Top 10 Emerging Tennis Players Of 2021

Each year exciting new talent from around the world makes watching tennis a spectacle. These emerging players challenge the established names as they attempt to take control of the future of the sport. Here is a list of Top 10 Emerging Tennis Players of 2021 to watch out for:

 

1. Sumit Nagal

The 23-year-old Sumit Nagal burst into the spotlight when he won the Wimbledon boys’ double title in 2015. His highest world ranking is 122 and he has earned career prize money of US$ 386,368. In 2020 he made it to the second round of the US Open, his best finish in a singles men’s grand slam event. Nagal has been a regular member of Indian Davis Cup teams since 2016.

 

2. Alexander Zverev

Alexander Zverev is German tennis player who has already reached the heady heights of No. 3 in the ATP rankings. Zverev, who is 23 years old, reached the final of the US Open in 2020 and in the same year was a semi-finalist in the Australian Open in Melbourne. His best tournament result was winning the Tour Finals in 2018. Zverev has been a permanent fixture in the top 10 since 2017 and it was widely expected that 2021 could be a breakout year for him.

 

3. Daniil Medvedev

Daniil Medvedev reached a career-high No. 3 ranking in February 2021. Medvedev, the right-handed player from Russia, has already made a relative fortune in tennis, earning US$ 15,738,259 without having won a Grand Slam title. He was a finalist in the 2021 Australian Open as tennis returned after a gap caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. He was also a finalist in the US Open in 2019.

 

4. Prajnesh Gunneswaran

Prajnesh Gunneswaran has won 2 ATP Challenger and 8 ITF titles in singles and 1 ITF title in doubles. Among currently active Indian singles players, Gunneswaran achieved the highest ranking, hitting No. 75 in 2019. He then gained entry into the main draw in Wimbledon but lost in the first round to Milas Raonic. However, he has since slipped down to No. 129. Gunneswaran won the bronze medal in the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta. 

 

5. Denis Shapovalov

Denis Shapovalov, the Canadian 21-year-old, became the youngest player since 2005 to break into the top 30 of the ATP Rankings for men when he achieved the feat. Although currently ranked No. 11 in the world, his best ranking was one spot higher. He is currently the seventh youngest player ranked within the ATP top 100. The left-hand player has notched up a little over US $6 million in earnings in his fledgling career so far.

 

6. Pablo Carreno Busta

At 29, Pablo Carreno Busta could be called a bit of a late bloomer. The Spanish player, who has been around the circuit for a while, reached a career-high No. 10 ranking in 2017. As a singles player his best performances have come in the US Open, where he reached the semi finals first in 2017 and again in 2020. Busta was up by two sets in the semifinal but was beaten by Alexander Zverev who made a strong comeback into the match.

 

7. Felix Auger Aliassime

Felix Auger Aliassime is the youngest player in the top 25 of the ATP singles rankings for men. With seven runners up finishes on the ATP tour, Aliassime achieved a career best ranking of 17. The tall right-handed player from Canada was an early star, becoming one of only seven players to win a Challenger by age 16. He also holds the record for being the youngest to win a match in the main draw of the Challenger tour, at 14 years and 11 days. In 2019, Aliassime made it to three finals and to the third round in Wimbledon.

 

8. Jannik Sinner

Jannik Sinner is one of the most exciting young prospects in the world game, having caught the eye while still only 19 years old. The Italian right-hander was active in skiing, football and tennis as a child growing up in the South Tyrol region, but took seriously to the racquet sport. He has been ranked as high as No. 32 in the world by ATP. At the 2020 French Open in Roland Garros, Paris, he became the youngest quarterfinalist in the men’s singles event since Novak Djokovic in 2006. That was his best showing in a Grand Slam event.

 

9. Taylor Fritz

Taylor Fritz is one of the brightest young prospects from the United States of America, a country that has been a stronghold of tennis over the years. Fritz reached an ATP final in only his third tournament at the level, becoming the second fastest American to the achievement. Fritz has tennis in his blood; his mother Kathy May Fritz was a top 10 player and his father was named US Olympic Development coach of the year in 2016. Fritz is currently ranked No. 31 in the world.

 

10. Alex Di Minaur

Alex Di Minaur is a 22-year-old Australian tennis player who also has Spanish citizenship. He has achieved considerable success in a short span, reaching a career high No. 18 ranking in 2019. Coached by Adolfo Gutierrez and countrymen Lleyton Hewitt, Di Minaur has never been past the third round of a Grand Slam, achieving the feat in 2019 and 2021. He has picked up US$ 4.5 million in prize money and experts believe this is only the beginning.

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