Tennis stars of the future
Tennis is a game where longevity at the top-level is a strong possibility. Pete Sampras dominated for a while in the men’s game. Then came the current trio of top-level players. Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic. All three have dominated at the top of the sport for a decade now.Despite their impressive form, there has to come a time where new names will begin to appear. In the women’s game, the name Williams is synonymous with the sport. Just like in the men’s, this time has to come to an end, just like Seles and Navratilova before them.
So, who are the new kids on the block who will take the throne from the big guns?
Denis Shapovalov
A lot of the best NJ online casinos had a big shock for sports bettors in 2017 when Shapovalov beat Nadal at the US Open. It left mouths agape, and big things were expected of the then 17-year-old. However, after this, he stumbled and stifled a little bit. Many expected his power to help propel him to great things, but it could have been a case of too much too young for the Canadian.
Now at the age of 20, he has more maturity with his undoubted ability. It means that he has been able to propel himself to new heights. What is most scary about this is that he has improved so much in just three years, but at only 20 years old, his best years are still in front of him. He managed to reach 14 in the rankings at the start of 2020. You would not bet against him breaking into the top 10 by the time 2021 rolls around.
Andrey Rublev
Rublev has improved enormously over the last year. Rising almost 100 places to 23rd at the start of 2020, he certainly has the potential to become a big name. The power of his forehands is formidable; he has an extremely accurate backhand and a poker face that doesn’t give off any sign of weakness to his opponents. He already has wins against Kyrgios and Federer under his belt, so it will be no surprise if he manages to bring home a good haul of titles in the coming years.
He is just 22 years old, so he has plenty of room to improve as well. With John McEnroe among his admirers, it is well worth keeping your eye on this young Russian.
Belinda Bencic
When Bencic was just 16, she managed to win a few titles and got herself into the top 10 in the world. In 2016, she was seen as one of the rising stars of Tennis. Just as everything was looking good for her, she was struck down by injuries. She went from being in the top 10 to outside the top 300. It took her until 2019 to fully recover and get back in her stride.
She has started to dominate against top-rated opponents and managed some big wins on big stages. While she has not managed to get to the 7th place she achieved in 2016, she was up to 8th at the start of 2020. Bencic is back and is stronger than ever; the 2020s could be her decade.