James McCabe (tennis)

James McCabe (born 5 July 2003) is an Australian professional tennis player. He has a career high ATP singles ranking of world No. 258 achieved on 18 September 2023 and a doubles ranking of No. 302 achieved on 31 July 2023.

Early life
McCabe was born in Iba, Philippines to an Irish father and a Filipina mother. At six months of age he moved to Sydney, Australia where he was raised and attended Trinity Grammar School. A prodigiously talented junior, McCabe broke the national U10 beep test record in 2013, was crowned the Australian national junior 200m butterfly swimming champion, won the 2019 U16 Australian national championship in tennis as well as being an accomplished flutist with an AMusA (Associate in Music, Australia) diploma.

2021
McCabe began competing in professional events in late 2021 and was able to reach the quarterfinals of the first ITF Futures event he entered in Tunisia in October 2021 after winning all three matches in the qualifying draw. He continued playing Tunisian ITF Futures tournaments for the remainder of the 2021 season which included a second quarterfinal appearance in November and his results during this period boosted his singles ranking to finish the year at No.1209.

2022-23
In January 2022, he was rewarded for strong finish to the 2021 season with a main draw wildcard into his first ATP Challenger in Bendigo as well as a qualifying wildcard into the 2022 Australian Open. McCabe was also rewarded with a main draw wildcard entry into the doubles draw and partnered Alex Bolt. The pair were defeated in the first round by eventual champions Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis.

McCabe won his first professional tournament in February 2022 when he defeated Dane Sweeny in the final of the ITF Futures tournament in Canberra and followed it up the a second Futures title the following month in Bendigo.

He spent the 2022 season playing on the ITF Futures and ATP Challenger circuits and was able to improve his singles ranking to No. 405 in 2022 and No. 272 in 2023.

2024: ATP and Grand Slam debuts
In January 2024, it was announced McCabe was awarded a wildcard in the 2024 Australian Open main draw singles event making his Grand Slam debut.

He qualified for the 2024 Adelaide International main draw as a lucky loser for his ATP debut.