Each month, we turn to our ausopen.com experts to give their thoughts on players making waves.
With the tour diverging – some players are back on clay preparing for the Paris 2024 Olympics, while others focus on the North American hard-court season beyond that – we caught up with former world No.35 Nicole Pratt to discuss five players generating interest in July.
Zheng Qinwen
While grass may not be her strongest suit – Zheng went 1-2 on the surface, losing in the first round of Wimbledon – she is much more comfortable on clay, which bodes well for her Paris 2024 campaign.
Zheng was a quarterfinalist in Rome before a third-round finish at Roland Garros, and she has returned to Palermo this week as defending champion, winning two matches to reach the quarters.
The AO 2024 finalist has won eight of her 12 clay-court matches this year and seems to be discovering form again at just the right time ahead of her Olympics debut.
Pratt sees the Chinese star as a medal contender in Paris, and should Zheng go on to win one, it would resonate enormously in her homeland.
“I actually remember watching one of her training sessions in Rome, and what she was exploring with the clay was using the different parts of the court,” Pratt told ausopen.com.
“We know she's an aggressive player, but she also has the ability to use her hands, play the drop shot and open up the court through the angles.
"Traditionally, an Olympic medal is probably more (significant) than winning a Grand Slam in China. Even prior to Li Na, the Chinese dedicated themselves to actually winning a medal in the doubles. Sun Tiantian and Li Ting became literally superstars in the country overnight through winning (gold at Athens 2004).
"The Chinese win a hell of a lot of medals in the Olympics, but not necessarily in tennis. It'd be huge (for Zheng).”
Tommy Paul
Unlike Zheng, Paul went from strength to strength on grass, winning the biggest title of his career at Queen’s, then reaching the Wimbledon quarterfinals.
His nine-match winning streak, halted by eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz, means he is now just over 300 points behind world No.10 Grigor Dimitrov in the rankings.
Like Zheng, Paul will return to clay to contest the Olympics, part of a strong American team bound for Paris.
And Pratt would not be surprised to see him fare well.
"I don't think clay is necessarily his best surface,” she said of the world No.13, “but one of his biggest assets is that he's an incredible mover. And if you move well, that pretty much bodes well for every single surface.
"I watched the (Queen's quarterfinal) match where he beat Jack Draper, who was also in tremendous form on the grass, and his ability to make his opponents play that extra ball… he just puts balls in awkward spots for a lot of his opponents.
"He's a great competitor. We know that a lot of the time it just comes down to one or two points here or there, and in 2024, this is his year. I think he's riding the high of confidence.”
Taylor Fritz
Fellow American Taylor Fritz currently sits just two places above Paul in the rankings.
This week he rose to world No.11 after a similar grass-court season to his countryman – a win at a lead-up tournament (Eastbourne) followed by a quarterfinal finish at Wimbledon.
He is also debuting in the American Olympic tennis team which will hit the courts at Roland Garros, a venue where Fritz reached the French Open fourth round just last month.
"He's got firepower, one of the biggest serves on tour, one of the biggest forehands,” Pratt said.
“I think where he gets caught out is still a little bit with his movement; he's a big, tall guy. But he's only 26 years of age, so he's still sort of developing his body.
"It's kind of exciting, actually. When you've got players from the same country doing well – talking about the Americans, you've got Fritz, Paul, (Ben) Shelton, (Frances) Tiafoe – they are pushing each other higher up the rankings.
“They’re probably saying to each other: ‘Who's going to get to the top 10 first?’”
Emma Raducanu
Raducanu, despite qualifying, decided to skip the Olympics, considering the abrupt surface changes – grass to clay, then switching again to hard courts in North America – too much of a risk given her history of injuries.
She also missed Roland Garros, focusing instead on preparing for the grass-court season – an ultimately savvy decision.
The British star reached the semifinals in Nottingham, quarters at Eastbourne and the fourth round at Wimbledon, a fruitful stretch which also included her first two top-10 wins.
As a result, Raducanu is back inside the top 100 for the first time in more than a year, after missing the bulk of the 2023 season.
"It's exciting for her,” Pratt said of the 2021 US Open champion and former world No.10.
"We all know the level of player that she can be; it's just been a question of being able to be out on court for long enough and to be able to back up week to week. She did that on the grass.
"She loves the hard courts. She's probably positioning herself for a really good US hard-court season.
"I think a good result for her would be to get herself back inside the top 50 by the end of the year.”
Holger Rune
Raducanu’s fellow 21-year-old Holger Rune is another player seeking to return to previous heights.
The former world No.4 currently sits at 17th, but some strong results on big stages bode well for his upcoming Olympic campaign.
He was just one tiebreak away from the Roland Garros quarterfinals – where he will return for the Paris 2024 Games – and backed that up with a run to the last 16 at Wimbledon.
Pratt sees parallels between Rune and Alex de Minaur, the Aussie star enjoying a career-best season in 2024.
"He does everything well, but is he missing one chief weapon? That's a little bit of a question mark for me. But he's only 21,” Pratt said of Rune.
"De Minaur realised: 'I need to beef up my game a little bit'. He worked incredibly hard on his serve, and returns. He holds the baseline, taking time away from his opponents.
“Pretty much like what Alex has achieved and committed to, to jump up to that next level, that's what I feel like Holger needs to really look at. Like, 'what is it that's going to take me to the next level?’”
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Pratt believes the Olympics is wide open for anyone. And that includes Rune, a two-time Masters 1000 finalist on clay in the same three-set format.
“It's a different set-up. Players don't have their own teams, and that can be refreshing,” she said.
“He could be playing mixed doubles with Caroline Wozniacki, so that's something different. That's fun, that's something to look forward to.
“Will he relish the opportunity to put on the national colours? Absolutely. You definitely get that sense from Holger.”