Every tournament has a home favourite who receives an extra push from the local fans. Last week, Canadians came out in large numbers to support former World No. 3 Milos Raonic in Toronto. This week, the player who is receiving similar treatment is Ohio’s own J.J. Wolf.
“I think any other tournament I’m on and I’m focussed,” Wolf told ATPTour.com. “In Cincy, I think I’ll let myself look up at the crowd and see family and friends and really appreciate it.”
Ten Americans began the ATP Masters 1000 singles event, but none are closer to the heart of the Cincinnati faithful than Wolf. The 24-year-old, who will play Toronto finalist Alex de Minaur in the first round, grew up at the Western & Southern Open.
“My grandpa, one day each tournament, every year, would take all of the cousins to go watch the matches,” Wolf said. “So it would be however many, 20 of us, or whoever was in town, and we would get to go and walk around for the whole day. We’d get Graeter’s ice cream in between matches, and it was just a treat.”
Wolf fondly remembers eating black raspberry chocolate chip ice cream, which he calls the “best flavour in the country”. One day, he hoped to be in the same position as the players he watched. This year the American will compete in the main draw for the third time and pursue his first win at the Lindner Family Tennis Centre.
“It feels like the first time every time I walk in here. It’s almost surreal,” Wolf said. “I’ve always wanted to be kind of given this opportunity and to know that I’ve worked for it and earned it, it’s a great feeling.”
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J.J.’s father, former tennis player Jeff Wolf, was inducted into the Cincinnati Tennis Hall of Fame at the tournament. His family is full of athletes. But he believes his grandfather, Charley Wolf, who passed away last November aged 96, was the best athlete from the Wolf Family.
“He played baseball, basketball, football at Notre Dame. [He played in the Cincinnati] Reds organisation, coached in the NBA. He did it all,” J.J. said. “He started tennis at like 50 and played until he was 93.”
Wolf, a former star at Ohio State University, has played the best tennis of his career in 2023. The American reached a career-high No. 39 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings in February, shortly after making the fourth round at the Australian Open. What has he learned through his journey?
“It’s just a lot of getting more comfortable,” Wolf said. “Going places that you know and just being professional and figuring out places to eat and kind of just knowing that it’s a job at the same time and to have fun.”
That was even the case in Australia, where despite being across the world from Cincinnati, he had his eyes on his hometown Cincinnati Bengals heading into the NFL playoffs. According to the American, the people of Cincinnati always support their own, which he will feel this week at the Lindner Family Tennis Centre.
“It’s just the culture here. I feel like a lot of people, they might move away, but everyone comes back and raises kids. It’s kind of this community that just keeps you here and it’s so special,” Wolf said. “People know that and I think they think if you’re from here that’s the only way you’ll feel that as well. So I think that it’s almost like they adopt all of us that are from here.”