Tennis: Five breakout stars to watch out for on the 2024 ATP Tour

We head into 2024 with the prospect of a further changing of the guard in men's tennis, with a number of new names looking to make it to the top.

Roger Federer has retired and 2024 is set to be Rafael Nadal’s last year on Tour, which will lead to younger players moving into the upper echelons of the world rankings.

Here we look at five names to watch out for in the coming year, as they look to break into the world’s top players and become regular Grand Slam contenders alongside the likes of all-time great Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz.

Ben Shelton

American Ben Shelton starts the year in the top 20 of the world rankings, after winning his first ATP Tour event in 2023.

At just 21 years of age, the man from Atlanta has shown glimpses of what he could be capable of on the very biggest stage.

Shelton won the Japan Open in October, building on an impressive run in the US Open, where he made the semi-final. He did have a favourable draw in New York, but he made the most of his chance and eventually lost to Djokovic.

The left-hander, whose dad Bryan was also a professional tennis star, prefers hardcourt surfaces and was also an Australian Open quarter-finalist in 2023.

Shelton is 66/1 to lift his first Grand Slam title at the French Open in Paris this year.

Lorenzo Musetti

Lorenzo Musetti is another 21-year-old who looks to have a big future ahead of him, with the Italian certainly one to watch on the clay in Paris.

The right-hander was born in Tuscany and reached number one in the ITF junior rankings back in June 2019, before making his ATP Tour debut as a 17-year-old in February 2020.

He already has two ATP Tour titles, including a victory over Carlos Alcaraz in the final of the Hamburg Open in the summer of 2022.

Musetti, who also has a victory over world number one Djokovic to his name, made it to round four of the French Open in 2023 - beating Cameron Norrie before eventually losing to Alcaraz.

The Italian is available at 33/1 to go all the way in Paris in 2024.

Sebastian Baez

Argentinian Sebastian Baez made his ATP Tour debut in 2021 and became the youngest player in history to win five ATP Challenger Tour titles in a season.

Currently ranked at 28 in the world, the 22-year-old won three ATP 250 series tournaments in 2023 - the Winston-Salem, Austria Open and Cordoba Open.

Baez is another player who seems to favour the slower clay courts, but has shown enough to suggest he can also be a top player on other surfaces.

The man from Buenos Aires made the third round of the US Open in 2023, before losing to eventual finalist Daniil Medvedev.

Arthur Fils

You have to go back to 1983 for the last Frenchman to win a Grand Slam, but teenager Fils could be the player to end that long drought.

The 19-year-old hadn’t played in the main draw of a Slam until 2023, but had reached the final of the French Open Junior Grand Slam in 2021.

Fils - who says he was inspired by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga - has already lifted the Lyon Open title on the ATP Tour and seen his world ranking rise to 36 heading into the new year.

The French ace is known for his powerful forehand and serve, with his current best showing at a Grand Slam coming at the 2023 US Open, where he reached the second round.

Jack Draper

Jack Draper appears to be Britain’s great hope going forward, but it’s important for the big-hitting left-hander to establish himself inside the world’s top 50 as soon as possible.

The man from Sutton had been as high as 38 in the rankings in early 2023, but injuries have hampered his progress, with Draper missing the whole of the grass-court season.

He has a bit more Grand Slam experience than the other four players in this list, with the 21-year-old playing in main draws on six occasions.

Draper got as far as the fourth round of the US Open in 2023, beating 17th seed Hubert Hurkacz in straight sets in round two.

He reached the final of the 2018 Wimbledon Junior Singles and Draper can be backed at 80/1 to win the senior title at SW19 in 2024.