Tennis in 2024: Alcaraz and Sinner share spoils in a controversial year, while Sabalenka dominates

The year 2024 was an eventful one for the world of tennis. Tennis had its ups and its downs, emotional farewells, fair share of controversies and what not! This year witnessed one Spaniard, Rafael Nadal, making the tough decision to call it quits from tennis, whereas another Spaniard, Carlos Alcaraz, proved that he is here to dominate the world stage for a significant while.

Alcaraz, however, isn’t he only one who has enjoyed success. There’s the World No 1 Jannik Sinner, who was embroiled in a doping controversy but still had several reasons to celebrate. Oh, and not to forget Novak Djokovic, who added another feather to his cap with an Olympic gold medal. Women’s tennis was dominated by Aryna Sabalenka whereas Iga Swiatek endured a mixed bag of sorts.

Carlos Alcaraz emerges as MVP

Carlos Alcaraz had a terrific start to the new year. Even though his 2024 Australian Open did not go to plan, where he was ousted in the quarter-finals, a double Grand Slam triumph, winning the French Open and the Wimbledon , were enough for him get going this year. In fact, that French Open triumph was special for Alcaraz. Not only did he clinch his maiden Roland Garros title, but it also made the 21-year-old the youngest man to win Grand Slam titles on all three courts, hard, grass and clay courts.

Alcaraz’s 2024 turned out to be even better when he successfully defended his Wimbledon crown. And that was an even tougher test on paper, with the final being against Novak Djokovic, who currently has the most number of Grand Slams (24). Alcaraz, though, did the impossible, beating the Serb in straight sets with a 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (4) margin.

Then came the Paris Olympics. As well as injuries. During his second-round singles match against  Tallon Griekspoor in Paris, Alcaraz revealed that he had been suffering a groin injury. Yet, that did not stop him from realising his dream of playing with Rafael Nadal in doubles, and also went all the way to the singles final in Paris, where he lost to Novak Djokovic.

In August, however, Alcaraz twisted his right ankle while training ahead of the US Open , and his struggles were evident with the fact that he endured a second round exit at Flushing Meadows . Another one month later, however, Alcaraz guided Team Europe to the Laver Cup title and also won the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award.

Jannik Sinner, Iga Swiatek and a year of doping controversies

Sure, Jannik Sinner has enjoyed quite a remarkable year. Becoming the world No 1 in ATP rankings, and winning the Australian Open and US Open titles. Out of his tour-level titles, seven of those titles came in hard courts, and the Italian maintained a 53-3 win-loss record on the said surface.

A doping controversy, however, cast a shadow on his success as he finished 2024 as men’s No 1. Sinner failed two doping tests in March this year. Yet, the 23-year-old escaped a ban , after the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) confirmed that Clostebol, a banned substance by WADA, had inadvertently entered Sinner’s system from another team member.

“That support team member applied the spray between 5 and 13 March, during which time they also provided daily massages and sports therapy to Sinner, resulting in unknowing transdermal contamination," said an ITIA statement.

Another player who got caught in the midst of a doping controversy was Poland’s Iga Swiatek. Swiatek had tested positive for Trimetazidine (TMZ), a banned substance, in an out-of-competition doping test in August. She eventually accepted a one-month suspension in November after she claimed that consuming the substance was not intentional and that it was caused by the contamination of melatonin, a non-prescription medication.

While one common factor in both Sinner and Swiatek doping cases is that both claimed to unintentionally take the drugs, this does raise a question of favouritism towards top tennis players. Issues surrounding doping in tennis are set to continue well into 2025, with WADA even appealing against the decision to clear Sinner , for whom the anti-doping body is seeking a two-year ban.

Aryna Sabalenka shines

Aryna Sabalenka is living her dream in world tennis right now. She clinched the season-opening Australian Open as well as the season-ending US Open, and apart from Grand Slans, she also won the Cincinnati Open and the Wuhan Open. She did, however, withdraw from Wimbledon this year due to a shoulder injury and skipped Paris Olympics to “take care of her health”.

Despite these setbacks, the Belarusian athlete will finish the year as World No 1 in the WTA rankings and even won the WTA Player of the Year award recently.

Rafael Nadal retires

One of the most emotional moments in not just tennis, but in sports altogether, was the retirement of Rafael Nadal. The King of Clay hadn’t been at his best recently, having battled injuries over the last couple of years, and even endured a second-round exit at the French Open.

With the Paris Olympics in mind, Nadal had also skipped Wimbledon. His second-round singles match against Novak Djokovic at the Paris Olympics was one of the major highlights for the Spaniard this year.

A few months after the Olympics, in November, Nadal announced his retirement from professional tennis.

“Hello everyone, I’m here to let you know that I am retiring from professional tennis. The reality is that it has been some difficult years, these last two especially. I don’t think I have been able to play without limitations. It is obviously a difficult decision, one that has taken me some time to make,” he said in a video posted on social media.

Nadal’s retirement marked the end of a glorious chapter in the history of tennis, but he leaves an everlasting impact on the generation of players to come.