Every year we hear about new rising stars in tennis, stealing the hearts of the public and capturing their attention from the moment they step on court to play a more dominant and well-known player. As they climb the ranks, progress to the final stages of a tournament or come up against a highly ranked, global player. The underdog is often the favourite to those that feel they need a boost and support system when they’re playing against one of their most dreaded opponents, and in this case, we’re all for supporting these rising stars!
In 2021, it was Emma Raducanu who took the nation (and the world) by storm as she stepped onto Centre Court to play the biggest match of her life after being selected as the Wimbledon wildcard.
Here’s a closer look into some of the rising stars of tennis today and their career story so far, including their most highly acclaimed titles.
Emma Raducanu
Emma RaducanuAge: 19
Career highlights: US Open 2021 singles title,
Current world ranking: 13
Career high ranking: 12
Height: 5’7”
Plays: right-handed
Role model: Lewis Hamilton and Andy Murray
Growing up in Bromley, Raducanu began playing tennis from a young age, competing in LTA competitions across the South of England.
Emma Raducanu exploded onto the tennis scene as a Wimbledon wildcard in 2021, only a few weeks after completing her A-Level exams. Emma soon became a household name as she stormed her way through the first few matches, putting up a terrific fight to get through to the last 16.
Emma took the momentum and confidence gained from her Wimbledon success to New York for the 2021 US Open. Not only is Emma a remarkable tennis player to watch, but she’s also calm, composed and mature off-court, enabling her to carry herself through the toughest of situations during a match. Defying all odds, Raducanu found herself in the final of this Grand Slam, to both her amazement and the world’s. As a player with little experience in Grand Slam tournaments, it was the most amazing result to see Emma fight for the trophy against Leylah Fernandez, and to add to the excitement, come out on top!
We can’t wait to see what Emma brings to the court this summer, and we’re hoping to see her return to Wimbledon and see her progress further!
Cori Gauff
Cori GauffAge: 18
Career highlights: Parma 2021 singles, Linz 2019 singles, US Open final 2021 doubles
Current world ranking: 17
Career high ranking: 16
Height: 5’9”
Plays: right-handed
Role model: Venus & Serena Williams
American professional tennis player, Cori “Coco” Gauff, has been making a name for herself on the world stage in the past few years, making strong and impactful appearances at some of the biggest tennis tournaments. Ranked in the top 100 by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) and recently achieving a career high ranking of world No.16 in January 2022, it’s hard to believe this rising star is just 17 years old!
Coco received a wildcard at Wimbledon in 2019 when she was only 15 years old, quickly making herself known to the world when she progressed int the last 16 with a win over past champion Venus Williams – it was at this moment that the world knew she was going to bring something special to the world of tennis.
Gauff first picked up a tennis racket at the age of six, but quickly started to show potential and travelled to France to work with Serena Williams’ coach, Patrick Mouratoglou. Throughout her junior career, Coco claimed the title of the junior French Open and came runner up at the U.S. Open Girl’s Junior Championships.
Fast forward several years to 2019 and Gauff was ranked as 685 in the world, and her goal for that year was to make it into the top 100 – a very ambitious goal. However, after receiving a Wimbledon wildcard and putting on a show-stopping performance at the US Open, she achieved her goal and became one of the top 100 in the WTA.
We’re excited to see what Cori brings to the courts in 2022 and what ranking she can reach this year!
Aryna Sabalenka
Aryna SabalenkaAge: 23
Career highlights: US Open 2019 singles title, Australian Open 2021 doubles title
Current world ranking: 5
Career high ranking: 2
Height: 5’11”
Plays: right-handed
Role model: Roger Federer
Aryna Sabalenka is a Belarusian professional tennis player and has achieved a career high of No.2 in singles and No.1 in doubles, both in 2021. The world No.5 has won a total of ten singles titles and five doubles titles on the WTA Tour, with highlights including the US Open in 2019 and the Australian Open 2021 in doubles. Other singles titles include the Wuhan Open in 2018 and 2019, the Qatar Open in 2020 and the Madrid Open in 2021.
Sabalenka began playing tennis at age 6 when her father drove by a tennis court and decided to give the sport a try with his daughter. It proved to be a success and Aryna’s first event of her career was in 2012 on the ITF Circuit in Belarus. She has since been climbing the ranks and claiming more and more titles as she has progressed throughout the years.
While Sabalenka has already had many strong and impressive career titles and has achieved high rankings, most recently being placed in the top 5, we think that Sabalenka has much more to give and will aim to rise to the top in the next few months and years to claim more titles and make her mark more prominent on the Grand Slam winners list. We’re hoping to see her take to the courts at Wimbledon, and maybe even reach the final…
Jannick Sinner
Jannick SinnerAge: 20
Career highlights: Antwerp, Washington, Sofia
Current world ranking: 11
Career high ranking: 9
Height: 6’2”
Plays: right-handed
Role model: Roger Federer
While you may not have heard his name too much, Jannick Sinner is currently the youngest player ranked in the top 10 by the ATP. In 2021, he also became the first player born in the 2000s to break into the ATP top 10, winning a total of five ATP titles in singles.
Growing up in Italy, Sinner was a keen skier, but turned his focus to tennis at age thirteen and started training with coach Riccardo Piatti. He began playing on the ITF Junior Circuit in 2016, but quickly progressed to the professional tour and turned pro in 2018. At the beginning of the year, Jannick was unranked, but soon broke into the top 100 in 2019. When he was 19 years old, he became the first teenager to win an ATP 500 title, all occurring at Washington.
Since 2020, Jannick has reached the French Open quarterfinal, achieved his first ATP title and the Australian Open quarterfinal. Sinner played at both the cinch Championships and Wimbledon in 2021, but we hope to see him again as he aims to progress further in the tournaments in 2022.
Dominic Theim
Dominic TheimAge: 28
Career highlights: US Open 2020 & ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells 2019
Current world ranking: 50
Career high ranking: 3
Height: 6’1”
Plays: right-handed
Role model: Andre Agassi
Dominic Theim is one of few players who have come in between the likes of Roger Feder, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. The Austrian has made it to a total of three Grand Slam finals and was close to defeating Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open in 2020. His career high ranking was world No.3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals in March 2020 and is the second highest ranked Austrian tennis player in history.
With a total of 17 ATP Tour singles titles and a Grand Slam title at the US Open in 2020 to his name, Dominic is a strong and exciting player who has great potential to progress in major tournaments in years to come. We’re watching closely to see what he has in store in the future, possibly another few Grand Slam titles will be added to his name! Will we see Theim at the cinch Championships or The Championships, Wimbledon this summer? We’re certainly hoping so. Watch this space!
We’re excited to watch these young budding tennis stars continue to make their mark in the tennis world and continue to push and progress in major tournaments to secure more wins and career high rankings. We think that young rising stars are so important for young tennis players at grassroots level who are getting into the sport or thinking of taking up tennis to motivate and inspire them to believe that they can achieve whatever they put their mind to and could one day become a professional on the world stage themselves. The tennis stars mentioned above are a testament to showing just what you can achieve at such a young age, competing against experienced legends such as Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in major events.
Keep your eyes peeled to see who will be competing in the grass court season in the UK this year. With the cinch Championships at The Queen’s Club and the Eastbourne International just around the corner, and of course the illustrious Grand Slam that is Wimbledon, we’re hoping they will all make an appearance!
Find out more about our hospitality experiences now at the cinch Championships, Eastbourne International and Wimbledon in 2022 to elevate your day at the tennis and watch these rising stars from the best seats in the house!