Ramkumar Ramanathan
Ramkumar Ramanathan burst onto the Indian tennis scene back in 2014 when he defeated then India’s number 1 player Somdev Devvarman in the 1st round of Chennai Open. Ramanathan is now 22 years old and ranked 227 in singles and 237 in doubles. He has been placed as high as 196 in singles and 214 in doubles in the past.
Ramanathan is included in this list for some notable performances he produced this year that indicated the potential in this young athlete. His Davis Cup match against Feliciano Lopez was definitely one of his finest. Playing against a player ranked around 200 places above you is a monumental task.
Expecting Ramanathan to win that match might have been asking too much of him but the boy did not disappoint. He showed great character and mental toughness to win the third set after losing the first two. Even though Lopez would go on to win the match in four sets, Ramanathan had produced performance.
He is one of the best upcoming players India has and 2017 is a big year for Ramanathan as he looks to break into the top 150.