The best (and worst) bits of tennis in 2024
George Bellshaw looks back at another mad year
When the 2024 ATP and WTA seasons drew to a close they did so to the rousing strains of the Italian national anthem as Italy completed a rare international team tennis double, lifting both the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup.
It brought the curtain down on another eventful year with some significant news stories off the court punctuating tectonic shifts on it.
Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz shared the four grand slam titles on the men’s tour, the first year without a ‘Big Four’ major win since 2002, as clear a sign that the new dawn of men’s tennis is firmly into the mid-morning.
Sinner’s dominance on tour has been notable (as we have repeatedly noted on the pod). He ends the year with nearly a 4000-point margin at the top of the rankings, while Alexander Zverev’s consistency outside the slams being rewarded by pipping Alcaraz to year-end world No 2 - and a 73-6 win-loss record. Interestingly, the Germany was 0-3 against Alcaraz this season, a wrinkle reminiscent of Roger Federer’s 2006 season, when he went 92-5 record, but four of those five defeats coming against Rafael Nadal (although Federer did beat him twice, too).
Sinner’s season will not purely be remembered for his excellent tennis, however. A positive drugs test - and the lack of transparency around the process - drew criticism from other players on the tour. Some felt he shouldn’t have been competing at the US Open, which he won, and instead should have been facing a ban. (A WADA appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport may yet lead to one, of course.)
While the youngsters dominated on the court, the old guard still had a few moments in the sun. Most notably, Novak Djokovic won Olympic gold - beating Alcaraz in the final - to complete his collection of winning virtually every possible significant title on tour.
The Olympic Games in Paris was significant also as the final tournament two-time singles gold medal winner Andy Murray bowed out of professional tennis, doing so playing alongside Dan Evans in the doubles. He was followed out of stage left by Nadal at the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga, leaving Djokovic as the sole ‘Big Four’ representative on the ATP Tour. It was also time to bid farewell to one of their most formidable challengers as US Open champion Dominic Thiem hung up his racquet after being plagued by injuries in recent years. The future really is now.
Murray may have ended his playing days, he has already engineered one of the most exciting stories of 2025 by joining Djokovic’s coaching staff - a move literally nobody outside of the players’ inner circles saw coming.
In the women’s game, this was the year where Aryna Sabalenka surged past Iga Swaitek at the top of the WTA rankings, establishing herself as the dominant force on hard courts with Australian and US Open victories. Long before she failed a drugs test, Swiatek’s French Open dominance continued but there was another surprise Wimbledon winner as Barbora Krejcikova claimed a second grand slam title, three years after her first at Roland Garros.
We may look back on 2024 as the year where two long-term threats emerged, with Jasmine Paolini and Zheng Qinwen both enjoying breakout seasons at the top of the sport, producing some standout performances at the biggest events. Paolini followed up French Open and Wimbledon final appearances with Billie Jean King Cup victory in Malaga, while Zheng claimed Olympic gold in Paris as well as finishing as runner-up at the Australian Open and WTA Finals. The big challenge, however, comes in maintaining those performances over time. Few outside of Swiatek and Sabalenka have managed that in the post-Serena Williams era: will they be one-season wonders or go from strength to strength and enjoy longevity? The next 12 months will tell us much.
One aspect of tennis in 2024 that, unfortunately, is more certain to remain top of the agenda is the involvement of the Saudi Arabian regime in the sport - which has been a hot topic on the podcast this year. The Public Investment Fund - the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia - has strengthened its grip on the tennis landscape this season by hosting the WTA Finals and it’s widely expected that they will continue to muscle in on the traditional powers with large financial resources behind them. It has been a poor showing from players and governing bodies alike in condemning ongoing and serious human rights issues in the country - some actively deny them - and that seems set to only continue in 2025 and beyond.
Speaking of longevity, this was Tennis Unfiltered’s sixth year of existence and like some of the aforementioned names, we have been going from strength to strength. There are more than 20,000 of you who listen every month and this has been another stellar year for the podcast, not least because we have been able to bring you a rags-to-riches story of Calvin (Not sure the pride of Barnsley will like the rags or riches element of that characterisation… Ed.) taking a doubles player from outside the world’s top 700 to becoming a Wimbledon champion within two years, a truly remarkable feat for the new British No 1 Henry Patten and his partner Harri Heliovaara. It’s been the year of a lifetime for Calvin and Henry (and Harri!) and we have loved bringing you behind-the-scenes insight into their journey.
We will still be bringing you plenty of content before the year is out and have big plans for 2025 (revamped Fantasy Tennis Unfiltered, anyone?!). If you have any feedback or ideas to improve the show, please do send an email to tennisunfiltered@gmail.com. We do genuinely read them and take ideas on board: the show isn’t for us, it’s for you, so we might as well listen to them! We hope to end the year on a high with victory at the Sports Podcast Awards - after a silver medal finish last year, beaten again by Dan Kiernan - so please do cast a vote for us when nominations officially open! (We will share a link in due course.)
Thank you so much for being a dedicated listener and supporting the pod. We’re really proud of our Tennis Unfiltered community and look forward to tackling many more of your questions next year! As ever, we’re not expecting it to be a quiet one.