By Cindy Shmerler
Throughout much of the year, pro tennis players complained that the calendar was more overstuffed than their luggage following a weekslong tournament run and that the offseason was as slim as Sebastian Korda’s lanky frame.
But as 2024 closes and thoughts move to the new season, which begins with the United Cup in Australia this month, the sport has seen several surprises in the last few weeks.
Just as we were committing to memory some extraordinary matches this year — including Carlos Alcaraz’s five-set Roland Garros semifinal victory over Jannik Sinner; his final-round win over Sinner in Beijing that snapped Sinner’s 16-match win streak; Iga Swiatek’s third-set tiebreaker over Aryna Sabalenka in the final of Madrid; and Coco Gauff’s 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (2) win over Zheng Qinwen in the finals of the WTA Finals — there were even more upending developments off court.
The most unexpected revelation was the news that Novak Djokovic, who split with his longtime coach Goran Ivanisevic in March and played largely coachless throughout the season, suddenly announced that he was adding Andy Murray to his coaching team, at least through the Australian Open in January.
The move dispelled any rumors that Djokovic, 37, who failed to win a major in 2024 for the first time since 2017 — but did capture a gold medal at the Paris Olympics over Alcaraz — is nearing retirement. It also delivered a message to his foes that Djokovic is aiming for a record-breaking 25th major in 2025.
“I feel I can still play at the highest level,” Djokovic told Italy’s Gazzetta dello Sport in November. “Sinner and Alcaraz have established themselves as the two best players in the world, not to forget [Alexander] Zverev.”
He added: “However, physically and mentally I am ready to play my tennis again, and I have the feeling that I can challenge these guys.”
In hiring Murray, who retired this summer as a three-time major champion and former No. 1, Djokovic is joining forces with a rival from their junior days. The two played 36 pro matches, with Djokovic beating Murray in four Australian Open finals and Murray beating him in the finals at the 2012 U.S. Open and Wimbledon in 2013.
“We were going through different names, and I realized the perfect coach for me at this time would be someone who has been through the experiences that I’m going through,” Djokovic told Sky Sports last month. “This collaboration is a surprise to me as well as to everyone.”
The Djokovic-Murray alliance was not the only striking coaching change. Hubert Hurkacz, who worked with Craig Boynton for five years, added two new coaches, former ATP No. 1 and eight-time major champion Ivan Lendl and Nicolas Massu, a gold medalist at the 2004 Olympics. Lendl coached Murray when he won his three majors, while Massu coached Dominic Thiem when he came back from two sets down to win the 2020 U.S. Open over Zverev.
Among the women, Elena Rybakina shed longtime coach Stefano Vukov in favor of Ivanisevic. Naomi Osaka split with Wim Fissette, whom she snatched from Zheng upon her return from maternity leave last year, and teamed with Patrick Mouratoglou, who coached Serena Williams for a decade. Swiatek then grabbed Fissette after letting go Tomasz Wiktorowski, with whom she won five majors and ascended to No. 1.
While many players were vacationing on the beaches and in the mountains, the biggest postseason bombshell was Swiatek’s admission that she had tested positive for the banned substance trimetazidine, also known as TMZ, which appeared in a melatonin supplement that Swiatek used to combat jet lag. The resulting one-month ban, most of which Swiatek served after the U.S. Open, forced her to skip the fall Asian swing and led to her surrendering the No. 1 ranking to Sabalenka, who won the Australian and U.S. opens.
Swiatek’s ban followed the news, on the eve of the U.S. Open, that Sinner had tested positive for clostebol, a banned anabolic steroid. Sinner, like Swiatek, successfully argued that the minuscule amount of the substance was in his system because his physiotherapist had inadvertently rubbed the healing cream on his back during a massage. He served no suspension time but was forced to forfeit prize money and ranking points from his semifinal finish at Indian Wells in March.
Unlike Simona Halep, Martina Hingis and Maria Sharapova, all of whom served lengthy suspensions for doping, Swiatek and Sinner were let off relatively easily, prompting some of their tour contemporaries to complain publicly about star treatment. Both players acknowledged the emotional toll.
“This experience, the most difficult in my life so far, taught me a lot,” Swiatek said in a video posted to her social media account in late November. “The whole thing will definitely stay with me for the rest of my life.”
There was also plenty of joy in 2024. Sinner and Alcaraz each claimed two majors. Alcaraz still ended the season ranked third behind Sinner and Zverev, who won ATP Masters 1000 titles in Rome and at the Paris Indoors and ended with a 69-21 record compared with Alcaraz’s 54-13. Sinner led the tour with a 73-6 record.
Zheng won Olympic gold for her native China, and Jasmine Paolini, who captivated the sport during her runs to the finals of the French Open and Wimbledon, won the gold medal in Olympic doubles with Sara Errani and then led Italy to victory in the Billie Jean King Cup. Italy, behind Sinner and Matteo Berrettini, captured the Davis Cup.
Taylor Fritz and Jessica Pegula of the United States began to fulfill their promise by reaching the finals of the U.S. Open. Emma Navarro, Jack Draper and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard all provided glimpses of star power to come.
But if 2024 will be remembered for youthful exuberance, it will also be cherished for those who left the game for good.
In all, about 23 ATP pros retired in 2024. Among them were Murray, Thiem, Juan Martin del Potro, Steve Johnson and Ivo Karlovic. Angelique Kerber, a titlist at Wimbledon and the Australian Open and U.S. Open, and fellow former No. 1 Garbiñe Muguruza also left the game, as did Shelby Rogers.
Roger Federer, the retired tennis great, paid tribute to Thiem, who reached three major finals but was ultimately felled by a debilitating wrist injury.
“No matter the surface, you always found a way to beat me with your thunderous backhands,” Federer said. “But more importantly, you did it with grace and sportsmanship.”
Del Potro, who beat Rafael Nadal and Federer to win the 2009 U.S. Open, played his last tour match in February 2022. But he took the court in his native Argentina in an emotional farewell exhibition against Djokovic that left both of them in tears as del Potro draped his signature headband across the center of the net.
But the true sentimentality was reserved for Nadal, who played his final match, a loss to Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp in the Davis Cup in Malaga, Spain. After the Netherlands defeated Spain, ending Nadal’s career — 22 majors, including 14 at the French Open — there was, at Nadal’s request, an understated on-court salute.
Federer, Djokovic, Murray and Williams delivered video tributes. Federer also wrote a love letter to his friend in which he told him, “You know what, Rafa, you made me enjoy the game even more. I want you to know that your old friend is always cheering for you, and will be cheering just as loud for everything you do next.”
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