Five explosive teens to watch in Indian Wells

At Indian Wells, a batch of young stars, especially teenagers, were given wildcards into one of the most prestigious tournaments on the calendar. A few of the most talented youngsters earned direct entry all by themselves.

American teens are not the only up-and-comers who will be in action this week—which of these 19-year-old young guns will shine brightest in the desert?

1

The young American is a wildcard recipient, and is one of only two teenagers in the Top 100. Take one look at Tiafoe’s strokes and you’ll probably think that they're a little funky. While that's true for the most part, the world No. 86 has plenty of game and athleticism to continue his way up the rankings.

Plus, his swagger doesn’t hurt. Tiafoe has shown that he is afraid of anybody when he steps on the court. Just last week in Acapulco, he played a tremendous match against Rio Olympic silver medalist Juan Martin del Potro, pushing the big Argentine to a third set tiebreaker, which he ultimately lost.

Tiafoe will play a qualifier for the right to face No. 30th-seeded Feliciano Lopez.

2

Are you looking for firepower? Just sit down and watch an Osaka match, and you will be in for a treat. Japan’s biggest rising star has won at least a match in each of the four Grand Slams she has played in, advancing to the third round in three of them last year.

Osaka was just a game away from making her first round of 16 appearance at the US Open, falling in a battle to Madison Keys, 5-7, 6-4, 6-7 (3). But despite her age, Osaka is not new on the tennis scene—she announced herself in 2014  by beating 2011 US Open champion Samantha Stosur as a 16-year-old.

Osaka will begin her Indian Wells run against her compatriot Risa Ozaki.

3

The young Russian reached her career-high ranking of No. 24 not long after her 19th birthday—and that really speaks for itself. What speaks even louder is that she has beaten Angelique Kerber not once, but twice, this year.

Kasatkina has gone 7-16 against the Top 20 thus far, but seven of those losses have come in three sets, with four going to a final set tiebreaker or, in the case of her match against Venus Williams at Wimbledon last year, even further (10-8 in Williams' favor).

In Indian Wells, the 19-year-old lucked into a bye when world No. 1 Serena Williams—who will lose that top spot after Indian Wells—withdrew from the tournament. Kasatkina is now the 33rd seed.

4

World No. 6 Agnieszka Radwanska is probably sick of facing Konjuh in big tournaments. Radwanska saved three match points against the 19-year-old Croat in Wimbledon last year, but then ran out of responses for the statements that Konjuh made at the US Open. There, the teenage sensation used a 38-winner performance against one of the craftiest defenders in the world to win in straight sets.

Now, the two may have another chance to meet, this time in the third round of Indian Wells. Getting there won’t be easy for Konjuh, though, as she will likely have to get through Acapulco winner Lesia Tsurenko in the second round. The 31st-seeded Konjuh lost in qualifying during her previous two visits to California’s premier tournament.

5

News flash: world No. 20-ranked Zverev will be a Top 10 player sooner rather than later. Few veterans have the groundstroke game or serve that the German has, and the scary thing is that the 19-year-old will only get better.

The Indian Wells draw is far from favorable for Zverev. He will likely have to play 15th-seeded Nick Kyrgios (who is perhaps, along with Zverev, the future of men’s tennis) in the third round before potentially facing world No. 2 Novak Djokovic in the round of 16.

Now, that is a lot to ask, but the teenager beat both Grigor Dimitrov and Gilles Simon last year in the desert. He even was on the verge of defeating Rafael Nadal, holding a match point in the third set, before succumbing the final set, 7-5.

Other teenage wildcards in the main draw include 19-year-old's Stefan Kozlov and Taylor Fritz and 17-year-old Kayla Day.