With the last weeks of a busy year clearly defining the major victors and losers, the 2024 tennis season is over.
Italy won the Davis Cup convincingly in Malaga thanks to Jannik Sinner’s final shot of an exciting year, and Carlos Alcaraz had an incredible season, winning both the French Open and Wimbledon.
After demonstrating remarkable consistency, Alexander Zverev finishes the year ranked second in the world. Rafael Nadal’s retirement coincides with the departure of Grand Slam champions Andy Murray and Dominic Thiem.
Aryna Sabalenka won two Grand Slam championships and finished the year as the world No. 1 in the women’s game, making her the queen of the court.
Iga Swiatek was her closest opponent, but the Pole found it difficult to reach the pinnacles in the second half of 2024 as China’s Zheng Qinwen ended the year with some incredible performances and Coco Gauff won the WTA Finals title in Saudi Arabia.
All tennis fans are now wondering what will happen next, and these audacious forecasts for 2025 address that subject.
A suspension is imposed on Jannik Sinner.
After failing drug tests in March, would world No. 1 Jannik Sinner be suspended from tennis?
The jury seemed to have reached a decision in this case, as Sinner was permitted to carry on with his career after the International Tennis Integrity Agency’s ruling accepted his account that the prohibited drug clostebol entered his system accidentally and wasn’t a performance-enhancing drug.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) have appealed that verdict and is pushing for a two-year ban for Sinner and if the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) sides with WADA, Sinner is likely to face a suspension from tennis.
The length of that ban may not be the full two years, with the tiny amount of clostebol in Sinner’s system unlikely to have had a performance-enhancing impact.
Yet if the verdict was CAS came in on Sinner in early 2025, he could face a six-month suspension that would take him out of the final three Grand Slams of the year and see his world ranking plummet.
It would also be a huge scar on his image and reputation, with the Italian’s lawyers certain to be doing all they can to avoid that fate.
