The new tennis season is fast approaching. It will be inaugurated with the United Cup games, which will take place on December 27. Two days later, the WTA 500 is scheduled for Brisbane, and on December 30, the tournament will be held in Auckland (WTA 250).
The biggest failures of 2024 in tennis
Last campaign was enriched many hit matches and sensations. Tennis.com journalists have prepared a list of the five biggest defeats in the 2024 season. In fifth place was Yelena Rybakina's defeat of Anna Blinkova in the second round of the Australian Open. In the previous edition, Kazazka reached the final, which she lost to Aryna Sabalenka, so she was one of the favorites for the final triumph.
Just off the podium, the portal mentioned the defeat of Danielle Collins with qualifier Olga Danilović in the second round of the French Open. Third place went to Aryna Sabalenka's match with Mirra Andreeva in the quarterfinals of Roland Garros. Currently, the best tennis player in the world lost this match against a player who had reached this far at a Grand Slam for the first time in her career.
Americans reminded about the drama of Iga Świątek
Iga Świątek's name was mentioned twice. In second place was a 6-3, 1-6, 2-6 defeat against Yulia Putintseva in the third round of Wimbledon. It happened just after a great period on clay courts, when the Raszyn player won titles in Madrid, Rome and Roland Garros. It is worth recalling that Iga Świątek won the oldest tennis tournament in the world in junior Grand Slam tournaments. In turn, in her senior career, she reached the fourth round only twice out of five appearances. This was also the fourth time since the beginning of 2023 that Iga Świątek lost the match after winning the first set.
The Americans did not fail to remind Iga Świątek about her greatest drama, i.e. her defeat against Qinwen Zheng in the semi-finals of the Olympic Games. The tennis player said it herself in an interview in the “Fakty po Faktach” program. – If it weren't for this doping case, then… the Olympic semi-final would be my biggest disappointment 2024. Especially since I lost the match in a place where I had been undefeated for so long. This broke my heart. However, tennis is fair, the winner is the one who is better ready for a given match. I'm glad I showed up for the bronze medal fight. It wasn't easyespecially when you cry for five hours the day before, she said.
The tennis tournament at the Olympic Games in Paris was played on the Roland Garros courts, Iga Świątek's favorite place. Shelf she won there four times, including three in a row. Before this match, of course, the Pole was the favorite, having won six previous fights with the Chinese. The first set ended with the score 2:6, and in the second the Raszyn player was already leading 4:0, but her rival turned the game around and triumphed 5:7, and in the whole match 2:0. In the bronze medal match, the Pole bounced back from the bottom and defeated Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, making history in our country.
List of the biggest failures of 2024:
Let's hope that in the coming year Iga Świątek will have as few such moments as possible and will return to the leader of the WTA world ranking. It is currently in first place Aryna Sabalenka with the achievement of 9416 points. The Pole is 1,121 points behind the Belarusian (8,295 points).
- 5. Anna Blinkova – Jelena Rybakina (Australian Open)
- 4. Danielle Collins – Olga Danilovic (Roland Garros)
- 3. Aryna Sabalenka – Mirra Andreeva (Roland Garros)
- 2. Iga Świątek – Julia Putintseva (Wimbledon)
- 1. Iga Świątek – Qinwen Zheng (Olympic Games)