Ram and Salisbury become first-time ITF World Champions
Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury have been named 2022 ITF World Champions in men’s doubles after a hugely successful season as a pair.
Salisbury is just the second British man to be crowned ITF World Champion in the men’s doubles category after Jamie Murray, who achieved the feat in 2016, while Ram is the fourth different American to win the men’s doubles award after Mike Bryan (12-time ITF World Champion), Bob Bryan (11-time winner) and Jack Sock (2018).
In their third season as a pair, Ram and Salisbury enjoyed their best year yet, winning four titles, including their second US Open title and third Grand Slam crown, and both achieving the world No. 1 ranking. Salisbury captured the top spot in April before Ram, who also reached a semi-final in Atlanta alongside Sock, replaced him as world No. 1 in October.
"It's a huge honour to receive this award, and be included with all the names of the great champions that have won it in the past,” said Ram. “Thank you to the ITF for the award.”
"We are very honoured to have won this prestigious award from the ITF as recognition for the successes we have had,” added Salisbury. “We are very proud of all we have achieved this year."
A season in which they notched a 37-14 win-loss record together also took in titles at ATP Masters 1000 events in Monte Carlo and Cincinnati, a year-end ATP Finals triumph, plus semi-final finishes at the Australian Open, Indian Wells and Wimbledon.
The duo’s season peaked with their title defence at the US Open, where they defeated Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski to become only the second men’s team in the Open Era (after Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde) to go back-to-back in New York.
Koolhof and Skupski would go on to pip them to the year-end No. 1 ranking, but Ram and Salisbury got the better of them on the court – defeating the Dutch-British pairing for the second time in three attempts in 2022 to end the year in style with their maiden victory at the ATP Finals in Turin.
While Ram is the latest in a long line of Americans to win an ITF World Champion Award, Salisbury becomes just the sixth Brit to be named an ITF World Champion in any category after Andy Murray (2016 - men's singles), Jamie Murray (2016 - men's doubles), Gordon Reid (2016 - men's wheelchair) and Lee Childs and James Nelson (2000 - boys' doubles* (NB: Junior singles and doubles was combined into one award from 2004 onwards).