The tennis season in 2024 has finally ended and one of the topics the tennis community is discussing is about those players who have improved a lot this season. Jannik Sinner , both in men’s and women’s tennis, wrapped up this season as the most successful player.
But he also denied No.1 American singles player Taylor Fritz the titles in two big finals. Though Sinner took the tennis world by storm, he didn’t enjoy it to the fullest due to the doping saga and is waiting for the Court of Arbitration for Sports’ (CAS) verdict.
Sinner’s compatriot Jasmine Paolini also made headlines due to her performances in Grand Slam tournaments, which helped her become a top 10 player and achieve her career-best ranking of No.4 in singles.
Taylor Fritz played his first Grand Slam final
It was Sinner who denied Taylor Fritz his first Grand Slam title. Fritz reached his first major final at the US Open, but Sinner breezed past him to win the title. Then they met in the summit clash of the ATP Finals as well and there too it was the same story.
Fritz started this year with a quarterfinal appearance at the Australian Open, after which, he won his first title of the season at the Delray Beach Open with a straight-set win over compatriot Tommy Paul. After another final appearance, the 27-year-old clinched the Eastbourne International.
In the French Open, Fritz made it to the fourth round for the first time. At the Wimbledon however, he reached another quarterfinals.
Jasmine Paolini reached two Grand Slam finals
Jasmine Paolini has won just one title this year. She beat Anna Kalinskaya in the Dubai Tennis Championships in February, but back then, no one had any idea that Paolini would be making a lot of headlines in the next few months.
In this year only, Paolini became a three-time major finalist. She progressed to her first Grand Slam final at the French Open, but Iga Swiatek breezed past her to lift her fifth major trophy. A day later, Paolini, with compatriot Sara Errani, was defeated in the French Open doubles final by Coco Gauff and Katerina Siniakova.
It was the same story at Wimbledon as well as Paolini reached back-to-back major finals. But Barbora Krejcikova denied her the title with a three-set win. Although the 28-year-old didn’t have a good season on the hard swing next, her performances in the Grand Slam helped her rankings and as a consequence, she qualified for the WTA Finals for the first time.
Paolini was also part of Italy’s Billie Jean King Cup team who won the title with a 2-0 win over Czech Slovakia. Another notable achievement was the gold medal at the Paris Olympics she won with Errani.
Jannik Sinner finished 2024 as the year-end No.1 player
Sinner is way ahead of his rivals, including Carlos Alcaraz. In a season where Novak Djokovic struggled to keep going and was defeated by Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final, many thought the Spaniard would wrap up his season as the most successful player.
But the 21-year-old won four titles, half of what Sinner took home. Sinner started this season with his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, which he won by defeating Djokovic in the semifinal. Daniil Medvedev, who Sinner defeated in the Australian Open final, has even claimed after ATP Finals exit that tennis players have tough years ahead of them because of Sinner.
Following the Australian Open, Sinner won the ATP Rotterdam, and the Miami Open was his last title before the start of the clay swing. Sinner was trophyless in the clay season and targeted his first Wimbledon, which he failed to despite his victory at the Halle Open.
Sinner missed the Paris Olympics but started the hard-court season in a strong fashion, winning the Cincinnati Masters, US Open, Shanghai Masters, and his first ATP Finals. The Italian then capped off the season by guiding Italy to back-to-back Davis Cup titles.