At 22 (and six-foot-eight), Diallo is a towering presence on the web, drawing comparisons to a different Canadian upstart: Milos Raonic
(Pictures by Richmond Lam)
Gabriel Diallo’s pre-teen social gathering trick was to recount, in near-perfect element, the marathon match between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic that capped off the 2012 Australian Open. He nonetheless retains a commemorative tennis journal from across the identical time. In infantile rooster scratch, a professional participant’s title is Sharpied out on the quilt and changed with: Diallo wins Australian Open.
It’s not possible to chalk up Diallo’s present-day success to daydreaming alone. From the time he was six, Diallo’s mother and pop—immigrants from Ukraine and Guinea—took him to matches at IGA Stadium, simply down the road from their house in Montreal’s Villeray neighbourhood. By 11, Diallo was practising there six afternoons per week as a part of Tennis Canada’s nationwide improvement program. Earlier than faculty, he joined his mom, Iryna, an expert handball participant, in Villeray Park for footwork drills. “None of it felt pressured,” Diallo says. “To me, it was enjoyable.”
By 2018, Diallo’s coaching routine had earned him a tennis scholarship to the College of Kentucky, the place he studied finance. Close to the tip of his third 12 months, emboldened by a three-inch progress spurt that shot him as much as six foot eight, Diallo went on a meteoric successful streak: he grew to become the youngest Canadian to win a Challenger-level title since Félix Auger-Aliassime and, regardless of barely cracking the worldwide high 700, beat James Duckworth—then the world’s 62nd-ranked participant—in entrance of household and buddies at Montreal’s Nationwide Financial institution Open in the summertime of 2022. Diallo’s offensive aptitude and punishing serve began drawing comparisons to a different Canadian upstart: Milos Raonic.
Quickly after, Diallo started working full-time with professional coach Martin Laurendeau, and travelled to France, Australia and the U.S. in quest of Grand Slam berths. Up to now, Diallo has represented Canada on the Davis Cup and twice reached the ultimate spherical of the 2024 Australian Open qualifiers. Alongside the way in which, he additionally met Novak Djokovic, world No. 1 and star of one among Diallo’s formative match recollections.
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Diallo’s personal world rating now hovers round 136, cementing him as one among Canada’s high younger superstars. However, amid all of the wins, Diallo has additionally needed to learn to lose. “In faculty, you need to win each recreation,” he says. “Within the execs, should you win two out of 30 tournaments, it’s a superb 12 months.” Forward of a slate of matches this spring—together with the Miami Open—Diallo is adapting his aggressive play with slower, extra various strikes, proving 22 years outdated isn’t too younger for reinvention. To enhance his coordination, he’s taken up soccer tennis, soar rope and footwork, the final of which has come simply. “I’ve my mother to thank for that,” he says.
POP QUIZ
Hardest exercise: Three units of eight 30-second sprints throughout coaching in Sarasota, Florida.
“I wasn’t in a position to communicate for quarter-hour afterwards.”
Bizarre pastime: “Studying. I used to hate it, so possibly it’s only a bizarre pastime to me.”
Tennis twin: American professional Christopher Eubanks. “We’re each tall and thin and have aggressive video games. He’s among the finest on this planet; I’m not there but.”
Pre-game prep: Placing a brand new grip on his racket and listening to Drake—particularly “Jungle.”
In-flight leisure: Binging exhibits and flicks, like The Sopranos, The Wire, Jail Break and The Pocket book.
“I made it” second: Beating James Duckworth on the 2022 Nationwide Financial institution Open in Montreal. “I’d by no means even practised with somebody within the ATP high 100.”
