Meet the ITF’s Class of 2024 – the rising stars who could make a splash next year

Kevin Palmer 12 Dec 2024 6:39 PM

Iva Jovic (pictured) is the youngest woman in the US Open draw

Iva Jovic has starred at the US Open, with the 16-year-old winning her opening match in New York.

They are the rising stars of the game who could make a big breakthrough in new year and now the International Tennis Federation’s Class of 2024 are being unveiled.

This list celebrates players who have had a successful year on the ITF World Tennis Tour, identifying the year’s most promising and breakthrough talents, and those predicted to go on to bigger and better things next year.

The 2024 group was decided by a panel of experts: Ashley Keber (WTA), James Marsalek (ATP), Mark Woodforde (ITF), Mary Pierce (ITF), and Nao Kawatei (ITF), following a vote from a shortlist of 14 players. The ITF World Tennis Tour is the tier below the ATP and WTA Tours, with all the greats of the game coming through the lower ranked tournaments on their way to the top.

Now this year’s players to watch are being unveiled, with Tereza Valentova one of the first names nominated for this year’s crop.

The teenager’s stunning season on the ITF World Tennis Tour has delivered evidence to suggest that she is heading – at some pace – towards the upper echelons of the women’s game.

Valentova was a winning-machine between February and June, winning her first five professional singles titles in the space of five months. She began with back-to-back trophies on Tunisian hard courts at W15 Monastir, before cruising through higher-level challenges with victories at W75 Ricany and W75 Doksy–Stare Splavy (the latter her first pro win on clay) – either side of a triumph at W35 Sharm El Sheikh.

All this while technically still a junior, having only turned 17 in February.

Her coach, Lukas Jelicka, couldn’t be happier with the speed of her transition to the professional game. “The year has been absolutely extraordinary,” he reflected. “Throughout the year Tereza defeated many excellent players, won tough tournaments and triumphed at the junior French Open.

“She gained more confidence, more experience and improved in every area of her game. I firmly believe that she will continue progressing in the next season. I’m confident that 2024 was just the beginning of her amazing career.”

A rising star in the women’s game has also been recognised, with Los Angeles-born Iva Jovic first coming to the attention of most casual junior tennis observers when she was a member of the United States team that lifted silverware at the 2022 Billie Jean King Cup Juniors Finals.

Her exploits and those of her teammates, Clervie Ngounoue and Valerie Glozman, were captured on camera as the ITF produced a behind-the-scenes video documenting USA’s silverware bid in Antalya, Turkiye.

Jovic was only 14 at the time but was comfortable in front of the camera. However, fast forward a couple of years and the teenager now answers media questions like a seasoned pro – and her tennis stock has seemingly risen hand-in-hand with her personal development.

The 17-year-old has enjoyed an extremely promising year on the ITF World Tennis Tour, winning back-to-back events during a highly profitable September and October. She won titles at W35 Berkeley and W75 Rancho Santa Fe, building on her triumph at W25 Redding in October 2023.

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Another noteworthy moment came at September’s US Open when, as a wild card on her Grand Slam debut, Jovic beat world No. 42 Magda Linette of Poland to record her maiden victory against a Top 50 opponent.

“The ITF World Tennis Tour events have helped me tremendously,” said Jovic, who broke the Top 200 in November and now sits at a career-high No. 194 in the WTA Rankings.

“It is really great to build matches against top-level pros, but players who are not Top 10 or Top 20 in the world when you’re not sure you can hang.

“It’s nice to start there, build and get confidence. I ended up playing the US Open and you feel you can play those big events and feel secure that you can play against those players after having the results and match count on the ITF World Tennis Tour.

“Two months ago, I won Berkeley and then Rancho Santa Fe back-to-back and it was really cool with all my friends and everyone from USTA was there supporting me. They were also really well-run events and that was probably my favourite time of the season.”

We will be featuring more of the ITF’s Class of 2024 in the coming days on Tennis365.