Underrated: Players poised to rocket up the rankings

For the most part, the ATP & WTA rankings do a fine job of determining which players performed the best throughout the calendar year. The rankings showcase who’s had the best results in the past year, but not necessarily who the best players are right this moment.

When it comes to analyzing and predicting matchups, tournament seeding, players returning from injury, and many other factors, rankings can be very deceiving.

Take Vasek Pospisil for instance. The 29-year-old was ranked as high as No. 25 in 2014, but struggled mightily with a back injury for most of the last three years. Over a year removed from a herniated disk operation, Pospisil is finally healthy, and currently shredding through ATP draws. Since October, Pospisil has beaten Diego Schwartzman, Karen Khachanov, Reilly Opelka, Fabio Fognini, Denis Shapovalov, David Goffin, Daniil Medvedev and Hubert Hurkacz.

Pospisil is currently ranked No. 93 in the world. With that ranking, he’s a land mine in every draw until his ATP ranking finally gets high enough to grant him a seeding. Based on his current UTR rating, which pegs him as the world’s 14th best player, that might take a while.

Until then, continue to ride Pospisil like Seabiscuit, like we said in our Best Bets to start the 2020 season. Pospisil has zero points to defend until July, so his ranking has nowhere to go but up.

Perhaps the most surprising UTR rating belongs to a player you might not have heard of yet: J.J. Wolf. Less than a year after his breakout freshman season at Ohio State, Wolf is ranked No. 163. Based on his trending UTR, Wolf is the 31st best player in the world. That may be on the high side, but Bianca Andreescu had a UTR of No. 15 after Auckland in 2019, and Elena Rybakina was up at UTR No. 25 after the 2019 season.

Both his lateral quickness and raw power are elite, and he has huge weapons, a necessity for the upper echelon of the men’s game. When asked about his lofty UTR, Wolf told Baseline, "It makes sense, I've been working my ass off."

At the Noumea ATP Challenger, Wolf conceded four or fewer total games in four of his six matches en route to the title. Just last week, Wolf stormed to another challenger title in Columbus, dismantling Denis Istomin in the final. Give his game some time to develop, and the 21-year-old is coming to a podium near you.

Poland’s Iga Swiatek is another underrated player to keep an eye on. The 18-year-old was enjoying a phenomenal 2019 campaign, rising all the way from No. 178 to No. 49 before a foot injury derailed her career after the US Open.

UTR currently rates Swiatek as the 21st best player in the world, and she's No. 48 in the WTA rankings. What’s most impressive about the teen?Swiatek owns a staggering 100-27 career win loss record across all professional levels. She’s a winner, and like Pospisil, will be a nightmare for seeded players until her ranking catches up with her true ability.

Last but not least, is 18-year-old rising American star Brandon Nakashima. Currently ranked No. 255 in the world, the former University of Virginia standout boasts a UTR of 15.25, which would make him the 67th best player in the world.

Nakashima shows no emotion whatsoever on the court, and he hardly ever misses a ball. In his ATP debut in Delray Beach, he reached the quarterfinals. Don’t be surprised to see Nakashima crack the Top 100 by the end of the year.