A new season in tennis will start very soon, but already now fans of this sport are closely watching what happens while tennis players are on vacation. Some have decided to suspend or end their professional performances, while others are making great efforts to recover from injuries. In addition, young stars are gradually moving into adult categories, from whom they also expect serious success.
Start of the competition:
- Men's category – ATP Cup from January 3 to 12;
- Women's Rank – WTA Shenzhen January 5-11
Therefore, before the start of the new season, there are a lot of rumors, experts and fans are discussing the main intrigues. What events promise to become a decoration of the upcoming tennis year, which of the athletes should definitely pay attention to?
Content
- Male category
- Which of the great trio will be at the top?
- Will someone be able to break the “triarchy”?
- Will young talents keep the bar?
- Italy regains its former greatness
- Female category
- Will Ashley Barty stay on top?
- Russia – are there any hopes for success?
- CIS chances of success
- Who else can be shot in 2020?
- conclusions
Male category
The men's category is traditionally more intriguing, since in addition to young talents, there are always three “Coryphaeus” who continue their struggle for the tennis crown. In addition, the previous season showed that the rating is constantly changing, new names appear, for which the upcoming season can become a serious springboard for starting in the ATP series.
Which of the great trio will be at the top?
Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer once again enter the season as favorites. And this time they have almost equal chances, which confirms the minimal gap between them last season. Each of them will rely on their strengths:
- Rafael Nadal – clay performances, Rolland Garros;
- Novak Djokovic – hard surface tournaments, Australian Open;
- Roger Federer – big titles and Wimbledon.
Each of the tennis players has strong trump cards in his hand, a favorite surface and one Grand Slam tournament, to which they will initially come up as favorites. Much will depend on the physical condition and who will keep the US Open. And yet it seems that if the damage bypasses Djokovic, then he should end the season on the first line in the ATP world rankings without any special problems, since he is much younger than his competitors, he must withstand serious stress.
Only injuries could throw Djokovic below the second line in the ATP world rankings, but if they do not bother a tennis player, he is the main contender for the “crown”.
Will someone be able to break the “triarchy”?
Let's be honest, if there are chances for this, then there must be a lot of different factors. Firstly, if all three leaders of the rating are healthy, they are unlikely to give up their positions. Secondly, the applicants themselves must be stable. At the moment, only two tennis players can really count on such a chance:
- Dominik Thiem, a talented Austrian, had an unexpectedly powerful performance in the previous season, his clay part was especially successful. I didn't have enough strength for the whole year, but with experience comes the ability to correctly distribute my energy;
- Daniil Medvedev – here everything is absolutely the opposite, a tennis player from Russia fired a shot on hard, had an incredible end to the season and experts predict him a great success in the coming year. The main thing is that the player learns to cope with emotions, which are not always beneficial.
It is clearly seen that from season to season Medvedev is adding, already now he is fighting on equal terms with any rivals, especially on hard surfaces.
Will young talents keep the bar?
Last season, some tennis players showed such a high level of play, which simply no one expected from them. And in the coming season it will be interesting to see how the athletes survive their first year of superstar status.
[stextbox id = 'info'] Team Canada is currently the strongest in terms of young talents, only a certain one-sidedness is scary (both tennis players love hard surface) [/ stextbox]
The main discovery of the year was Matteo Berrettini, who surprised everyone at the end of the season, fought on equal terms with the strongest opponents. True, the tennis player clearly lacked physical stamina, but there is no doubt that he was able to tighten this component. Another interesting new shot was De Minaur, who, due to his crazy presentation and character, quickly fell in love with the public.
But the main surprise came from the Canadians, who prepared two talents at once, who will very soon be competing for the highest positions. And if Auger-Alyassim still needs to add a lot, then Denis Shapovalov is already ready to get involved in “serious showdowns.” It is he who can be expected in the top ten in the very near future.
Italy regains its former greatness
Italian tennis players are experiencing a real renaissance, as experienced players are again taking the lead, and talented young people were not long in coming. At first, throughout the season, fans watched the success of Fognini, Seppi and Sonego showed themselves great. The cherry on the cake was Sinner's performance at the ATP Next Gen Finals – Milan, where he left many serious opponents out of business. Italy will be a very formidable force in the coming season.
Sinner's progress over the past two seasons indicates that he could be a major player in the coming year, and his performances are definitely worth watching!
Female category
At the top of the women's category, there is finally real intrigue and struggle, as the great Serena Williams no longer shows the incredible performance that distinguished her before. It is upsetting that so far there are no representatives of Russia in the “twenty”, but Elina Svitolina and Arina Sobolenko are fighting for the CIS. The upcoming season promises to be even hotter.
Will Ashley Barty stay on top?
Last season, it was the tennis player from Australia who finished the year on the first line of the world rankings, but this can be attributed to the instability of her main competitors. Almost all of them either flew out due to injury, or failed the calendar period due to poor physical condition.
[stextbox id = 'info'] It is worth paying tribute to Simone Halep, who suffered from various injuries throughout the season, but still finished it on the fourth line. [/ stextbox]
At first glance, at the moment there are three athletes, between whom the main struggle for the first position will unfold:
- Naomi Osaka, a young tennis player from Japan, has shown that so far, due to her age, she is prone to emotions and small failures. But with experience comes composure, which should help to achieve stability;
- Simona Halep, a Romanian sportswoman, has been demonstrating a high level of play for several years in a row. So far, only injuries can stop her, when a tennis player is in good physical shape, she has no equal;
- Bianca Andreescu is the main opening of the last season and the main contender for the “crown”. Everything came together in her – and powerful strikes, and good movement on the court, and the strongest psychology. Against this background, the tennis player already this season has a good opportunity to be on the first line at the end of the year.
Andreescu is only 19, but she has already won the Grand Slam tournament and defeated the invincible Serena several times.
Russia – are there any hopes for success?
A year ago, all tennis fans from Russia were confident that Daria Kasatkina would soon approach the top of the world rankings. But the reality turned out to be harsh, the tennis player slowed down very much, so at the end of the season she was only in 69th position. In the coming season, the main hopes of the fans will be directed to completely different athletes:
- The backbone of the national team and the main characters are Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Veronika Kudermetova and Svetlana Kuznetsova. Gradually, it was these athletes who began to take leading roles, to show a high level of tennis. And if Kuznetsova can no longer boast of her physical condition, then Pavlyuchenkova and Kudermetova inspire optimism;
- Young stars – Anna Blinkova and Margarita Gasparyan. Particular attention should be paid to the latter, since at last the tennis player began to join the adult category. Blinkova, on the other hand, is constantly adding to the world ranking, so this particular tandem in the future may become the main stronghold of Russia.
CIS chances of success
Belarus and Ukraine have prepared very strong performers who are already ready to fight for titles, fight for leadership in the world ranking. You can visually compare the successes of Svitolina and Sobolenko in 2019:
- Elina Svitolina (Ukraine) – 6th place at the end of the season, 0 titles earned, good statistics on hard surface;
- Arina Sobolenko (Belarus) – “Chinese princess”, 11th place in the season, 3 won WTA-series tournaments in Shenzhen, Wuhan and Zhuhai.
Statistics show that Svitolina is gradually failing to cope with the responsibility imposed on her, and the level of her game is falling significantly. But Sobolenko begins to declare himself louder and louder. Most likely, it is Arina who will become the main hope of the CIS in the tennis firmament in the coming years.
Who else can be shot in 2020?
You need to understand that there are other talented athletes who, over time, begin to feel more and more confident in the WTA series, are constantly fighting for tournaments. You should pay attention to such tennis players as:
- Karolina Plishkova – the strengths include composure, the weak lack of stamina, instability;
- Petra Kvitova – confident serve and high level of play are offset by unpleasant injuries;
- Belinda Bencic – tennis player has made a name for herself, moves very well around the court and takes out dead balls, but has problems with emotional stability;
- Sofia Kenin, an athlete from the United States of America, is just beginning to show herself at a high level, but she has every chance to soon become the first racket of her country.
conclusions
Modern tennis dictates its own tendencies, the Next-Gen generation of players comes to the fore, experienced tennis players are gradually fading into the shadows. Even the traditional trio of the world ATP rankings could fall apart due to encroachment from young talent. The season promises to be extremely interesting, and the fight for the first line in both the ATP and WTA will be fought until the very last competitions.
