From Louisiana to the ATP Finals: A Tennis Family’s Journey with Christian Harrison — Control the Controllables

Christian Harrison’s story isn’t your typical tennis journey. Formerly a top 200 singles player, his career has been repeatedly derailed by surgeries, setbacks, and a foot injury at Wimbledon 2022 that convinced him to walk away from singles altogether.

8 surgeries before age 25 would finish most players. Cristian just adjusted.

Now at 31, he’s producing the best tennis of his life on the doubles court. In 2025 Harrison has rocketed to world number 15 alongside partner Evan King. The pair started the year playing Challengers and ended it at the ATP Finals in Turin, after winning titles in Dallas and Acapulco, and having deep runs at Indian Wells, Madrid, and Roland Garros.

In today´s episode, Christian talks us through his journey including growing up in a tennis family - his Father Pat is a coach, and his brother Ryan Harrison won the French Open Mens Doubles in 2017. He also discusses the 2026 season which he´ll be playing with new partner and regular CTC guest Neal Skupski.

In this episode:

Christian reflects on his junior days which saw his family move from Louisiana to Texas to Florida for his tennis.
How he kept going after 9 surgeries.
Why his older brother Ryan Harrison was crucial in Christian's tennis development.
Christian shares insights on coaching and player relationships, including the impact his Dad Pat has had on his career.
Why he thinks 2025 has been such a successful year for him.
Why he´s decided to play with GB´s Neil Skupski in 2026.

Control the Controllables is Hiring!

We´re offering a university student the chance to spend their placement year working on the Control the Controllables Podcast here in Spain. Applications are open now for the Podcast Placement role starting in September 2026.

Find out more about the role and how to apply here. Or you an email the team at ctc.podcast@sototennis.com.

Mentioned in this episode:

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