Serena Williams might be the biggest favourite for a fourth French Open crown, but there are plenty of gifted youngsters who can impress and shake up the draw. Some of them have already made their mark on the big stage and some are eagerly waiting to unleash their weaponry at the elite level.
Brimming with confidence, these rising stars are not intimidated by the sport’s biggest names and can definitely make the headlines in the next few days. Here is a list of the top five youngsters to watch in the women’s draw:
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1. Daria Kasatkina (Age: 19 years, Rank: 32)
If there is one teenager who has been a model of consistency this season, then that is the 19-year-old Daria Kasatkina of Russia. Her meteoric rise has seen her reach the quarter-finals or better in three WTA tournaments already in 2016 and her maturity might propel her into making a deep run at Roland Garros.
More so, because the Russian’s best surface is clay and she was a junior champion at this Major two years back. Her sharp sense of the court and heavy top-spin forehands make her a dangerous floater in the draw. She justified her claycourt credentials by making it to the quarter-finals of the Volvo Car Open where she held a match point against the eventual winner Sloane Stephens.
After making the third round of the past two Slams, the 29th seeded teen has a decent shot at making the second week of a Major for the first time if she can win a potential third round meeting with the inconsistent Angelique Kerber.
2. Jelena Ostapenko (Age: 18 years, Rank: 36)
Just days away from her 19th birthday, Jelena Ostapenko is the youngest player on this list. One of the best juniors of her days, she was crowned the Wimbledon girls’ champion in 2014. This year, she has been steadily rising up the ranks and burst into the spotlight in February with a run to the final of the Premier 5 WTA tournament in Doha.
The Latvian can blast through the ball with a lot of ferocity and her game is undoubtedly more apt for the faster surfaces. But she did make the pre-quarter-finals of Rome on clay.
Given the competitive spirit she has displayed the past few weeks, the 32nd seed can be one to watch out for if she can hold her nerves. And that would help her to a great extent in a possible third round showdown with the sixth seed Simona Halep.
3. Madison Keys (Age: 21 years, Rank: 17)
21-year-old Madison Keys is at a different spectrum of her career than Kasatkina and Ostapenko. She has already given ample glimpses of her skills and it is now an even more uphill task for the 2015 Australian Open semi-finalist to come out of the shadows of the Williams sisters and establish herself.
Possessing a massive serve and fierce groundstrokes, she predictably tasted her maiden title glory on the grass of Eastbourne in 2014. Since then, she reached two more WTA finals and interestingly both of them have been on clay.
The latest of them came just a week ago at Rome which happens to be her biggest career final. After some struggle in the early part of the year, she finally seems to have found the right solution to her coaching problems after teaming up with the renowned Thomas Hogstedt.
The Swede’s appointment appears to be reaping rich dividends as the American showed in the Italian capital. It will now be a challenge for her to not fall victim to the pressure of expectations and continue the good work in Paris.
The 15th seed, however, has the ever-dangerous Daria Gavrilova in the second round whom she needs to be wary of.
4. Daria Gavrilova (Age: 22 years, Rank: 45)
With oodles of spunk and variety in her game, the 22-year-old Daria Gavrilova has always been singled out as one who can climb the higher echelons of the sport. She validated that last year during the clay season by reaching the semi-finals of Rome and this year, she backed it up with a run to the pre-quarter-finals of the Australian Open.
However, the young Australian found the extra attention following that performance tough to handle. After a few weeks in the wilderness, interestingly it is the red dirt that has sparked off her much-awaited revival.
She stunned Petra Kvitova en route to reaching the Madrid quarter-finals and followed it up with an ouster of Simona Halep in Rome. If the ebullient and energetic Dasha gets going, she can be one tough nut to crack and Madison Keys needs to watch out!
5. Sloane Stephens (Age: 23 years, Rank: 21)
Sloane Stephens has had a strange season so far, vacillating between highs and lows like a pendulum. She has won three titles, one of which came on the green clay of Charleston.
But other than that, there has been nothing noteworthy as she has inexplicably slumped early in the rest of the tournaments, going a dismal 2-5.
If she keeps up that trend of alternating between a good and a bad performance, she is due for a memorable run in Paris as she lost very early in her last two events at Madrid and Strasbourg. On a serious note, why Sloane can be expected to make an impact is because the clay of Roland Garros always brings out the best in her.
This is the only Slam where she has not lost before the fourth round for each of the last four years. Her smooth strokes and athleticism simply come alive at this venue.
There is no reason why she cannot emulate that. The only threat the 19th seed can receive in the first week is from the 2012 runner-up Sara Errani who has not been at her best and Sloane, if she remains calm, can definitely cross that hurdle.
