In tennis, there are 3 categories of players - Prodigies who dominate the tour as teenagers and
wonderkids, the typical players who peak in their early twenties, and then there's this last group,
which we are interested in - The late bloomers who wait until they are close to their 30s or
even later to bring out their best tennis, defying the odds and aging like fine wine.
These are the 8 greatest late bloomers in Tennis history.
TENNIS PLUS PRODUCTION Feliciano Lopez (Born in 1981)
It wasn't until March 2015 that Feliciano Lopez achieved his highest singles ranking as World
number 12. The left-handed Spaniard made his Pro circuit debut in 1997 but didn't compete regularly
on the ATP tour until 2002 - the year he defeated a top-5 player, Marat Safin and broke into the
Top 100. Lopez was still on course to peak in his mid-twenties. He was world number 62 at that time.
The following years, his rank climbed into the 20s and at the end of 2005, he kind of plateaued
until the turn of the decade. Despite deep runs into the quarterfinals of the Wimbledon in 2005,
2008, and 2011, the world was yet to see the best of Feliciano Lopez. Already 30 in 2011,
his relatively uneventful career looked set to fade into oblivion but the Spaniard got better,
winning ATP 250 titles in 2013, 2014, before reaching the US Open quarterfinals in 2015 after
which he achieved his highest ranking. Lopez was just getting started though. He competed in the
French Open doubles in 2016 and won it alongside his compatriot who also shared his name. Already
35, Lopez wasn't planning on leaving the stage. He won the Men's Singles title at the Queen's Club
Championships, an ATP 500 event for the next 2 years. Already close to his 40th birthday,
Lopez made his 78th consecutive appearance in a slam before making his 139th appearance in a
Masters 1000 event in 2021. Later that year, Lopez would beat world number 5, Andrey Rublev in the
Davis Cup finals becoming the first 40+ player to win a top-5 opponent since Ken Rosewall in 1977.
Although currently out of the top 500, Feliciano Lopez is yet to retire. Hard to imagine what's
going on in his mind. Pros and Cons
Why is he one of the greatest? Consistency, Longevity, and flair. But errrr… he never
really threatened the very top players and was mostly successful in the smaller tournaments.
Next we have. Li Na
The Chinese turned pro when she was 17. At 20, she was already going on a lengthy
25-month hiatus from the sport probably because of her university studies and
problems with the Chinese National Coaching Staff. Li Na returned to the courts in May
2004 and within the next few months, worked her way into the WTA Top 35. Interestingly,
she reached the quarterfinals of Wimbledon, becoming the first Chinese to do so and
breaking into the Top 20. Not quite the late-bloomer story you expected right?
Fast forward to 2011. Li Na had made it to the Australian Open finals and had won the French
Open with her quick reflexes, athleticism, and cross-court forehand on full display as
she got the better of Francesca Schiavone. A slam winner 12 years after turning pro. What a story.
Now in the top 5, Li Na had the world at her feet and it only got better because despite a
mediocre 2012 season by her standards, she reached her second Australian Open
final around her 31st birthday and finally won the Melbourne slam at 32 in 2014 after being a
match point down. Li na became the world number 2 after her second slam triumph.
Sadly, she would have a debilitating left knee injury, which tilted her into what
we may very well call "early retirement". She definitely had more in the tank didn't
she? Li Na isn't the only player on this list to retire shortly after winning a slam.
Pros and Cons Multiple slams, a captivating playing style,
and dozens of records created show why she's one of the greatest. Unfortunately,
she had a relatively early retirement. Stanislas Wawrinka (Born in 1985)
And then there’s Stan the Man who took almost 12 years to win a slam in sensational fashion.
The sight of the Swiss firing his trademark down-the-line backhands was truly amazing
to watch. But first, let's talk about his childhood. Unlike other players,
this guy didn't even pick up a racket until he was 8 years old and even then,
he practiced just once a week until he was 11 before turning pro in 2002 at the age of 17.
The Swiss spent most of his career in obscurity, no thanks to his larger-than-life compatriot,
Roger Federer, who was getting all the accolades and attention. In fact, before 2014, Wawrinka's
career highlight had been the Gold Medal that he won in collaboration with Roger Federer at the
Olympic doubles event in Beijing in 2008. Although Stan had sneaked into the top 10 at that time,
his performances on the big stages were extremely underwhelming. It wasn't until
2011 after he won the Chennai Open that he managed to silence a few detractors.
He reached the US Open semis in 2013. But everything changed in 2014 after he defeated
a slightly injured Nadal in the Australian Open final. Still, some thought that it was a fluke.
But not until he defeated prime Djokovic both in the 2015 French Open final and in the 2016
US Open final before losing to Nadal in the 2017 French Open final. The Swiss had now
defeated the Number 1 ranked tennis player in the finals of all the slams he won. Wawrinka had
put himself into the "Big 4" and made it clear that he wasn't just a random page in Federer's
history books. You wouldn't be wrong to call him the greatest latecomer in Tennis history.
Pros and cons In his prime, Stan was a consistent threat
to the Big 3 and everyone else on the tour with his incredible playing style. He captured 3 out of
the 4 slam titles and was the man to beat on his day. This guy didn't even play much tennis as a
kid. The only argument against him is his current form which has been pretty bad and he looks to be
a shadow of his former self. John Millman
Only a few tennis players appreciate their supporters like John Millman. Born in 1989,
the Australian professional considered retirement before his career even fully took flight in 2011
after a bad injury. Fortunately, he received immense support from fans and persevered -
Something he hasn't forgotten till today. Millman spent his early career playing lots
of challenger tournaments only managing to break into the Top 100 at the age of 26. However,
his major breakthrough wouldn't come until 3 years later in 2018 when he upset second
seed Roger Federer in the 4th round to reach the quarterfinals of the US Open. As a result,
he climbed to a career-high World number 33. 2 years later in 2020, he was celebrating his first
and only singles title so far - The Astana Open in Kazakhstan at the ripe old age of 31. Late bloomer
but by all means no pushover. Pros and Cons
Millman has had a decent career with unbelievable comebacks from injury and has shown mental
resilience on occasion. However, his list of achievements isn't the most impressive here.
The next case in point. Aslan Karatsev
Dear Aslan. The 29-year-old Russian had been grinding away for most of his career but finally
grabbed the headlines last year after he became the first man in the Open Era to
reach the semifinals in his Grand Slam debut at the 2021 Australian Open. No small feat.
Aslan followed that performance up by winning the Dubai Open a month later. He
would also beat the former world number 1 Novak Djokovic at the Serbia Open the following month
before adding two more top-10 wins against Diego Schwartzman and his compatriot Daniil Medvedev.
Having made his ATP main-draw debut in 2013 at the age of 19, Aslan was dealt with hard luck for most
of his early career. From career-halting injuries to lack of sponsors to troubles finding coaches,
most players would have given up mentally but not Aslan. Luckily, his long years of training,
sacrifices, and persistence paid off and he has remained a source
of inspiration for struggling pro athletes. Aslan also won the ATP 250 Kremlin Cup in
2021 before adding to his tally this year with the Sydney Tennis Classic title, after which he
reached his highest ranking at World number 14. Pros and Cons
Despite not being the most fortunate guy on the tour, Aslan has earned impressive wins against
several top-tier opponents, showing just how much potential he's got. Would be nice to see him
achieve more with his talent though. Flavia Penetta
The spouse of Fabio Fognini had the ultimate send-off before retiring after she won her first
ever slam at the US open. Penetta turned pro in 2000 at the age of 18 and steadily improved
her game until she won her first WTA title and made a Top-30 entry midway through the decade.
The slow and steady growth continued until the turn of the decade when she won the Australian
Open doubles title in 2011 and in the process, becoming the first Italian player to achieve
that. But by the following year, she was out of the Top 50 due to injuries. It didn't take long
to make a comeback though. The Italian won the Indian Wells title at the age of 32 in 2014.
All of her successes pale in comparison to her 2015 season where she won the US Open,
going into the tournament as the 26rh seed. 15 years after becoming a professional,
Penetta had won a singles grand slam title, defeating her compatriot Roberta Vinci who was
also kind of a late bloomer in her own right in the final. Ironically, Penetta shocked the world
by announcing her retirement in her acceptance speech after winning 11 singles titles and 17
doubles titles throughout her career. Unusual. Pros and cons
Pennetta had enviable achievements, winning slams in both her singles and doubles career. She
provided tough competition for the best in her era and went out in grand style. Would have been nice
to see her completely dominate the tour. Kevin Anderson
How 'bout Kevin Anderson? Many people are guilty of forgetting the big-serving South
African. Anderson turned pro in 2007 at the age of 21, which is later than almost
all the other professional players. And it took the 6-foot-8 Anderson 4 years to bag
his first ATP title on home soil moving into the Top 35 as a result. By 2014,
he was busy smashing 4 top-5 players on his way to the Top 10 the following year.
Already 30, he struggled with injury in 2016 but when he came back, we saw a new
Anderson. 2 slam finals in 2 years at the US open and Wimbledon losing to Nadal and
Djokovic respectively. Anderson defeated Roger Federer in the quarterfinals of the
Wimbledon in 2018 at the age of 32, winning an additional 2 ATP titles that year and breaking
into the Top 5. No small feat for the big man who morphed to become a real danger.
Despite always being tough from the get-go, not many saw Anderson's late blossoming coming.
Pros and cons After turning 30,
Anderson became hard as nails and added finesse to his athletic game, eliminating any thoughts
that he was a one-dimensional player. Anderson retired this year with 350 wins on the ATP tour
in a more than decent career. Angelique Kerber
Perhaps one of the most impressive stories on our list is that of Angelique Kerber who turned pro in
2003 at the age of 15. She cracked the WTA Top 5, 9 years later, which wasn’t bad by any standard.
But here’s where things get interesting. Kerber aged like fine wine and maintained the momentum
going into her late 20s, winning 4 WTA titles in 2015 and 2 slams - The Australian Open and
US Open in 2016 and became the oldest woman to be the world number 1 at 28 years old after
dethroning Serena Williams in September 2016. Although she struggled in 2017 and dropped out
of the Top 20, she was back in 2018 to win the Wimbledon title. Again, she fell out of the radar
for the next 2 years but made a sensational Top 10 comeback in 2021 at the age of 33. Although
she took a break this year due to pregnancy, it wouldn’t be surprising to have her back on tour
in the near future. Pros and Cons
Just like Wawrinka, Kerber has one of the most impressive CVs for any late-bloomer, winning 3 out
of 4 slams and she could take out the best players on her day. Not much to argue against her except
for some rare inconsistencies. Verdict
And to the greatest late bloomer of all time? We've gotta give it to Stan the Man. Right from
his childhood, he had always been one to arrive late but when he did, no one else could get the
better of him. His 3 slam achievements speak for themselves. In an era with arguably the best trio
tennis players of all time, Wawrinka flipped the switch and gave them stiff competition. Angelique
Kerber is a close second though. **
If there’s anything we’ve learned in tennis, it’s that it is never too late to break out. But for
every late bloomer, there are a few wonderkids, which is why you should see this next video.