Top Tennis Moments of 2024:

In the tennis world, 2024 is regarded as one of the most exciting years for fans across the world. It was a year filled with classic and beautiful matches that kept fans  anticipating for more. Some players announced themselves with wonderful performances. Meanwhile, it also served as disappointment as some of the legends of the game decided to retire. Let’s look at five best tennis moments for the year.

Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka dominate the game. 

At the start of the year, Jannik Sinner made history becoming the first Italian player ever to capture the Australian Open title. His victory never came easy as he came from a two sets deficit to overcome Daniil Medvedev in a thrilling five sets Marathon match. Afterwards, Sinner spent most of the year occupying the number one spot in the world. 

Later in the year, he added the US Open title plus won ATP Finals which were hosted in his country to close the year on high note. He also assisted Italy to claim the Davis Cup trophy. Just like Sinner, Aryna Sabalenka had a fruitful season too, winning two Grand Slams as well.

The 26-year-old Sabalenka emerged victorious in the Australian and US Open to show her dominance over the hard Court surface. She ended a year as the top ranked female player in the world for the first time in her career.

Naomi Osaka comeback 

After 15 months without playing tennis, Naomi Osaka made a comeback at the start of the year in the Brisbane Open. The four times Grand Slam winner took some time out of the game in which she ended up giving birth to her first child. There were a lot of questions regarding her future as many felt she was drifting away from tennis. Her comeback didn’t turn out well as in four Grand Slams she failed to progress past the second round. The 27-year-old Japanese superstar ended her season early due to a back Injury. 

Top players say goodbye to the game.

Last year, millions of fans across the globe had to deal with the news that Roger Federer will retire from professional tennis. As one of the greatest players to ever grace the game, it was painful for fans who followed him closely for over two decades.

Fast forward this year, his friend and long time rivalry Rafael Nadal announced that he is stepping away from the tennis court after a fruitful career that saw him winning 22 Grand Slams – including a magnificent record of 14 French Open titles. 

In recent years, Nadal has been battling with injuries and decided to call it a quit. Another member of the ” Big four” who also decided to watch the game from stand is Andy Murray – who also was the subject of injuries in his latter stages of his scintillating career.

Murray has three Grand Slams titles under his name. Other players who also retired is Dominic Thiem, who made history by becoming the first Austrian player to win a Grand Slam when defeating Alexander Zverev to win the 2020 US Open. Others include Martin Del Potro, Dustin Brown, Lukas Rosol and Pablo Ceuvas to name a few. 

Zheng Qinwen’s Olympic feat

Zheng Qinwen made history becoming the first Asian player either male or female to clinch Olympic gold. This comes after she defeated Donna Vekic of Croatia in the Olympic final in Paris, France. Enroute to the final she defeated former World number 1 Iga Swiatek. In total, it was a year to remember for Qinwen as she put out outstanding performances on court which saw her ranked inside the top 10.

She became the second Chinese player after Li Na to achieve that feat. At the beginning of the year, the 22-year-old managed to reach the Australian Open final, losing to Aryna Sabalenka in the end. She ended the year ranked 5th for the wonderful display she showed throughout the year. 

Americans on the move. 

The United States of America has a rich history in terms of tennis. As such, in the past few years they have invested heavily to bring tennis into the spotlight. In this year’s US Open, there was a sense of joy when four Americans, Taylor Fritz, Emma Navarro, Frances Tiafoe and Jessica Pegula powered into the semi-finals – in which it was the first time in 21 years to have four Americans making it to the last four.

To make things even sweeter, Fritz became the first American male to reach a Grand Slams final in 15 years. Sadly in the final, he met up with world best player Jannik Sinner who showed class to emerge as the winner and in the process stopping Fritz’s wonderful run of form.