Watch out for these five talented youngsters in 2025

There may not be an Olympics but there is still plenty of sport to look forward to in 2025 and while some will be looking at it as a final swansong, others will see the year as the springboard to sporting greatness.

Let's take a look at five young pretenders to keep an eye on over the next 12 months:

Formula 1: Oliver Bearman

The 19-year-old, who will race alongside Esteban Ocon at Haas, is not going to win the 2025 Formula One title but this will be the season when the young Briton lays down a marker for years to come.

A graduate of the Ferrari driver academy, Bearman made his F1 debut as a late replacement for Ferrari's Carlos Sainz in Saudi Arabia in 2024. Driving a mature race, he finished seventh, provoking excitement over another young talent joining the grid.

"I always feel like I'm at home when I get in an F1 car, which is nice. And every time I get in an F1 car, I feel more and more at home. It's a good feeling," he said.

Athletics: Sembo Almayew

Ethiopia has a wealth of middle and long-distance runners but 19-year-old Almayew is a star in the making.

In some ways she has already arrived: at the Paris Olympics she was outshone by another youngster, 20-year-old Kenyan Faith Cherotich, but still finished fifth in the 3000m steeplechase.

She then went on to win gold in the U20 World Athletics Championships in Lima in a new championship record.

That resulted in her winning the World Athletics Rising Star for 2024 awards.

The only fly in the ointment has been the visa problems that Ethiopians currently have with the EU which resulted in Almayew being denied the chance to compete at the Diamond League Finals in September.

Hopefully, she will be able to clear the visa hurdle next year as the World Athletics Championships are in Tokyo.

Tennis: Mirra Andreeva

The 17-year-old Russian already served warning of her precocious talent when she reached the last 16 of Wimbledon in 2023 and then again at the Australian Open in 2024, only to eclipse that by reaching the semifinals at the French Open.

"I definitely knew she was a young player to watch, she was beating very top players," said coach Conchita Martinez. "I did my homework and immediately could see she has a lot of potential, everybody can see."

Andreeva's first WTA title arrived in Romania before she added an Olympic silver medal in doubles in Paris.

Now ranked at 16, that record suggests she is ready to challenge Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka for the No.1 ranking.

Football: Franco Mastantuono

The 17-year-old is one of the brightest young players in world football. Mastantuono made his first team debut at Argentinian club River Plate at the age of 16, becoming the third youngest player to achieve the feat.