By Chris Oddo Friday, Aug. 9, 2013

Talent is no guarantee of success in professional tennis, but if it was, these 10 players would be headed higher in the rankings. In some cases, much higher.

Juan Martin del Potro: Current Ranking: 7/ Projected Ranking: 4

Now that the Tower of Tandil has honed his game on grass, there is no surface that Del Potro can’t produce results on. Indoors, outdoors, on clay, grass or hard, Delpo’s a dangerous threat on them all. At 24, and finally as close to perfect health as he’s ever going to get, Del Potro is poised at the precipice of a run back into the top five. And if he makes it there, he just might make camp and stay there for a while.

Robin Haase: Current Ranking: 61/ Projected Ranking: Top 20

How in the world is a player with Haase’s talent ranked so low? Well, he’s prone to walkabouts, that’s why. But the 26-year-old has some of the purest, most aesthetically pleasing strokes in the game, and if he ever combines those strokes with a more professional, gritty approach to week-in, week-out life on the tour, he’s bound to go higher. Haase is athletic, blessed with height and easy power, and he moves exceptionally well, no matter what surface he’s on. It’d be a shame if he doesn’t find a way to put it all together and find a way to improve upon his career-high ranking of 33. Anything less than top 20 would be a bust.

Jack Sock: Current Ranking: 90/ Projected Ranking: Top 40

Sock has the big serve, the big forehand, and—most important—the moxie to be a rapid climber of the rankings now that he’s in position to play in more main draws. He also proved that he’s not as clay allergic as most Americans when he qualified for Roland Garros and upset Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in the first round. Top 50 is just a start, but really, with his pop and attitude, the sky is the limit for Sock.

Thomaz Bellucci: Current Ranking: 114/ Projected Ranking: Top 50

Bellucci, like Haase, is known for the impromptu walkabout. But he’s immensely talented and built to wreak havoc on a clay court when he is playing at full flight. This year, the Brazilian has been riddled by injuries—blisters, left hip, ab strain—but when he gets back up and running he should be able to climb back to relevancy and perhaps even take out his previous career best ranking of 21.

Grigor Dimitrov: Current Ranking: 31/ Projected Ranking: Top 10

Tennis’s human highlight film has all the shots and all the creativity to take him to the upper echelon of the sport. He’s also got a live arm that generates an even livelier serve, is one of the quickest movers in the game, and has hooked up with one of the up-and-coming coaches in tennis, Magnus Norman of the Good to Great Academy in Sweden. So what’s holding Dimitrov back? Not much, really, considering he’s the youngest player in the top 40, and he’s been steadily rising for quite some time. A better question might be: What’s keeping him from exploding into the top 10? Conditioning, experience and consistency, but not much else.

Samantha Stosur: Current Ranking: 11/ Projected Ranking: Top 5

It took the Aussie more than half of 2013 to reach her first semifinal of the season—she’s just too talented for that kind of mediocrity. Stosur has the game to climb back into the top 10, and at 29, with all that valuable experience under her belt, she should be more confident in her ability to do so. It’s a mental battle with Stosur, and now as her career starts to wind down, maybe she’ll start to sense the urgency and make a push to prove that her US Open title in 2011 (not to mention her French Open final in 2010) was no fluke.

Dominika Cibulkova: Current Ranking: 20/ Projected Ranking: Top 10

Forget pound for pound, Cibulkova is one of the most explosive players on the WTA Tour these days, period. She’s a relentless fighter, she’s absolutely lethal when she gets hot, and at 24 years of age, she’s bound to have one of those hot streaks where nobody can touch her on the Grand Slam stage. She may not be the most versatile, and she may be the shortest player in the WTA’s top 50, but Cibulkova still has the game—and the attitude—to make it to the top 10.

Andrea Petkovic: Current Ranking: 50/ Projected Ranking: Top 15

Petko is not the most athletically gifted player on tour, but she is immensely passionate about her tennis, and that passion will surely enable her to find a way back to elite status on tour. The former world No. 9 has suffered from a litany of progress-hampering injuries in the last two seasons, but if the worst is indeed behind her, expect Petko to dance back inside the top 20 sooner rather than later.

Coco Vandeweghe: Current Ranking: 191/ Projected Ranking: Top 30

Coco Vandeweghe, during her finest games, sets—and sometimes—matches, looks like she could be a future Grand Slam champion. She hits 120 on the radar gun with her serve, has ground strokes that make jaws drop from both wings, and moves exceptionally well for a 6-foot-1 woman.

Then how do we explain the 21-year-old American’s lack of a higher ranking? She’s prone to sabotaging herself when things aren’t going well, and she also lacks finesse and consistency. It could be fitness that is keeping her down, and it could be her mental fragility. More likely, it’s a combo at both, but if she ever grows up and evolves into a mentally tough, more diverse version of her current self, watch out WTA.

Madison Keys: Current Ranking: 40/ Projected Ranking: Top 10

Keys has the potential to be the WTA’s next great server, and at 18 years of age, she could be America’s next great female player, too. Blessed with easy power and a wicked finishing touch, experience on tour might be the only thing keeping her out of the top 10 right now.

(Photo Credit: AP)