Who is coming? The work being done off broadway to build a legitimate tennis career

(Getty/Hanne Vandewinkel)

I have spoken quite a bit over the last year about Australia's talent stocks going forward, and the jury is very much out long term whether we can produce a decent group of players to reach the top 100 in the next 5-10 years on both the men's and women's sides.

But for you, the tennis fan, your eyes and interests are also global as we are all curious about the names that will rise through the ranks and make their mark on the game going forward.

Looking back at the first quarter of 2026 on the ITF World Tennis Tour (the entry-level tour of the game), there have been some standout performances from the younger brigade, particularly on the women's side.

21-year-old Hanne Vandewinkel from Belgium continues to shine in her fifth year on tour, being rewarded just over a week ago with a spot in the top 100 for the first time, beginning the year ranked No.126.

She won three consecutive titles in February and March, two W75s and a W100 — the only player to reach four finals across W50, W75 and W100 levels, considered equivalent to ATP Challenger level. A 20-2 win-loss record in Q1 on the ITF Tour and right now sits at No.96 in the world as the second-highest-ranked player from her country behind Elise Mertens, the world No.20.

It follows four years of hard work building her ranking: 53 wins in 2025, 55 wins in 2024, 49 wins in 2023, and 34 wins in 2022. This weekend, she will be part of Belgium's Billie Jean King team as they host the USA for a spot in September's Finals.

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20-year-old Céline Naef from Switzerland has also shone in the first part of the year, winning three W50 titles, one of four players to reach three or more finals across W50-W75-W100 levels. She has compiled an 18-4 win-loss record to the end of March and sits at 206 in the rankings. She did reach a high of 121 in October 2023 as an 18-year-old, dipped, and is now rising again.

19-year-old Elizara Yaneva from Bulgaria was 17-7 win-loss for Q1, reaching three finals and sits at 227 live.

On the men's side, 22-year-old American Braden Shick compiled the best winning record on the ITF tour, going at 88.89 per cent, 16-2 win-loss, winning three consecutive titles in four weeks of play in January-February. He also competed in the Baton Rouge ATP Challenger, where he made the quarter-finals. Shick went down the college pathway at North Carolina, graduating last year, building his ranking from scratch to now almost inside the top 400.

Nine women won an ITF World Tennis Tour singles title aged under 18 in Q1. Six of those nine players reached Grand Slam singles finals as juniors. Ekaterina Tupitsyna (2026 Australian Open finalist), Mia Pohankova (2025 Wimbledon champion), Julieta Pareja (2025 Wimbledon finalist), Lilli Tagger (2025 Roland-Garros champion), Emerson Jones (2024 Australian Open and 2024 Wimbledon finalist) and Laura Samson (2024 Roland Garros finalist).

The youngest on the girls' side was Kristina Liutova (16y 20d) of Russia, who won the W35 in Las Vegas, and on the boys' side, American Michael Antonius (16y 80d), who took out the M25 Bakerfield in California (No.833 ATP Ranking)

Also worth noting on the male side is that Andrew Johnson from the USA took out the M15 Sunrise in Florida at 16y 176 d (No.909 ATP Ranking), and rising French prospect Moïse Kouamé won back-to-back M25 and M15 titles on home soil in January at 16y 311d and 318d. Since then, he has turned 17, won his first ATP Tour matches in Montpellier and Miami and shot up to 334 in the rankings.

We know from an Australian perspective, 17-year-old Emerson Jones is continuing to rise the ranks, already at 133, the fifth youngest player at 17y 223 d to win an ITF title in the January - March quarter when she won the W75 Brisbane in February.

Of our other Aussies of interest from a long-term perspective on the ITF Tour in the first quarter of the year, 20-year-old Taylah Preston (No.151) went 11-7, also making the semi-finals of the WTA 250 Hobart and winning a round of the Australian Open.

Then there is a gap to 21-year-old Elena Micic (No.364), who went 6-5, 19-year-old Alana Subasic (No.413) 12-6, and 17-year-old Tahlia Kokkinis (No.486) 2-3, dealing with an injury.

On the men's side in Q1, 22-year-old James McCabe (No.230) 9-5 ITF/Challenger, Phil Sekulic (No.354) 11-4 ITF/CH, Pavle Marinkov (No.508) 12-6 ITF/Challenger and Cruz Hewitt (No.696) 9-5 ITF/CH.

The First Serve has mentioned before that Australia's 17-22-year-old cohort on the men's side, in particular, is some way off right now, and it's hard to forecast the future totally, but we can only hope they can put their hands up for higher honours.

There is always talent just around the corner announcing itself, but to break through the big system of players takes some very special qualities and a lot of hard work. We watch with interest who makes further progress in Q2 of 2026.

The legendary Kooyong Classic will be back 12-14^th January 2027 at the spiritual home of Australian tennis. Hospitality packages are now available at kooyongclassic.com.au