What is in store for some of the big stars of tennis as we look ahead to what we can expect from world No 1's Iga Swiatek and Novak Djokvovic and Grand Slam champions Naomi Osaka, Rafael Nadal, Coco Gauff as well as Brits Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper
Saturday 25 November 2023 13:33, UK
No sooner has the dust settled on 2023, it is time to look ahead to the new tennis season, starting with the build-up to the Australian Open in January.
Sky Sports has agreed new five-year partnerships with the ATP and WTA to show all-year-round tennis involving the best players in the world, starting next season.
The agreement will see more than 80 tournaments and 4,000 matches - including both season-ending finals and all Masters 1000 events - broadcast live every year on Sky Sports from 2024.
Although Iga Swiatek has largely been the one to beat since taking over the mantle of world No 1 after Australia's Ashleigh Barty retired in March 2022, things have not gone entirely her own way.
She was briefly deposed by Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka before reclaiming her crown when she won the WTA season-ending finale in Cancun.
Sabalenka will be keen to defend her maiden Grand Slam title, and the race to the top will begin in earnest with the Australian Open Series of tournaments leading up to the first Grand Slam of the year.
With the Paris Olympics being on clay, Swiatek is the overwhelming favourite but US Open 2023 champion Coco Gauff made her first Slam final at Roland Garros - losing to Swiatek.
With a Slam of her own, could she turn the tables on the Pole?
As some of the established old guard are hanging up their rackets, Novak Djokovic is still going strong, fending off the young chasing pack, snapping at his heels.
Djokovic has been able to prove his clay-court credentials and he will fancy his chances of finally landing an Olympic gold medal, as well as adding to his record-equalling haul of 24 Slam titles.
He has indicated that he has no intention of retiring, and it looks almost certain he will take sole ownership of the most Grand Slam titles won by any player in the history of the game.
We can get very excited about what US Open champion Coco Gauff could achieve in 2024.
From capturing hearts around the globe as a 15-year-old with a great run in Wimbledon in 2019, to a maiden Slam final at the French Open in 2022, she finally rose to the top at her home major.
She has an all surface, all-court game that has room to grow and she is still only 19. Now working with Brad Gilbert, if she can iron out some minor details, her all-surface game could go to the next level.
We can look forward to a fascinating rivalry that has been developing between Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz, who's aggressive game has already seen Djokovic dethroned at his beloved Wimbledon.
Jannik Sinner has been a regular in the second week of Grand Slams since 2019 with a best performance this year reaching the semi-finals of Wimbledon and the showpiece at the ATP Finals.
Although Djokovic shows no signs of giving up his perch at the top of the rankings any time soon, he has fallen to both Alcaraz and Sinner and they might just be the ones to take up the mantle.
Tunisia's 'Minister of Happiness' was heartbroken after losing a third Grand Slam final, but the hugely talented trailblazer for women's tennis in Africa and the Middle East is surely due a break from the Grand Slam gods.
Jabeur's tricky game causes plenty of players headaches, but maybe she has wanted tennis' glittering prizes too much and has been too crippled by nerves to get the job done.
She has been a consistent figure at the top of the women's rankings, and there can be many who would want to see Jabeur finally raise a Slam trophy above her head in 2024.
Spanish legend Rafael Nadal is still fighting to make a return to the ATP tour, and the good news is he has been training and clearly feels he can come back as a contender in 2024.
He has been out injured since losing in the second round of the Australian Open, and had just one match win to his name.
Whether he will set himself the goal of trying to reach the Paris Olympics or even make one last stab for the overall record of Grand Slam titles, it is good news for those who have missed his incredible appetite to win on the tour.
One of the most enigmatic players on the women's tour, Naomi Osaka is returning to tennis. It was a bumpy start to her Grand Slam winning career, with the highly-charged win against Serena Williams at the US Open in 2018, before notching up two Australian Open titles and another one in New York.
Despite her struggles with the mental strain of tour life she is now ready to return after the birth of her first child in July 2023 and will have her sights set on picking up where she left off - and chasing down Swiatek's major haul, with both on four each.
Onto the British contingent, and while Emma Raducanu has stepped up her training, she has withdrawn from a planned exhibition in China in December. She will be able to use her protected rankling of 103 to get into the main draw of the Australian Open.
In Raducanu's absence, British No 1 Katie Boulter has flourished winning her maiden WTA Tour title in Nottingham and hit a career high of world No 50.
Not to be outdone, compatriot Jodie Burrage was her opponent in the Nottingham final, cracked the top 100, and went on to make her Billie Jean King Cup debut at the end of the season.
If Raducanu returns fit in 2024, we have three women who can push each other to greater achievement on the WTA tour.
Young Brit Jack Draper put aside an injury-strewn year to finish strongly, reaching the fourth round of the US Open before narrowly missing out on a first ATP Tour title in Sofia.
Cameron Norrie and Dan Evans remain consistent fixtures on the main tour, and never count out Andy Murray, who has made it clear that he has lost none of the fire in his belly.
British tennis is in its ascendancy with 14-year-old Hannah Klugman, who broke Gauff's record in becoming the youngest player to qualify for a W100 tournament, Isabelle Lacy and Wimbledon boys' champion Henry Searle all looking to build on what was a hugely-successful 2023.
The new season will start with the United Cup - a format that harks back to the much-loved Hopman Cup team event which featured men's and women's singles and a mixed doubles.
The team competition marks the start of the tennis season and there are Slam winners and finalists rubbing shoulders with lesser-known compatriots but they will have a chance to play on a big stage in a nation that loves its sport.
Better still the tournament comes with ranking points, and it gives us a light-hearted but competitive ease in to the new season.
The new tennis season starts on 29 December.
Sky has agreed new five-year partnerships with both ATP Media, the broadcast arm of the ATP, and WTA Ventures, the commercial arm of the WTA, which will see over 80 tournaments made up of 4000 matches available on Sky Sports, NOW and WOW.
Sky Sports coverage will be led by presenter Gigi Salmon, alongside Tim Henman and Laura Robson who will offer their expert analysis and insights across the two Tours, with Jonathan Overend on the match commentary.
The Sky Sports team will also be joined by additional talent and co-commentators at various events across the season.
Live tennis will be available from next year on Sky Sports, and non-Sky subscribers can access the Tours via a NOW Sports Monthly membership, with selected highlights available on demand.
For further access, fans will also be able to follow their favourite players and gain deeper insights from both Tours via Sky Sports News, the Sky Sports app, on SkySports.com and via Sky Sports social channels.
Stream your favourite sports without a contract through NOW.
