Tennis Paradise will once again host some of the biggest names in tennis, including Novak Djokovic, Coco Gauff, Carlos Alcaraz, Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka.

But it will also welcome new faces. So let’s take a look at five players making their debuts in
the main draw this year... and who might become very familiar to tennis fans in the future.

Learner Tien

A whirlwind last few months for Learner Tien? You could say that. The 19-year-old native of Irvine, California reached the final of the Next Gen Finals in late December, stunned Daniil Medvedev in five sets on the way to becoming the youngest man since Rafael Nadal in 2005 to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open and pulled off another win against a Top 10 player, Alexander Zverev, in Acapulco. The smooth lefty was ranked 430th this time last year. Now he’s at a career high 68th.

Nishesh Basavareddy

Nishesh Basavareddy, Tien and Alex Michelsen grew up playing against each other in California, before then appearing at the 2024 Next Gen Finals together. In his Grand Slam main draw debut at the Australian Open weeks later, Basavareddy, 19, didn’t look out of place against Djokovic. He even won the first set, prior to Djokovic taking the next three. “I was very impressed by him,” said Djokovic afterwards. “He's got really great hands. Overall, quite a complete player.”

Joao Fonseca

Who beat Tien to win the Next Gen Finals? The 18-year-old Fonseca. Fonseca’s ball speed looks similar to Jannik Sinner and Alcaraz’s, something Andrey Rublev discovered at the Australian Open. Fonseca powered past the top-10 regular in straight sets in his Grand Slam main draw debut. He didn’t stop there. Fonseca triumphed in Buenos Aires last month to become the fourth youngest man to win an ATP title this century. The three ahead of him turned out to be Grand Slam finalists, at least — Kei Nishikori, Nadal and Alcaraz.

Lulu Sun

Lulu Sun is in the midst of a rocky stint, losing 11 of her past 12 matches. But the cosmopolitan 23-year-old lefty announced herself to the tennis world by making the quarterfinals at Wimbledon last year, beating both Emma Raducanu and Qinwen Zheng. Then, Sun made a final in Monterrey in August. Sun was born in and represents New Zealand, has a Chinese mother, Croatian father and lived in Switzerland when growing up.
Oh, and Sun played college tennis at the University of Texas.

Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard

Anyone who can hit 51 aces in a match gets your attention. The 6-foot-8 Mpetshi Perricard did it last year at Wimbledon as a lucky loser to beat Sebastian Korda. The serve also served the Frenchman well in Lyon and Basel when he won both events. But the 21-year-old — who is seeded 29th — also moves well for a taller player and possesses a rare one-handed backhand.