A number of young stars have risen to the top of the men’s game in recent years, with Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Holger Rune the most prominent.
The talented trio have all won big titles and currently occupy spots in the top 10, with Alcaraz leading the way with his two Grand Slam triumphs and ascent to world No 1.
There are four players aged 21 or under ranked in the top 100 of the ATP Rankings, while there are 12 in the top 200. The five highest-ranked players in this young age bracket are all from European nations, but range widely in terms of their achievements to date.
Here, we look at the top five players under 21 based on their current position in the ATP Rankings.
5. Hamad Medjedovic
Hamad Medjedovic is at career-high ranking of world No 102 at the age of 20 after two strong results in his past two tournaments. He won the title at the Mallorca Challenger last month and reached the final of the ATP 250 tournament in Astana earlier in October, losing to Sebastian Korda in a final set tiebreak. Medjedovic has won three Challenger titles in 2023.
The Serbian, who is coached by compatriot and former world No 12 Viktor Troicki, holds a 7-6 record at ATP Tour level this year. Medjedovic is on course to qualify for the Next Gen Finals as he currently sits eighth in Race to Jeddah. The eight players aged 21-and-under who earn the most points in the calendar year qualify for the event.
4. Luca Van Assche
Luca van Assche is the second youngest player in the top 100 of the ATP Rankings, having turned 19 in May this year. The Frenchman is ranked 66th in the world after a solid season, having won eight of his 23 matches at tour level. He has claimed two Challenger tournament victories this season to add to the one title and three runner-up showings he earned at Challenger level late in 2022.
Van Assche has scored impressive wins over Stan Wawrinka and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in 2023, while he also took a set off Novak Djokovic in Banja Luka during the clay season. He is sixth in the Race to Jeddah.
3. Arthur Fils
Arthur Fils is currently the youngest player ranked in the top 100, having been born the month after the only other teenager – his French compatriot Van Assche. The 19-year-old is at a career-high ranking of world No 38 after a breakthrough season at ATP level, having reached the last 32 of the Shanghai Masters in his last event.
Fils won his maiden ATP title on home soil at the ATP 250 tournament in Lyon in May. He crushed three-time major finalist Casper Ruud en route to making the semi-finals of the ATP 500 event in Hamburg in July. The Frenchman has also beaten Davidovich Fokina, Wawrinka and Francisco Cerundolo in 2023 and is fifth in the Race to Jeddah.
2. Holger Rune
Holger Rune, who turned 20 in April, has already hit some great heights in his young career. The Dane is the current world No 6, two spots below the career-high spot of 4 he reached in August. He has lost nine of his last 10 matches after struggling with a back injury since reaching the Wimbledon quarter-finals, but has still had a strong season.
Rune is 38-19 on tour this year (88-57 in is career) and has won four ATP titles – three of which came last year. His biggest triumph came at the 2022 Paris Masters in November, where he overcame Djokovic in a three-set battle in the final. The Dane was a runner-up at Masters 1000 tournaments in Monte Carlo and Rome this season and currently occupies the eighth and final qualification spot for the ATP Finals.
1. Carlos Alcaraz
Carlos Alcaraz is the third-youngest player in the top 100 of the ATP Rankings, having celebrated his 20th birthday in May. The Spanish star has achieved tremendous success is his career to date, having become the youngest player to ever top the ATP Rankings following his maiden major triumph at the 2022 US Open. He also became the only teenager and youngest player to ever finish a season ranked as No 1 last year.
The current world No 2 has had a stellar 2023 campaign, winning 63 of his 72 matches and claiming six titles. These victories include his title at Wimbledon – where he overcame Djokovic in an epic final – and two Masters 1000 events. Alcaraz has already sealed his qualification for the ATP Finals in Turin, where he is set to make his year-end championships debut having missed last year’s edition through injury.
