2025 Begins - United Cup Tennis 2025

 

From Sportingnews.com:

Getting Ready for 2025

 

Wishing everyone a Safe and Happy Christmas and Hanukkah 

Asian Swing 2024

Tournaments

ATP 

September 30 - October 13

Rolex Shanghai - 1000

WTA

October 5 - 13

- Wuhan, China - 1000

US OPEN 2024 - Week 2

Monterrey, Mexico. Cleveland, Ohio. Winston Salem, North Carolina

 

Abierto GNP Seguros WTA 500
Club Sonoma
Monterrey, Mexico
August 19-24, 2024

Cincinnati - ATP/WTA 1000

  

                   

Olympics 2024, Paris, France and Citi Open, Washington DC ATP/WTA 500

 

The Paris Olympics 2024
Stade Roland Garros
Paris, France
July 26-August 11, 2024

The Olympic Torch a symbol of light, hope, friendship. The Olympic flame symbolizes the light of spirit, knowledge and life. By passing the flame from one person to another in stages, the Torch Relay expresses the handing down of this symbolic fire from generation to generation. In 17 days the Torch will be passed to the USA where in 2028 the Olympics will be held in Los Angeles and once more the flame will be lit and continue to keep alight the ideals of courage, goodwill and harmony.  A reminder that this figurative fire is eternal and endures.

ATP 250 - Croatia, Austria, and USA. WTA 250 - Czechia and Romania

 

Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag ATP 250
International Tennis Center
Umag, Croatia
July 21- 27, 2024

Primosten Village, Croatia. Primošten is a village and municipality in Šibenik-Knin County, Croatia. It is situated in the south, between the cities of Šibenik and Trogir, on the Adriatic coast

Almost back to Clay - Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, USA, Italy, Hungary

 

Hamburg Open ATP 500
Am Rothenbaum
Hamburg, Germany
July 15-21, 2024

Street Art, Hamburg, Germany

Surface: Clay
Draws: Singles 32, Doubles 16
This is the 118th edition of the tournament.
Most titles: Roger Federer with 4.
Defending champion: Alexander Zverev who defeated Laslo Djere.

Seeds (in order of seeding): Alexander Zverev, Holger Rune, Sebastian Baez, Francisco Cerundolo, Arthur Fils, Mateo Arnaldi, Luciano Darderi, Zhizhen Zhang

Wildcards: Both German players – Rudolf Molleker, Henri Squire

Protected ranking: Kwon Soon-woo

Withdrawals: Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Dan Evans, Gael Monfils, Corentin Moutet, Lorenzo Musetti

 

Wimbledon 2024 Weeks 1 & 2

The Championships Wimbledon
All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club
London, England
July 1  - July 14, 2024

Who will raise these 2 weeks from now?

Pre Wimbledon 2 - ATP 250 Eastbourne, Mallorca. WTA 500 Bad Homburg, Eastbourne

 

In tennis, it is not the opponent you fear, it is the failure itself, knowing how near you were but just out of reach.  Andy Murray 

The tennis ball doesn't know how old I am. The ball doesn't know if I'm a man or a woman or if I come from a communist country or not. Sport has always broken down these barriers.

Martina Navratilova

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Pre Wimbledon ATP 500 Halle & London, WTA 500 Berlin, WTA 250 Birmingham

 

Roland Garros 2024 - ATP 1000, WTA 1000

Roland Garros
Stade Roland Garros
May 26-June 9, 2024
Paris, France

The Rose Window, Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, France. 

One of the most renowned features of Notre Dame was its stunning collection of stained glass windows. These intricate works of art, dating back to the 13th century, depicted biblical narratives, saints, and symbolic motifs, illuminating the interior with a kaleidoscope of vibrant hues. The Rose Window, a crowning jewel of Gothic artistry, mesmerized visitors with its intricate tracery and radiant portrayal of religious iconography.

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Pre Roland Garros - France, Switzerland, Morocco

 

JoAnne Embry's dogs.....

A cat and dog playing tennis meme.  Who woulda thought?......

Italian Open 2024 - ATP/WTA 1000

“You may have the world if I may have Italy” — Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901)

C'è qualcosa nell'Italia -

The city of Verona is rich of Roman antiquities (the city is also known as little Rome), nevertheless it is mostly famous as the setting of the love story Romeo and Juliet. The symbol of the city is the great Roman Arena (Arena di Verona).

Mutua Madrid Open - 2024 ATP 1000 /WTA 1000

Street Art by SpY Urban Art, Madrid, Spain

Note:  SpY is the correct listed spelling as shown 

Mutua Madrid Open

Madrid, Spain

April 23rd - May 5, 2024 - WTA

April 24th -May 5, 2024 - ATP

Slip sliding on Clay - Germany - ATP, Spain - ATP, Romania - ATP, France -WTA, Germany-WTA

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Porsche Tennis Grand Prix WTA 500
Tennis Sporthalle Filderstadt
Stuttgart, Germany
April 15-21, 2024

Jupp-Wiertz Vintage German art deco

ATP 1000 Monte Carlo, Monaco and Billie Jean King Cup, Orlando, Fl, USA

 

Now you guys know I could not resist but am not witty enough (like Lowie or Peter😂) to come up with who will eclipse whom in tennis....😎😎🙄  Where is LL when you need her?

Charleston South Carolina-WTA500, Bogota, Columbia-WTA250, Houston, Texas ATP-250, Marrakech, Morocco-ATP-250, Estoril, Portugal-ATP250.

 

So long from Miami but first a hearty Congratulations to our Winners in what I thought turned out to be a good tourney with quite a bit of excitement and of course upsets.    Our 2024 Miami winners are:

Men's Singles             Women's Singles              Men's Doubles                    Women's Doubles

J. Sinner                    D. Collins                         M. Ebden/R.Bopanna         S. Kenin/B.Mattek-Sands

Miami Open 2024 - ATP 1000/WTA 1000

Miami Open ATP 1000, WTA 1000
Hard Rock Stadium
Miami, Florida, USA

WTA March 19-30
 ATP March 20-31, 2024

Surface: Hard
Draw: Singles 96, Doubles 32

The tournament was first held in 1985 and is considered the second half of the Sunshine Double.

Indian Wells 2024 - ATP 1000, WTA 1000

 Indian Wells, California, USA

ATP: Chile, Dubai & Acapulco; WTA: Austin & San Diego, USA

 

This week is full once again with five tournaments - two ATP 500s in Santiago and  Acapulco, along with a 250 in Dubai. The WTA hosts a 250 in Austin, Texas and a 500 in San Diego. A lot of activity right before 12 days in Indian Wells next week. 

I'd say the biggest surprise was the WTA 1000 in Dubai where the top seeds fell, leaving the Final a battle between qualifier Kalinskaya (who dispatched three Top 10 seeds to reach the Final) and the unseeded victor Paolini (who defeated Haddad-Maia and Sakkari on her way, but likely benefited from a W/O by Rybakina in the SF,). Interesting that Paolini lost to Kalinskaya in the 4R of the AO and lost in the 1R of both Linz and Doha before lifting her 2nd title here) However, both ladies made a dramatic rise in the rankings as a result -  #14 for Paolini and #24 for Kalinskaya (who I'm hoping to see much more of)!  

On the men's side perhaps we should all take notice of the surprising performance of the Czech teen Jacub Mensik who defeated the #1 seed Rublev to face the #2 seed and victor Khachanov. IMO, results and surprises like these in Dubai and Doha make tennis much more interesting (and more difficult for some MCM prognosticators).

Congratulations to this past week's Champions:

WTA 1000 Dubai 

Singles: Jasmine Paolini d. Anna Kalinskaya

Doubles: Hunter/Siniakova d. Melichar-Martinez/Perez

ATP 500 Doha

Singles: Karen Khachanov d. Jakub Mensik

Doubles: Murray/Venus d. Musetti/Sonego

ATP 250 Los Cabos

Singles: Jordan Thompson d. Casper Ruud

Doubles:Purcell/Thompson d. Nedovyesov/Escobar 

ATP 250 Rio

Singles: Sebastian Baez d. Mariano Navone

Doubles: Barrientos/Matos d, Erler/Miedler

A lot of tennis coming up for you👇

ATP 500 Rio de Janeiro, ATP 250 Qatar and Mexico, WTA 1000 Dubai

One of the Miracle Gardens of Dubai, UAE

ATP Rotterdam 500, Argentina 250, Delray Beach 250 and WTA Qatar 1000

 

Sunshine Skyway Bridge, St. Petersburg, Florida

Theme for the thread - Bridges. Bridges serve to join and connect different people or things - just like  sports...  

With four tourneys this week we are humming along in 2024. Grigor Dimitrov is I think determined to create and sustain his revival.  Am keeping fingers crossed for him while hoping that Frances Tiafoe and FAA can really make their mark this year, without injuries.  Can Emma Radacanu have her own revival?  I hope so.  So far I don't see major story lines emerging in 2024 so will be patient.  

Congratulations to this past week's winners:

Abu Dahbi, UAE:

Singles - Elena Rybakina
Doubles - B. Mattek-Sands/S. Kenin

Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Singles  - K. Pliskova
Doubles  - A. Muhammad/C. McNally

Cordoba, Argentina

Singles  - L. Daderi

Doubles  - A. Molteni/M. Gonzalez

Dallas, Texas

Singles  - T. Paul

Doubles  - M. Purcell/J. Thompson

Marseille, France

Singles  - U. Humbert

Doubles  - T. Machac/Z. Zhang

Who is playing and where?...

WTA in UAE & Romania - ATP in Dallas, Argentina & Marseille

 

Get ready for a very busy week with 5 tournaments on 4 continents - WTA 500 in Abu Dhabi and a 250 in Cluj-Napoca and ATP 250s in Dallas, Cordoba and Marseille. 

Congratulations to this past week's winners:

WTA 500 Linz, Austria

Singles: J. Ostapenko d. E. Alexandrova

Doubles: Errani/Paolini d. Melichar-Martinez/Perez

WTA 250 Hua Hin

Singles: D. Shnaider d. Zhu L.

Doubles: Kato/Sutjiadi d. Guo/Jiang

ATP 250 Montpellier

Singles: A. Bublik d. B. Cornic

Doubles: Doumbia/Reboul d. Olivetti/Weissborn

Play ball!👇

Out of Australia On to Austria, France & Thailand

 

Our first major of the season is under our belts. Some have described this year's AO as 'bizarre' considering the upsets, although at the end the top seeds prevailed in the finals. The biggest surprise was the #1 WTA player - Iga Swiatek - losing the 3R to #50 Czech youngster Linda Noskova in her debut at the AO. Noskova went on to the QF after a 4R retirement by Elina Svitolina, where she lost to Dayana Yastremska. Noskova joined a number of young Russians and Czechs making their marks here. It may be safe to assume that with their level of play, there may to be more parity among the WTA field going forth. The last woman standing, World #2 Aryna Sabalenka, successfully defended her 2023 title here and proved unbeatable, not losing a set.

On the men's side, some consider Novak Djokovic's loss in the SF to Jannik Sinner an upset. Which is understandable considering prior to this SF loss, Novak had won 34 consecutive AO matches dating back to 2018. He's won 10 of the last 22 slams he's contested and reached the Final in every major he appeared since Wimbledon of 2022. With that record and 10 AO trophies, I expect that Novak is the one upset. But Sinner will go down as the one to break a mighty powerful streak. Another upset was Carlos Alcaraz losing in the QF to Alexander Zverev, although the latter was impressive up to and including the 4 1/2 hour SF where he lost to Daniil Medvedev after being up the first two sets, then losing two very close TB'ers in sets 3 and 4 before Daniil finished him off in the 5th to face Sinner in the Final.

Besides this year's upsets, there were an inordinate number of 5-setters and an impressive surge of young players outplaying their more-vetted opponents. There's many who we should keep an eye out for this year (there's a handful  - Frenchman Arthur Cazaux is one, although he's certainly not the only one, but I saw little of this year's AO, but those of you who did without sleep this fortnight know who I'm talking about!)

Finally, perhaps 'bizarre' or tennis poetry, the Final between the #3 and #4 seeds almost mirrored the Zverev/Medvedev SF - Jannik, having not lost a set before the Final went down the first two sets to Medvedev before finding gears, answers and magic to take the last three sets and lift his first Major trophy! IMO Sinner's win may announce an official changing of the guard. Novak is no longer seen as indomitable and Jannik and his generation seem poised to take the mantle going forward. Not to write off some veterans since on any given day anyone can be beat, but there seems to be new sheriffs in Tennis Town. 

Congratulations to this year's AO Champions:

Men's Singles: Jannik Sinner d. Daniil Medvedev

Women's Singles - Aryna Sabalenka d. Zheng Qinwen

Men's Doubles: R. Bopanna/M. Ebden d. S. Bolelli/A. Vavassori

Women's Doubles: E. Mertens/Hsieh S.W d. J. Ostapenko/L. Kichenok

Mixed Doubles: Hsieh S.W./J. Zielenski d. J. Krawczyk/N. Skupski

On to this week👇

Australian Open 2024 - 2nd Week

2024 Australian Open Winners

Australian Open 2024

 

            Aaaaand we are off!!  

Last Call before the Australian Open: Adelaide, Auckland & Hobart

 

Congratulations to last week's champions:

The United Cup: Germany d. Poland. It was a close contest considering Iga Swiatek and Hubert Hurkacz are top competitors not only for Poland but on the tour. But Alexander Zverev and Angie Kerber as well as Laura Siegemund proved their mettle for the Germans. For those that were able to see the Cup, I take it was exciting (I didn't see any of it since Australia is in the middle of the night for me but I kept track via LS).

WTA 500 Brisbane: 

Singles: Elena Rybakina d. Aryna Sabalenka

Doubles: L. Kichenok/J. Ostapenko

WTA 250 Auckland:

Singles: CoCo Gauff d. Elina Svitolina

Doubles: A. Danilina/V. Hruncakova

ATP 250 Brisbane: 

Singles: Grigor Dimitrov d. Holger Rune

Doubles: L. Glasspool/J. Rojer

ATP 250 Hong Kong

Singles: Andrey Rublev d. Emil Ruusuvuori

Doubles: M. Pavic/M. Arevalo

This week, besides the Australian Open qualifications, we have a combined WTA 500/ATP 250 in Adelaide, a WTA 250 in Hobart and an ATP 250 in Auckland. While it's Winter here, it's heating up in Australia!👇