TOP 10 RISING FEMALE TENNIS STARS

The game of tennis has produced some fantastic female athletes who have given us moments of surprises throughout their careers. Similarly, the upcoming generation of women in the sport looks very promising and sure to produce some future greats of the game.

Here’s my take on the current top 10 young female tennis stars:

BIANCA ANDREESCU

Bianca Andreescu is a 20-year-old Canadian who beat Serena Williams in the 2019 US Open final, something not many have achieved in their illustrious careers. She is also the winner of the 2019 Indian Wells and the 2019 Canadian Open and is currently ranked 7th in the ATP World Rankings. Having faced a lot of injury problems since 2019, Andreescu is now fit and has some glorious years ahead of her.

AMANDA ANISIMOVA

Anisimova is a Russian player who at just 19 is often already compared to the legendary Maria Sharapova for having a similar marketing prowess. The young star has already bagged contracts with Nike, Gatorade, Therabody and Babolat and surprisingly also has the same agent as Sharapova, the five-time major champion. Anisimova is currently ranked 30th in the ATP Rankings.

LEYLAH FERNANDEZ

Another rising star from Canada, aged just 18, Fernandez aims to break into the top 10 by the end of the year. She is ranked 88th in the world right now and recently reached the finals of the 2020 Mexican Open but unfortunately came second to Heather Watson.

COCO GAUFF

Coco Gauff caught the attention of the masses in 2019 when she defeated Venus Williams in the first round of Wimbledon. It would be fair to say that sport runs in her blood, as her father Corey was a basketball player at Georgia State and her mother Candi ran track at the same. The 16-year-old is ranked 48th and 45th in singles and doubles respectively.

VARVARA GRACHEVA

Gracheva’s rise to fame started in 2019 when she made a major leap in the ATP rankings, going from 447 to 105. She then made her first major appearance in the 2020 US Open and pulled off an astonishing comeback against Kristina Mladenovic after trailing 2-0 in her second-round match. The current World No. 94 ultimately bowed out in the third round of the competition.

KAJA JUVAN

Kaja Juvan is a Slovenian athlete who displayed her potential at the 2019 Wimbledon when she was drawn against Serena Williams. Though Serena emerged victorious in the end, Juvan gave the legend quite a challenge in the first set, drawing a lot of applauses from the crowd. The 20-year-old is currently ranked 104th in the ATP Rankings.

MARTA KOSTYUK

Marta is an 18-year-old who has been plying her trade both in the singles and doubles categories. She is a second-generation tennis star, given her mother reached a career-best ranking of 391 and won two ITF singles titles and one in doubles during her professional tennis career.  Marta is currently ranked 99th and 112th in singles and doubles respectively.

ANN LI

21-year-old Ann Li has already won three ITF titles and idolises tennis legends such as Roger Federer and Li Na. She pulled off a stunner in the 2020 US Open third round when she beat 13th seed Alison Riske. She now has her eyes set on major tournaments like Wimbledon.

CATY McNALLY

McNally, currently ranked 121st in the ATP Rankings, is a huge admirer of the US women’s national soccer team. The 19-year-old announced her arrival on the major stage as a 17-year-old, when she stunned Serena Williams in the first set of their second-round encounter at the 2019 US Open.

ANASTASIA POTAPOVA

Having dreamt of becoming an archeologist or a writer, Potapova finally decided to be a tennis star. She is currently ranked 101st in the ATP rankings. Her first victory in the main draw of a Grand Slam event came at the 2019 Australian Open. That year, she took part in Wimbledon, the French Open and the Australian Open but could not progress beyond the second round in any of the three.