Last year, American ATP star Ben Shelton gave a huge shout-out to a rising 17-year-old, homegrown talent. The 22-year-old was left so impressed seeing this teenager at the 2024 Miami Open that he simply called him, “Me 2.0”. Why? Well, the rising star somehow mirrors his looks; plus, he’s a lefty too. Moreover, this kid caught everyone’s attention during the Madrid Open last year, despite losing against Rafael Nadal in the first round. Even the 14-time Roland Garros king lauded him as an upcoming star. “I think today I played against someone with a great future in front of him.” Guess what? This promising teenager has now earned another huge compliment from a top voice and Coco Gauff’s former trainer.
So who’s this highly talked-about kid? His name is Darwin Blanch, who hails from Boca Raton, Florida. Blanch made headlines recently after winning the USTA National Boys’ 18s Championships in Kalamazoo. He bested Jack Satterfield in the summit clash with a score line of 6-3,4-6,6-4,6-4. This epic win eventually got him a big ticket to the US Open. The 17-year-old received a wild card entry into the singles main draw of the 2025 edition. On top of that, he also managed to qualify recently for a prominent ATP 250 event, the Winston-Salem Open.
Upon witnessing such great strides by Blanch, top coach Brad Gilbert couldn’t resist showering praises on him. Gilbert previously worked with WTA star Coco Gauff and was her main coach for more than a year (July 2023 to September 2024). Under his tutelage, she clinched her maiden slam at the 2023 US Open. So what did Gilbert have to say about Darwin’s talent? Taking to his X account, on August 18, he simply wrote, “Very good effort from 17 year old Darwin Blanch to qualify for 1st time @atptour event in Winston-Salem, he just won Kalamazoo to get WC @usopen looking forward to watching this young lefty play in NYC”
Very good effort from 17 year old Darwin Blanch to qualify for 1st time @atptour event in Winston-Salem, he just won Kalamazoo to get WC @usopen looking forward to watching this young lefty play in NYC
— Brad Gilbert (@bgtennisnation) August 17, 2025
This story is developing…
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