Tennis globally is going through a transition, the stars we’ve had as household names for the past 2 decades have mostly called time on their careers and some are on the verge of hanging the racket.
These transitions are often tough because they start with our favourite star showing on court that age is catching up with them. The second sign will be us die-hard fans having to witness our veteran losing shamelessly to a teenager that is about to take the Tennis world by storm.
While we appreciate and will forever be grateful to the likes of Serena Williams for giving us the best tennis display, represented all women and women of colour with grace and aplomb, it’s time to cherish those moments the stars gave us and look ahead to what the future holds.
Let’s look tennis stars to watch in 2024!
Coco Gauff
Coco Gauff captured the hearts of many in the past couple of years but 2023 was the year where the American prodigy set herself apart as a star of the future. Gauff stunned the world along with world number 1 Aryna Sabalenka when she produced a stunning three-set victory to win her maiden slam at the US Open.
She has been so sensational that her final against Sabalenka drew more viewers than the men’s championship match.
She’s only 19 and the world number three (career-best ranking at the end of 2023) is well on course to reach the summit and be the next world number one, if her 2023 performances are anything to go by.
Gauff joined an iconic list of former American players who won a Grand Slam as teenagers in the Open Era. These included Chris Evert, Tracy Austin, and Serena Williams.
Mirra Andreeva
16 year-old Russian Mirra Andreeva has been a marvel to watch. In October 2023, she was the youngest player inside the World’s Top 50, and has been notching quality wins against experienced campaigners, including Barbora Krejcikova at the China Open.
Andreeva has seem a meteoric rise in the WTA Rankings, starting 2023 ranked 293 and ended the year at 57th (as at 25 Dec, 2023).
At the Madrid Open she became the third-youngest player – at 15 – to win a WTA 1000 main-draw match.
Emma Raducanu
Emma Raducanu has been plagued by injuries that have hampered her progress and her potential superstardom to go beyond what we’ve seen in 2022 and 2023.
With the first Grand Slam of the year now around the corner, the Australian Open, Raducanu is set to play in the pre-cursor to the main draw to attempt to seal her spot alongside the former Grand Slam winners.
It has been more than two years since Raducanu stunned the tennis world with her famous run to the title at the US Open. She was just 18 years old at the time, and it was one of the most extraordinary achievements in tennis history.
Raducanu has been out with an injury since April 2023. She only took part in five tournaments this season with her most recent appearance coming at the Stuttgart Open, where she was eliminated in the opening round by Jelena Ostapenko. However, the Brit underwent surgeries and is now Back on track. We hope to see her give her peers some intense competition.
We can never pre-determine what transpires in a unique sport like tennis, where age can be a huge advantage however with the return of experienced gems and former Grand Slam winners like Naomi Osaka and Angelique Kerber from injury, it could be anyone’s year. We do however hope to see these young prodigies listed above to flourish and give us another memorable year in Tennis.
Zheng Qinwen
Tennis eminence looks to be on the cards for Chinese young star, Zheng Qinwen, following a breakthrough year in 2023.
Zheng won the biggest title of her career, the WTA 500 title in Zhengzhou China, her first tour-level title.
The 21-year-old sits at a career-high ranking of world No.15 after a stellar year that saw her capture her maiden WTA title in Palermo before upsetting Tunisian star Ons Jabeur at the US Open to reach her first major quarterfinal.
She was named the WTA’s Newcomer of the Year in 2022 and maybe 2024 will be the year we see another “Li Na” make history for Asia. Na was the first Asian to win a Grand Slam singles title at the 2011 French Open.
Wang Xinyu
Wang Xinyu is a junior world number 2, and this year she broke into the top 50 following elite performances at the US Open. The Chinese future star made her first Grand Slam second week at the US Open. With tougher opposition, she can gain the experience needed to dominate in the WTA.
She’s also a future doubles star, in 2023 she powered to a French Open Doubles title alongside Hsieh Su-Wei in Paris. Wang is getting better with each passing week and could make a big splash in 2024.
Main Photo Caption: 16 year-old Russian Mirra Andreeva became the third-youngest player – at 15 years – to win a WTA 1000 main-draw match, at this year’s Madrid Open. She joins gsport’s list of five tennis players to following 2024 also including Coco Gauff, Emma Raducanu, Zheng Qinwen and Wang Xinyu, starting with the WTA’s January tournaments in Australia. Photo: Mirra Andreeva on Instagram
Photo 2 Caption: 21-year-old Zheng Qinwen won the biggest title of her career, the WTA 500 title in Zhengzhou China, and sits at a career-high ranking of world No.15 after a stellar year that saw her capture her maiden WTA title in Palermo. Photo: Zheng Qinwen on Instagram
Photo 3 Caption: Coco Gauff has captured the hearts of many in the past couple of years but 2023 she set herself apart as a star of the future, beating world number 1 Aryna Sabalenka in a stunning three-set victory to win her maiden slam at the US Open. Photo: Coco Gauff on Instagram
Photo 4 Caption: Junior world number 2, and already a singles- and doubles champ, Wang Xinyu broke into the top 50 following elite performances at the US Open, and is getting better with each passing week, and could make a big splash in 2024. Photo: Wang Xinyu on Instagram
Photo 5 Caption: Plagued by injuries the past two years, Emma Raducanu will turn out at the pre-cursor to the first Grand Slam of the year, the Australian Open, to attempt to seal her spot alongside the former Grand Slam winners. Photo: Emma Raducanu on Instagram
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