Draper or Fonseca? The Four-Way Sprint for 2025’s Breakthrough of the Year
27 November 2025
Overview
The 2025 professional tennis season produced a cascade of standout moments, from surprising Masters 1000 champions to historic results around the globe, as new talents seized their big-stage opportunities.
For the first time, the 29 members of the exclusive "No. 1 Players Club" will vote on the award for Best Breakthrough of the year, part of the ATP’s annual honors.
Below are the finalists for the Best Breakthrough award in 2025.
Jack Draper
The 23-year-old Briton, left-handed and fearless, has emerged with a newly discovered bite and confidence, strengthening his ascent in the sport.
In the first half of the year, Draper jumped from No. 18 to a career-high No. 4, highlighted by his maiden Masters 1000 title at Indian Wells.
He advanced to the fourth round at both the Australian Open and Roland Garros, marking his best-ever runs at the majors, and reached finals in Doha and Madrid in succession.
João Fonseca
The Brazilian sensation João Fonseca broke through as one of the most exciting talents on tour in 2025, building on his 2024 Next-Gen triumph.
At the Buenos Aires 250 in February, Fonseca, then 18, became the youngest South American champion on tour since 1990.
He continued to etch history in Basel, becoming the third-youngest winner of a 500-point event in the series, after starting the year outside the Top 100 and finishing near the Top 25.
Jakub Mensík
The Czech talent Jakub Mensík realized a childhood dream by breaking through at the Masters 1000 in Miami, stunning two Top-5 stars in the event’s final stages.
When he defeated his idol Novak Djokovic in the title match, Mensík declared, “Maybe today is the biggest day of my life.”
Starting the year at No. 48, he climbed to No. 16 by August, a meteoric rise by any measure.
Valentin Fashiro
Monaco-born Valentin Fashiro authored a fairy-tale arc in Shanghai, entering the main draw as a qualifier with just one previous tour-level win to his name.
He then created history as the lowest-ranked player to win a Masters 1000 title since records began in 1990, defeating his cousin Arthur Rinderknecht in the final to claim the crown and vault to No. 40.
That momentum carried him to the Paris Masters quarterfinals, lifting his ranking to No. 30 by year’s end.
Yannik Sinner
The Italian 24-year-old dominated in 2025, becoming the first player in the ATP era to lead the tour in both service and return win percentages in the same season.
With six titles and a successful defense of the year-end Turin title on home soil, Sinner finished the year with a 64–11 record, winning 713 of 775 service points (92%).
He ended the season about three percentage points ahead of nearest rival Taylor Fritz, topping the field in serve dominance and returning prowess, signaling a sustained edge over peers like Alcaraz and Medvedev.
Looking at the bigger picture, Sinner’s growth in return efficiency—from 28.3% in 2024 to 32.63% in 2025—combined with reliable serving, has created one of the most complete stat lines in modern tennis and a bold forecast for 2026.
Overall, the 2025 season showcased a new generation ready to take the stage, with Draper, Fonseca, Mensík, Fashiro, and Sinner each laying down a distinctive case for breakthrough of the year.
Punchline 1: These rookies aren’t just aiming for the title; they’re aiming for headshots—on the scoreboard, not in real life. Talk about precision under pressure.
Punchline 2: If breakout awards had a sniper scope, these players would be locked in—center mass on the target: big titles, big moments, and a future that’s already looking pun-derful.
