Tennis lost a number of stars from its playing ranks in 2024, not least the great Andy Murray.

The former world No 1 finally hung up his racket – but will be back on our TV screens as quickly as January, having taken on a role as a coach to Novak Djokovic for the Australian Open.

But who can fill the void left by Murray? Here are five Brits I think are set for a year that will put their name forward.

Jack Draper

• Current world ranking: 15
• Current GB ranking: 1
• What would success look like: A Wimbledon run and maiden grand slam final

If you haven’t heard of Jack Draper yet, you almost certainly will by the end of 2025. With Murray now well and truly off the scene, nothing stands in the way of Draper taking over his mantle in men’s tennis.

The 23-year-old has had the perfect apprenticeship, raised by his national tennis champion mother and LTA chief father, and mentored from a young age by Murray himself, but his first years on the senior tour have been rocky, with injuries to his huge frame limiting his exposure at the highest level. 2024 though was his best year yet, with 61 tour-level matches to his name and two titles, one on grass in Stuttgart and the other indoors in Vienna.

He has ditched Wayne Ferreira, the former world No 6 who came in to work on his serve predominantly, because “it didn’t work for me with my body and the way I served”.

Instead, he will continue with James Trotman, his long-time coach, and bring in former British player Alex Ward to spend a few weeks on tour with him.

“He used to be a great player himself and qualified at Wimbledon,” Draper added in a sit-down with reporters ahead of the 2025 season. “He’s a lovely, lovely guy and really, really good to be on the road with. He understands the highest level in tennis, and brings a great energy.”

And Draper says he has got to the bottom of the issue that saw him vomiting on court in his US Open semi-final defeat to Jannik Sinner in September. He blamed the use of ibuprofen to deal with ankle pain having an effect on his stomach, something he described as a “lightbulb moment”, because it was when he realised it wasn’t that he was not fit enough or too nervous.

”When I’m on court, I love competing, I love the battle. I love playing in front of big crowds,” Draper said.

“There’s nowhere I’d rather be in the world than on that court then.”

There is a concern that he already pulled out of his season-opener in Sydney and is reducing his schedule because of a hip problem – but if he can stay fit, very few doubt his overall ability.

Emma Raducanu

• Current world ranking: 57
• Current GB ranking: 2
• What would success look like: A year without injury and a second tour title to follow up on her spectacular first

It’s almost too obvious to say that we expect big things from Emma Raducanu, not least because she has already achieved one very big thing.

But the US Open title is more than three years in the past now and the story since has featured more lows than highs.

I spent some time at the National Tennis Centre earlier this month: she invited a few journalists onto court with her to hit some balls for half an hour, before a sit-down lunch and interview session, all arranged at her initiation.

It is rare for superstars to open their doors unprompted (or in some cases without financial incentive) and that Raducanu did of her own volition suggests there has been some soul-searching in recent months about how to approach her career, particularly with regards to the media.

“It’s a relationship that we’re building. Rather than when I first did really well, it was very much like it was in my head – or put in my head – that was separate.”

Raducanu has hired a full-time fitness trainer, has had the same coach for a year (in contrast to the merry-go-round of her first two seasons on tour) and appears to have turned over a new leaf.

“I think now I’m a lot more structured. I’ll be like: ‘Okay, I have this time where one hour we will talk about business. And now I’m going to go train for the rest of the week.’

“I’ve learned how to say no a bit more.”

Say yes to success, Emma Raducanu.

Henry Searle

• Current world ranking: 512
• Current GB ranking: 21
• What would success look like: Establishing himself in the top 250 and picking up a statement win on tour, probably on the grass

Since he is only 18 and has barely started his tennis career, it might not surprise you that Henry Searle doesn’t have loads to say for himself. He would rather let his tennis – or his golf, actually – do the talking.

The Wimbledon boys champion Searle’s favourite thing to do away the tennis court is try and beat his coach Morgan Phillips on the golf course. I spoke to Phillips, who quit his job as head of the national boys academy to go on tour with Searle in 2024, about their clashes on the fairways. They are fiercely competitive and pretty evenly matched, although the apprentice beats the master more often than not.

Phillips strikes me as a father figure in Searle’s career, having worked with him at the academy in Loughborough before realising the sky was the limit for this big-serving left-hander and agreeing to go full-time with him. I interviewed Searle in Nottingham last summer and then bumped into him again on the practice courts in Eastbourne, where we exchanged a few brief words. I hadn’t realised that he was minutes away from his tour-level debut, having been called up as a last-second alternate because of a late injury withdrawal – mostly because he was being joshed around by his coach. It didn’t feel like a pre-match session!

And he will need Phillips’s counsel in the early years, because Searle’s introduction to tour life has been tough: he has 24 wins and 26 losses in the pro ranks this season, and ended the year with a four-match losing streak in Challengers across the USA and Mexico.

But he has a big game and a good man in his corner: the learning curve will be steep, but he can climb it.

Hannah Klugman

• Current world ranking: 572
• Current GB ranking: 17
• What would success look like: Qualifying for the main draw of a slam, as she so nearly did at SW19, would be huge

Hannah Klugman, the next big thing, has become a cliche in British tennis. The rangy 15-year-old won the Orange Bowl, a prestigious junior title, in 2023 and in the year since has worked her way inside the top 600 in the world rankings.

That might not sound impressive, but if you remove anyone older than her, Klugman comes in at No 2; teenage sensations are not rare in the women’s game but the Brit will not turn 16 until February so has time well and truly on her side.

And she’s already shown she has the grit to fight on the tour, having made it to the final round of qualifying at Wimbledon this summer only to lose to Alycia Parks.

Jacob Fearnley

• Current world ranking: 99
• Current GB ranking: 3
• What would success look like: Winning rounds at grand slams is the best way to continue his rapid rise up the rankings

When the Davis Cup team is announced next month for Great Britain’s qualifier at the end of January, there is likely to be a Scottish tinge to it.

With Draper already having declared himself unavailable, half-Scottish Cam Norrie will probably fill in as Britain’s No 1 singles player. (Norrie’s father David is an avid Rangers fan.)

And if done purely on rankings, Fearnley will make his Davis Cup debut against Japan on 31 January.

That looked unlikely a year ago when Fearnley started 2024 playing a $25,000 tournament in Esch-sur-Alzette, the second-largest city in Luxembourg. As a qualifier, he did end up winning the tournament, before heading back to the United States to finish his degree at Texas Christian University, Norrie’s own alma mater.

And having turned full-time tennis professional in the summer, Fearnley won a maiden Challenger title in Nottingham (his first of four this year), made the second round at Wimbledon before losing to Novak Djokovic in four sets, and cracked the top 100 in the world for the first time in September.

It has been a rapid rise for the Edinburgh-born 23-year-old, who will now get a crack at the three other grand slams for the very first time.