Top 5 tennis players under the age of 20 

With Alexander Zverev and Nick Kyrgios having already established themselves as two of the most promising youngsters in the game today, there have been many others who are creating great strides with their performances on the ATP circuit.

The Next-Gen Finals in Milan in November will see the top young guns compete amongst themselves in a new and exciting format.

The tournament will also be the perfect stepping stone for a few of these youngsters who are looking to make a name for themselves.

In this article, we take a look at the top five players in the world under the age of 20.

#5 Félix Auger-Aliassime

Despite Canada's no. 1 Milos Raonic struggling with injuries, it looks like Canada's future is in safe hands. Just a few months ago, Denis Shapovalov made headlines with his performances in the US Open and the tournaments leading up to it.

While he did so, another teenager's performances in the Challenger circuits went unnoticed.

Felix Auger-Aliassime, the 17-year-old, became the youngest player ever to win a Challenger title when he did so at the Open Sopra Steria de Lyon in June 2017. He followed that up with another title at the Copa Sevilla and achieved a career-high ranking.

The 2016 US Open junior champion is currently 19th in the race to qualify for the Next-Gen finals. He might almost be out of contention to do so but has surely got a lot of people talking about his performances.

#4 Stefanos Tsitsipas

A former junior no. 1, Stefanos Tsitsipas is also the highest-ranked Greek player in the world. He has been performing exceptionally well of late as he has reached the main draw of many tournaments.

He qualified for the French Open and Wimbledon this year but lost in the first rounds to Ivo Karlovic and Dusan Lajovic respectively.

He has two Challenger titles to his name in 2017 and reached a career-high ranking of 115 just last week.

He is currently ranked 16th in the race to Milan and will find it extremely hard to qualify for the tournament. However, he will aim to finish the year inside the top 100 and directly qualify for the Australian Open.

#3 Frances Tiafoe

There have been a lot of tennis stars who have come out of the United States of America but ever since Andy Roddick's retirement, no one has done anything too significant.

However, this could change soon with 19-year-old Frances Tiafoe slowly making his mark on the big stage. His performance in the first round of the US Open against 19-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer would not be forgotten soon, despite him ending up on the losing side.

Most of the tennis stars from the USA are parochial and do not have too much to show for apart from a huge serve but Tiafoe has a lot more in his locker.

He has won two titles on the Challenger tour this year and has had few breakthrough performances in the ATP World Tour as well. He is currently 9th in the race to qualify for the Next Gen Finals and will battle it out with Hyeon Chung and Daniil Medvedev for the final spot.

#2 Denis Shapovalov

The 18-year-old Canadian sensation became a hero overnight after defeating Rafael Nadal at the Montreal Masters in August. He followed that up with a round of 16 appearance at the US Open, his best ever in any Grand Slam so far.

However, he had a lot of heads turning long before his win against the world no. 1 with his performances on the Challenger circuit.

He has two Challenger titles to his name in 2017 and gained a lot of points on the ATP World Tour as well. The ranking he has achieved is commensurate with his performances throughout the year, especially in the second half of the season.

With a big serve, a bigger forehand, and an equally impressive backhand, Shapovalov is surely one to watch out for in the future.

#1 Andrey Rublev

The highest ranked U-20 player in the world today, Andrey Rublev is the only tennis player on this list who has won an ATP title. He did so in Croatia in July by defeating Paolo Lorenzi in the final.

He had a breakthrough performance in the US Open as well where he reached the quarter-final, defeating Grigor Dimitrov and David Goffin along the way.

He has a massive forehand and has produced some breathtaking shots throughout the year. Currently 2nd on the list in the race to Milan, he will look to get the better of World no. 4 Sascha Zverev in the tournament which will take place just before the ATP World Tour Finals.