November 2024
The ATP and WTA seasons came to a close in November, and an icon of the sport played his last match.
Gauff and Sinner clinch season-ending championships
At the WTA Finals in Riyadh, the Purple Group featured Aryna Sabalenka, looking to secure the year-end world number 1 ranking, as well as Qinwen Zheng, Elena Rybakina, and Jasmine Paolini. It was a competitive group, with every player getting at least one win, but Sabalenka and Zheng ultimately advanced. In the Orange Group, despite not having much form coming into the event, Barbora Krejcikova advanced with two wins, as did Coco Gauff. Iga Swiatek and Jessica Pegula were eliminated, which secured the year-end world number 1 ranking for Sabalenka.
The Belarusian’s year would end in defeat, however, as Gauff beat her in straight sets to advance to the Final. She would meet Zheng, after the Chinese player beat Krejcikova. In a thrilling Final, Gauff won in three sets to win the WTA Finals title.
Qualification for the ATP Finals went down to the wire, with the Paris Masters taking place a few weeks before. Ugo Humbert had a great run at home, taking out Carlos Alcaraz on his way to the Final. He would lose to Alex Zverev, who claimed his second Masters title of the year. Andrey Rublev, Casper Ruud and Alex de Minaur claimed the final 3 spots for the ATP Finals, which was confirmed after Novak Djokovic’s withdrawal.
Taylor Fritz would continue his strong end of season form by beating Daniil Medvedev and Alex de Minaur to advance from his group, alongside Jannik Sinner who won all his matches. In the other group, Alex Zverev was the dominant force, with Casper Ruud beating Carlos Alcaraz and Andrey Rublev to join him in the Semi Finals. Fritz would make it four wins in his last four meetings with Zverev to make the Final, and he would face Sinner for the second time that week, after the Italian beat Ruud with ease. Sinner would continue his dominance by beating Fritz, not dropping a set all week to win his first ATP Finals title.
Nadal plays last match as Italy complete double of team titles
Rafael Nadal joined forces with Alcaraz at the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga, but lost his last ever match against Botic van de Zandschulp. Despite Alcaraz winning his singles, Spain would lose the tie on the doubles. The legendary Nadal won 22 Grand Slam titles and will be remembered as one of the greatest to ever play tennis. The King of Clay’s record of 14 Roland Garros titles may well never be broken.
The Italian duo of Sinner and Matteo Berrettini would power their country to the title, beating the Netherlands in the Final. In the Billie Jean King Cup, Italy also triumphed, beating Slovakia in the Final. Jasmine Paolini, Lucia Bronzetti and Sara Errani were key performers throughout the week.
Djokovic announces Murray to join coaching team
In a surprising turn of events, Djokovic announced that great rival and recently retired Andy Murray would join his coaching team, for the off-season and up until the Australian Open next year. The pair met 36 times at ATP level, and first played each other as juniors aged 11. It will be the Brit’s first coaching role.
It was an easy process
"I thought I'd send you a short note to thank you for dealing so efficiently with my Wimbledon debentures in 2021. It was an easy process to sell the days I didn't want to Green and Purple and payment was made promptly. I look forward to dealing with you again in the future."
Robert MacKenzie
More testimonials