Which player that we're not talking about right now will surprise the most?

As we make our way toward the 2024 season—which begins Friday, December 29 with the United Cup—our writers and editors tackle the most important questions of the new year.

Seventh question: Which player that we're not talking about right now will surprise the most?

Scroll down past this article to read more Burning Questions on 2024.

ED MCGROGAN: Say the name Peyton Stearns to a casual sports fan and you might get replies of, “The investment bank?” or, “The sharp-dressed guy at the county club?” Say the name to a tennis fan and you’ll get a few “NCAA champion!” answers hit back at you. Say the name to me, and I’ll reply with, “The next American to watch out for.”

The transition from college tennis to the professional tours has never felt more viable. According to collegetennisranks.com, 14 of the current ATP Top 100 have some level of NCAA experience, most notably No. 17 Ben Shelton (Florida), No. 18 Cameron Norrie (TCU) and No. 34 Chris Eubanks (Georgia Tech). On the WTA side, Diana Shnaider (NC State) has cracked the Top 100—and will remain there for years—while Emma Navarro (Virginia) is quickly following in the footsteps of a fellow former Cavalier, Danielle Collins.

Stearns, a star at the University of Texas, will be the next successful graduate to the sport’s highest level. She began 2023 ranked just outside the Top 200, and finished it just inside the Top 50. Why? Her play in big tournaments. At Roland Garros, she beat 17th-seeded former champion Jelena Ostapenko in the second round. Yes, she lost her Wimbledon opener—to the eventual champion. At the US Open, she didn’t drop a set through three rounds—including a 6-3, 6-0 rout of highly touted Clara Tauson—to reach the round of 16 at a Slam for the first time.

“I’ve kind of set goals in the rankings a little bit for myself, and I keep surpassing those goals, so I have to keep creating new ones, which is a great thing,” Stearns said after her third-round win in New York. “I’ve always kind of had that raw power, good technique.”

Stearns also reached a WTA 250 final on clay, in Bogota—impressive for someone whose favorite surface is hard. With a ranking that will admit her into main draws from the onset, Stearns is only just beginning to tap into her potential. As player stocks go, she’s a very good investment.

DAVID KANE: Liudmila Samsonova is the best player no one is talking about. As pundits rightfully focus on the bourgeoning rivalry between Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka, Samsonova is still the clearest candidate to shake things up at the top of the women's game. If power tennis is a spectrum, Sabalenka sits on one end with her heavy, exaggerated groundstrokes and Elena Rybakina is on the other with her simpler, laser-like precision. Samsonova is true neutral, able to generate an intimidating weight of shot with pristine technique and easy athleticism.

It feels like we've been waiting for the Samsonova story to begin since she appeared poised to send Serena Williams into retirement at the 2022 US Open. The soft-spoken Russian with strong Italian roots beamed at the thought of playing the 22-time major champion on her home court. But Williams instead exited to Ajla Tomljanovic, who backed up the headline-grabbing upset with a decisive victory over Samsonova on a quiet Louis Armstrong Stadium.

Samsonova continued to come into her own as a hard-court threat this past summer when she reached her first WTA 1000 final in Canada, but was again overmatched on Armstrong against Madison Keys at the US Open. Finishing the year with a second big final in Beijing, she is in pole position to hit the ground running in 2024 on a surface that should suit her.

If power tennis is a spectrum ... Samsonova is true neutral, able to generate an intimidating weight of shot with pristine technique and easy athleticism.

MATT FITZGERALD: Dominic Stricker heads into 2024 ranked No. 94. That number should be no less than halved by the time we’re talking about him at the end of next year.

Since turning pro in 2020, Stricker has managed to improve his year-end ranking. But his latest body of work, where the Swiss checked off an assortment of mile markers for a player eager to progress on the ATP Tour, is a sign of bigger things to come.

Let’s refresh: The former Roland Garros junior champion fittingly qualified into his first major main draw on the terre battue, then built on that success up by coming through Wimbledon qualifying and scoring his first win in a Grand Slam main draw after clinching his maiden five-set encounter.

Stricker turned up the heat in New York, where after qualifying into a third successive major, reached the second week. The run saw him oust seventh-ranked Stefanos Tsitsipas for his first Top 10 victory and cap his year at the Slams with a 3-0 mark in fifth sets to earn his place among the Top 100 following his US Open round-of-16 showing.

While a small sample, it’s encouraging that Stricker seemingly welcomes bright lights and moments of uncertainty in high-pressure situations. His lefty serve and forehand have always been strong selling points, and there’s much to like about his comfort coming forward at 21. Continued development with fitness, movement and a transition game will only help his cause in making the next big jump, as would winning more first-serve return points to bolster his chances of breaking opponents more frequently.

For the budding talent who memorably sang along to Whitney Houston before serving out Tsitsipas, Stricker has only just begun composing his One Moment In Time.

Stay tuned for Monday's question: Will Jannik Sinner break through and win a Grand Slam title?