5 ATP stars primed for top-10 rankings breakthrough in 2025: ft Ben Shelton, Tommy Paul, Arthur Fils
Reaching the top 10 of the ATP Rankings is one of the greatest milestones any player can hope to achieve – but who could make that jump in 2025?
We highlight five men who could well achieve a significant rankings breakthrough over the next 12 months.
Tommy Paul
Current ranking: 12
Career-high ranking: 12
US No 2 Paul has circled just outside the top-10 for over a season now; is 2025 the year he finally achieves a significant rankings breakthrough?
The signs were promising for the world No 12 in 2024, with Paul winning three ATP Tour titles – having only won one previously – including the biggest triumph of his career at the Queen’s Club.
Paul also reached the last eight of Wimbledon in 2024 and was a semi-finalist at Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells and Rome, picking up four top-10 wins.
The American is currently at his career-high ranking, is a solid pick to beat most players ranked below him – and is probably the safest bet of any player to achieve a top-10 debut in 2025.
Jack Draper
Current ranking: 15
Career-high ranking: 15
Another player heading into 2025 off the back of their career-best season is British No 1 Draper, who cast injury struggles aside in 2024 to highlight his exceptional potential.
Draper’s season was rocky until the summer when he won his first ATP Tour title in Stuttgart, and he followed that up by winning his first ATP 500 title in Vienna towards the end of the season.
However, the highlight of his season was undoubtedly his run at the US Open, where he made the semi-final of a major for the first time – having never previously made it past the fourth round.
With comparatively fewer points to defend across the first half of 2025, the 22-year-old is one to watch over the coming months.
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Lorenzo Musetti
Current ranking: 17
Career-high ranking: 15
Musetti did not win a title this past season but it was still a landmark year for the 22-year-old, who finished the year as the world No 17 – just two places off his career-high.
The Italian struggled through the opening months of 2024, but a stunning summer saw him make the final at Queen’s before semi-final showings at Wimbledon and the Olympics – where he won a bronze medal.
Musetti went on to reach further finals in Umag and Chengdu and, while he did not win either of those tournaments, he was one of a select few to reach finals on all three surfaces in 2024.
Much like Draper, he has few points to defend early on in 2025, and a man of his talent should take advantage if he continues his recent rich vein of form.
Arthur Fils
Current ranking: 20
Career-high ranking: 20
Fils was one of the standout breakthrough stars of 2024, cracking the top 20 of the ATP Rankings at the end of the season after picking up two ATP 500 titles.
The 20-year-old defeated Alexander Zverev to lift the title in Hamburg, before battling past compatriot Ugo Humbert in an enthralling Tokyo final.
Fils is yet to embark on a significant Grand Slam or Masters 1000 run, with his best major result to date being a fourth-round showing at Wimbledon this summer.
However, riding a wave of confidence, expect him to surge significantly across the coming season.
Ben Shelton
Current ranking: 21
Career-high ranking: 13
Following a stunning breakthrough season in 2023, Shelton did not always reach the same heights in 2024 – ending the season as the world No 21 after starting the year ranked 17th.
However, it was by no means a bad year for the American, who lifted his second ATP Tour title in Houston before reaching the joint-biggest final of his career at the Swiss Indoors in Basel.
Still only 22 years old, there is plenty of room for growth across 2024 and beyond for the US No 4, who did reach a career-high of 13th back in August.
Shelton has more rankings spots to climb up than the four other men also on our list, but previous strong showings at the Australian Open and US Open in 2023 show he is more than capable of doing just that.
