Laura Robson hit top spot in the world junior rankings last week and that got me thinking about how those who have previously held the position have fared in the professional game.

Not surprisingly the list contains both household names - Martina Hingis probably being the biggest - and some who never quite made the grade.

However, certainly in recent years, there are few examples of players failing to reach a decent level and by that we mean nearly all the former world champions have had good spells in the top 100, so history suggests Robson will at least enjoy a respectable pro career.

That said, she'll be wanting to emulate the likes of Hingis as opposed to becoming the next Nino Louarsabishvili.

As well as Hingis, Gabriela Sabatini, the top junior back in 1984, went on to Grand Slam glory, winning the US Open six years later, while Amelie Mauresmo won Wimbledon and the Australian Open in 2006.

The 2005 world junior champion Victoria Azarenka has highlighted her potential over the past week in Miami where she claimed the biggest title of her career to date and she will now hope to join Hingis et al as a winner at the highest level.

But for all those who have become household names, there are players for whom their professional careers will never be remembered as much as their achievements in their youth.

Rossana de los Rios, Maria Emilia Salerni and Barbora Strycova are all still plying their trade on the tour, but none has yet cracked the top 50, Strycova's career-high of 55 in the rankings being the most successful.

The aforementioned Louarsabishvili, the leading junior back in 1993, also made the top 100 but is now the head professional at Round Hill Country Club in California.

The player who has found the gap between the juniors and seniors the biggest in recent times is arguably Belgian Kirsten Flipkens.

She had the misfortune of coming through at the same time as Belgium's tennis boom - when she was ranked number one in the junior world in 2003, Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters were regulars in Grand Slam finals.

Perhaps it's no co-incidence that her best efforts in the senior game have come after the retirement of her compatriots - she recently broke into the top 100 at last and at only 23 still has time on her side to go higher.

So what will Robson do?

Frankly it's hard to say, but she clearly has plenty of talent and it will certainly be interesting to see how much impact she can make on the senior ranks over the coming season.

She's expected to play the senior event at Wimbledon in June on a wild card having won the junior title last year and the current plan is to continue to mix junior and senior events on her schedule.

At just 15, she has plenty of time on her side even considering that female tennis players are notoriously early bloomers.

And even if things don't go well on the court, things are already looking good off it with companies queueing up to agree endorsement deals with her.

That certainly worked for Anna Kournikova, the 1995 world junior champion.

She famously never won a WTA singles title, but did end her career a multi-millionaire.

Is Robson the real deal? Can she follow in Hingis' footsteps? Email your feedback to: tennisfeedback@sportinglife.com