Exciting Tennis Prospects | Men’s tennis has been dominated by Novak Djokovic in recent years. But who are the exciting youngsters coming through in the men’s and women’s games? Read on to find out
The big tennis tournaments have been dominated by Novak Djokovic, Rafa Nada and the Williams sisters for almost 20 years now. But now and again a young pretender will step up. There have been a few successes – but it is difficult to beat some of the best that ever played the game.
But in the last few years there have seemed to be a few more exciting young players coming through the ranks. They already look to be able to compete for major honors and become a feature on all the best tennis betting sites. Here are five young tennis players that we think will be the stars of tomorrow.
Cori Gauff
Cori ‘Coco’ Gauff has only just turned 18 but the American seems to have been around for years after showing her talent at a very early age. She received a wildcard entry to Wimbledon at just 15 and announced herself on the world stage by beating Venus Williams to reach the last 16.
Gauff’s career has continued to blossom, with a current WTA ranking of 15 and a quarter final exit at the 2021 French Open counting as her best performance at a major to date. She is set to rise even further this year and has already broken into the top ten in the doubles game.
Dominic Theim
Thiem is a little older than Cori Gauff, but the Austrian has already reached a bunch of major finals and finally took his first major title when he beat Alexander Zverev at the US Open. To show what an achievement that was, Thiem is the first player born in the 1990s to win a major – and the first new Grand Slam champion since 2014.
Thiem has fallen down the rankings in the last year or so, mainly due to a string of injuries that have severely impeded his chances of progressing. Those injuries – alongside a disrupted few years because of the pandemic – have stalled his career somewhat. But hopefully he will be coming back in 2022.
Aryna Sabalenka
Power and aggression brought Aryna Sabalenka from relative obscurity to the center stage a few years ago and the Belarusian player is now looking to regain the form that saw her reach as high as number two in the rankings last summer.
There have been no majors titles to date, but Sabalenka did reach the semifinals of both the US Open and Wimbledon last year and will be hoping that 2022 can be even better. Her serve has been troubling her in the last few months – but if she rectifies that she should be in with a chance of a major soon.
Jannik Sinner
After growing up in Italy and not playing much tennis in his teens, Jannik Sinner has been making up for lost time in the last few years. He is the youngest player currently ranked in the top ten by the ATP – and he was also the first player born in the 2000s to break into that top ten.
This year is looking even better for the talented Italian. His movement around the court has been very impressive and recently recorded his 100th career at the Madrid Open. In terms of comparison, only Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic reached that milestone faster.
Carlos Alcaraz
Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz is one of the most exciting young talents on the circuit at the present time and 2022 promises to be a real breakthrough year as far as titles are concerned. Last year was when Alcaraz really announced himself, upsetting world number three Stefanos Tsitsipas at the US Open on his way to the last eight.
Alcaraz has already beaten compatriot Nadal, as well as Djokovic, and has climbed as high as number six in the world rankings. He has won two Masters 1000 victories this year and is tipped by many to go all the way in the sport.
