Tennis is considered one of the most exciting sports in the world that has seen the rise of extraordinary talents who have ruled the sport for years. Similarly, there are a lot of young players coming up who are doing well and could become contenders for major honors in the future.
Here’s my take on the current top 10 young male tennis stars:
ALEXANDER ZVEREV
Now a well-recognized face, Zverev has already started showing traits of a future great at the age of 23. He, who has reached a career-best ranking of 3rd in the ATP World Rankings, had an amazing 2020 as he grabbed the runner-up trophy in the US Open while bowing out in the semis of the Australian Open. He has been a constant in the top 10 since 2017, and in 2021, he is highly tipped to get his hands on a Grand Slam.
DANIIL MEDVEDEV
Daniil Medvedev is a Russian talent who made it into the top 3 of the ATP rankings in February 2021. In his career so far, Medvedev has managed to make it to two prestigious Grand Slam finals, namely the Australian Open in 2021 and the US Open in 2019.
SUMIT NAGAL
Sumit Nagal came into the spotlight in 2015 when he bagged the Wimbledon Boys’ Doubles title. He is yet to show his best in the singles format and is currently ranked 122nd in the ATP Rankings. Nagal, who has been a regular member of the Indian Davis Cup teams since 2016, went past the first round of the 2020 US Open, which is his best singles finish so far.
CARLOS ALCARAZ
Alcaraz is a highly rated young Spaniard who is the youngest player to have won trophies in consecutive weeks and the second youngest ever to have won three Challenger titles, a record that is held by Richard Gasquet. The tennis star is coached by former ace Juan Carlos Ferrero, who has helped the budding talent jump from 490th to 136th in the ATP World Rankings.
DENIS SHAPOVALOV
Denis Shapovalov is a left-handed player who broke into the ATP Top 30 by breaking an enormous record, as the current World No. 11 became the youngest player since 2005 to do so when he achieved the feat. Talking about some of his other impressive achievements, the Canadian is the seventh youngest player in the ATP Top 100 right now and has a career-best ranking of No. 10.
BRANDON NAKASHIMA
Currently ranked 204th in the world, this young American is coached by Pat Cash. Nakashima, who has a Californian father and a Vietnamese mother, came into the spotlight in the Delray Beach tournament earlier this year, where he got the better of four players in the top 100 rankings to make his way into the quarter-finals.
FÉLIX AUGER-ALIASSIME
Auger-Aliassime is an up-and-coming Canadian star who is currently the youngest player in the ATP Top 25. He is one of only seven players to have a won Challenger Trophy by the age of 16. Auger-Aliassime reached a career-best ATP Ranking of 17th and reached three finals in 2019.
JANNIK SINNER
Jannik Sinner has already made quite a mark in the tennis world, though he is only 19 years old. Sinner is also trained in other sports, such as skiing and football, but he chose tennis as his bread and butter. In 2020, the Italian, who achieved a career-best ranking of 32nd, became the youngest quarter-finalist in the history of the French Open Men’s Singles event since Novak Djokovic in 2006.
TAYLOR FRITZ
Taylor Fritz is the current World No. 31 and hails from the US, a country that has produced extraordinary tennis players over the years. He comes from a strong tennis background, as his mother, Kathy May Fritz, used to be a Top 10 player in her day, while his father was honored as the US Olympic Development Coach of the Year in 2016. Fritz also holds the record of being the second-fastest American to reach an ATP final in his third tournament.
ALEX DE MINAUR
This 22-year-old, who hails from Australia, reached his career-best ranking of 18th in 2019. He is coached by Adolfo Gutierrez and the legendary Lleyton Hewitt. de Minaur’s best achievement so far has only been reaching the third round of a Grand Slam, which he managed in 2019 and 2021.
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