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Tennis

Monday Tennis Briefing: Stories Behind the Stories

2024-11-25

Welcome back to the Monday Tennis Briefing, where we delve into the captivating tales from the past week on the court. This week has been a whirlwind of tennis action, with Jannik Sinner making history and Elena Vesnina bidding farewell to the sport. Let's explore these events in detail.

Uncover the Hidden Stories of Tennis

Jannik Sinner: A Season to Remember

This week, Jannik Sinner ended 2024 on the ATP Tour with an unreturned serve and arms aloft. He secured a 2-0 win for Italy against the Netherlands at the Davis Cup final in Malaga, Spain, defeating Tallon Griekspoor and Botic Van de Zandschulp respectively. Sinner completed one of the finest seasons in history, winning two Grand Slam titles, the ATP Finals, and now the Davis Cup. He ended the year 3,915 points clear of world No. 2 Alexander Zverev, despite playing four fewer tournaments, and his 73-6 win-loss record makes him the first player since Andy Murray in 2016 to record more than 70 wins in a season. He did not lose a match in straight sets all year. However, his season is overshadowed by a doping case. He tested positive for clostebol on March 10 at the BNP Paribas Open held in Indian Wells, Calif, and on March 18, out of competition. An independent tribunal ruled that Sinner bore “no fault or negligence” for those positive tests but still found him to have committed two anti-doping violations. A month later, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) announced that it was challenging this verdict. Sinner and the tennis world are now in limbo, waiting to see the outcome of the CAS appeal.

Sinner said in a news conference on Sunday, “It’s in the head a little bit. The most important part is that all the people who know me trust me. That’s the reason I kept playing at the level I had. I had some ups and downs, and I was emotionally a bit heartbroken, but sometimes life gives you difficulties and you just have to stand for it.”

Elena Vesnina: A Tennis Legend's Farewell

Amid the clamor surrounding Rafael Nadal’s retirement, a four-time Grand Slam champion also made her exit from the sport. Elena Vesnina, who won three women’s doubles majors and one mixed doubles major, announced the end of her career this week. She played her final match at the 2024 Paris Olympics with Ekaterina Alexandrova, competing as Individual Neutral Athletes (AINs). Vesnina, 38, also won Olympic gold for Russia at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics with Ekaterina Makarova. She won 19 doubles titles overall and reached world No. 1 alongside Makarova in 2018. An accomplished singles player, she won the Indian Wells title in 2017, beating Venus Williams and Angelique Kerber along the way, to help her reach a career-high of world No. 13. Vesnina and Makarova won their last title together at the 2018 Madrid Open, and Vesnina took time away from tennis to give birth to her first child in 2018. She returned to tennis in 2021, reaching the Wimbledon final with Veronika Kudermetova and winning a silver medal in mixed doubles at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. She did not play in 2022 and 2023, in which time she gave birth to her second child, before briefly returning to the court in 2024. Vesnina wrote on Instagram, “Thanks to this beautiful sport.⁣⁣ I have learned so much about myself and about the world.”

NCAA Tennis Champions: The Next Generation

You may not think anything important happened in tennis on American soil this weekend, but you would be wrong. The NCAA crowned two collegiate singles champions, Michael Zheng of Columbia University and Dasha Vidmanova of Georgia. The NCAA moved the individual tournaments to the fall this season to avoid overloading the players who participate in the team competitions in the spring. Zheng, a New Jersey native who attended high school at Delbarton, beat Ozan Baris of Michigan State, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2. He is the first men’s singles champion from the Ivy League since 1922, and the first champion from Columbia since 1906. Vidmanova, a 21-year-old from the Czech Republic, beat DJ Bennet of Auburn, Al, 6-3, 6-3, highlighting the increasingly international makeup of college tennis. Both players will receive wildcards into the singles main draws at the U.S. Open next year.

Nadal's Farewell: A Mixed Bag

Nadal’s farewell to tennis led to an outpouring of emotion, but not everyone was so enamoured with the way his goodbye was handled. The final flourish saw Nadal speaking on court and a video playing with testimonies from tennis legends Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams, as well as Spanish sporting luminaries such as football stars Raul and Andres Iniesta, and the golfer Sergio Garcia. In interviews with Spanish media, Nadal’s uncle and long-time former coach, Toni, claimed the farewell ceremony “did not meet expectations”, while the Spain Davis Cup captain David Ferrer called it “a bit sad” and “watered down”. Nadal’s coach Carlos Moya told Radioestadio Noche that he thought it was “a bit scruffy and shabby”. When all this was put to Feliciano Lopez, the Davis Cup tournament director and a friend and former doubles partner of Nadal, at a news conference on Sunday, he said, “We should focus on how Rafa chose Davis Cup to be the final tournament of his career instead of keep talking about his farewell ceremony. We did our best.” The ceremony is the tip of the iceberg in the sea of awkwardness and uncertainty that surrounded Nadal and Spain’s Davis Cup finals campaign.

Shooting Stars in Tennis

Naomi Osaka started the year at world No. 833 and ends the season at No. 60, a rise of 733 places. Jacob Fearnley was world No. 646 at the start of 2024 and ends the season at No. 98, rising 548 places. Amanda Anismova reentered the top 40 to finish the season ranked No. 36. At the start of it, she was world No. 359, a rise of 323 places. These are the rising stars in tennis who have made a significant impact this year.

End-of-Season ATP and WTA Top 10

In the end-of-season ATP Top 10, Jannik Sinner leads with 11,830 points, followed by Alexander Zverev with 7,915 points. Carlos Alcaraz is in third place with 7,010 points. In the WTA Top 10, Aryna Sabalenka is at the top with 9,416 points, followed by Iga Swiatek with 8,370 points. Coco Gauff is in third place with 6,530 points. These rankings showcase the top players in the tennis world at the end of the season.Tell us what you noticed this week in the comments section below.(Top photo: Getty Images; design: Eamonn Dalton)