The Next Generation of Tennis Players
This article lists the best young players in tennis today. In addition to skill level, the players have been reviewed according to their potential.
If you are interested to read about all-time best tennis players you can read more from here.
- The Next Generation of Tennis Players
- Jannik Sinner 🇮🇹
- Félix Auger-Aliassime 🇨🇦
- Holger Rune 🇩🇰
- Casper Ruud 🇳🇴
The Best Young Men’s Tennis Players
This list brings together five of the best young men’s tennis players of today. In this article, the age limit for a young tennis player is 25.
Carlos Alcaraz Garfia 🇪🇸
| Date of Birth | May 5, 2003 |
| Country of Birth | El Palmar, Murcia, Spain |
| Plays | Right-handed, two-handed backhand |
| Height | 183cm (6 ft 0 in) |
| Wins-Losses | 188-49 (79,3%) |
| Titles | 15 |
| Highest ranking | 1 (September 12, 2022) |
| Prize Money | 31 312 042,74 € ($34,187,185) |
| Number of aces made | 829 |
Background
Carlos Alcaraz Garfia is a young Spanish tennis player. Carlos Alcaraz started playing tennis at the age of 3 and turned professional in 2018 at the age of 15.
The inspiration for tennis came from Carlos Alcaraz’s father, an instructor at the Spanish Tennis Academy when Carlos was a child.
Achievements
- 4 Grand Slam titles: 1 Roland Garros, 2 Wimbledon, and 1 US Open
- Youngest male player to reach the quarter-finals of the US Open in the open era (18 years old)
- Youngest ATP top 35 players in 2021 (18 years old)
- Youngest player to win the Miami Open (18 years old)
- The first player to beat both Rafel Nadal and Djokovic consecutively on clay.
- Youngest player to win the Madrid Open (19 years old)
- Youngest player to reach consecutive Grand Slam quarter-finals in the Open era (19 years old)
- The youngest player in history to reach ATP No. 1 ranking (19 years old)
- The first player under 20 to beat Rafel Nadal on a clay court
| Carlos Alcaraz’s achievements | |
|---|---|
| Australian Open singles titles | 0 |
| French Open singles titles | 1 |
| Wimbledon singles titles | 2 |
| US Open singles titles | 1 |
| ATP titles | 14 |
| ATP Finals singles titles | 0 |
| Davis Cup titles | 0 |
Playing Style
Carlos Alcaraz has a very versatile and mature playing style. He is known for his powerful topspin forehands and his accurate drop shots. In addition to his hard forehand strokes, Alcaraz is quick to move laterally and in all directions on the court and has even been called the fastest player in tennis today. Alcaraz is a strong defensive and difficult player to score points against thanks to his excellent and quick mobility.
Alongside his physical attributes, Alcaraz is a player of exceptional maturity for his age. He is rarely seen to get frustrated on the pitch and can come back from a deficit and maintain a high level of intensity throughout the match.
Summary and Future
Alcaraz can be considered the best under-25 player of the present day and the brightest star in tennis. If Alcaraz continues to develop at the same pace, he could be the best player in the world for the next ten years.
Jannik Sinner 🇮🇹
| Date of Birth | August 16, 2021 |
| Country of Birth | San Candido, Italy |
| Plays | Right-handed, two-handed backhand |
| Height | 192 (6 ft 4 in) |
| Wins-Losses | 263-80 (76.67%) |
| Titles | 18 |
| Highest ranking | 1 (10 June, 2024) |
| Prize money | 32 313 897,51 € ($33,989,584) |
| Number of aces made | 1904 |
Background
Jannik Sinner is an Italian tennis player. Sinner started playing tennis and skiing at the age of 3. He was a talented skier and won several major national competitions between 8 and 12.
However, at 13, Sinner quit skiing and concentrated full-time on tennis. This decision was motivated by a preference to compete directly against a specific opponent.
Sinner turned professional in 2018 at the age of 16.
Achievements
- 1 Australian Open title
- 1 US Open title
- 1 Davis Cup title
- 1 ATP Finals singles title
- First Italian player to win a singles Grand Slam title
- Youngest Italian player to win an ATP Challenger tournament
- 2019 Next Gen ATP Finals title win
- ATP Newcomer of the Year 2019
- Second youngest player to reach the quarter-finals of the French Open after Novak Djokovic
- Second youngest player to win an ATP title after Kei Nishikori
- Second youngest player to win two consecutive ATP titles since Rafael Nadal
- Second youngest player to win 5 ATP titles since Novak Djokovic (19 years)
| Jannik Sinner’s achievements | |
|---|---|
| Australian Open singles titles | 1 |
| French Open singles titles | 0 |
| Wimbledon singles titles | 0 |
| US Open singles titles | 1 |
| ATP titles | 18 |
| ATP Finals singles titles | 1 |
| Davis Cup titles | 1 |
Playing Style
Jannik Sinner is an attacking backcourt player. Compared to other young players, Sinner’s backhand is particularly strong and is said to be one of the strongest backhands on the ATP Tour. In addition to his good backhand, Sinner is quick on the court and has good reach thanks to his long limbs, which greatly helps him in defensive situations.
Mentally, Sinner is a calm and focused player. He is rarely seen talking or swearing.
Summary and Future
Sinner is a dynamic, hard-hitting young player with the potential to become one of the top five players in the world. However, Sinner has room for improvement outside the basic shots, as his serving and net play are very mediocre.
Félix Auger-Aliassime 🇨🇦
| Date of Birth | August 8, 2000 |
| Country of Birth | Montreal, Canada |
| Plays | Right-handed, two-handed backhand |
| Height | 193cm (6 ft 4 in) |
| Wins-Losses | 203-136 (59,9%) |
| Titles | 5 |
| Highest ranking | 6 (November 7, 2022) |
| Prize money | 12 334 898,88€ ($13,267,612) |
| Number of aces made | 3012 |
Background
Félix Auger-Aliassime is a Canadian tennis player. He started playing tennis at the age of 4 and turned professional in 2017 at the age of 16.
Achievements
- Youngest player to win a main draw match on the ATP Challenger tour (14y 11months)
- Youngest player to have defended a Challenger title (17 years 10 months)
- Youngest player to reach ATP top 800 ranking (749th)
- Youngest ATP 500 finalist (18 years)
- Youngest Miami Open semi-finalist (18 years)
| Félix Auger-Aliassime’s achievements | |
|---|---|
| Australian Open singles titles | 0 |
| French Open singles titles | 0 |
| Wimbledon singles titles | 0 |
| US Open singles titles | 0 |
| ATP titles | 5 |
| ATP Finals singles titles | 0 |
| Davis Cup titles | 0 |
Playing Style
Félix Auger-Aliassime is a well-rounded long player who prefers to play on a clay court. For a young player, he has an unusually elegant and powerful serve. Auger-Aliassime’s serve has a top speed of 222 km/h (140mph).
Besides his strong serve, however, Auger-Aliassime’s style of play is still a work in progress and he tends to make several unnecessary mistakes in his basic shots.
Summary and Future
Auger-Aliassime is a young player with a lot of potential. He has the chance to reach the very top of the table if he continues to develop in the same way. For a tall player, Auger-Aliassime has exceptional agility and balance, which will pose a challenge to other top players.
Holger Rune 🇩🇰
| Date of Birth | April 29, 2003 |
| Country of Birth | Gentofte, Denmark |
| Plays | Right-handed, two-handed backhand |
| Height | 188cm (6 ft 2 in) |
| Wins-Losses | 116-75 (60,7%) |
| Titles | 4 |
| Highest ranking | 4 (August 21, 2023) |
| Prize money | 7 517 367,53€ ($8,195,996) |
| Number of aces made | 932 |
Background
Holger Rune is a Danish tennis player and is currently the youngest player in the ATP Top 10. Rune started playing tennis at the age of 6 and turned professional in 2020 at the age of 16.
Achievements
- ATP’s all-time highest-ranked Danish player
- ATP Newcomer of the Year 2022
- Youngest Danish player to win a singles tournament (15 years)
- Youngest player to compete in the Ultimate Tennis Showdown (16 years old)
- Second youngest ATP Top 150 player (18 years)
- Second youngest ATP Top 100 player (18 years old)
| Holger Rune’s achievements | |
|---|---|
| Australian Open singles titles | 0 |
| French Open singles titles | 0 |
| Wimbledon singles titles | 0 |
| US Open singles titles | 0 |
| ATP titles | 4 |
| ATP Finals singles titles | 0 |
| Davis Cup titles | 0 |
Playing Style
Holger Rune is a dynamic player who likes to run a lot and control the tempo of the game. He is a skillful reader of the game and can choose the right shots for the right situation. This is particularly apparent in his drop shots, which allow Rune to control the angles of the game and build up points.
Besides his strengths, Rune also has one big weakness which is his mental game. He gets very heated in the game and also has a habit of arguing with his mother in the stands.
Summary and Future
Holger Rune is one of the most potential young players in the world, alongside Carlos Alcaraz. He has a good chance of being the best player in the world if he can continue to develop and mature out of his hot-headedness.
Casper Ruud 🇳🇴
| Date of Birth | December 22, 1998 |
| Country of Birth | Snarøya, Bærum, Norway |
| Plays | Right-handed, two-handed backhand |
| Height | 183cm (6 ft 0 in) |
| Wins-Losses | 247-125 (66,4%) |
| Titles | 12 |
| Highest ranking | 2 (September 12, 2022) |
| Prize money | 18 307 001,61 ($19,691,300) |
| Number of aces made | 1756 |
Background
Casper Ruud is a Norwegian tennis player and a graduate of the Rafa Nadal Academy. He started playing tennis at the age of 4 and turned professional in 2016 at the age of 17.
Achievements
- Top-ranked Norwegian player
- First Norwegian player to reach the ATP Top 10
- First Norwegian player to have been ranked #1 in the Junior World Rankings
- First Norwegian player to have won an ATP Tour title and reached more than one ATP Tour final
- Youngest player to reach an ATP Top 500 semi-final since Borna Ćorić (17 years old)
- 2 French Open silver medals
- 1 US Open silver
- 1 ATP Tour Finals silver
| Casper Ruud’s achievements | |
|---|---|
| Australian Open singles titles | 0 |
| French Open singles titles | 0 |
| Wimbledon singles titles | 0 |
| US Open singles titles | 0 |
| ATP titles | 12 |
| ATP Finals singles titles | 0 |
| Davis Cup titles | 0 |
Playing Style
Casper Ruud is an excellent clay court player in terms of playing style. He is quick to move around the court and has a good basic stroke. Ruud’s forehand is particularly strong and allows him to control the game even from the backcourt, which helps a lot when playing on the clay court.
Summary and Future
Casper Ruud is a promising young player with the potential to stay at the top of the world rankings for a long time. If he continues to develop in the same way, he could have a chance of winning a Grand Slam and especially the French Open at some point.
The Best Young Women’s Tennis Players
This list brings together five of the best young women’s tennis players of today. In this article, the age limit for a young tennis player is 25.
Iga Świątek 🇵🇱
| Date of Birth | May 31, 2001 |
| Country of Birth | Warsaw, Poland |
| Plays | Right-handed, two-handed backhand |
| Height | 176 cm (5 ft 9 in) |
| Wins-Losses | 301-68 (81,6%) |
| Titles | 17 |
| Highest ranking | 1 (April 4, 2022) |
| Prize money | 24 826 834,72€ ($27,068,071) |
Background
Iga Świątek is a Polish tennis player, currently ranked No. 1 in the WTA. She started playing tennis at the age of 4 and turned professional in 2016 at the age of 15.
Achievements
- First Polish player to win a Grand Slam title
- Youngest player to win the French Open since Rafael Nadal (19 years)
- Youngest female player to win a Grand Slam title since Monica Seles (19 years)
- Youngest player to win the Miami Open and Indian Wells in the same year
- Third female player to win her first four Grand Slam finals.
| Iga Świątek’s achievements | |
|---|---|
| Australian Open singles titles | 0 |
| French Open singles titles | 3 |
| Wimbledon singles titles | 0 |
| US Open singles titles | 1 |
| WTA titles | 19 |
| ATP Finals singles titles | 0 |
| Billie Jean King Cup titles | 0 |
Playing Style
IIga Świątek’s most recognizable element of her style of play is her topspin forehand. Compared to other players, Świątek has a unique racket grip, which allows her to hit the ball extremely hard and with a lot of spin. In addition to her hard forehand, she has very good body control, which allows her to play from difficult positions.
Summary and Future
Iga Świątek is by far the best women’s tennis player in the WTA at the moment and with her age and skill, she has the potential to become one of the best players of all time.
Aryna Sabalenka 🏳️
| Date of Birth | May 5, 1998 |
| Country of Birth | Minsk, Belarus |
| Plays | Right-handed, two-handed backhand |
| Height | 182cm (6 ft 0 in) |
| Wins-Losses | 394-185 (68%) / doubles 90-67 (57,3%) |
| Titles | 16 |
| Highest Ranking | 1 (September 11, 2023) |
| Prize money | 22 330 108,27 € ($24,761,708) |
Background
Aryna Sabalenka is a Belarusian tennis player and the current WTA number 2. She started playing tennis at the age of 6 and turned professional in 2015 at the age of 17.
Compared to other WTA players, Sabalenka has also had a successful career in doubles, where she has won a total of 6 titles and 2 Grand Slams.
Achievements
- 2 Australian Open singles title
- 1 US Open singles title
- 1 Australian Open doubles title
- 1 US Open doubles title
- The only Belarusian player to have won a Grand Slam besides Victoria Azarenka
| Aryna Sabalaneka’s achievements | |
|---|---|
| Australian Open singles titles | 2 |
| French Open singles titles | 0 |
| Wimbledon singles titles | 0 |
| US Open singles titles | 2 |
| WTA singles titles | 16 |
| WTA doubles titles | 6 |
| WTA finals singles titles | 0 |
| Billie Jean King Cup titles | 0 |
Playing Style
Aryna Sabalenka is an aggressive player with a strong serve and powerful groundstrokes. She likes to stay close to the back line and her hard hitting allows her to win points quickly.
Summary and Future
Aryna Sabalenka is one of the strongest women’s tennis players physically and mentally. She has the potential to stay at the top of the world rankings for a long time and maybe even the chance to be the best player in the WTA world rankings.
Coco Gauff 🇺🇸
| Date of Birth | March 13, 2004 |
| Country of Birth | Atlanta, Georgia, USA |
| Plays | Right-handed, two-handed backhand |
| Height | 175cm (5 ft 9 in) |
| Wins-Losses | 190-85 (69,1%) |
| Titles | 7 |
| Highest ranking | 3 (September 11, 2023) |
| Prize money | 12 144 381,96€ ($13,240,713) |
Background
Cori “Coco” Gauff is an American tennis player and the youngest player currently ranked in the WTA top 3. She started playing tennis at the age of 6 and turned professional in 2018 at the age of 14.
Coco Gauff rose to fame in 2019 after defeating Venus Williams in the first round of Wimbledon. At the time of her victory, Gauff was 15 years old, making her one of the youngest players to win a Wimbledon main draw match.
Achievements
- Youngest Junior US Open finalist (13 yrs)
- Youngest player to be qualified for the Wimbledon main draw (15 years old)
- 1 Junior French Open singles title
- 1 Junior US Open doubles title
- Youngest USTA Clay Court National U12 winner (10yrs)
- Youngest player to win WTA singles and doubles after Maria Sharapova
- Youngest US WTA top 25 players since Serena Williams
- Youngest player to reach the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam since Nicole Vaidišová (17)
- Youngest US player to reach the quarter-finals of the French Open since Jennifer Capriat
- Second youngest US player to compete at the Olympics (17 years old)
- Youngest singles player after Maria Sharapova to reach the WTA Finals
- 1 French Open silver medal
- 1 US Open silver medal
| Coco Gauff’s achievements | |
|---|---|
| Australian Open singles titles | 0 |
| French Open singles titles | 0 |
| Wimbledon singles titles | 0 |
| US Open singles titles | 1 |
| WTA singles titles | 7 |
| WTA finals singles titles | 0 |
| Billie Jean King Cup titles | 0 |
Playing Style
Coco Gauff has a versatile style of play and is a strong hitter. She has strong a serve and backhand, which allows her to open up the game and put her opponents in difficult situations. In addition to these strengths, she also has a very good defensive game thanks to her agility and quickness.
In addition to her physical attributes, Gauff is also exceptionally strong and mature mentally. Gauff’s only weakness could be said to be her forehand, which sometimes exposes her to a fault.
Summary and Future
Coco Gauffin could be said to be the most potential female tennis player at the moment, in terms of age and talent. If she continues to develop in the same way, she could become a serious challenger to Iga Świątek.
Emma Raducanu 🇬🇧
| Date of Birth | November 13, 2002 |
| Country of Birth | Bromley, London, Great Britain |
| Plays | Right-handed, two-handed backhand |
| Height | 175cm (5 ft 9 in) |
| Wins-Losses | 103-54 (65,6%) |
| Titles | 1 |
| Highest ranking | 10 (July 11, 2022) |
| Prize money | 3 656 647,10€ ($ 3,986,750) |
Background
Emma Raducanu is an English tennis player with a Romanian father and a Chinese mother. She started playing tennis at the age of 5 and turned professional in 2018 at the age of 16.
Achievements
- The only English player to have won a Grand Slam final besides Virginia Wade
- The first player in the Open era to qualify for a Grand Slam title
- The only English player to reach the US Open final aside from Virginia Wade
- The only US Open winner to have not lost a single set during the event, apart from Venus Williams
- WTA Newcomer of the Year 2021
- Youngest player to win an ITF U18 tournament (13 years old)
- Laureus World Sports Award for Break Through of the Year
| Emma Raducanu’s achievements | |
|---|---|
| Australian Open singles titles | 0 |
| French Open singles titles | 0 |
| Wimbledon singles titles | 0 |
| US Open singles titles | 1 |
| WTA singles titles | 1 |
| WTA finals singles titles | 0 |
| Billie Jean King Cup titles | 0 |
Playing Style
Emma Raducanu is an attacking backcourt player with a good serve. She tends to hit the ball early, taking advantage of the ball’s power. On the serve, Raducanu can generate good pace on the ball and her second serve goes even faster than the WTA average of 150km/h (93mph).
In addition to being a good server, Raducanu is also known as a skilled returner and can hit winners from difficult serves.
Summary and Future
Emma Raducanu is a very promising and talented player with the potential to become a world-class player. However, since winning the US Open, she has not been able to reach and maintain a high level of play due to injuries.
If Raducanu can overcome the setbacks caused by injuries, she has a good chance of becoming one of the top three players in the world.
Elena Rybakina 🇰🇿
| Date of Birth | June 17, 1999 |
| Country of Birth | Moscow, Russia |
| Plays | Right-handed, two-handed backhand |
| Height | 184cm (6 ft 0 in) |
| Wins-Losses | 304-135 (69,2%) |
| Titles | 7 |
| Highest ranking | 3 (June 12, 2023) |
| Prize money | 11 619 057,50€ ($ 12,667,965) |
Background
Elena Rybakina is a Kazakh tennis player. She started playing tennis at the age of 6 and turned professional in 2016 at the age of 16.
Achievements
- Youngest Wimbledon finalist besides Garbiñe Muguruza
- First Kazakh player to reach the semi-finals of a Grand Slam
- Youngest female player to win Wimbledon, besides Petra Kvitova (23 years old)
- Youngest Kazakh player with a WTA top 20 ranking
- 1 Australian Open silver medal
| Elena Rybakina’s achievements | |
|---|---|
| Australian Open singles titles | 0 |
| French Open singles titles | 0 |
| Wimbledon singles titles | 1 |
| US Open singles titles | 0 |
| WTA singles titles | 7 |
| WTA finals singles titles | 0 |
| Billie Jean King Cup titles | 0 |
Playing Style
Elena Rybakina has a very attacking style of play. She is said to be one of the most attacking players in women’s tennis today, as she tries to hit every ball as hard as possible. Rybakina’s hard-hitting allows her to finish points quickly, but with the result that there are also a higher number of errors in her game.
In addition to her hard-hitting, Rybakina also has a hard serve at 196km/h (122mph) and her style of play includes a serve-volley, where the player goes to the net immediately after the serve.
Summary and Future
Elena Rybakina is a very strong and skilled player with the potential to challenge the top players in the world rankings and win Grand Slams. However, her risky style of play may make it difficult for her to finish high in the WTA rankings.