Tennis is an exciting game to watch. Like most sports, a few players usually stand out at the end of every season because of their brilliance on the court.
In this post, we’ve highlighted players you want to watch out for in 2023. You should know that the players in this post are not listed in any particular order.
Without wasting any more time, let’s dive right in…
Matteo Berrettini
The Italian Stallion dropped out of the top ten to no. 16 this year due mainly missing the French Open and Wimbledon, where he reached finals last year. The former world no. 6 won two titles this year (he’s won seven in his career) and over $10m in prize money. The huge serving 26 year old with the gargantuan forehand, reached the semis at AO (lost to Nadal in four sets) and QF at US Open (lost to Ruud in three sets). Expect the fan favorite Berrettini to be a Grand Slam threat again in 2023.
Audrey Rublev
Audrey Rublev is another tennis player who can explode in 2023. The Russian powerhouse baseliner has won 12 career singles titles and is a mainstay in the top ten. He is ranked 8 now and has been as high as 5. The 25 year old won four titles this year Gijon on indoor hard, Belgrade on outdoor clay, Dubai on outdoor hard and Marseille on indoor hard. Rublev won one title last year and five titles in 2020.
Casper Ruud
The 23-year-old Norwegian is another player to watch out for in the 2023 season. Ranked no. 3 Ruud has become a top threat on hard courts this year after achieving most of his early success on red clay. He is a winning machine (170-92 ATP match record including nine ATP singles titles) with over $13m in career prize money so far. The Norwegian reached a career high rank of no. 2 in September of this year.
Stefanos Tsitsipas
Stefanos is now a superstar performer on the ATP World Tour with nine ATP singles titles and over $23m in prize money earnings. At age 24 and entering his prime, the best results are surely ahead for the Greek stylist who has already won 249 ATP singles matches and 61 this year. Currently at the fourth position in world rankings, Stefanos has beaten AO champion Medvedev twice, Felix, Rublev, and Zverev this year. He is in position to challenge for the no. 1 ranking in 2023.
Rafael Nadal
Having won more than 92 ATP singles titles and 1,067 overall matches, the 22 time Grand Slam champion is still going strong at age 36. Currently ranked no. 2 Nadal recently said he does not intend to retire any time soon and surely he is motivated for a successful 2023 and to try to defy Novak Djokovic from surpassing his total Grand Slam record. Nadal won French Open and Australian Open this year and is a favorite to defend those titles next year. If you’re into online sports betting, you might want to watch out for Rafael Nadal in 2023.
Novak Djokovic
The Serbian super champion was forced to miss two Grand Slams this year and four Masters 1000 tournaments but he still managed to accomplish a spectacular year, winning Wimbledon, ATP World Tour finals, and five tournaments. Djokovic has now won 91 ATP singles titles overall and 1,031 singles matches for an all time best $164,691,308 total career prize earnings. At 35 Djokovic is showing so signs at all of slowing down and with extra motivation due to political obstacles this year, it’s possible Novak could threaten again for the calendar year Grand Slam in 2023, just like he came within one match of winning in 2021 (lost US Open final to Medvedev 64 64 64).
Final thoughts
As the 2023 season looms, there is much speculation about professional players who can shock the tennis world in the next twelve months. We’ve only highlighted a few based on their past forms and histories. However, there are many exceptional talents out there that can emerge into the superstar spolight at any time, including Felix Auger Aliassime, Taylor Fritz, Jannik Sinner, Frances Tiafoe, Jack Draper, Reilly Opelka, Tommy Paul, Yibing Wu, Carlos Alcaraz, Gael Monfils, Nick Kyrgios, Hubert Hurkacz, Holger Rune, Ben Shelton, among many others…
ATP · Matteo Berrettini · Novak Djokovic · Rafael Nadal
catherine · December 9, 2022 at 2:27 am
Have women stopped playing tennis ?
Scoop Malinowski · December 9, 2022 at 7:33 am
Top 6 WTA next week Catherine…
catherine · December 9, 2022 at 11:32 am
Don’t forget – the new Cori Gauff: ALYCIA PARKS.
Sorry Coco – you’re time’s up š
Scoop Malinowski · December 9, 2022 at 11:54 am
No Catherine, the establishment has not given up at all on Coco. Parks is on the radar now though. And Clervie Ngounoue, Robin Montgomery and Katrina Scott are coming up strong. Whitney Osuigwe, who won junior Wimbledon a few years back, has stagnated.
Krzysztof · December 10, 2022 at 6:11 pm
How about Thiem? Will he come back to Top 10?
Scoop Malinowski · December 10, 2022 at 6:58 pm
Krzysztof, Thanks for reminding me of yet another intriguing player next year. There are so many. Will Isner survive another year? Will Opelka get better or stagnate? Will Wawrinka and Murray vanish by summer? Cerundulo a fluke? Will Nishioka keep rising up the ranks? Has deMinaur peeked? Is Baez a fluke? Will Kyle Edmund Sandgren and Sock resurrect? So many intrigues.
catherine · December 11, 2022 at 8:56 am
The first time I’ve ever seen a male player praising a woman, let alone expressing a wish to emulate her. (Ubi tennis)
US Open champion Carlos Alcaraz has paid tribute to Iga Swiatekās performance this season by describing her dominance on the WTA Tour as āincredible.āĀ
Ā
Swiatek has held the No.1 position since April 4th and has established herself as a formidable force in the sport. This year the Pole won 37 matches in a row before her streak came to an end at Wimbledon. She has won eight out of nine finals she has played on the Tour, including the French Open and US Open. During the first 250 days of becoming the top-ranked player on the womenās Tour, she defeated 11 top-10 players and won 14 sets 6-0.Ā
The achievements of 21-year-old Swiatek are ones that Alcaraz said he aspires to achieve in his career. The Spaniard has also enjoyed a meteoric rise in 2022 by winning two ATP 500ās, two Masters 1000 and his first Grand Slam. At the age of 19, he is the youngest year-end No.1 in ATP history.Ā
āI see her year has been incredible, she broke a record I think for the longest winning streak (this century). Itās amazing,āĀ Alcaraz said of Swiatek during anĀ interview with Arab news.
āI wish to be like her, to not lose the No. 1. But I think itās almost impossible. Iām going to lose it but the point is to recover it and stay there at No. 1 as much as I can.ā
Scoop Malinowski · December 11, 2022 at 10:48 am
Carlos knows he’s going to lose no. 1 to Novak in 23? Iga came to train this week at IMG academy in bradenton.
catherine · December 12, 2022 at 1:47 am
Parks just won her second title. Wouldn’t be surprised if she turns out better than Coco.
She’s certainly in the WTA spotlight now.
Scoop Malinowski · December 12, 2022 at 8:07 am
Catherine, Parks is about four years older than Coco and ranked outside 100, Coco is top 5 in the world in singles and doubles and far from her peak. But who knows, stranger things have happened and some player’s progressions are unpredictable and atypical. I watched Parks at US Open qualies this year and was impressed by her first set she won handily but then she fell apart in the middle of the second set and third sets but she was impressive early, just didn’t sustain the level. Though she lost, she was also very nice to fans after with photos – a sign of a champion.
catherine · December 12, 2022 at 12:01 pm
News from Emma Raducanu, about some of the struggles she faced this year, all part of being suddenly famous.
āIām very proud of my resilience this year. Iāve faced quite a bit of adversity and Iāve had to keep getting back up aĀ lot,ā she said.Ā
āSo much stuff is said about me that isnāt true, but I try not to let it affect me.ā
āThe past year has meant getting used to that side of things ā the publicity and hearing all these things I never even knew about myself!Ā TheĀ attention on the tour is so intense.ā
Her chief concentration is staying fit. She’ll be playing an exho in Dubai and then open her season in Auckland. No news about a regular coach – maybe someone from the LTA. She’ll skip United Cup.
Scoop Malinowski · December 12, 2022 at 4:06 pm
Raducanu is a victim of her own fame, if she sneezes it’s a tabloid headline. Major credit for a teenager for being able to deal with living under a microscope. I hope she has the last laugh and wins something big next year.
Steve · December 13, 2022 at 8:59 am
I hope you are right about Tsitsi. I’m worried that without a coaching change he will be Djoker’s pigeon forever and a Dimitrov-like slamless wonderkind.
catherine · December 13, 2022 at 10:35 am
Scoop – re Iga and IMG – I heard she’s just signed with them although I did think, maybe wrongly, that this had been the case for a while.
Scoop Malinowski · December 13, 2022 at 11:20 am
Steve, I think Tsitsipas is a level better than Dimitrov, the ranking difference proves it as does the Grand Slam final. Tsitsipas has been closer to the top and he wants it more and is more vicious than nice guy Grigor, note the Lendl headhunting shots. Philippoussis seems to be a good fit for Tsitsipas as co coach with poppa Apostolos. Tsitsipas seems to have solved Felix and Medvedev puzzle, now he needs to solve Carlos.
Scoop Malinowski · December 13, 2022 at 11:35 am
Ben Shelton could continue his rapid rise up the rankings, he’s at 97, why stop now? I like his flair, passion, no fear attitude. Top 50 by end of 23 is my prediction, maybe even better. Kid has something special, something extra.
catherine · December 13, 2022 at 1:39 pm
Nick Kyrgios doesn’t think much of his compatriot Ashleigh Barty’s 5th John Newcombe Award. Honouring her services to the game on and off court.
Nick’s reaction:
“LOL. No respect at all. I don’t give a f—”
Respect to himself he means. Ash probably got the nod because she’s now retired. Officially. Nick, by his own admission, is somehow semiretired – that is he plays when the social life and the purse offered suits him.
Steve · December 13, 2022 at 1:50 pm
Musetti is undefeated against Alcaraz š and I look for him to continue to improve, even on hard courts.
Scoop Malinowski · December 13, 2022 at 4:31 pm
Musetti is another guy who can crash into the elite pantheon next year. But he’s also a guy who can linger around on the fringes like Seppi did all those years.
Scoop Malinowski · December 13, 2022 at 4:33 pm
Catherine, what do you see Nick doing next year? I see another year of flashes of genius and brilliance and silly meltdowns and tantrums like the Wimbledon final when he was in control of the match.
catherine · December 14, 2022 at 2:35 am
Scoop – yes, on the whole people don’t change much over their lifetimes so I see Nick reprising his past seasons. He can win some big titles, maybe even Wimbledon, and the lose others through bad tempered spasms or apparent loss of interest. And some of the year he may not play at all.
That’s me, he’ll say – take it or leave it. (Asterisks required)
Scoop Malinowski · December 14, 2022 at 7:41 am
Catherine, another factor with Kyrgios is he is in love and naturally he wants to impress his girl. He said he will play French Open mainly because he wants to show her Paris. This girl may be able to make him, rather than break him. She is clearly having a positive influence and inspiring Nick. He had his best year this year being in love, maybe he will be even better and hungrier in 23. Tough guy to try to predict!