Top five young players to watch at Madrid Open 2024

These are some of the budding players who can cause some upsets on the road.

The Madrid Open 2024, an ATP Masters 1000 and WTA 1000 event will take place from April 22nd to May 5th at the Caja Magica in Madrid, Spain. Played on outdoor clay courts at Park Manzanares, it marks the 22nd edition for the men’s tour and the 15th for the women’s tour, since transitioning to clay courts in 2009.

The “King of Clay” Rafael Nadal will look to dominate, as the Spanish star holds the record for most Madrid championships. Nadal had contested the recently concluded Barcelona Open. However, the 22-time Grand Slam winner could not go forward after the tournament’s second round.

Casper Ruud, Jannik Sinner, Holger Rune, and Daniil Medvedev are the top tennis sensations who would be in the fray to lift the title in the men’s category. Meanwhile, in the women’s category, Iga Swiatek, Aryanka Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, and Elena Rybakina are the top contenders for the championship.

Before we witness some exciting tiebreakers, let’s look at the top five players who could set the tournament on fire:

5. Arthur Fils

The French tennis player has achieved his career-high ATP men’s singles ranking of World No. 32. The young sensation caught the eye after becoming the youngest player to win a match in the first round at the Australian Open.

Arthur outclassed German Yannick Hanfmann to achieve the feat. At the recently concluded Barcelona Open, the French player made it to the quarterfinals, defeating another German tennis player Daniel Altmaier in the Round of 32 and Australian Alex de Minaur in the Round of 16. However, he faced disappointment against Serbian player Dusan Lajovic in the quarters. 

4. Holger Rune

The World No. 12, the Danish star, was recently part of the longest best-of-three match at the Monte-Carlo Masters. At the recently concluded ATP Tour Masters 1000 event, Holger produced some breathtaking performances as he reached the quarterfinals, ousting ninth-seeded Grigor Dimitrov in the process. 

However, he got beaten by the Italian Jannik Sinner in the quarters. Holger is one of the budding players on the clay court. So, at the iconic La Caja Mágica Manzanares Park in San Fermín, the Denmark player would look to dominate the arena.

3. Mirra Andreeva

At the Brisbane International, the Russian reached her first WTA Tour quarterfinal. On her debut at the 2024 Australian Open, Andreeva defeated Bernarda Pera and sixth seed Ons Jabeur to reach the third round of the prestigious tournament. 

The World No. 43 will start her campaign against American tennis player Taylor Townsend in the first round of the women’s singles. 

2. Qinwen Zheng

The tennis star from China, Qinwen Zheng, is one of the prominent players in the women’s singles category. She won titles in Palermo and Zhengzhou in 2023. Moreover, the Chinese player reached the US Open quarterfinals. 

The 21-year-old tennis player reached her first Grand Slam final at the Australian Open 2024 after beating Ashlyn Krueger, Katie Boulter, compatriot Wang Yafan and Océane Dodin. She became the fourth Chinese player to reach the semifinals and the second finalist since Li Na in 2014 in Melbourne. She also made it to the top 10 in the singles rankings, becoming the second Chinese player to do so after Li Na.

1. Marta Kostyuk

The semifinalist at the Indian Wells Masters could turn the tables during the Madrid Masters 2024, as she could produce a major upset at the tournament. At the start of the year, she sailed through to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open for the first time. 

She stunned top seed Jessica Pegula at the San Diego Open to reach her first WTA 500 final. She also achieved a new career-high ranking of No. 26 this year. The Ukrainian player could be the dark-horse at the tournament.

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