Foxx and friends
Christopher Eubanks’ tennis courts star power
Fred Jeter | 7/20/2023, 6 p.m.
His good friend, Jamie Foxx, isn’t call- ing him “Who Banks?” anymore.
Christopher Eubanks has gone from an unknown to being on the cusp of a leading man on the international tennis circuit.
The 6-foot-7, 27-year-old former Georgia Tech star caught the tennis world’s attention last week by rocketing, to the surprise of most, to the Wimbledon quarterfinals.
In his first crack at the main draw, the Atlanta native defeated local favorite Cameron Norrie and then fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas before falling in five thrilling sets to No. 3 Daniil Medvedes in the quarters.
The effort was worth $444,000 and enabled Eubanks to move to No. 31 on the global rankings.
Now about that “Whobanks?”
That’s what Foxx, the famous actor, good-naturedly dubbed his not-ready-for-prime time buddy at a tournament two years ago in Miami.
Foxx even challenged Eubanks to a contest, to see if he could return one of Eubank’s laser-beam 150-mile per hour serves.
The challenge went viral on Instagram.
As expected, Eubanks’ serves blew Foxx away.
Eubanks was hot going into the Wimbledon draw. In late June he had won the Mallorca (Spain) Open for his first ATP singles title. His world ranking was below 100 previously.
A year earlier, fearing his tennis career was hitting a wall, he auditioned as a commentator for The Tennis Channel.
Now it’s the commentators talking about him.
Following his heroics on Wimbledon’s famed Court One, and on U.S. national TV/ESPN, Eubanks was in hot demand on television talk shows.
The day after his quarterfinal defeat, he was interviewed on NBC’s “Today” show and CNN’s “Morning Show.”
His message: “It’s (tennis tour) not nearly as glamourous as it seems,” noting his lowly ranking previously.
“There are lots of tough times ... going up and down, up and down.”
With success, there is no time to rest on his laurels. Next up is the U.S. Open at Flushing, N.Y., starting Aug. 28.
One thing for sure ... no one will be calling him “Who Banks?” anymore.
The only Black man to win Wimbledon was native Richmonder Arthur Ashe, who defeated Jimmy Connors in the 1975 final. That same year Billie Jean King took top women’s’ honors, ousting Aussie Evonne Goolagong Cawley for the crown.