Tereza Valentova

Tereza Valentova is the latest graduate of the Czech production line, a Prague-born right-hander who began playing tennis at the age of three after watching her father play and currently trains at TK Sparta Prague. Her athletic pedigree runs deep: her mother, Jitka Janáčková, is a former sprint canoeist who represented Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic at the 1992 and 1996 Summer Olympics. The junior résumé arrived first — a 2023 US Open girls' singles final loss to Katherine Hui, then the 2024 French Open girls' singles title over compatriot Laura Samson, plus the girls' doubles crown alongside Renáta Jamrichová.

Built off a heavy, clay-bred baseline game, Valentova translated junior promise into a steep senior climb in 2025. She won her first WTA 125 title at Grado over Barbora Palicová, made the Wimbledon qualifying final, then took a second 125 at the Porto Open. The defining stretch came at home: at the Prague Open she beat Aoi Ito, second seed Rebecca Šramková and lucky loser Jessika Ponchet to reach her first WTA Tour semifinal, falling to eventual champion Marie Bouzková. That run pushed her into the top 100 at No. 92 on 28 July 2025, making her only the fifth teenager to hit the milestone alongside Mirra Andreeva, Maya Joint, Iva Jovic and Victoria Mboko.

Her maiden Tour final followed at the Japan Open in Osaka, where she reached the Osaka final as a qualifier, losing to Leylah Fernandez. She also banked her first slam main-draw appearances, reaching the second round at both Roland Garros, where she lost to Coco Gauff, and the US Open, where Elena Rybakina ended her run.

Now ranked No. 47 with a career-high of No. 44, Valentova has carried the form into 2026. She made the second round at WTA 1000 Doha — losing to eventual champion Karolína Muchová — and at Miami, where Diana Shnaider stopped her. At the Italian Open she beat Yulia Putintseva before losing to third seed Coco Gauff, a marker of how far the 19-year-old's ceiling now reaches.