Five young men's singles tennis players to watch out for in 2024

Published at :February 26, 2024 at 4:17 PM

Modified at :February 26, 2024 at 4:17 PM

(Courtesy : The Sporting Tribune/ATP Tour)

Jannik Sinner tops the chart.

With the era of “The Big Three” winding down, there is a quiet change of guard happening in the locker rooms and on the tennis courts. With Roger Federer retired and Rafael Nadal confirming his decision to leave the tour at the end of 2024, Novak Djokovic is the last man standing among the trio who dominated the tennis landscape for nearly two decades.

There is an emergence of new stars who can fill the gap left by the trio. Since 2022 the stranglehold of the “The Big Three” has loosened, and new champions have emerged.

In this article, we shall take a glimpse at the young men’s singles tennis players who should be on your radar for the 2024 season.

Jannik Sinner

The 22-year-old Italian broke into the Top 5 in 2023 following his win at the ATP 500 event in Beijing, China. He had since gone on to win the 2024 Australian Open in the final against Daniil Medvedev and had taken over the World No. 3 position from the Russian following his win at the Rotterdam Open. The young Italian had won the hard-court event in the Netherlands earlier this month.

The newly anointed World No. 3 was also the youngest Grand Slam winner since Bjorn Borg. The legendary Swede lifted the trophy at Roland Garros in 1974 when he was just 18.

Sinner recently reached a personal milestone when he won the 200th match of his career. The highlight came in his semi-final match against Dutch player Tallon Griekspoor at Rotterdam. The Italian was also undefeated that year with 12 straight wins.

Ben Shelton

Ben Shelton was among the top crop of American players on the ATP Tour. They included the likes of Tommy Paul, Frances Tiafoe, and Taylor Fritz. The 21-year-old rose rapidly through the ranks in 2023, climbing from 96 to 17 by the time the curtains came down on the 2023 season.

He reached a career-high ranking of World No. 15 in October 2023 and is currently ranked 16th on the ATP list. Shelton was one match away from the 2023 US Open finals but lost to Djokovic in three sets.

If he had got past Djokovic, he would have been the first American finalist at Flushing Meadows since Andy Roddick in 2003.

The 2024 season had so far been a mixed bag for Shelton. He made an early exit at the 2024 Australian Open against Adrian Mannarino. But he managed to reach two semifinals at the ATP 250 events in Auckland, New Zealand and Dallas, USA. In Dallas, he played an all-American semi-final against Tommy Paul, which he lost in straight sets.

Holger Rune

The seventh-ranked Holger Rune hailed from Denmark, giving Carlos Alcaraz company as one of two 20-year-olds in the top 10 in the ATP rankings. The highlight of the young Dane’s career was the 2022 Paris Masters, where he bested Djokovic in the final and saw off Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals.

The young Dane had won the ATP 250 BMW Open at Munich, Germany two years running in 2022 and 2023. He recently switched coaches from Boris Becker to French coach Patrick Mouratoglou. Mouratoglou was Rune’s coach when he won his first ATP Masters 1000 title at the 2022 Rolex Paris Masters.

Rune recently notched up his 100th tour-level win in Montpellier, France in the first week of February in the second round of the Open Sud de France. In his more recent appearance at the Rotterdam Open, he saw off big-hitting Roman Safiullin to reach the second round.

Jiri Lehecka

Jiri Lehecka lifted the trophy at the 2024 Adelaide International and found himself at a career-high World No. 23 for his efforts. He moved up the rankings that week on the ATP Rankings. The win in Adelaide was his first as a professional player.

The Czech rose to claim his maiden title after holding off Jack Draper in a three-set affair. Lehecka dug his heels in for a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 comeback victory at the ATP 250 event.

The month following Lehecka’s first trophy did not quite continue in the same vein. He made early exits at the Australian Open (2nd round to Alex Michelsen), Marseille, France (2nd round to Arthur Rinderknech) and the ABN Amro Open (1st round to Hubert Hurkacz).

With time and age on his side, it was only a matter of time before the 22-year-old collected more trophies.

Hamad Medjedovic

For Hamad Medjedovic, 2023 has been his breakthrough season, rising over a hundred places from 255 to a career-high 102 in October. He lifted the Next Gen ATP in Jeddah, where he recovered from a lost opportunity to close out the match in the fourth set against Arthur Fils to defeat the Frenchman in five sets.

The Serbian youngster qualified for his maiden Grand Slam main draw at Roland Garros, replicating the feat a month later at Wimbledon. Djokovic’s protege is off to a slow start in 2024, losing in the second round of qualifying at the Australian Open to Jordanian Abdullah Shelbayh.

For more updates, follow Khel Now on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Whatsapp & Telegram