Who will be the breakout stars of sport in 2023?

RACING

Taylor Fisher

By Tony McFadden

Taylor Fisher, like his good friend and 2022 apprentice championship runner-up Harry Davies, was a champion on the pony racing circuit and is a name to note after making a promising start to his career under Rules. Indeed, it would be little surprise were Fisher to make a title bid of his own in 2023.

Davies made a stunning start to his career under Rules, partnering a winner in January on just his second ride.

Things were a bit slower for Fisher who was off the mark at the 34th attempt in July, more than three months after taking his first ride. However, that experience he accrued has clearly stood Fisher in good stead and he has since made rapid strides on the winners front.

He passed the 20-winner mark in November which means his allowance is now 5lb (rather than 7lb) but he is still excellent value for that claim and has impressed observers with his polished style and tactical awareness.

Fisher, who recently turned 18, has a good yard behind him as he is based in Lambourn with Archie Watson, while it's also a positive that up-and-coming Newmarket trainer Kevin Philippart de Foy has been keen to utilise his services.

He is likely to be a man in demand and it's notable that he shares an agent – Paul Clarke – with 2022 champion apprentice Benoit de la Sayette (another pony racing graduate).

FOOTBALL

Wilfried Gnonto

By Tom Carnduff

The Premier League is blessed with young talent throughout, and one name who can grab headlines in 2023 is Leeds’ Wilfried Gnonto.

Jesse Marsch’s side seemingly have a clear focus on youth development, and Gnonto – a deadline day arrival from FC Zurich in the summer window – looks part of the crop set to enjoy regular minutes.

Despite being just 19, the forward already has eight caps for Italy, with six of those being competitive in the Nations League and a goal coming against Germany.

His flexibility across the forward areas will make him an attractive prospect for Marsch to utilise, and a combination of speed and power will cause issues for plenty of opposition defenders.

Leeds’ ongoing desire for further faces in the striker department could see Gnonto played centrally, but his close ball control and seemingly fearless attitude on the pitch makes him equally effective out wide.

A total of 14 players aged 22 and under featured for Leeds in the 21/22 Premier League season, and Gnonto can be the latest young star to shine for the West Yorkshire club.

GOLF

Hurly Long

By Ben Coley

German golf remains firmly on the rise and Hurly Long could be the next young star to complete his emergence by winning on the DP World Tour in 2023.

He'll have to act fast if he's to hold off Marcel Schneider, older and more experienced, and there's talent from the Challenge Tour in Nick Bachem and Freddy Schott, both of whom are exciting. But it's Long who looks ready to put the benefits of a year on the circuit to use.

Many felt he'd be the best of the rookies in 2022, only for Yannik Paul to pip him thanks to his win in Mallorca. The hyper-competitive youngster, something no doubt passed down through his dad, Ted, a former professional turned coach, wanted to get the better of Paul in what had been their own private battle and will be keen to redress the balance as soon as he can in what's a massive year for young Europeans.

No doubt that will fuel him to bigger and better things in the months ahead and having finished 27th on the Race to Dubai, he's laid the foundations to be this year's Adrian Meronk and turn abundant promise into high-class results which, hopefully, include a breakthrough win.

The two are similar in terms of their games, being prodigious drivers of the ball. Long though doesn't have a glaring weakness, as Meronk did this time last year. If he had one, it was his approach play, but having lost strokes in eight tournaments from a run of nine during the spring, Long turned a corner, gaining strokes in 10 of his final 13 measured starts.

While this happened, his putting went the other way, but it's those irons which will determine whether he can kick on, and having produced two of his best displays across his final three starts, all signs point towards the young German having turned a weakness into a relative strength.

So far best known for holding the course record at Pebble Beach, which he achieved during a sparkling amateur career at Texas Tech, Long looks ready to go on and make a real name for himself in the months ahead.

CRICKET

Finlay Bean

By Richard Mann

The Yorkshire Cricket Club conveyor belt unveiled another star of the future in 2022, with Harry Brook impressing against the white and red ball, and playing a staring role in the recent Test series win over Pakistan.

Brook joins Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow in a transformed England set-up, and that trio will be key as attentions turn to the Ashes and then a 50-over World Cup later in down the road.

So, who’s the next big thing to come out of Yorkshire? Answer: Finlay Bean.

The Harrogate-born Bean first caught the eye when making his debut for York CC First XI in the Yorkshire Premier League North as a 15-year-old, immediately displaying a sound technique and an appetite to bat for long periods in what is hard, competitive league cricket.

Bean continued to work hard and having impressed in age-group cricket for the White Rose, then made his big statement with a colossal 441 in a single innings against Nottinghamshire Second XI in June, emphatically beating the previous record set my Marcus Trescothick in Second XI Championship cricket.

Unsurprisingly, a First XI debut soon followed, and a maiden First Class half century, along with a contract that keeps Bean at Headingley until at least the end of 2023, where he should benefit from working alongside the likes of Shan Masood and Adam Lyth.

For all England’s Test match batting has seemingly turned a corner in the last 12 months, it’s hard to argue that the opening batsman spots have been well and truly nailed down – particularly in English conditions.

England might already have one eye on Bean, and this leadership group have certainly shown they have no qualms about throwing young talent in at the deep end.

RACING

Ralph Beckett

By Tony McFadden

Salisbury's fixture on Thursday 29 September may not have looked anything out of the ordinary, but it's a meeting well worth revisiting with an eye on next season.

Ralph Beckett won the first three races on the card with a trio of juvenile newcomers who go into 2023 unbeaten and open to plenty of progress.

Bluestocking, If Not Now and Remarquee are all promising in their own right, but it was the last-named who achieved the most on debut, looking like a Group-class filly as she powered home at the end of a truly-run race to beat the experienced odds-on favourite.

That performance earned Remarquee the Timeform Large P, a sparingly used symbol that denotes a horse is capable of much better form.

In addition to a host of dark horses, Beckett already has some high achievers in his ranks, including Salt Bay, who was beaten less than two lengths in third in the Group 1 Criterium International, and Lezoo, whose four victories at two included the Group 1 Cheveley Park Stakes.

Lezoo carries the silks of Marc Chan whose Kinross also won four times last season, including a couple of Group 1s, and he'll be back for more at the age of six in 2023.

Irish Derby winner Westover also reportedly stays in training and adds further firepower to a strong stable.

TENNIS

Jack Draper

By Andy Schooler

The 21-year-old Briton climbed more than 200 places in the ATP rankings last season so perhaps I’m delivering this piece 12 months late.

Yet I’m certainly expecting more from Draper in 2023, which will be his first full season on the main tour.

I’d happily put him down for a maiden ATP title – Sky Bet go a tempting 6/4 about that occurrence – while I would not be at all surprised to see him make a decent impact at one of the Grand Slams.

He can play on all surfaces and has major weapons in his game, most notably the serve and forehand, but the mental side is also a real strength – Draper has already shown his ability to produce under pressure on big points.

As Great Britain Davis Cup captain Leon Smith said in March: "He’s a very, very good competitor. He finds a way and that’s a really good quality to have.

"He’s got a massive serve, his forehand I think on a number of surfaces, even the clay, is going to do a lot of damage."

In just a few months, those words look wise.

Draper has transitioned from Challenger Tour title winner to the main tour with relative ease – very few players rack up a 19-14 win-loss record in their first year at the top level.

His ATP wins included victories over current top-10 stars Stefanos Tsitsipas and Taylor Fritz, while he took sets off world number one Carlos Alcaraz, Andrey Rublev and Hubert Hurkacz.

As a Briton, he’s almost certain to be labelled ‘the new Andy Murray’ and while anyone would do well to hit such heights, Draper should be making a significant impact in 2023.

DARTS

Sebastian Bialecki

By Chris Hammer

If I had to pick a player who will win their first major trophy in 2023 then it would obviously Josh Rock – but that’s not really telling you something you don’t already think.

The 21-year-old from Northern Ireland, who came from nowhere to enjoy a stunning debut season from a statistical and performance perspective, could feasibly even do it at the World Championship after marching into the post-Christmas part of the tournament.

Rock is only lacking major experience but that will change very soon as he continues to climb up the rankings and it’s only a matter of time before he has a big trophy in his cabinet.

However, I think the 2023 Josh Rock could potentially be Sebastian Bialecki, who gave us another small glimpse of his rich potential at the Ally Pally and remains very much under the radar.

The Polish teenager showed zero nerves in his first televised event at the 2022 UK Open as a virtual unknown quantity and beat Ryan Searle en route to the quarter-finals before losing a deciding leg to Willie O’Connor.

Without a PDC Tour Card, he plied his trade on the Challenge and Development Tours with an array if impressive displays and qualified for his Ally Pally debut by winning the East European Qualifier with an average of around 93.

He looked very cool and calm when giving Jim Williams a run for his money on the biggest stage of all, and will take plenty of positives away from his 3-2 defeat with a low 90s average.

Once he’s on the main PDC Tour and mixing it with the best week in, week out, I’m sure he’ll make massive strides and become another highly dangerous Polish player in the ranks.

GOLF

Hae Ran Ryu

By Matt Cooper

Keen readers might recall that last year I suggested Korea’s Min Ji Park had shown huge promise in landing six wins in 24 starts on the KLPGA. The problem, I added, was that there was little clue if she would venture beyond home shores.

That situation remains exactly the same as we head into 2023 (quite literally) because in 2022 she was once again a six-time winner in 24 starts and she’s still shown no sign of hitting the LPGA (with one minor exception – the world No. 14 made her major championship debut in July’s Evian Championship and spent the first three days in the top 25 before finishing 37th).

However, with mystery continuing to surround her future plans, I’ll turn instead to her compatriot Hae Ran Ryu whose impressive move through the ranks of Korean golf gave her the confidence to not only enter the LPGA’s Q Series at the end of 2022 but she earned graduation in the best way possible, compiling a 29-under eight round total of 545 that left her two blows clear of the field.

“Earning this card means a lot,” the 21-year-old said. “Especially in becoming the second Korean winner in a row. It hasn't been that long ago since I was a rookie on the KLPGA. I look forward to playing with some of the best players in the world.”

Ryu turned pro in 2019 and quickly claimed four wins on a minor tour prior to defeating a high class KLPGA field in her very first paid start at that level. 2020 was her rookie year on the circuit and she finished second in the rankings helped by a successful defence of her first trophy (when she bettered the likes of Jin Young Ko, Inbee Park, So Yeon Ryu and Hyo Joo Kim). She added two wins in 2021 and while 2022 brought only one more trophy she did land 17 top 10s in 29 starts.

What adds to the interest is the promise of her few starts in LPGA company since relinquishing her amateur status. In the first of those she was 13th at the 2020 US Women’s Open (ninth heading into the final round) and in the second she spent all week in the top 10 when seventh in the 2021 BMW Ladies Championship.

That she emulated – but more importantly referenced – Na Rin An’s Q Series win last year is interesting. No nation’s golfers have ever been quite so inspired and motivated by the compatriots who went before them. Alive to that, she will be aware of what they have achieved – and what she now can.

BOXING

Jared Anderson

By OddsCritic

While most boxing fans dream of Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk for all the heavyweight marbles in 2023, there are other reasons to be excited about boxing’s marquee division.

Jared ‘Big Baby’ Anderson looks to have all the raw ingredients to make a real noise in the coming years, and he showcased that potential in a devastating December stoppage of the durable Jerry Forrest to round off 2022.

As young and developing heavyweights go, Anderson is right up there. Standing 6ft 4in and weighing over 17 stones, he looks the part. Heavily muscled and with power in both hands, ‘Big Baby’ has not put a foot wrong so far in a pro career which began in October 2019.

He holds a perfect 13-0 record to this point, with all of his wins coming inside the distance. Anderson, taking on by far the most significant opponent of his career last time out, underlined his burgeoning potential by blasting out fringe contender Forrest in the second round at Madison Square Garden.

That was a win which should put the heavyweight division on notice. Forrest had only ever been stopped once in a decent career which has seen him hang with plenty of big names and claim draws with good men in Zhilei Zhang and Michael Hunter.

Despite this, Anderson steamrollered Forrest inside two rounds. He threw more than 100 punches in the first round alone (including 39 power shots). That output is crazy for a heavyweight and with 69% of his knockouts coming in rounds one or two he is a fighter who can clearly bang with authority.

There is still work to be done of course. As he moves through the division he will need to tighten up that defence and slip punches more gracefully (he has been caught flush in a couple of his more recent fights due to his thirst for violence). The young American has not fought a live top-15 fighter yet, but on current form there would be plenty of boxing insiders picking him to beat the likes of Frank Sanchez, Dillian Whyte or Andy Ruiz Jr if they dared to mix it with the Toledo, Ohio prospect in 2023.

It remains early days – as he really is a ‘baby’ in heavyweight terms at just 23 – but anyone involved in the Anderson business has good reason to be excited. Given that the likes of Tyson Fury, Deontay Wilder, Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk are clearly in the respective winters of their careers, the heavyweight division is a division on the verge of great change.

In boxing, as in life, timing is everything and the stars could be aligning for 'Big Baby' to become the new king in the next 15-24 months. As for the next 12, expect him to keep producing highlight-reel stoppages as he quickly climbs the ladder.