From The double act of Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic to the stars and the future of Jannik Sinner, here’s a look at what to expect from a big year ahead in tennis…
Best male player of the year: Joao Fonseca
At just 18 years old, Brazilian Fonseca is a spectacular talent who recently captured the ATP Next Gen title. He’s playing big-time tennis, unleashing some of the deadliest forehands you’ve seen since Rafael Nadal was at his peak. Fonseca has only played a handful of matches at the tour level yet, which is part of the reason his ranking sits at a lowly number 145, but I bet tennis fans will be a lot more familiar with his name by next time. times. Christmas is coming.
Best Women’s Player of the Year: Mirra Andreeva
Another teenager, but with a contrasting background, as befits the differences in development between the sexes. Russian Andreeva is already a key figure in the world elite, with a ranking – now 16th – which is just below her age (17). Slightly built, she exudes a similar feeling to the young Martina Hingis, being a cerebral and well-rounded player, capable of upsetting bigger, more powerful women. She is good enough to move up at least ten more places this season.
Men’s Player of the Year: Jannik Sinner
Sinner looked absurdly comfortable on hard courts in 2024, losing just three of 56 matches – two of which came against his main rival Carlos Alcaraz. He hasn’t quite cracked the code on clay or grass yet, winning just one of his eight titles on the alternative surfaces, but that will surely come. His biggest threat will likely come from WADA, which appealed last year’s doping waiver. (You may remember that Sinner claimed to have been contaminated with clostebola prohibited steroid, via a massage from his physical trainer.) Most initiates wait for the Court of Arbitration for Sport to grant a short suspension, lasting between one and three months, simply because precedent suggests that CAS generally results in some sort of compromise.
Player of the Year: Coco Gauff
Okay, so I made the same prediction last year, and Gauff had a shocking first half of the season by his own high standards. But then she ditched coach Brad Gilbert and began working with a new mentor – Matt Daly – who wasn’t afraid to suggest technical changes on her serve and forehand. The results poured in, including at the WTA Finals, where she beat the two dominant forces of 2024 – Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka – en route to a record £3.8 million check. This victory should be the ideal starting point for the new year.
Most anticipated in 2025
This has to be the Statler and Waldorf tribute act we can expect from Murray and Djokovic. With Murray’s dry wit and Djokovic’s urbanity, they will put on a brilliant double bill if they can be persuaded to take the stage together in front of the world’s media. At the moment, Murray’s coaching contract only extends until the conclusion of the Australian Openso let’s hope for solid results to extend this juicy collaboration.
Wimbledon men’s champion: Carlos Alcaraz
Well, he won it twice in a row under very different circumstances – the first via a nail-biting comeback against Djokovic, the second thanks to a disappointing, tension-free drubbing from the same player – so why not a third time? It is both Alcaraz’s strength and weakness that he is interested in atmosphere, someone who gets up for the big events but can struggle on the tennis equivalent of a Wednesday wet evening in Stoke. And there’s nothing bigger (in a non-Olympic year, anyway) than Wimbledon.
Wimbledon women’s champion: Aryna Sabalenka
After successive titles won by the most pessimistic Czechs – Marketa Vondrousova and Barbora Krejcikova – choosing a Wimbledon women’s champion becomes a crazy task. We’ve had eight different winners in the last eight years, with the main contenders getting nervous at the wrong time. Yet Krejcikova’s emergence from the pack in 2024 might have something to do with Sabalenka’s withdrawal on the eve of the tournament due to a shoulder problem. When not injured, Sabalenka’s giant serve and blunderbuss groundstrokes should suit SW19 just fine.
