Friday Five: Teen sensations

The stars are coming out to play at the US Open next week, and amongst them are a swathe of teenage tennis prodigies. This week’s Friday Five profiles the under-20s hoping to make waves at Flushing Meadows.

Daria Kasatkina

(WTA Ranking: 24)
This time last year Daria Kasatkina was a relatively unknown Russian. But then Maria Sharapova withdrew from the US Open, she qualified as a lucky loser and beat both Daria Gavrilova and Ana Konjuh on her way to the third round. Since that point, the 19-year-old has soared up the rankings. Now world No.24, she’s enjoyed a stellar 2016, notching up wins over Venus Williams, Sam Stosur and Monica Puig (amongst others).

Belinda Bencic

(WTA Ranking: 26)
There are plenty of players touted as being the future of tennis. Belinda Bencic has a genuine claim to that moniker. The 19-year-old Swiss phenom has dazzled on Tour since making her WTA debut in 2012. Her highlight (so far) was a win at the Rogers Cup, which saw her take down Wozniacki, Ivanovic, Serena and Halep en route to the title. She reached a career high singles ranking of No.7 in February 2016, but has struggled with form and injury more recently.

Alex Zverev

(ATP Ranking: 29)
Already an established star on the Tour, 19-year-old Zverev truly announced himself to the tennis world at Hamburg in 2014. Since then, the 6’6” German has been carving a formidable reputation for himself, and in 2016 has found himself knocking on the door of the Top 20 (he’s currently ranked 29). A natural entertainer with sublime shotmaking abilities, the German will be targeting the second week at Flushing Meadows.

Borna Coric

(ATP Ranking: 40)
Few of the ATP’s #NextGen stars are capable of generating as much excitement as 19-year-old Borna Coric. The Croatian has been burning a path through the ATP since making his top-level debut at the 2013 Davis Cup. In 2014 he made his first waves in the tennis world, famously defeating Rafa Nadal at the Swiss Indoors (and cracking the Top 100 in the process). Since then, he has notched up another win over Nadal, as well as claiming the scalps of players like Andy Murray, Nick Kyrgios and Alex Zverev.

Taylor Fritz

(ATP Ranking: 54)
The youngest player on this list, 18-year-old Taylor Fritz has got the tennis world talking (and not just because he’s a potential American superstar). After making his ATP debut at Nottingham in 2015, he joined a select group of players to claim multiple Challenger titles at the age of 17. In 2016, the American has risen steadily up through the rankings, although is still hunting for his first significant scalp.