Recently, it seems as though Croatia and Serbia are two of the new powerhouses of tennis, with great players emerging in the men's game.

The Czech Republic is also producing some new candidates, especially on the women’s tour. They currently have four girls of particular note who are putting their country on the map; Nicole Vaidisova, Lucie Safarova, Petra Cetkovska and Petra Kvitova.

The best known of these are Vaidisova and Safarova, and for good reason. Vaidisova, currently ranked 15 in the world, is by far the most successful woman from her country, and has already ranked inside the top 10 in her young career. At 18 years of age there is no telling just how far this young Czech can go.

'The Czech Republic is on the rise and certainly one of the nations to watch out for'


She has already captured six tour titles, and has had great success at the four Grand Slams. The youngster has ventured to the quarter-finals or beyond at three of the four Grand Slams, including the semi-finals finishes at the Australian Open and French Open.

Safarova has been slightly less successful but has compiled some great results so far. Late last year she reached a career-high ranking of 22 and continues to sit inside the world's top 40.

Also she has captured three tour titles, and has pushed some of the world’s best players to their limits. In 2007 she also reached the quarter-finals of the Australian Open, where she defeated second seed Amelie Mauresmo, in straight sets. On numerous occasions she has proved too much for the world's most elite players, taking down Svetlana Kuznetsova, Justine Henin, and Anna Chakvetadze.

The other two girls, Cetkovska and Kvitova, are the country’s emerging talent. They have made great strides already this season. Neither girl has a tour title to her name, but both continue to stay consistent, enough to claim the rankings and surpass their previous high rankings. 

Cetkovska has enjoyed success on the ITF circuit and has captured an outstanding 12 titles since 2002. She currently ranks inside the top 100, and already this season she has broken her previous career-high ranking, moving to 93 in early March.

Kvitova, who is only 18, has improved her ranking from 150 in the world to 129 - a good, steady climb. Already she has had a breakthrough season of sorts; in the events for which she qualified she has taken out top players. In Paris she took down Anabel Medina Garrigues, and in Memphis she beat Venus Williams in a tough three-set encounter.

Even though only two of the four girls hold tour titles, it shows that the Czech Republic is on the rise and certainly one of the nations to watch out for. Vaidisova and Safarova have already established themselves on the tour, and slowly but surely Kvitova and Cetkovska are doing the same thing.