match it with these guys,” Walton said.

“I do still feel like I could use some more exposure to these top guys. So the more matches I can play against these quality players, the more it’s going to help me.”

Before turning professional in mid-2022, Walton spent four years playing US college tennis at the University of Tennessee.

“It was definitely the right decision for me. I wasn’t ready to play pro tennis at 17 when I graduated from high school,” Walton said.

“I wasn’t even sure if I’d play pro tennis after college. I really wasn’t sure until my last year in college, when I had my best results and finished the collegiate system ranked No.2 behind Ben Shelton.

“My coach there said I should at least give it a crack and I had some pretty decent success straight off the bat, so that kind of helped me to commit to playing pro.”

Walton, a winner of seven singles and four doubles titles on the secondary ATP Challenger and ITF tours since turning pro, continues to train in Knoxville when not competing on tour.

“I base myself there throughout the year because Brisbane is so hard to get to,” he explained.

“I can train with the guys on the college team and my girlfriend lives there, so I can stay with her. It’s a really good set-up I’ve got.”

Walton returned home to Brisbane for the recent off-season, where he worked hard with the National Tennis Academy team.

“It just goes to show that the work we did in the pre-season has helped,” Walton said.

“Now I’m looking to continue on from all the hard work that I’ve done and try to keep building my ranking.”

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