The Welsh tennis stars aiming to be the next Murray and Raducanu

With the first Grand Slam tournament of the year under way, UK tennis fans are getting ready to cheer on the likes of Andy Murray, Emma Raducanu, Cameron Norrie and Katie Boulter at the Australian Open.

But what about Welsh interest?

Wales has not had a senior player to back since former Wimbledon doubles quarter-finalist Evan Hoyt announced he was taking a break from the sport in 2022 to overcome injuries.

Fortunately, Wales is proving a hotbed for exciting young talent.

Mimi Xu and Viktor Frydrych are leading the way and are out in Melbourne ready to compete in the main draw of the Junior Australian Open.

Hot on their heels are Cardiff duo Awen Gwilym-Davies and Niall Pickerd-Barua, who are preparing for one of the biggest tournaments in the junior calendar, Les Petit As.

The competition in Tarbes, France brings together the world's best players under the age of 14. Rafael Nadal, Martina Hingis and Kim Clijsters are among former Grand Slam winners to lift the prestigious title.

So just how good are these young players? BBC Sport takes a closer look at four of Wales' rising tennis stars.

Xu's talent was nurtured by coaches at Swansea Tennis and Squash Club and Swansea Tennis Centre.

She then became a full-time student at the LTA (Lawn Tennis Association) National Academy in Loughborough for three years, and is currently based at the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton where she is coached by Welshman Mathew James, a former coach to Raducanu.

She reached a career-high world junior ranking of 13 in November last year following an impressive season on the ITF (International Tennis Federation) Tour, during which she won singles titles in Beijing and Repentigny, as well as four doubles trophies.

Xu became the youngest player to enter Junior Wimbledon in 2021 and reached the round of 16 at the All England club in 2022 and 2023. She also made the doubles quarter-finals at Roland Garros and the US Open.

She competed in the Junior Billie Jean King Cup team that finished third and at pro level, Xu made the semi-final at the W60 Glasgow.

She is now flying the flag for Wales in Melbourne.

"I'm really excited to have the chance to play in the junior Australian Open this year," Xu said.

"It's my first time in Australia, so I'm really looking forward to getting out onto the match court to compete and enjoy every moment."

Frydrych first picked up a racket in Colwyn Bay and with his talent clear to see, his family took him to train at the prestigious Good To Great tennis academy in Stockholm, Sweden.

He then made the move to train under coach Sam Hutt at Dukes Meadow, London mid-way through 2023 and it would appear to have put him in good stead as he has flourished in the latter part of the year, reaching a career high ITF junior ranking of 25 earlier this month.

Frydrych claimed three titles, one singles in the same tournament as Xu in Beijing, and doubles silverware in Pancevo and Bromma.

His highlights include a final in Glasgow and semi-final appearances in Roehampton and Varnamo.

Like Xu, Frydrych has enjoyed a taste of the Grand Slam events and reached the second round at Junior Wimbledon last year, something he is looking to build on in Melbourne.

Pickerd-Barua began playing tennis with his sister when he was just two years old. He trains at David Lloyd Swansea and also at Cardiff Met University, and he is part of Tennis Wales' national performance programme.

He is one of the Europe's top players in his age group, having won the GB National Championships at both under-12 and under-14 level.

Pickerd-Barua also won the Scottish Junior Open and represented Wales in the Junior Four Nations tournament in Wrexham.

He finished 2023 on a high with success in the under-14 Tennis Europe Junior tournaments, winning three consecutive titles, two in Norway and one in Finland.

He has also made a strong start to the Tennis Europe boys' under-14 Race to Monte Carlo, topping the leader board.

"Obviously it's quite tough to live a normal life as a tennis player," said Pickerd-Barua. "But I just try to fit it all in in your free time, it's not that difficult once you get used to it.

"I just love competing and fighting for every match.

"The ultimate aim is to be ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) ranked top 100 and to compete in all the Grand Slams. It means everything, it's the dream."

Pickerd-Barua says he looks up to Carlos Alcaraz, but his "all time hero is Rafael Nadal" who he was fortunate to meet at Nadal's tennis academy in Spain.

"I just love his 'leftiness' and fighting mentality, it's so good to watch."

Gwilym-Davies is another early starter. She began hitting tennis balls not long after she could walk and has a training programme based in and around the Cardiff area.

After a successful 2022, which saw her and Pickerd-Barua play in the Junior Orange Bowl Championship in Florida, Gwilym-Davies made the step up to under-14 competition.

She continued to clock up the miles in 2023, with the highlight coming in Slovenia in May where she reached the final of the girls singles.

Success has also come on the doubles court, she and her partner reached the under-12 GB National Championships final in 2022.

Gwilym-Davies represented Wales in the Junior Four Nations before injury cut her season short. But fit again, she is hoping to be accepted into the qualifying event in Tarbes and once again show she is a force to contend with.

"I think I can do pretty well if I play my best tennis," she said.

"I'm just going to go there and enjoy it as much as I can and try my best

"Obviously the aim is to go pro and at the moment I'm going to travel across the world and compete with the best in Europe."

As for idols, Gwilym-Davies says she is inspired by US Open 2021 champion Raducanu, while she enjoyed brushing shoulders with Heather Watson and Elena Rybakina during a tour of Wimbledon.

"It's great she's [Raducanu] coming back now," Gwilym-Davies said.

"They've been on the same journey as me and it's amazing to think that they've gone on the pro tour and it makes me feel like I can do that as well."

It is clear to see Wales' young players have the ambition to match their talent, and understandably Chris Lewis, Tennis Wales' head of performance, is a proud coach.

"They've got huge potential and they're right at the top of the pool of players in the world for their age group," he told BBC Sport Wales.

"They're getting better all the time which is the exciting thing.

"I'm in awe of how much they commit to getting better at what they love and they do love it, and as much as they play, they're still going to smack it against the wall whenever they can as well.

"We're really proud that we had another 12 players make national or international finals in 2023 - so there's a widespread group of players doing well internationally and hopefully we'll see a few on the TV at the top end of the game in the future."