Mboko, Tjen among the ITF's breakthrough players

LONDON (AP) — Vicky Mboko, Janice Tjen, Lilli Tagger, Arnaud Bailly and Luka Mikrut were selected by a panel as the International Tennis Federation's Class of 2025, a group considered “promising and breakthrough” talents of the sport.

The five players were revealed this week, based on their seasons on the ITF World Tennis Tour.

Mboko, a 19-year-old Canadian, won four consecutive ITF World Tennis Tour titles early in the year and went on to win a WTA 1000 tournament in Montreal and reach the third round at the French Open.

Tjen, 23, claimed five ITF World Tennis Tour titles in a row, including a 27-match winning streak, and at the U.S. Open became the first Indonesian player to compete in a Grand Slam main draw since 2004, defeating No. 24 seed Veronika Kudermetova. Tjen collected her first WTA Tour trophy in November.

Tagger, a 17-year-old Austrian, was the youngest WTA Tour-level finalist this season, making it that far at Jiujiang, China, in October as a wild-card entry.

Bailly, a 20-year-old from Belgium, went 60-19 and made it to nine finals in 2025, lifting his ranking from No. 802 to just outside the top 200.

Mikrut, a 21-year-old Croat, collected four ITF World Tennis Tour titles, each without dropping a set, in March and April.

Players selected by the ITF for this accolade in the past include Mirra Andreeva, Iva Jovic, Learner Tien and Jakub Mensik.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis