After profiling the 2013 campaigns of Serena Williams, John Isner, Sloane Stephens, and Sam Querrey, Mike Holder continues his off-season series of American retrospectives with a look at a more surprising talent who emerged this year.

In contrast to the American men, there is a very strong contingent of women paving the way to a promising future for United States tennis. With nine Americans ranked in the top 100, there is an assortment of young players anxious to grab the torch and push it forward. One such player is Alison Riske.

Coming into 2013, only the die-hard tennis fan likely recognized her name, for Riske finished 2012 ranked world No. 179. The 23-year-old talent had made the rounds competing in ITF events and some qualifying draws of WTA tournaments but was only successful in advancing to the main draw at a handful of top-level tournaments. The highlight of that season was qualifying for the Australian Open, where Riske fell in the first round.

2013 started in similar fashion. After failing to qualify for the Australian Open, along with WTA events in Thailand and Colombia, she turned to the United States and ITF Pro Circuit tournaments once again. Yet the six-time ITF champion found little headway in competitions early this spring until semifinal runs at both Dothan and Indian Harbour Beach. Just as Riske appeared to have mustered momentum, she found herself on the clay in Europe. There, she failed to qualify for a clay court event in Prague and fell short of achieving the main draw at Roland Garros, ending a first-half campaign in which she struggled.

However, something clicked for the American on the grass courts as Wimbledon approached. After a modest run at an event in Nottingham, Riske qualified and advanced to the semifinals of Birmingham, defeating big-serving grass specialist Sabine Lisicki just weeks before Lisicki reached the Wimbledon final. Ultimately falling to Daniela Hantuchova, the American used her success in Birmingham as a springboard for Wimbledon, where she continued her strong play. Riske achieved her best result at a major to that point, defeating two higher-ranked opponents before falling to Kaia Kanepi in the third round of the Wimbledon main draw.

Riske carried her European success back to home soil in the United States, advancing to the finals of the Portland Pro Circuit clay court event prior to the North American hard-court season. It would turn out to be her only finals appearance in 2013.

Continuing into summer, it appeared that her early season struggles had disappeared. As Riske prepared for the US Open, she advanced deeper into draws on the hard courts, including a sprint to the round of 16 at New Haven. She defeated Yanina Wickmayer and pushed former Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova to three sets before falling to the Czech.

But it was at the U. S. Open where Riske truly made a name for herself. In the first week of the fortnight, she defeated both rising German star Mona Barthel and Kvitova before falling to Hantuchova again in the round of 16. Despite the loss, the buzz surrounding her second-week appearance stirred among fans and media, planting the young American firmly in the public eye. With open support on social media by numerous American players, along with icons such as Billie Jean King, Riske appeared to have taken a big step forward in her career.

As the season turned to fall, however, Riske failed to qualify for tournaments in Linz and Luxembourg and once again turned to the friendly environment of the ITF Pro Circuit to finish her season.

Despite failing to win a title in 2013, Riske saw her ranking jump 122 positions thanks in part to her Wimbledon and US Open results. She would finish the season ranked 57th in the world. It was a year in which she compiled a 47-27 record in singles, became a player to watch in the future and proved that the big stages of the Grand Slams did not overwhelm her.

And while Riske still does not carry the name recognition of young Americans such as Sloane Stephens, Madison Keys or Jamie Hampton, she is certainly capable of rising higher in the list of top Americans. With very little to defend in the first half of 2014, there will be a chance for her to gain momentum heading into the grass and American hard-court seasons, where she has had her best success thus far. Huge upside appears to lie in front of the Pennsylvania native during the upcoming season.