Tennis is finally taking a breath. After four Grand Slams, 56 more WTA Tour tournaments and the small matter of the 2024 Paris Olympics, the tennis calendar enters its off-season — in which players are mostly found first in the Maldives and then on the practice courts before the new campaign begins in Australia and New Zealand at the end of December.
In a review of the 2024 WTA season, The Athletic’s tennis team look back at Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek’s battle for world No. 1; Zheng Qinwen’s breakthrough; Coco Gauff’s evolution; Jasmine Paolini’s emergence and much more.
They also pick their best and favorite matches, surprises, and moments from another remarkable year in tennis.
Don’t forget to sound off in the comments on your picks — there’s plenty of tennis to review.
How Sabalenka rose to world No. 1 — and how Swiatek might get back there
James Hansen: Sabalenka’s official ascent to world No. 1 was deeply unsatisfying: an unheralded reduction of ranking points for non-participation in mandatory tournaments moved Sabalenka above Swiatek one Monday morning in October. It had nevertheless been coming for some time, especially for Swiatek, who said she thought she would “lose it, like, two weeks ago” in a news conference at the WTA Tour…
