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Tennis, has produced some of the greatest sportspersons of all time and while the game in itself has greatly evolved over the last few years, the same is the case with those aspiring to pursue the sport professionally.
While greats such as the Big 4: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, or the recent stars such as Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner turned professional at an early age, there are a few in the current circuit who took the academic route for the same and are now creating a significant mark for themselves.
With that said, let's look at three successful college tennis players who have taken 2024 by storm.
#3 Emma Navarro
World No. 21 Emma Navarro played collegiate tennis at the University of Virginia for two years before starting her professional career in 2022.
The 22-year-old American was crowned as the NCAA singles champion in her freshman year, and two years later, she finished as a runner-up at the French Open girls' singles event.
Two years into her professional carreer, 2024 has turned out to be quite good for Navarro so far. The American won her maiden WTA title at the Hobart International by beating Elise Mertens in the final.
Additionally, she entered the top 25 of the WTA rankings by becoming the World No. 23 in January. Her ranking subsequently went higher as the months passed, and she is currently 21st. Navarro also reached her maiden WTA 1000 quarterfinal at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.
#2 Ben Shelton
World No.14 Ben Shelton pursued collegiate tennis at the University of Florida wherein he won the NCAA Singles Championship in 2022.
While the American finished his sophomore year ranked No.1 in the United States, he decided to turn pro and bid adieu to college.
2023 was a breakout year for the 21-year-old where he reached the semifinals of the US Open before losing to the eventual champion Novak Djokovic. That season, Shelton also won his maiden ATP title at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo.
More recently, Shelton claimed his second title on the ATP Tour and his first on clay at the 2024 US Men's Clay Court Championship in Houston and overtook his compatriot Taylor Fritz to be the No.1 in American on the tour. Additionally, he became the youngest player since Andy Roddick in 2022 to win the event.
Shelton is currently 14th in the ATP rankings.
#1 Danielle Collins
Danielle Collins had an impressive collegiate tennis stint with the University of Virginia before she started her professional journey.
Collins took a transfer from the University of Florida in her freshman year and won the NCAA singles titles in 2014 and 2016. And in the current year, Collins' rank rose from No. 71 to her current ranking of World No.15 within two months.
Last week, Collins won the WTA Charleston Open clay court title, a victory which came a few days after the American won the 2024 Miami Open which marked her first WTA 1000 title.
With a 13-match win streak, Collins also became the first woman to win the aforementioned titles back-to-back at the Miami Open and Charleston Open since Serena Williams in 2013.
While Collins announced 2024 to be her final year on the tour, her performance has been nothing short of incredible, especially in terms of the impressive ranking surge.
Talking about her impressive back-to-back win, Collins said (via Tennis Channel):
“I’ve been so happy to be, obviously, playing at the level that I’ve been playing, but to be able to back it up two weeks in a row has just been fantastic.”
She added, “To come out here and back it up, be so focused and carry that momentum (from Miami) is so satisfying.”
