These are the sub-19s that Alcaraz and Sinner enjoy and pay attention to

The Italian Jannik Sinner He found the point of maturity of a Grand Slam champion at the age of 22, adding the Australian Open to the Davis Cup. At the age of 19, Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz opened his account at a US Open and the status of the youngest world No. 1 in history. At the age of 20 he also had Wimbledon.

The danish Holger Rune, of the same vintage (2003), he continues to rush to see how those ahead of him are doing. The coaches’ dance recovered a decapitated head, the Frenchman Patrick Mouratoglou.

Sinner and Alcarazwith Ruen’s helpful collaboration, aiming to create a ‘Big 3’ to replace the real one consisting of Novak Djokovic, Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer. Between the three, 66 Grand Slams, 24, 22 and 20, respectively.

But there are so many contenders bidding for the slot that the top three will end up leaving. The generations of those born in 2005 and 2006 are already giving the talk this week. Like Sinner, Alcaraz and Rune, they have been watched since they were children, because their development has not stopped, they have titles or junior Grand Slam finals. It remains to take the definitive step to professionals, to the elite.

The Czech Jakub Mensik18 years old, has already been seen in the ATP, but this week he reached the semifinals of Qatar, left Alexander Davidovich, Andy Murray and Andrey Rublev.

The 17-year-old Brazilian boy João Fonseca He had a successful entry into the ATP in Rio, where he will play in the quarterfinals.

The Croatian Dino Prizmic18, showed his credentials by playing against Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open.

The Chinese Juncheng Shang19, is also on the list despite Carlos Alcaraz’s knock down in Melbourne recently.

The French Arthur Fils and Luca Van Assche (19, both from 2004) are sub-19 aggregates in the ATP, although still far from the numbers. Among the Spaniards, in the Race to Jeddah, the U-19 Masters, is Dani Merida19 and No. 10, and Martin Landalucejust 18 years old and number 12.

Jakub Mensik

Czech Rep., 18 years old, No. 116 ATP

By qualifying for the semi-finals of Doha, he ensured he became the first since 2005 to break into the top-100. Admirer of Djokovic, who invited him to his house in 2022. He is the youngest player to beat the top-5 (Rublev) since Alcaraz at the 2021 US Open. He was a finalist at the Junior Australian Open in 2022. He came through last year in 2024, leading Hurkacz in the fifth set in the second round of the main draw. They have won 14 of their 17 games this season.

2

Joan Fonseca

Brazil, 17 years old, number 636

This week in Rio, he managed to win his first ATP match, after debuting with a loss in the same tournament last year. The World No. 1 under-18, US Open champion in the category, won the first Junior Davis Cup for Brazil. He surprised at the last ATP Finals with his training with the world figures. Lots of potential. It has all the foundations to succeed, and a lot.

3

Dino Prizmic

Croatia, 18 years old, number 155

The reigning Roland Garros junior champion took Novak Djokovic to the limit in his professional debut, the first round of the Australian Open, with four sets in as much time. Serbian is his idol, as is the case with Mensik. It will be interesting to see how his game evolves. He’s complete, but he’s proven to be better at counterattacking than taking the initiative.