Matteo Berrettini was the last player to win the ATP Comeback Player of the Year award, after winning three tournaments in 2024 following an extended period of injury.
The award was first won by Arthur Ashe in 1979, and since then, the likes of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic have collected the award.
However, there will be no winner of the award this year for the first time since 1988, as the category was scrapped this season.
Various players will be hoping to record career-changing seasons in 2026, after disappointing 2025 campaigns.
One of those players will be Hubert Hurkacz.
Hubert Hurkacz could have the best comeback season of any ATP player in 2026
It has been a difficult year for Hubert Hurkacz, who was forced to end his season in June after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right knee.
As a result, Hurkacz has fallen to world number 73.
However, there is hope for the future. Hurkacz is on the road to recovery, as demonstrated by his most recent Instagram post.
The Pole, 28, has the quality to reproduce his previous high level of play, and consequently cause a stir on the ATP Tour in 2026.
Hurkacz is a winner of two Masters 1000 titles [in Miami and Shanghai], and a Wimbledon semi-finalist.
When he won the Miami Open in 2021, Hurkacz became the first Polish player in history to win a Masters 1000 title.
The former world number six, a winner of eight ATP Tour titles, boasts an excellent serve, a consistent groundstroke game, and superb movement for a man standing at six feet and five inches.
The 28-year-old will be a force on the ATP Tour in 2026, and a player whom no other competitor will want to face.
Who are the other contenders?
Arthur Fils is perhaps the most obvious contender. The talented Frenchman, who has a career-high ranking of world number 14, has been away from the court for most of the season due to back issues.
Jack Draper, the former world number four, will also look to bounce back in 2026 after missing a large part of the 2025 season due to a left arm injury.
Stefanos Tsitsipas, a former ATP Finals champion, will also be a threat in 2026. The Greek star is simply too talented to allow his poor form to continue for much longer.
Who will have the best comeback season in 2026?
Then there is Frances Tiafoe. The American has had a disappointing year on the Tour, and will hope to rejuvenate his career after falling to world number 30.
