Chances are you’ve already heard of Brenda Fruhvirtova.

The 15-year-old Czech prodigy has been tipped for tennis stardom for some time, but few might have expected the ease – and force – of her impact on the professional game in 2022.

The days of very young, prolific tennis stars might have felt a thing of the past as the physicality of the sport ramps up a notch, but Fruhvirtova displayed a maturity beyond her years during an utterly breathtaking debut season on the ITF World Tennis Tour.

She collected eight ITF singles titles (the most of any player in 2022), rocketed 966 spots in the WTA rankings to No. 128 in the world, and went on a 27-match winning tear at W25 tournaments across Switzerland, Sweden, Hungary, Germany and Italy.

“I’m very proud of my achievements this year, especially coming from No. 1094 to No. 128,” Fruhvirtova reflected. “I hope this is just the beginning of my career.”

All signs suggest there’s plenty more to come. For a spell through the summer, almost every week brought new milestones for Fruhvirtova. Established pros crumbled in her presence. Her very clearly plotted path towards the WTA’s top 100 gathered alarming speed.

“Brenda is a very special kid and player,” said Roman Vogeli, who coaches the teen, alongside her 17-year-old sister, world No. 77 Linda. “She is able to achieve practically anything she dreams of, with a big passion for the game.

“She gives 100% in everything she does and is very determined. She is special in many ways. The sky is the limit for her.”

So it seems. Fruhvirtova amassed 51 match-wins (46 on clay) to just nine losses in 2022, and, in a sign of her seemingly effortless dominance at times, completed 14 bagel sets throughout the year – including an emphatic 57-minute double bagel triumph over Germany’s Luisa Meye aud der Heide in the title match at W25 Mogyorod in August.

Her year– and ITF professional singles debut – began inauspiciously with a first-round defeat as a qualifier at W25 Monastir, but Fruhvirtova followed with back-to-back triumphs on Argentine soil at W25 Tucuman, where she became the first 14-year-old ever to win ITF singles titles in consecutive weeks.

That earned her a wildcard into qualifying at the WTA International event in Guadalajara, where she won two matches, including one against former world No. 5 Sara Errani, to earn a shot at Sloane Stephens and become the youngest player to compete in a WTA main draw match in 13 years.

Stephens, who surrendered four games in their February encounter in Mexico, described her as a “great player” and in tune with the watching tennis world, added: “Looking forward to seeing what she does in the future”.

Four months later, Fruhvirtova launched the run that would catapult her up the rankings. Already aligning herself with stars like Justine Henin and Anna Kournikova after her double-title win as a 14-year-old, Fruhvritova added triumphs at W25 Klosters, W25 Danderyd and W25 Mogyorod to her burgeoning collection to become the youngest player in history to collect five ITF singles titles.

Victories at W25 Braunchshweig and a double triumph on Italian clay at W25 Santa Margherita di Pula followed – leaving her just two titles short of the all-time record for ITF singles titles won in a season, achieved by Arantxa Rus, a winner of 10 tournaments in 2019.

Given her tender years, Fruhvirtova has to abide by age eligibility rules. She has already contested 10 of the 14 professional tournaments she is eligible to enter ahead of her 16th birthday in April - so chasing Rus’ ITF record would hardly be the most astute move given the more lucrative WTA opportunities now available to her.

Fruhvirtova is hoping to be on the elite scene for many years to come, of course, but she has still found the time to both take stock of her achievements and appreciate her rate of progress thus far.

“I have learned that even being very limited in playing with the age limit rule, it is still possible to establish myself on the tour and be successful,” she said, in summary of her season. “I am very thankful for that.

“My goals for the next year are to focus on being able to stay high in the rankings despite playing a limited number of tournaments for the next two seasons. I want to improve my game as much as possible, and most importantly to stay healthy throughout the year.”

If she does that, the sky is certainly the limit.