Russia's precociously talented teenager Mirra Andreeva has been nominated for the 2023 WTA Newcomer of the Year award alongside four other breakout stars.
The five-player shortlist includes three teenagers, namely Andreeva, Linda Noskova, and Diana Shnaider. At 16, Andreeva is the youngest of the bunch. This award category aims to crown the player who made a Top 100 breakthrough during the season and punched well above her weight.
In the case of Andreeva, she certainly ticked all the boxes. Of all the Top 100 players, the 16-year-old made the biggest surge within a 12-month span, vaulting 359 spots to break the world's Top 50.
Having finished runner-up at the Australian Open girl's singles tournament, she commenced her professional career by winning two W60 ITF titles. Andreeva scored four Top 20 wins this season and her career highlight thus far came at Wimbledon where she reached the fourth round.
Second on the list is another Russian teenager, Diana Shnaider. The 19-year-old had never played on the WTA main stage before this year but made quite an imprint at the first time of asking.
Shanider famously took a set from Maria Sakkari at the Australian Open in a valiant performance that earned everyone's attention. She turned pro in May and reached her first WTA final in Ningbo at the end of September.
Shnaider is among the few band of athletes currently balancing life on tour with her freshman year in college. She attained a year-end ranking of No. 65, which is over 100 places from when she started out the season.
USA's Peyton Stearns was another of the fledgling young talent who made waves in 2023. Having played college tennis with distinction at the University of Texas, the 22-year-old Ohio native elected to turn pro in 2022 and that decision has fully paid off.
Stearns finished the 2023 season as a Top 50 player and was called into the USA Billie Jean King Cup team earlier this month for the first time. Even though she never played a match, it was a show of faith in her abilities.
Stearns compiled a 45-23 record at all levels and reached a maiden WTA final in Bogota, finishing runner-up to the experienced Tatjana Maria. Next on the list is another Russian, Elina Avanesyan. The 21-year-old made headlines at this year's Roland Garros.
Avansesyan became the first lucky loser to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam since 1993, earning a career-best win over Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic. She finished the season ranked firmly inside the world's Top 100.
And lastly, and undoubtedly one of the favorites to win this title is Linda Noskova. She has maintained the conveyor belt of Czech talent making their way onto the summit of women's tennis. In just her fourth WTA main draw, Noskova scored some stonking wins over the WTS's seasoned campaigners.
Victories over Daria Kasatkina, Victoria Azarenka, and Ons Jabeur thrust the fearless 19-year-old into her first WTA final in Adelaide. It was an incredible start to the year that Noskova managed to mimic later during the season.
The disappointment for Noskova is that she couldn't quite finish the breakthrough story with a title, losing not just in Adelaide but in her home tournament in Prague. But when you are the youngest player in the Top 50 (following Andreeva's exit), you are not a one-trick pony.
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