7 rising stars of French Open 2023 ft. Peyton Stearns and Mirra Andreeva
The 2023 French Open witnessed a historic conclusion as Novak Djokovic became the first man to reach 23 Major singles titles and Iga Swiatek won her third crown at the clay court Major on the women's side.
The absence of the 14-time winner and defending champion Rafael Nadal was a highlight that was soon overshadowed by some remarkable display of clay court tennis by the world's biggest tennis stars.
The opening round of the men's singles event witnessed 21 five-set matches -- the most since 1992. Some of these dramatic matches across the men's and women's singles competition in the tournament's 127th edition gave us a glimpse into the future of some young talented athletes on the horizon.
Without further ado, here's a look at seven of them, in no particular order:
#1 Peyton Stearns
The spring of 2022 witnessed Peyton Stearns become the first Texan to become the women's singles champion of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. This earned her a wild card into the main draw of the 2022 US Open, where she lost in three sets to Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Stearns was ranked No.209 at the start of the 2023 season. She had a successful start to the year, winning two ITF titles. In her build-up to the French Open, Stearns made her first WTA Tour level final at Bogota, where she finished as a runner-up. This propelled her into the top 100.
At the 2023 French Open, Stearns was ranked No. 69. She upset doubles No.1 Katerina Siniakova in the first round and backed it up with another emphatic win over former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko. The American's promising run ended in the third round, where she lost to ninth seed Daria Kasatkina. Stearns jumped 12 spots in the rankings following her debut at the clay court Major.
#2 Mirra Andreeva
At the age of 15, Mirra Andreeva received a wild card at the 2022 Monastir Open, where she lost in the first round. Gearing for a her first full professional season, Andreeva finished as a runner-up at the girls' singles championship of the 2023 Australian Open.
The Russian ventured to create history during the European clay court season. She became the third youngest player to win a WTA 1000 match at the Madrid Open and the second youngest to defeat a top 50 player at a WTA 1000 event.
Andreeva's run in Madrid helped her jump 50 spots in the rankings. At the start of 2023 French Open, she was placed at No. 143. Andreeva ran through the qualifying draw without dropping a set to make her main draw debut at a Major.
She made it to the third round, dropping only six games in the process. In the third round, she lost to eventual quarterfinalist Coco Gauff 5-7 6-1 6-1. She is now in touching distance from breaking into the Top 100 (currently placed at No. 101).
#3 Tomas Martin Etcheverry
Tomas Martin Etcheverry had been gradually making his mark on the ATP Challenger circuit, winning three titles in the past couple of years. Entering the 2023 season, the Argentine was ranked in the top 80 at the start of the season.
A clay courter at heart, Etcheverry had won 18 of the 28 matches he played on his preferred surface before the French Open. This included runner-up finishes at the Santiago, Houston and Bordeaux Challengers.
Etcheverry's first main draw win at French Open came as a result of a mid-match retirement from Jack Draper. But the 23-year-old showcased his clay court abilities, defeating former French Open quarterfinalist Alex de Minaur and Borna Coric in straight sets to make the second week of the Slam for the first time.
The Argentine recorded a third consecutive straight sets win over Yoshihito Nishioka before falling to Alexander Zverev in four-sets in the quarterfinals. Etcheverry's career-boosting run helped him reach No. 32 in the rankings.
#4 Thiago Seyboth Wild
Thiago Seyboth Wild already shot to prominence in 2020, when he became the first player born in the 2000s to win an ATP Tour level title. He accomplished this feat by defeating Casper Ruud in the final in Santiago. A junior US Open champion and a semifinalist at the boys' singles French Open in 2018, Seyboth Wild won his maiden Challenger title in 2019.
The Brazilian was however yet to taste success in the Majors. Placed well outside the Top 400 at the start of the 2023 season, the 23-year-old was determined for ascension. Before the 2023 French Open, Seyboth Wild played all his matches on clay.
This included 43 matches played across qualifying and main draw rounds. In the process, he won titles at the Vina Del Mar and Buenos Aires Challengers and finished as a runner-up at the San Tiago Challenger.
Seyboth Wild made the main draw of French Open as a qualifier and earned the biggest win of his career by defeating World No. 3 Daniel Medvedev in the opening round in five sets. He backed this win by defeating Guido Pella in four sets, before losing to Yoshihito Nishioka in five sets in the third round. The Brazilian now stands at No. 130 in the rankings.
#5 Elina Avanesyan
Elina Avanesyan had won 4 ITF titles in the last two seasons. She was ranked No. 153 at the start of the 2023 season. The Russian's best performance came at the Wiesbaden, where she won her fifth ITF level title.
She entered the 2023 French Open qualifying draw and lost to Kayla Day in its final round. However, the withdrawal of Patricia Maria Tig allowed Avanesyan to enter as a lucky loser and make her main draw debut in a Major.
The 20-year-old upset 12th seed Belinda Bencic in the first round. She then defeated French wildcard Leolia Jeanjean and qualifier Clara Tauson to make the second week of the Major, thus becoming the first lucky loser to reach the Round of 16 of French Open in 35 years.
She lost to eventual runner-up Karolina Muchova in the fourth round. Avanesyan is currently placed at No. 80 in the rankings.
#6 Genarto Alberto Olivieri
Ranked outside the top 200 at the start of the season, Genarto Alberto Olivieri had a dismal start to his season, losing in the opening round of the first four tournaments he entered.
Ahead of the 2023 French Open, he found himself active only on the Challenger circuit. But the 24-year-old won all his qualifying round matches, dropping only one set to make his main draw debut at a Major.
He then defeated wildcard entrant Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard and fellow qualifier Andrea Vavassori, two matches that lasted over 3 hours each. Olivieri eventually lost to sixth seed Holger Rune in straight sets. But the Argentine's run helped him earn a career high ranking of No. 173.
#7 Kayla Day
Kayla Day was a promising junior player, securing the top spot in the national rankings as an U-12, U-14, U-16 and U-18. However, in the last seven years, she won four ITF titles and had a stunted progress. She was placed at No. 138 in the rankings before the 2023 French Open.
As a qualifier, she dropped only one set to make the main draw. Day defeated former top 10 players Kristina Mladenovic and Madison Keys to make the third round of a Major for the first time. The 23-year-old's run camer to an end in the third round as she lost to Anna Karolina Schmiedlova in straight sets. Day is currently placed at a career high ranking of No. 116.