10 Tennis stars whose careers changed after one unexpected tournament run

Riddhi Acharya highlights 10 tennis players whose careers were redefined by surprising tournament runs. The list features major underdog triumphs across the ATP and WTA tours, including Valentin Vacherot's 2025 Shanghai Masters victory from qualifying, Victoria Mboko's 2025 Canadian Open title win over Naomi Osaka, and Emma Raducanu's historic run as a qualifier to claim the 2021 US Open title.

Other notable breakthrough moments detailed include Monica Puig's 2016 Olympic gold medal in Rio, Sloane Stephens's 2017 US Open victory, and Bianca Andreescu's rapid ascent in 2019. The retrospective also covers historical Grand Slam victories achieved by Boris Becker at Wimbledon in 1985, Gaston Gaudio at Roland Garros in 2004, Francesca Schiavone in 2010, and Iga Swiatek in 2020.