Alcaraz is in the top 10 for the first time after his triumph in Barcelona. Who are the other youngsters in the top 100?

Even though Novak Djokovic is still the world number one and Rafael Nadal still hasn’t said the last word, new faces are rising through the world rankings. These are the tennis players who will one day replace not only these two legends. This season, the 18-year-old Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz is particularly astonishing the tennis world. Who are the other players in the under-20 age group in the top 100 of the ATP singles rankings?

Of course, we can admire the performances of many young tennis players who have already reached impressive positions. Let’s mention, for example, the twenty-three-year-old Nora Casper Ruud or the young Canadians Felix-Auger Aliassim and Denis Shapovalov.

But let’s take a look at the very youngest hopefuls on the ATP circuit. They haven’t yet celebrated their 21st birthday, but they already have some interesting results to their credit, thanks to which they are currently among the top 100 tennis players in the world. And in the following list we find one Czech.

Carlos Alcaraz (18 years old)

In 2020, he was named ATP Rookie of the Season. It didn’t take long for the Spanish teenager to draw attention to himself with his first title from the most prestigious circuit. It happened at the clay tournament in Umag, Croatia, where he defeated Frenchman Richard Gasquet in the final in two sets.

He also won another trophy on the orange surface, specifically this February after his final win over Diego Schwartzman in Rio, Brazil. In April, he took two tournament victories, at the Miami Masters and in Barcelona. After his triumph in the Catalan capital, he moved into the top 10 for the first time in his life thanks to his move up to ninth place.

The right-handed tennis player from El Palmar, located in the Murcia region, managed to reach the quarter-finals of the Grand Slam at last year’s US Open. Given his current form, it will be interesting to see how he performs at the upcoming Roland Garros.

Jannik Sinner (20 years old)

Ninth place is also the highest ever for the Italian youngster, who is currently ranked 12th. Sinner drew particular attention to himself last year when he won four singles tournaments on the ATP circuit. On top of that, he added one doubles title in Atlanta alongside Reilly Opelka.

The 20-year-old Italian, who made his debut among the elite in 2019 in Budapest, recorded his first tournament triumph in the 2020 edition of the “covid”. He defeated Gaël Monfils in the final in Sofia.

A move into the top ten last November earned him his first appearance at the Tournament of Champions. During the tournament, he replaced injured compatriot Berrettini, but failed to advance from the group.

Lorenzo Musetti (20 years old)

Italian tennis can boast one more 20-year-old tennis talent. He is the current 61st player in the world, Musetti, who was at his peak in March, ranked 56th. However, unlike the previous two youngsters, he has not yet enjoyed a tournament victory on the ATP circuit.

He has two finals appearances from junior grand slams, the 2018 US Open and the 2019 Australian Open. He also played at last year’s Olympics, both in singles and doubles.

He has managed to outplay some interesting opponents throughout his career. For example, he has beaten Stan Wawrinka, Diego Schwartzman and Grigor Dimitrov. His best result at a senior Grand Slam tournament is the 4th round of last year’s French Open.

Holger Rune (18 years old)

Rune is the second of the 18-year-olds in this list. He is also at his lifetime high, which is ranked 70th. He is the best Dane in the current singles rankings.

This young tennis player has been training since 2016 in the famous academy of Patrick Mouratoglou, who has coached Serena Williams among others in the past. And it looks like the work has paid off. The highlight of his career so far is his junior title at Roland Garros 2019.

He has competed in the adult Grand Slam twice so far, but he crashed out in the first round in both New York and Melbourne. He has also played several Davis Cup matches.

Brandon Nakashima (20 years old)

The Americans are also represented among the very youngest members of the world 100. However, the current ranking of 76 is not the best Nakashima has reached in his short career. In fact, he was also ranked 62nd last November.

The San Diego native also lacks a triumph from the ATP circuit in his collection so far. He lost both of his 250 category finals, once to Britain’s Cameron Norrie and the second time to American John Isner.

Among adults, he is waiting for a significant result in the “Big Four” tournaments. The most he has managed to play so far is the US Open, where he reached the second round last year and the year before. Thus, although he is rising up the rankings, he is not yet able to build on his triumphs in the senior category.

Jiří Lehečka (20 years old)

After the end of the careers of Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek, Czech tennis is waiting for their successors. One of them could be a member of the Prostejov club, who was born in Mladá Boleslav. The wider sporting public probably first became more aware of Lehecek when he made his Davis Cup debut against the Netherlands in 2019.

In singles, he notched up three wins at Futures tournaments and one at the Challenger in Tampere. The 20-year-old Czech is also a good doubles player, with his biggest success being his title at the 2019 Wimbledon junior tournament with Jonáš Forejtek. He has made one appearance in the main singles competition at a senior Grand Slam. At this year’s Australian Open, he lost in a four-set match to Bulgarian Dimitrov.

Lehečka certainly belongs together with Tomas Machac, Dalibor Svrcina or the aforementioned Forejtke to the promises of Czech tennis in the future. Domestic fans can only hope that the men will at least partially emulate their female counterparts.

Source: ATP