Laurie's Tennis articles

2024 was a year of flux and transition on the WTA Tour.   A year which saw Ayrna Sabalenka finish number 1 over Iga Swiatek.   The WTA Finals took place in Riyadh Saudi Arabia with all the controversy that brings.   Plus we had the obligatory scandal with world number 2 Iga Swiatek failing a drug test and serving a one month suspension. This sets up the 2025 season as there are going to be many more stories and continued fallout from the previous twelve months. Let’s take a look at the players set to have the biggest influence in 2025 if things go to their plan. Aryna Sabalenka Sabalenka achieved her dream of finishing 2024 as World Number 1 and validating herself as the best player.   The year started great with her defending the Australian Open title, easily beating Qinwen Zheng in the final.   Sabelenka also won titles in Cincinnati in August and Wuhan in October. In September, Sabalenka won her first US Open title with a strong performance against ...

  Carlos Alcaraz has won two grand slam titles and is ranked number 2 in the world.   Any player would be happy with that but Alcaraz is not going through the best of times.   Not only did he crash out in the quarterfinal of the Australian Open to Alexander Zverev but then watched his rival Jannik Sinner win his first major title. Sinner coming from two sets down in the final against Danill Medvedev. Surprisingly Alcaraz has lost every important match he has played since his Wimbledon triumph last July, losing to all of his main rivals on the ATP Tour. In Cincinnati, Alcaraz lost the final to Djokovic which lasted almost four hours when Djokovic looked dead on his feet after 30 minutes! Yet still managed to win the match hours later.   Alcaraz then went on to lose the US Open semi final to Daniil Medvedev in four sets when he was defending champion. As the autumn rolled along Alcaraz lost to Grigor Dimitrov in the round of 16 in the Shanghai Masters.  ...

  We are on the eve of another season in the WTA (in fact already begun).   It is a bit strange the season starts before the turn of the year but tennis chooses to be concertinaed so they shouldn’t turn and complain of too much tennis..  Having said that, 2023 was a very interesting year with the top players showing up and claiming the majority of the big tournaments. Women’s tennis is in a good place despite the obvious disquiet off the court with how the WTA Tour is run administratively. Can the players deliver again in 2024? I think so, let’s look at the players who can make the biggest waves. Iga Swiatek: Swiatek had a very strong finish to 2023 and will be looking to start 2024 in the same fashion. Despite the many criticisms beforehand, Swiatek dominated the WTA championships in Cancun in Mexico, winning every match in straight sets and thrashing Pegula in the final.   However, it’s a new year and a clean slate, and Swiatek will have to start all ov...

    It has proved to be a very interesting year for Iga Swiatek . Swiatek started the year as clear number 1 but suffered a shock straight sets defeat to Elena Rybakina in the 4 th round of the Australian Open.   This immediately got fans and media talking that she would struggle to retain her number 1 position.   Both Ayrna Sabalenka and Rybakina took advantage with each getting to the final; Sabalenka coming from a set down to take her first major title. Fast forward to the clay court season in the spring, Sabalenka defeated Swiatek in the final of Madrid and was now hunting the number 1 ranking.   In Rome, Swiatek succumbed to Rybakina yet again; a player who is becoming a nemesis for her. Swiatek retired in the 3 rd set after losing the 2 nd set on a tiebreak. At the French Open, Swiatek retained her title with a strong run to the final taking out Coco Gauff in the quarterfinal and Beatrice Haddad Maia in the semifinal. However, Swiatek had an al...