Emma Navarro, Diana Shnaider, Mirra Andreeva: more than youngsters—they're young stars in the making

Looking back, looking forward. With the 2024 WTA season in the books, Joel Drucker has nine notable storylines to consider over the next few weeks—before the next year of women's tennis begins. (On mobile devices, scroll down to read more WTA takeways; on desktop, you'll see additional entires on the left side of your screen.)

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Shnaider is currently the highest-ranked left-hander on either the ATP or WTA rankings.

A trio of young contenders took significant steps forward in 2024.

Exceptional poise propelled Emma Navarro into the Top 10—the 23-year-old American’s ascent highlighted by runs to the quarterfinals at Wimbledon and the semifinals of the US Open.

Diana Shnaider, ranked 108th in late January, won four WTA singles titles. This 20-year-old lefthander has vaulted to No. 13.

“It's definitely a long road to go, but I feel like I'm on the right way and I will push it forward,” Shnaider said this summer following a win over Coco Gauff.

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Andreeva first appeared on the rankings in 2022, made her way into the Top 100 and Top 50 in 2023, and has now cracked the Top 20 in 2024.

Mirra Andreeva, outside the Top 50 at the start of the year, has rocketed to No. 16 and at just 17 years old, and is one of only two teenagers in the Top 100 (19-year-old Linda Noskova, ranked 26th, is the other).

Best of all, each rising star has a distinct and compelling playing style, spanning from Navarro’s rapidly improving all-court game to Shnaider’s big serve and baseline power to Andreeva’s exceptional tactical acuity.