The Up-and-Comers
Most of the names in this section should be familiar to college tennis fans; a strong flag of approval for the current state of the college to professional path.
The highest-ranked of these up-and-comers is 21-year-old Ethan Quinn, who finished the year No. 70 in the world. In what was Quinn’s second full season as a professional, he mainly stayed away from Challenger Tour events and instead played a good amount of ATP Tour qualifying. He finished the season with a 12-18 tour-level record and four wins over Top 50 opponents. Quinn strikes the ball so cleanly and will assuredly continue to climb the rankings over the coming years.
The next two “up-and-comers” I will touch on are college tennis veterans wrapping up their first full season as professional players.
Former ITA No. 1 Eliot Spizzirri dominated in five seasons at the University of Texas, translating that talent to the tour in 2025. Spizzirri ended the season ranked No. 90 in the world after a 19-5 run in the fall across all levels. 2026 should provide him with many more ATP Tour main draw matches after only posting a 5-4 record this season.
Colton Smith of Arizona Wildcat fame burst onto the scene early in 2025 with some terrific results at both the Challenger and ATP Tour levels. After beginning the season ranked No. 367, he found himself at No. 144 in early June. However, the back half of 2025 did not treat the 22-year-old kindly. With a lot of points to defend, he must have a strong start to the 2026 season. I still think Smith is a year or two away from playing a full tour-level schedule.
There is not much to dislike about 20-year-old Nishesh Basavareddy’s game. After dominating the Challenger Tour in 2024, Basavareddy spent 2025 focusing his efforts on ATP 250s and qualifying draws. He reached the semifinals in Auckland to begin the year, but did not reach a tour-level quarterfinal for the rest of 2025. The talent is there; I watched him push Karen Khachanov in the first round of the US Open. He just needs more time.
If you don’t know the name Michael Zheng, you will by the end of 2026. The current Columbia Lion is the top-ranked college player and is coming off the singles title at the ITA National Fall Championships. The 21-year-old debated whether to return to Columbia this offseason, but it seems he will give it one last run at the collegiate level.
Zheng played in 10 Challenger Tour events in 2025, posting a 24-7 record with three titles. He ended the season ranked No. 192 in the world while taking classes in the Ivy League and playing a bare-bones professional schedule. When he becomes a full-time pro in May, watch out.
I would be remiss to exclude 18-year-old Darwin Blanch from this list. At World No. 302, Blanch is currently the highest-ranked teenager in American men’s tennis. Blanch has a live arm and a whipping lefty serve-and-forehand combo that will lend itself to many wins at the ATP level. He posted a 10-10 Challenger Tour record in 2025 and secured his first ATP Tour win in Winston-Salem over Borna Coric.
Expect Blanch to have a strong 2026 campaign at Challenger events before making his name heard on the ATP Tour in 2027.
