Tennis, like any other sport, is always looking out for the next generation, the future stars of the game, to send shockwaves to opponents, the media and fans alike and make a name for themselves at an early age.

For the men, the "Big Four" plus Stan Wawrinka, are still the dominant figures, occupying each of the top five positions in the ATP World Tour rankings. There have been signs in recent years however that the next line of Grand Slam champs and world number ones are on their way and here to stay. Leading that charge has been Kei Nishikori, who reached his first major final in New York in 2014 and has become an established name to supporters all over the world with 10 career titles. Milos Raonic and Grigor Dimitrov were two other names dubbed to reach the lofty heights of the sport, and despite indifferent 2015s, whether through injury in Raonic's case or poor form for Dimitrov and both slipping down the rankings, both have got the game to go deep into Slams; both made their maiden major semi-finals at the 2014 Wimbledon Championships.

For the ladies, Serena Williams of course continues to sweep past all before her, but recent years have seen unknown names becoming household figues. Simona Halep in 2013, winning six WTA titles, which has since spurred her on to her first Slam final, winning bigger titles and becoming the world no.2. Genie Bouchard in 2014, semi-finalist in Melbourne and at Roland Garros, before becoming a Wimbledon finalist at the age of just 20 years old (although the less said about this year, the better). And this year, Garbine Muguruza has made her breakthrough, reaching her first major final, like Bouchard the year before, at Wimbledon, which had since led her to the biggest title of her career at the China Open and making her debut at the WTA Finals in Singapore; she is now the third best player on the planet.

This trend is set to continue in 2016, but just who are the young protagonists that the world will know a lot more about come this time next year?

Belinda Bencic

(Source: Wiki)
(Source: Wiki)

Age: 18

Ranking: 12

Career Titles: 2

Best Slam Result: Quarter-Finals, 2014 US Open

For a small, landlocked European country, surrounded by the beautiful Alps, Switzerland has produced some of the biggest and greatest names, not just tennis, but in the country's history. Martina Hingis. Roger Federer. Stan Wawrinka. Them three ain't half bad.

No surprise then they've got the latest superstar in the making in the form of Belinda Bencic. Whilst Muguruza was taking most of the limelight for her run to the Wimbledon final, Bencic herself was flying high and subsquently landed the first (of what's expected to be many) two titles of her career. At Eastbourne, she did get a little bit of help defeating the likes of Bouchard and Caroline Wozniacki (both of whom retired), yet in a tough three-set final against Aga Radwanska, she beat the popular Pole, even handing out a bagel in the decider.

And that was only the start. Things would get even better in Toronto, where the 18 year old won her first Premier 5 title, and her run to the final was filled with danger. All six of her opponents had been Grand Slam finalists, which included two former world no.1s, the current world no.1 and the current world no.2. Bouchard, Wozniacki, Sabine Lisicki, Ana Ivanovic, Serena and Halep. Some line-up. But Bencic beat them all.

Radwanska got revenge in the Tokyo final, yet Bencic had already made her intentions clear. Just outside the top-10 at the present moment at no.12 (although with Flavia Pennetta now retired, really no.11), getting inside that top-10 and staying there will be the main aim in 2016. Once she's in there, Bencic will be there, one would assume, for quite a long time.

Dominic Thiem

(Source: Bettingtips4you)
(Source: Bettingtips4you)

 

Age: 22

Ranking: 19

Career Titles: 3

Best Slam Result: 4th Round, 2014 US Open

The Swiss' next door neighbours Austria have also got a bright young thing, who in 2015, broke into the world's top-20 for the first time. Dominic Thiem had an excellent 2015, winning three titles and reaching the highest ranking of his career to date (no.18).

Having reached his opening ATP World Tour final the previous year, where he lost to David Goffin on home soil in Kitzbühel, Thiem got his hands on the prize in May, winning the Open de Nice Côte d'Azur. Along the way, he swept past 3rd seed Ernests Gulbis and 2nd seed John Isner, both in straight sets, before showing he certainly has the fighting and competitive qualities to be a top player, coming from a set down to defeat the 4th seed, Argentina's Leonardo Mayer, who is no pushover, and take the title.

But it was in the middle of the year, during the summer, where things really took off for the Austrian. He took the Croatian Open title, defeating top seed Gael Monfils in the semis and Joao Sousa of Portugal in the final. This was backed up the following week with victory at the Swiss Open in Gstaad, where this time around, Goffin had no answer, and Thiem took the title 7-5, 6-2. His hopes of three titles in three weeks were to be dashed back in Kitzbühel; the top seed was beaten by eventual champion Philipp Kohlschreiber.

Thiem showed during that impressive run in late July, early August, he has the makings of a fine player. The consistency over longer periods will come. For the 22 year old, now it's time to make a statement at bigger tournaments. 2016 is good time to start.

Anna Karolina Schmiedlova

(source: Eurosport)
(source: Eurosport)

Age: 21

Ranking: 26

Career Titles: 2

Best Slam Result: 3rd Round, 2014 French Open and 2015 US Open

Already the Slovak no.1 at the age of just 21, and now amongst the seeds at Grand Slams, Anna Karolina Schmiedlova is the latest name to come out of a country which has surprisingly done well when it comes to female tennis players.

Think of Daniela Hantuchova, a former world no.5, who has reached the semi-finals in Melbourne, and has been a quarter-finalist at Wimbledon and the US Open. Then's the diminutive Dominika Cibulkova, who may only be 5ft 3in tall, but she packs a punch, reaching the quarter-finals of all four majors, including her run to the final of the Australian Open in 2014. There's no bones about it: Schmiedlova would love to be as successful in the majors as Hantuchova and Cibulkova. She could however, have the game to surpass both of those.

Like many others, 2015 was a breakout year for Schmiedlova. Having lost in her first WTA final to Sara Errani on the clay of Rio in February, the Slovak was on the right end of the result in the final of the Katowice Open in Poland, beating another Italian, Camila Giorgi (who had upset the top seed and home favourite Radwanska in the semi-finals). Schmiedlova herself was mighty impressive as well, knocking out the 2nd seed Alize Cornet and Alison Van Uytvanck (who made a surprise run to the quarter-finals at Roland Garros). Career title no.1 was swiftly followed up by career title no.2, as Schmiedlova outlasted Errani this time around, to take the Bucharest Open.

How high can Schmiedlova go? Only time will tell. Breaking into the world's top-20 isn't a bad start, for this upcoming year anyway. A name to look out for over the following twelve months.

Jack Sock

(source: Kansas City)
(source: Kansas City)

Age: 23

Ranking: 25

Career Titles: 1

Best Slam Result: 4th Round, 2015 French Open

Jack Sock is a name many have heard of already. He's already a Grand Slam champion in both men's doubles and mixed doubles. Yet in 2015, the Nebraskan born Sock showed that he is also quite good at playing tennis when he's on his own.

Doubles success has been relatively a forte. Since turning professional in 2011, Sock has 6 titles in a pair (5 men's doubles, 1 mixed doubles). That one (and so far only) mixed doubles tripumph, came that very same year, and it couldn't have gotten any bigger. Alongside Melanie Oudin, the US Open title was theirs. More major triumph followed a couple of years later, pairing up with Canada's Vasek Pospisil (aka "Pospisock" as they're now infamously known) shocked one of, if not, the greatest men's doubles team in history: the Bryan Brothers. That was Pospisock's very first tournament together and they'd won the Wimbledon title.

Sock had proved, as part of a team, what his game was capable of. Individually however, transitioning from junior level (where he'd won the 2010 US Open) to senior level hadn't come so easy. That's until this year and it was home soil again which proved fruitful; his first singles crown coming in Houston at the US Men's Clay Court Championships in April. The unseeded Sock defeated four seeds: Roberto Bautista Agut, Santiago Giraldo, Kevin Anderson and fellow American Sam Querrey in the final. That clay court triumph saw him perform well at Roland Garros, making his first appearance in the last-16 of a Slam, where he took a set off the King of Clay and five time defending champ Rafa Nadal, before eventually losing in four.

A second final came in October (losing to Tomas Berdych in Stockholm), but despite that loss, Sock was now showing what many were expecting him to do: performing well and taking on the bright lights of the sport. He'll want that momentum to continue as a new year beckons.

Others to look out for

Borna Coric is being widely tipped to be a future world no.1 and multiple Grand Slam winner. The 19 year old looks set to continue to climb the rankings in 2016 and many see him joining fellow Croats Goran Ivanisevic and Marin Cilic as lifting major silverware. Another name in the men's game to look out for South Korea's Hyeon Chung, who is just outside the world's top-50, and could well be joining Nishikori at the forefront of Asian tennis over the next few years.

Croatia also very much have a star for the future in the women's game in the form of 18 year old Ana Konjuh, who took her first career title on the grass in Nottingham in the summer (then 17), becoming the youngest winner on the WTA tour since Tamira Paszek nine years earlier. Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko, also 18, is another young talent, proved by her thumping of Carla Suarez Navarro, the ninth seed, at Wimbledon this year, dropping just two games in that match.

The talent pool and the future of tennis in both the men's and women's game is very, very bright indeed.

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