NEXT GEN ATP: The Unknown Stars

By V. Messana

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have been lifting grand slam trophies and being acclaimed for seasons. However, the success of these major players has strengthened the competition beneath them and ignited a group of talent in younger age groups that desperately want to rise to the same heights. We are a few weeks from the end 2025 season, and players are making their mark within the ITF World Tennis Tour junior rankings. In this article, we shall explore the unknown talent of tennis’s Next Gen rising stars.




Ivan Ivanov
Number 1 on the Boys ITF Junior Ranking
Bulgaria
16-year-olds
Preferred surface: clay
This year, Ivanov won the boys' singles titles at Wimbledon and the US Open, becoming the second Bulgarian in history after Grigor Dimitrov to lift both trophies in a season.
In their first official tournament meeting, No. 1 seed Ivan Ivanov beat his friend and sometimes training partner, seed Alexander Vasilev, to win his first US Open title.
As the current Number 1 of the Junior Ranking, Ivanov is a promising talent who will certainly take part in the next generation of great tennis players.




Andres Santamarta Roig
Number 3 on the Boys ITF Junior Ranking
Spain
18-year-olds
Preferred surface: unknown
From Valencia, he started playing tennis at the age of four years-old and competitively a few years later. He is one of four siblings. His father and two older brothers also played tennis. He attended school locally before switching to an online school through a program based in Madrid. He is a member of the GTennis Academy. He won the Madrid Open U16 title in 2023 and won the Spanish Junior Championship the following year. In
2024, he made his debut on the ATP Challenger Tour.[4][5] In November 2024, he was brought in as a practice partner for the Spanish Davis Cup Team ahead of the Davis Cup Finals.[6] In December 2024, he became the first Spaniard since Alberto Martín in 1996 to win the Orange Bowl title defeating Moise Kouame in the final.




Julieta Pareja
Number 1 on the Girls ITF Junior Ranking
USA
16-year-olds
Preferred surface: unknown
At 16, American tennis player Julieta Pareja just competed in her first Grand Slam on the professional circuit. The youngster, currently ranked number one in the world junior rankings, received a wild card to the main draw of the US Open, recognition for a standout season in which she has asserted herself not only among juniors but also against professionals on the WTA circuit. Slam at home will be incredible, especially with the support of the fans," said the athlete.
Earlier this season, she became the youngest player to reach a WTA semifinal since Coco Gauff in 2019, after advancing to the Copa Colsanitas in Colombia. The feat was especially significant due to the athlete's connection to the South American country: her mother is Colombian, and her father also has roots in the region. It was her own mother who introduced her to the sport at age 4, on the local courts.




Hannah Klugman
Number 3 on the Girls ITF Junior Ranking
Great Britain
16
years olds
Preferred surface: hard
Klugman was born in Kingston-upon-Thames and raised in Wimbledon Village, where she was introduced to tennis at the Westside Club. Her first coach was Alison Taylor, wife of former Wimbledon semifinalist Roger Taylor. She began training with Ben Haran at the age of nine. She is the youngest of four girls and was inspired to play tennis by her older sisters.
In January 2024, Klugman entered the 2024 Australian Open junior events. She reached the semifinals of the women's doubles alongside Mingge Xu. In June 2024, she received a wild card to qualify for the 2024 Wimbledon Championships singles. In the first round, she defeated Petra Marčinko, and in the second round, Linda Fruhvirtová.She lost in the final round of qualifying to American Alycia Parks.
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