The 2025 tennis season is pretty much over, as fans look ahead to 2026 and another year of ATP action.
In 2025, it was Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner who dominated men’s tennis once more, winning all four Grand Slam titles for the second year running.
The pair finished the year ranked number one and two in the world, and now lead number three Alexander Zverev by a whopping 6,340 points.
A lot has been made of who can challenge the pair in the new year, but that’s not the only thing to look forward to in 2026.
There are several exciting players to watch next year who are currently ranked outside the world’s top 100.
Five players ranked outside the top 100 to look out for next year
1. Stan Wawrinka (#157)
Three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka showed signs of life at the end of 2025, winning matches at the Swiss Indoors and Hellenic Championship.
At 40, Wawrinka is one of the oldest players still active on the ATP Tour, but that hasn’t stopped him from entertaining fans around the world this year.
Likely to be given wild cards throughout 2026 due to his stature within the game, there will be plenty of chances for the Swiss legend to pick up a few more big wins when he returns in January.
2. Dino Prizmic (#122)
Croatian youngster Dino Prizmic has been highly rated for some time now and made further progress in 2025.
Winning back-to-back Challenger titles earlier this year, Prizmic became just the second Croat ever to win three or more titles at the level as a teenager.
He qualified for the US Open main draw in August, making his debut at the event in a competitive straight-sets defeat to Andrey Rublev.
Now ranked just outside the top 100, Prizmic looks well-positioned to make a big breakthrough in the new year.
3. Bernard Tomic (#182)
When fans discuss players who never quite lived up to their potential, Bernard Tomic is often a name that comes to mind.
The Aussie is a former Grand Slam quarterfinalist, but a lack of commitment prevented him from enjoying success at ‘big’ tournaments more regularly.
He did, however, enjoy somewhat of a resurgence in 2025, reaching two Challenger finals, and is set to finish the year ranked inside the top 200 for the first time since 2019.
| Year | Year-end ranking | Challenger Finals | Challenger Titles |
| 2025 | 182 | 2 | 0 |
| 2024 | 213 | 1 | 0 |
| 2023 | 289 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 462 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 260 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | 226 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | 185 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | 83 | 2 | 1 |
| 2017 | 140 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | 26 | 0 | 0 |
Everyone knows Tomic has the talent to achieve great results in tennis, and if he can start to put everything together in 2026, who knows what may happen…
4. Juncheng Shang (#253)
China’s Juncheng Shang has all the potential in the world, but has been unable to showcase it in 2025, due to injury.
The 20-year-old was ranked inside the world’s top 50 as a teenager, but is now outside the top 250, having played just a handful of matches this year.
If he can find his fitness and form in 2026, Shang could quite easily be back amongst the world’s elite before too long.
5. Nick Kyrgios (#659)
It’s tough to predict whether we will actually see Nick Kyrgios play a professional match in 2026, but if he does, you certainly won’t want to miss it.
Like his countryman Tomic, Kyrgios is must-see TV and never fails to entertain whenever he does set foot on court.
And, unlike some of the other players on this list, Kyrgios has been within touching distance of a Grand Slam title…
Should Kyrgios put his injury issues behind him and rediscover the level he showed back in 2022, then he may well be a challenger for some big titles in 2026.
Honorable mentions of players who may impress next year
Japan’s Kei Nishikori made a strong start to his 2025 campaign, reaching the final in Hong Kong, before injuries halted his progress.
Before this week, he’d only played three matches since the start of May, falling to 158th in the world rankings.
Making his return at a Challenger Tour event in Yokohama, Japan, Nishikori made the quarterfinals, showing positive signs ahead of 2026.
While Nishikori is likely approaching the end of his career, a player who is at the beginning of his, could be in for a big 2026.
Norway’s Nicolai Budkov Kjaer is a former Wimbledon junior champion, and he began to find his footing on the ATP Tour this year.
The teenager won four Challenger titles in 2025 and picked up his first tour-level win at the Swedish Open.
| Tournament | Surface | Final opponent | Score |
| Glasgow Challenger (UK) | Hard (Indoor) | Viktor Durasovic | 6-4, 6-3 |
| Tampere Open (Finland) | Clay | Sascha Gueymard Wayenburg | 7-6, 6-7, 6-2 |
| President’s Cup (Kazakhstan) | Hard | Alexandr Binda | 6-4, 6-3 |
| Open de Vendee (France) | Hard (Indoor) | Patrick Kypson | 6-0, 6-3 |
Should he carry that momentum forward, don’t be surprised to see Budkov Kjaer in the top 100 by the end of 2026.
Only time will tell who will impress in 2026, but you certainly won’t want to miss any of the action!
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
