It’s that time of the year again here at TennisPAL where we look forward to 2023 and look at the top 5 players to watch. This year, much like in year’s past, there’s a bunch of youngsters that are ready for the big time. It seems like every day a young player breaks out. Last year it was Carlos Alcaraz, who at 19 took the ATP tour by storm and finished the year number one in the world. The year before that, it was Emma Raducanu, who at 18 captured the US Open. Who will it be this year? Let’s take a look! 

– Holger Rune (#11) – Rune had a breakthrough 2022 where he picked up the Paris Masters and reached the French Open Quarterfinal. The Paris title was noteworthy in that he took out an in-form Novak Djokovic. Nothing like announcing yourself to the tennis world by beating a 21 Grand Slam Champion.

– Brandon Nakashima (#47) – Brandon quietly rose through the ranks in 2022. He was consistent at the Grand Slams winning rounds at everyone. His fourth-round clash with Wimbledon Finalist Nick Kyrgios was especially impressive. He took the finalist to five nerve wracking sets. He’ll be looking to build on that consistency in 2023.

– Marta Kostyuk (#69) – the tennis world has had their eye on Kostyuk for a while. Many thought she’d have a breakthrough 2022 but it was not to be. She did post some decent results, but for someone with so much talent, athleticism, and potential, her camp surely cannot be happy with anything less than a top 20 ranking in 2023.

– Emma Raducanu (#78) – there’s simply too much talent in this young player not to be firmly in the top 10. She had a terrible 2022, dropping out of the top 50 due to losing all the ranking points from her 2021 US Open win. I think we can attribute this to all the pressure and chaos that came from winning the US Open at 18. She’s still extremely young, which is why she’s on this list again. It’s back to square one for this talented youngster.

– Lorenzo Musetti (#23) – Lorenzo is on this list again because I think he’ll have a massive breakthrough in 2023. In 2022 he won his first two ATP titles, beating Alcaraz in Hamburg for his first title. He’s entertaining to watch, and hits big off both wings.