The Top Female Tennis Players We're Excited To Watch In 2023

When Serena Williams — perhaps the world's greatest athlete of all time — announced her retirement and said goodbye to tennis last summer, it left the world wondering: who's poised to lead the next wave of tennis phenoms? This changing of the guard has been highly debated and speculated about with a young crop of pros rising in the ranks, and in popularity.

It comes as no surprise or coincidence that Netflix strategically released Break Point, a docuseries about the 2022 tennis season primarily focused on up-and-coming stars, just days before the Australian Open. Break Point aims to hook a new audience on watching professional tennis by appealing to our love of reality TV, highlighting the drama of the sport on and off the court. It's also sure to deliver a few new favorite female tennis players to keep tabs on for years to come.

Maria SakkariImage via Break Point/Netflix.

What the 2023 Australian Open women’s roster lacks in notable competitors, it more than makes up for in young talent fighting to occupy the vacated podium space. That being said, we are still going to miss seeing our fave Naomi Osaka's blazing forehand.

Female Tennis Players On The Rise In 2023

Currently ranked #1 in women's singles is Iga Swiatek, 21, and is the betting favorite. She is hoping to win yet another Grand Slam. Other female tennis players we're excited to watch who are all currently in the top ten singles ranking are Jessica Pegula, 28, looking for her 3rd career singles title; Coco Gauff, 18, in line to win her first major; Maria Sakkari, 27, competing for her first big career win; and Carolina Garcia, 29, who is no stranger to singles titles looking to continue her climb to the top.

Maria SakkariImage via Break Point/Netflix.

Check back in on this article throughout the tennis season for our top moments and more female tennis players on the rise.

Australian Open First Round Highlights

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Iga Swiatek’s opening day win against Niemeier did not come easily at first, but once she got in a rhythm she recovered and in it eventually ended with a 6-3, 7-5 victory. It will be really exciting to see what she does in day 2 against Camila Osorio.

For the first time in 15 years a Colombian woman won a match in the Australian Open main draw. Camila Osorio's 6-4, 6-1 defeat of Panna Udvardy was the first since Catalina Castaño beat Lucie Safarova 6-1, 6-4 in the 2008 first round.

It only took Zheng Qinwen 56 minutes to defeat Dalma Galfi 6-0, 6-2, the quickest match of the day! Qinwen, 20, won the first 11 games of the contest before the Galfi got on the board.

Australian Open Second Round Highlights

In case you didn't know, Iga Swiatek is pretty good at tennis 🎾@iga_swiatek • #AusOpen • #AO2023 pic.twitter.com/DHRFnyiR52
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 18, 2023