Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray– the so called ‘Big Four’ of men’s tennis –won’t be around forever, nor will Serena Williams, who is arguably the greatest female tennis player ever. Their domination will eventually end, but that doesn’t mean tennis will die out of stars. There are many talented players, and here are four who could step into their shoes.
Alexander Zverev
Alexander ‘Sascha’ Zverev is the brightest star in men’s tennis. The 19-year-old German is already seen by many as the future world No. 1. By beating four top-10 players this year and three in his last three outings, he just shed light on his capability, talent, technique, temperament and future. He shocked the world by defeating his idol Roger Federer at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, then triumphed over Tomas Berdych and Stan Wawrinka to lift his first ATP title in St. Petersburg. At the ongoing China Open, he toppled Domnic Thiem in the first round to mark his fourth top-10 win.
At the start of 2016, Zverev was ranked 83rd in the world. However, with some consistent performances, he has rapidly climbed up the ranking chart and is now placed at No. 24. The insanely talented German, who is in red hot form, won’t be sitting there for long. With hardly any ranking points to defend in the Asian swing and the remainder of the season, he could break into the top 20 sooner rather than later.
Karen Khachanov
The Russian professional isn’t the most popular talent amongst the fans. He doesn’t throw tantrums, he isn’t brash or cocky nor has he set the world on fire by knocking down a member of the big four club. He spent most of his time hitting big serves, smacking forehands and Marat Safin-esque backhands on the Challenger circuit. So, he is an unknown product in the tennis market which craves stardom. In 2013, as a 17-year-old, ranked 808, Khachanov showed glimpses of his talent by beating Janko Tipsarevic, who was the 27th best player in the world at that time, in straight sets. It wasn’t until this year’s U.S. Open, when he took a set from Kei Nishikori in the second round, that people took notice. Last week, the sturdy Russian was ranked just outside top 100 but thumped four top-35 players in Chengdu. Khachanov has now skyrocketed to 55th in the current ATP standings. In the Chengdu final against Albert Ramos-Vinolas, he just didn’t display his monster serving and destructive shotmaking; he also showcased his mental strength. The Muscovite was trailing by a set but kept calm and with his big, fast and accurate serving, he took the racquet out of the Spaniard’s hands.
How far can he go?
The talent is enormous but we can only wait and see.
Naomi Osaka
Naomi Osaka possesses the biggest serve in women’s tennis short of Serena Williams, her idol, and Karolina Pliskova. Two years ago, as a 16-year-old, she beat Sam Stosur in Stanford. With that win, you can see the talent was always there. In the last nine months, Osaka has jumped from No. 127 in the rankings to 46, thanks to some consistent performances and her fairytale run in Tokyo, where she was beaten by Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets in the finals.
Now ranked at a career high 46, Osaka, born of a Japanese mother and Haitian father, hopes to carry the momentum through the Asian swing. Like Caroline Wozniacki, she has great potential, and has a bright future in front of her.
Daria Kasatkina
Daria Kasatkina reached the quarterfinals at the Rio Summer Olympics. Despite going that far in a prestigious tournament, her career highlight came when she beat Venus Williams in Auckland in her first tournament in January. Not to forget, the teenager also beat Timea Bacsinszky this year. That win over Venus also drew lot of attention towards her game and forced people to mark her as the next big prospect in women’s tennis. Kasatkina played mainly on the ITF Tour last year, but within a year on the WTA circuit, the 19-year-old has made her top-25 debut. The junior French Open champion is 33-20 on the year and is enjoying a breakthrough season. She reached the third round of four straight Grand Slams between Wimbledon and last year’s U.S. Open and also made the quarterfinals at Indian Wells, where she lost to Karolina Pliskova. Asked about her dream, she replied she wants to win the Golden Slam one day. She may not fulfil that dream but with that sort of attitude, she is destined to reach greater heights.
