There is no other more prestigious theater stage in tennis than Wimbledon and this fortnight several players have taken advantage of the opportunity and emerged as future stars.
First and foremost Christopher Eubanks suddenly has the looks and qualities of a top ten sensation after his thrilling upsets of ATP elites Cam Norrie and Stefanos Tsitsipas. With his flashy, fearless offensive game and classy, polite and polished personality, expect Eubanks to break the bank with sponsors in the near future. And don’t count out the former Georgia Tech NCAA player from also upsetting Daniil Medvedev in the quarterfinals.
Elina Svitolina was always in the WTA mix as a secondary player but now she’s on the verge of stardom after her semifinal run with wins over Viktoria Azarenka and world no. 1 Iga Swiatek. With all the political war talk in the media, this Wimbledon has a feel that it’s Svitolina’s tournament. She checks all the boxes for maximum marketing – new mom, Ukrainian, bi-racially married to another star Gael Monfils, new sponsor deal with adidas. Svitolina elevating to superstardom seems unstoppable now. And that’s important because the WTA needs all the new stars it can get.
Mirra Andreeva is just sixteen but the Russian is the latest teen phenom with the bubbly, endearing personality and of course the heavyweight arsenal that is going to be absolutely lethal in a couple of years.
Madison Keys is already a US Open finalist (2017) but she has yet to fulfill the potential and expectations created after she beat Serena Williams in World Team Tennis when she was fourteen. Keys plays Aryna Sabalenka today in the quarterfinals and stands just three matches from superstardom.
Holger Rune is more than capable of beating future Greatest of all time hopeful Carlos Alcaraz today and if he does it would shock the sporting world. Rune has established himself as an ATP force already but he is still hunting for that monster win in a Grand Slam to catapult him to the next level.
Some juniors are also making waves.
American Darwin Blanch is just 15 but he already has an ATP ranking of 1182.
Cooper Williams is seventeen and seeded four in the boys draw and he will play at Harvard next season.
Brit Henry Searle is 17, from Wolverhampton and lefty and just has the aura of being the next British prospect following Tim, Andy, Cam and Kyle.
American Clervie Ngounoue is just 16 and she has an impressive all court game already. Sorry, she’s had it since the age of 12. The no. 2 seed Clervie is already ranked 537 in WTA.
Alina Korneeva is 16 and the top seed in the girls draw. The Russian is already ranked 324 in WTA.
Christopher Eubanks · Clervie Ngounoue · Elina Svitolina · Henry Searle · Holger Rune · Wimbledon
catherine · July 12, 2023 at 1:28 pm
Med bt Eubanks 6-1 5th set.
I’m always careful predicting big futures from single tournaments, especially W’don. Many times they don’t work out.
Keys is 28 – not a new name. Superstardom isn’t in sight. Same with Svitolina, who could have some decent results, has a good coaching set up, but has been around for years.
It’s true the WTA needs new blood and new blood with staying power. Also maybe experiment again with 5 set finals. Two sets over in a jiffy can’t compete with those 5 set ATP epics.
Big question looming over the women’s game – can Raducanu come back ? Even when she hasn’t been here she’s been here.
Fernandez isn’t having the results so far. Naomi ? Forget it.
The WTA is turning into a mothers’ club.
Scoop Malinowski · July 12, 2023 at 3:14 pm
Catherine, Keys can be a superstar, she’s half white half black and that’s what the establishment likes, though of course they’ll play up the black half like with James Blake, who you wouldn’t know his mom is white. Keys strikes me as a player who is happy in her station as a second tier player. She doesn’t seem to have that burning desire obsession to be the best and do all the extra work and media obligations that come with that status. But she has the talent and weapons to suddenly win a Grand Slam in the second half or home stretch of her career IMO, like Goran, Pennetta, Andres Gomez, Thiem, Wozniacki, Halep…
Scoop Malinowski · July 12, 2023 at 3:16 pm
Raducanu Osaka and Fernandez are looking like second or third tier players from here on out, the WTA NEXTGENs are coming up fast, hungry and ferocious. Shockingly, they may all be “washed up.”