Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury have been named ITF World Champions for a second straight year in men’s doubles after another fine season together.

They become just the third men’s pair - after Bob & Mike Bryan (11-time world champions) and Todd Woodbridge & Mark Woodforde (3) – to win an ITF World Champion award on more than one occasion.

Ram and Salisbury mirrored their achievements of the year before in winning four titles, including their third consecutive US Open title and fourth Grand Slam crown, while also defending their title at the year-end ATP Finals.

“I am really pleased to be named ITF World Champion for the second time," said Ram. "Joe and I had another great year together and winning our third title at the US Open in New York was extremely special. We would like to thank our team, our families and our supporters and are already looking forward to starting the 2024 season in Australia next month.”

“It has been another excellent year and Rajeev and I are delighted to be named ITF World Champions again," added Salisbury. "Successfully defending our US Open title together was of course the highlight and the season ended on a high with our win at the ATP Finals in Turin. We’re already looking forward to 2024 and hopefully another year of big wins.”

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In their fourth season together as a pair, they notched a 37-18 win-loss record that also took in titles at ATP events in Vienna and Lyon.

It is probably fair to say the duo were a little slow out of the blocks in 2023, with their title in Lyon – their 13th as a pair – the highlight during an opening six months of the year that also took in third round exits at both the Australian Open and Roland Garros.

As had been the case the previous year, Ram and Salisbury hit their peak during the American hard court season in the run-up to the US Open, reaching the final at the Masters 1000 event in Toronto before defending their title at Flushing Meadows under a month later.

As a result, they became the first doubles partnership in the Open Era to win three consecutive US Open doubles titles.

Their run in New York sparked a run of 17 victories from their last 19 matches of the season. They clinched the Vienna crown with a tight triumph over Americans Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow, and ended the year in style with five straight wins at the ATP Finals in Turin, culminating in victory over Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos.

While Ram is the latest in a long-line of Americans to receive more than one ITF World Champion Award, Salisbury becomes the first Brit to win an ITF World Champion award on more than one occasion in any category.