By Chris Oddo | Wednesday July 22, 2015
With nine teenagers in the Top 200, the ATP Tour is locked and loaded for a bright future. We break down the top 10 players aged 20 and under for you here.
Photo Source: Croatia Open
The future looks very bright on the ATP Tour. Young players have been making waves all season, notching victories over top players, achieving rankings milestones and generating new fans and excitement. But which young players are destined for stardom? While there's no guarantee, we've ranked the top 10 ATP young guns, aged 20 and younger for you here. Have a read and let us know what you think.
1. Borna Coric Of all the players aged 20 and under on the ATP Tour, Coric has the highest ranking—and he won’t be 19 until November 14. He’s already notched wins over Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray in addition to reaching three tour-level semis. And the results match the game. Coric has a mature, physical style that can grind down opponents.
The Croatian is often compared to Novak Djokovic, and when you watch him you can see why. He’s lean, lithe and quick, he’s a fantastic defender, but he can be a big-time shotmaker when he wants to.
Coric will have to add more attack to his game and learn to position himself more offensively on the court in the years to come, but with his attitude, professionalism, stamina and athleticism, he looks like a definite Top 10 talent.
2. Nick Kyrgios The only thing that will keep Nick Kyrgios from becoming a Grand Slam winner is his head. He’s the most talented shotmaker of his generation, with an explosive serve, a monster forehand, and a knack for performing in the clutch. He’s already scored two Grand Slam quarterfinal appearances, notched wins over Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, and proven that he belongs—and thrives—on the big stage.
But Kyrgios, unlike Coric, is prone to losing the script and letting his emotions and his lust for the spotlight override his decision-making on the court. Oftentimes, he lets his mind wander. Sometimes his thirst for drama seems to spur him on to magical moments, but at other times it clearly hurts his focus. And some of the things he says and does on the court has caused the media in his own country to turn against him--it's not a good dynamic for a rising player to have.
As of now Kyrgios possesses top 10 talent but lacks the mindset to match.
3. Thanasi Kokkinakis The Aussies are in luck. They’ve got two of the brightest stars on the ATP Tour. Kokkinakis, still 19, has already won three five-setters this year, and in two of them he battled back from two sets to love down. That’s impressive all by its lonesome, but Kokkinakis has impressed in many other ways in 2015. He’s gone 13-0 in qualifying matches this year, which has helped him raise his ranking from 150 to his current slot at 72. He also proved resilient when he won the Bordeaux Challenger this spring after missing the Rome cutoff due to a fire at Fiumicino Airport.
Kokkinakis possesses a lanky frame at 6’5”, but moves remarkably well for his size, serves big and hits big, but with a lot of margin. The Aussie has a great game for today’s slower, higher-bouncing surfaces, and a great fighter’s mentality on court. He’s going to be a good one. Maybe great.
4. Andrey Rublev The Russian is explosive, lightning-quick and fiery, and once Andrey Rublev puts a bit more muscle on his sinewy frame, he could be one of the most dangerous—and successful—players on tour. At just 17 Rublev has made big waves on the senior circuit in 2015, going 8-7 at the tour-level and rising from just inside the Top 500 to his current ranking of 190.
In May, Rublev became the first teenager to win matches at five different ATP events since Rafael Nadal in 2004.
Earlier in the year, Rublev had become the third-youngest to win a match at the Miami Open when he defeated world No. 54 Pablo Carreno Busta in three sets.
Rublev could be the future of Russian tennis, but that’s not all—he could be the future of tennis, or at least a big part of it.
5. Alexander Zverev He’s tall lanky and looks to be still growing into his body. But German Alexander Zverev is already proving to be a potential star at the ripe age of 18. Though he hasn’t matched his breakout semifinal performance from Hamburg last summer (yet), he’s held his own as a known quantity at the ATP-level this season, going 8-6 since March.
A very powerful ball striker who is comfortable on any surface, Zverev could be a player in the ilk of Tomas Berdych but with less rigidity and more creative flair. As his frame fills out and his experience grows, expect Zverev to become a top player.
6. Hyeon Chung Hailing from South Korea, the 19-year-old has had a breakout season. Paced by his beautiful, versatile backhand and cool, calm on-court demeanor, Chung become the second man from his nation to break into the ATP’s Top 100 in April.
Chung has proven his consistency by notching five challenger finals and three titles in 2015, and he’s also held his own at the ATP-level. Can he become the highest-ranked Korean in history (36 is the previous high, set by Hyung-Taik Lee)? Only time will tell, but we’re guessing yes.
7. Frances Tiafoe, Taylor Fritz, Stefan Kozlov It’s so hard to predict the futures of young, unproven players, but all three of these American teenagers have a shot at being very good pros. What is perhaps more important than any one name is the fact that the young Americans have a lot of talented players that are now travelling together and working together. And only one of these three players (Fritz, a Pete Sampras lookalike) is clay-allergic! If the young Americans (and there are more than just these three (add Noah Rubin and Michael Mmoh to the list if you feel like it) continue to work in this competitive culture, one or more should help American tennis break out of its current doldrums and back into the Top 10.
8. Elias Ymer Five futures titles in 2014 have helped this smooth-stroking Swede jump 600 spots in the rankings in about a year. Ymer notched a challenger title this season and also defeated Nick Kyrgios in a third-set tiebreaker en route to a round of 16 performance at Barcelona. He’s a good mover—explosive and athletic—and has very steady, grooved groundstrokes. His forehand is a gem. It’s powerful, versatile and repeatable—absolutely built for slo-mo popcorn sessions. Ymer could be a terror on clay. He’s a soft-spoken player that has already worked at Magnus Norman’s Good to Great Academy before recently moving to Barcelona to train with Galo Blanco. He should be will inside the Top 100 this time next year.
9. Kyle Edmund The 20-year-old is steadily climbing up the ATP ranks. Though he hasn’t had his big breakthrough yet (he’s 2-12 at the tour level), something about the way Edmund plays the game and conducts himself says to us that he’s going to be improving for the rest of his career. It may take him five years, but we think he becomes a Top 20 player.
10. Gianluigi Quinzi Here’s a wild card for you. Quinzi, the 2013 Wimbledon Boys’ Singles champion, had a tremendous junior career. Things haven’t panned out so well for him in 2015—he’s now 17, and is 100 spots off his top ranking at a current perch of 403—but Quinzi has plenty of time to adjust to playing the type of physical tennis that is necessary to win at the ATP level. And some, though maybe not plenty, of time to continue maturing mentally. He’s a tricky southpaw with an eye for the lines, and he’s a graceful mover with a soft touch.
Quinzi’s biggest weakness is his serve. With his height he could give himself a real advantage by developing a more lethal lefty serve. As of now it’s a bit “puffy.” Mentality is also an issue, so at this point it’s a bit of a crapshoot to project a successful career for Quinzi, but he’s an entertaining player with a shot to be a good pro if he shores up these deficiencies.