
PLAYER PROFILE
Christopher O'Connell
8
AUSTRALIAN
RANKING
RANKING
117
ATP
RANKING
RANKING
- Age27
- Born 3 June 1994
- Birth PlaceSydney, Australia
- LivesSydney, Australia
- PlaysRight-handed
- CoachFernando Ibarrola
“Getting into the Top 100 is a huge goal of mine and I’m not far off now”
— Christopher O'Connell, 16 Jan 2020
» O’Connell bows out in Bendigo quarters
On court
- began playing tennis at age four
- realised at age 16 he was good enough to follow a professional tennis career
- favourite surface is Plexicushion
- tennis goals are to represent Australia in Davis Cup and reach the world’s top 100
- believes travelling is the best part of being a tennis player
- tennis hero is Roger Federer
- ideal mixed doubles partner would be Sam Stosur because of her good volleys
- feels his game most closely resembles Roger Federer’s
- dream tennis scenario would be to defeat a top 10 player in a night match at Rod Laver Arena
- professional goals are to make a living playing tennis and to play Davis Cup for Australia
- won a tour-leading 72 matches in 2019, claiming two ATP Challenger and three ITF Futures titles after beginning the season without an ATP ranking
- won his first Grand Slam main draw match at the US Open in 2020
- Advanced to third round at Australian Open 2022, scoring first top-20 win against Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman in the second round
Off court
- describes himself as relaxed, chilled, lazy, neat and cool
- favourite city in the world is Sydney, because of its beaches
- favourite meal is penne carbonara
- best piece of advice he’s received: “to give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift”
- his perfect day would involve spending a morning at the beach followed a coffee and nice lunch, then an afternoon watching a live band with a few beers and mates
- spent six months working part-time as a tennis coach and cleaning boats on Sydney’s Pittwater Harbour while sidelined with a knee injury in 2018
Year-end ranking history
2021 | 175 |
2020 | 119 |
2019 | 128 |
2018 | 1185 |
2017 | 393 |
2016 | 240 |
2015 | 567 |
2014 | 487 |
2012 | 1655 |
2011 | 1745 |
Titles/Finals
Titles
2019 Antalya ITF, Doboj ITF, Balatonalmadi ITF, Cordenons Challenger, Fairfield Challenger
2016 Port Pirie F1 ITF, Serbia F1 ITF, Serbia F4 ITF, Cairns F8 ITF, Blacktown F10 ITF
2014 Croatia F12 ITF
Finals
2019 Mornington #1 ITF, Mornington #2 ITF, Antalya ITF, Antalya ITF, Brcko ITF, Kiseljak ITF, Casinalbo ITF, Sibiu Challenger, Knoxville Challenger
2016 Mornington F4 ITF
Christopher O'Connell in the news
Roland Garros: Kubler keeps winning in Paris

23 May, 2022
Australian qualifier Jason Kubler won his fourth straight match with a first-round main draw win over Denis Kudla at Roland Garros, while four of his compatriots exited the 2022…
Read moreAustralian qualifier Jason Kubler won his fourth straight match with a first-round main draw win over Denis Kudla at Roland Garros, while four of his compatriots exited the 2022…
Roland Garros 2022: Five Aussies in action on day one

22 May, 2022
Thanasi Kokkinakis, Astra Sharma and Alexei Popyrin are among five Australians in action on day one at Roland Garros 2022.
Read moreThanasi Kokkinakis, Astra Sharma and Alexei Popyrin are among five Australians in action on day one at Roland Garros 2022.
Singles draws revealed for Roland Garros 2022

20 May, 2022
Find out who our Australian players meet in their opening-round matches in the second Grand Slam tournament of the season.
Read moreFind out who our Australian players meet in their opening-round matches in the second Grand Slam tournament of the season.
Kokkinakis powers into first tour-level quarterfinal on clay

19 May, 2022
Australia's Thanasi Kokkinakis has moved into the quarterfinals at an ATP 250 tournament in Geneva.
Read moreAustralia's Thanasi Kokkinakis has moved into the quarterfinals at an ATP 250 tournament in Geneva.