The top players still dominate, but many young players are expected to challenge them for the big trophies.
Coming off a 2024 season of major breakthroughs — from 27-year-old Taylor Fritz cracking the top five to 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva breaking into the top 20 — the big question for 2025 is whether these rising stars can reach the most prestigious winners’ circles.
The catch, of course, is that Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have won the last 10 men’s Grand Slams, the last three ATP Finals and half of the Masters 1000 titles in the last two years, while Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff have captured eight of the last 11 women’s Slams, the last two WTA Finals and 10 of the last 16 WTA 1000 titles.
“And it’s not like they’re going anywhere,” said Mary Joe Fernández, an ESPN analyst. Sinner is just 23 and Alcaraz is 21; while Sabalenka is 26, Swiatek is just 23 and Gauff is merely 20.
“Players are knocking on the door and there is a tremendous excitement, but there are some question marks, too,” said Tracy Austin, a Tennis Channel analyst. “And now the question is whether they’ll be overwhelmed by the expectations.”
Just a few years ago, those expectations were bestowed on Alexander Zverev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniil Medvedev, said Patrick McEnroe, an ESPN analyst, but Medvedev is the only one of the three to have won a Slam — the U.S. Open in 2021 — and Tsitsipas has fallen from the top 10.
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Source: Tennis - nytimes.com
