Kazakhstan is acing its youth tennis development

In recent years, Kazakhstan has become a notable presence on the global tennis map. The Central Asian country regularly hosts prestigious ATP tournaments and has nurtured top-tier talent. Leading the way is Elena Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion, who has become a global star in women's tennis. On the men's side, Alexander Bublik's breakthrough at Roland Garros, where he became the first Kazakh man to reach a Grand Slam quarterfinal, turned attention toward the country's rising influence in tennis.

Junior success

Over the past three years, Kazakh juniors have made significant strides in tournaments worldwide. At the 2024 Junior Davis Cup, Kazakhstan secured fifth place, defeating four-time champion France twice – first in the group stage, and then again in the playoffs. In the tournament qualifiers, the Kazakh team also triumphed over Australia.

This followed a fourth-place finish in 2022 at the 14-and-under world team event for boys and 10th- and 9th-place finishes in 2023 at the Junior Davis Cup and the Junior Billie Jean King Cup, respectively.

Three Kazakh boys are currently ranked in the ITF junior top 100. The best among them, Amir Omarkhanov, reached as high as No 4 before the Junior Australian Open. He has already had several notable performances at the professional level, including reaching the semifinals of the $25,000 WTT tournament in Astana in July 2024 and competing in the qualifiers for the ATP Masters Madrid Open and the ATP250 Almaty Open.

Sixteen-year-old Zangar Nurlanuly won three junior tournaments last year and climbed to No 32 in the ITF junior rankings. Eighteen-year-old Sonja Zhiyenbayeva won two professional $15,000 WTT tournaments last year, and finished the year ranked No 17 in the ITF junior rankings. She is currently ranked No 630 among professionals.

In December, 14-year-old Ansar Niyetkaliyev received the prestigious Overseas Player of the Year award from Tennis Europe, a regional division of the ITF. Another Kazakh player, Akhmadi Makhanov, ranked 13th in a recent Tennis Europe U14 ranking.

In 2024, Kazakhstan had six players in the top 100 of the ITF junior rankings (both boys and girls), including three in the top 50. Additionally, seven players were ranked in the top 100 of the 14-and-under Tennis Europe rankings – more even than tennis powerhouse Italy.

All 13 of these highly ranked players were born and developed in Kazakhstan — the result of a nationwide, systematic approach to player development employing a combination of structured programs and dynamic private initiatives.