The 2022 season can go down in tennis history as a great turning point at the top. This is the year when the Swiss Roger Federer retired and only Spanish Rafael Nadal flirted with goodbyes, already indicating that he should not continue on the circuit beyond 2023. Moreover, the Serbian Novak Djokovic is no longer the bogeyman of securities, as it has been for the past decade. The fact is that the call big 3 finished before the end of Federer’s career and new figures are appearing on the circuit.

The throne is currently occupied by Carlos Alcaraz, the youngest number 1 in history and champion of the US Open. The Spaniard is a strong candidate to dominate the circuit in the years to come. But you are not alone. In this report, the Stadium lists five other tennis players who should be followed in the coming seasons.

One of them is a suggestion of Gustavo Kuerten, for whom Alcaraz should not dominate alone in the years to come. the Italian Jannik Sinner should share attention with the Spaniards.

“If Alcaraz and Sinner manage to establish this front, to win everything for two or three years, the mob that comes after them will no longer catch up with them. Someone from another generation would have to come and take them down. It’s starting to be a Everest mountain away. Imagine someone entering the circuit while the guy is at the top and continues to improve. In the past, at 28, the guys started to decline and the opportunity s presented. Today, at 30, the guys continue to improve. Imagine playing with Alcaraz for 3 years now, with him evolving! And knowing that he must have another 10 years on the circuit, evolving .

JANNIK FISHERMAN

The 21-year-old Italian is considered by many, including Guga Kuerten, to be one of the most talented of his generation. He finished the 2021 season as the youngest to break into the Top 10 since Argentina’s Juan Martín del Potro in 2008, aged 20. In 2019, he became the youngest person to win the ATP 500-level Washington tournament and the first Italian in 37 years to be a Miami Masters 1000 runner-up, both in the United States.

In the same year, he was the NextGen Tournament champion and won six more trophies between 2020 and 2022. Also known for his versatility, Sinner plays well on all surfaces. Still inexperienced, he has already reached the quarter-finals of the four Grand Slam tournaments, giving work to the favorites of the time. This year he opened 2 sets over Novak Djokovic before returning to Wimbledon – the Serbian would then claim the title.

Current world number 12, Sinner was already 9th in November 2021. And, although he has only won one trophy this year, he has shown that he has plenty of talent to develop in the seasons to come. That task will fall to Australian Darren Cahill, one of the most respected coaches on the tour. He took Hewitt to the top in his youth, he did the same with Andre Agassi in the home stretch of his career. He has coached Andy Murray, Simona Halep and is close to Federer.

On a personal level, the young man with red hair and freckles on his face started tennis “lately”, only at the age of 7. Before, he shared his attention with football (he is a fan of Milan) and skiing. He was Italian champion in this modality between the ages of 8 and 12. To this day, he enjoys skiing in his spare time.

At the height of the pandemic in Europe, the Italian went viral on social media with the #SinnerPizzaChallenge, for which he donated 10 euros to buy medical supplies each time he received a photo of pizza that “reminiscent” of her face full of freckles.

FRENCH TIAFOE

The son of two immigrants who fled the civil war in Sierra Leone and met in the United States, the American Frances Tiafoe has become a star contender this season showing strong results and signs that he has yet to show all he knows. At 24, he is the current number two in the United States.

With his best career ranking, the 17th in the world, who turned professional in 2015, won his first title on the ATP circuit in 2018, but still suffers from irregularities, especially in the decisive moments. Since the first conquest, he has four vice-champions in a row.

Two of those finals have been played this year, showing a certain maturity on the part of the American. His highlight of the season was defeating Spaniard Rafael Nadal in the round of 16 at the US Open, where he had his best Grand Slam performance so far. He only stopped in the semi-finals, against the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, who came to grab the title. It was still the best performance by an American at the tournament in 16 years.

As a result, the friendly tennis player has gained popularity in the United States and also in Sierra Leone. He even received praise from LeBron James on social media. Tiafoe dominates virtually every fundamental of tennis and with top-level confidence is poised to challenge for major titles in the 2023 season.

CASPER RUUD

Born in Oslo, he is the son of Christian Ruud, a former professional tennis player who has been coaching him since he was four years old. Christian reached the 39th position in the standings and did not win any trophies on the circuit. The son is already showing a more successful career. And not just to show nine titles. Casper Ruud already number two in the world – he is currently 3rd, the best placed on this new generation list – and is the one who has come the closest to a Grand Slam title: he already has two finals to his credit.

In his best year on the circuit, the 23-year-old tennis player confirmed his talent this year by obtaining the decision of Roland Garros and the US Open, two Grand Slam tournaments on completely different floors. The versatile Norwegian, however, failed in both finals. In Paris, the defeat of Nadal, the greatest clay legend and his idol, would even be understandable. But the loss to Alcaraz in New York showed that Ruud needed to take a step closer to becoming formidable on the circuit.

The Norwegian does not hide the fact that his favorite ground is clay. He even trained at Nadal’s academy in his youth. Eight of his nine titles have come on clay. But the US Open and Masters 1000 finals in Miami, also this year, prove that Ruud wants more.

For this, the discreet and shy Norwegian lacks victories over heavy tennis players in important tournaments. His biggest triumph to date was against Germany’s Alexander Zverev, then world number four, in the final in Miami. Never beat the Big 3 tennis players (Nadal, Federer and Djokovic).

FELIX AUGER-ALIASSIME

The Canadian has emerged on the circuit in the last three years, but is already considered a promise since his youth. Interestingly, he is remembered more for his coincidences with Federer than for his results. Both were born on the same day: August 8, 19 years apart. by the waydeclared fan of the Swiss, reproduces certain strikes of the idol on the court.

The 22-year-old started playing tennis at the age of 5 and is coached by his Togo-born father, Sam Aliassime. Félix maintains the link with the African country by donating US$5 (about R$26) per point he installs in each game to the EduChange institution, which works in the education of children in Togo. In 2020, nearly USD 100,000 was donated (R$528,000).

An amateur pianist in his spare time, Aliassime is recognized for his precocity and his records in needy Canadian men’s tennis. In 2019, at 18, he became the youngest to break into the Top 25 of the world rankings since Lleyton Hewitt in 1999. And at the 2021 US Open, he became the first Canadian to reach the singles semi-final. in history – the tournament was established in 1881.

The 2022 season was a turning point in the career of the current world number 13. It was that year that he won his first title, ending a rapid eight losing finals in a row. In the current season, he also won his first team trophy, in the ATP Cup, obtained his best ranking (8th) and won his biggest victory, over Zverev, then 3rd in the world, in the team competition. He still has in his luggage a triumph over the idol Federer, 8th in the standings at the time, on the lawn of Halle last year.

CAMERON NORRIE

The Briton born in Johannesburg, South Africa, is the oldest on the list. At 27, he has the potential to follow the path of tennis players like the Swiss Stan Wawrinka, who emerged on the more mature circuit, or even Djokovic, who began to show his best tennis after the age of 24. .

In this process of ascension, the year 2022 has been decisive for Norrie. He broke into the Top 10 for the first time in April, becoming the fourth player in British history to make the shortlist. In August, he moved up to 9th place – he is currently in 10th place.

Between May last year and August this year, he made 10 finals on the circuit. He holds four titles, the most significant being the 2021 Indian Wells Masters 1000, when he became the first British champion in the tournament’s 46-year history. This season, he wowed British fans by reaching the Wimbledon semi-finals, when he lost to Djokovic.

If he still struggles against the medallions, Norrie shows greater efficiency against the new generation. He has already beaten rivals such as the Austrian Dominic Thiem, champion of the US Open 2020, the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alcaraz.

The Briton has a globalized family history. As well as being born in South Africa, he has a Scottish father and a Welsh mother. The athlete grew up in New Zealand and was number 1 in college tennis in the United States, where he also lived. He has been defending the colors of Great Britain since 2013.

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