After the Davis Cup final, a long tennis year is over, the professionals now have a little time until the end of December to breathe deeply and recharge their batteries.
It is the only break in a jam-packed tournament calendar. We take another look at the past few months and the highlights of 2024.
Die Grand Slams
Novak Djokovic ended the year only seventh in the world rankings. The Serb, who won three of four Grand Slams last year, came away empty-handed this year. This is the first time since 2002 that none of the big four of Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray have won a Grand Slam; with the exception of 2017, Djokovic himself has always won at least one a year since 2011.
The new generation has taken over. But this does not include world number two Alexander Zverev from Germany. The Italian Jannik Sinner won in Australia and the USA, the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz stood with the winner’s trophy in Paris and Wimbledon.
In the women’s category, Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka won the Australian and US Open titles. The Polish Iga Swiatek triumphed at the French Open, and the Czech Barbora Krejcikova won Wimbledon. In October, Sabalenka replaced Swiatek after 50 weeks at number one in the world rankings. The Pole was still leading by 4,000 points in July. The German Laura Siegemund and the Frenchman Edouard Roger-Vasselin also won the mixed doubles in Paris.
The Olympic Games
Every four years there is another highlight for the professionals: the Olympic Games. Zverev entered the race as the defending men’s champion – but the German failed in the quarter-finals. Djokovic crowned his career with his first gold medal. The Chinese Zheng Qinwen won the women’s event.
The finals
The unofficial world championship, the ATP and WTA finals, come at the end of a tennis year. In the men’s category, Sinner won once again. In the women’s race, Sabalenka was defeated by Coco Gauff (USA) in the final. Great final point from a German perspective: The double Kevin Krawietz/Tim Pütz was the worst seeded duo – and still won in the end. It is the first time that a number eight seeded doubles team has achieved this.
The international matches
Davis and Billy Jean King Cup concluded the season. There were Italian festivals. The Italian team won both the Sinner men’s and the women’s competitions. (Maximilian Bülau)
