Another tennis season, packed with gripping storylines, magic moments and standout achievements – from Novak Djokovic claiming legendary status, and WTA finding its very own Big Three and world tennis to India great Sania Mirza bidding adieu to the sport – comes to an end. And before 2024 calendar year kicks off in all glitz and promising action, which includes the much-awaited return of Rafael Nadal after 348 days, we take a look back at the 2023 calendar year.
Novak Djokovic reigns supreme
The 36-year-old capped off another remarkable year where he won three Grand Slams, to reclaim the top spot in the ATP rankings before wrapping it up with his 71st big title win in Turin in the Tour Finals. He clinched his 10th Australian Open in January after beating Stefanos Tsitsipas, before winning the French Open in May, en route to which he beat Carlos Alcaraz, as he surpassed Nadal’s record of 22 men’s singles major title wins. The world No. 1 later lifted the US Open title, on his first travel to New York since the Covid fiasco, beating Daniil Medvedev in September as he extended his Slam record to 24, the most ever by player, male or female, in the Open Era. The Serb eventually ended the year with his 7th ATP Finals beating Roger Federer’s record.
Carlos Alcaraz has arrived
Djokovic was one set away from having a perfect 2023, of achieving his first-ever Calendar Slam, but the man who never lost a Centre Court match at the SW19 in 10 years and never went down in a final at the All England Club in the last seven years, was stunned by the sensational Alcaraz in the summit clash, who claimed his Wimbledon title after beating the 36-year-old in an intense five-setter in July.
Although, Alcaraz incurred a delayed start to the 2023 season, where he had even missed the Australian Open owing to an injury, the Spaniard wrapped up the calendar year with 65 wins, a stellar improvement of his tally of 57 wins in the previous year. It included six title wins, two of which were Masters 1000 in Indian Wells and Madrid, and a maiden grass-court title at the Queen’s Club. His Wimbledon title run also helped him reclaim the top ATP ranking spot in September, before losing it after Djokovic avenged his defeat in the Cincinnati Masters, a week before US Open.
Big Three in WTA
When Serena Williams had bid adieu to the sport, questions loomed large on who could fill the enormous void in WTA. Iga Swiatek stepped up in 2022, after Ash Barty’s retirement, and reigned supreme throughout the calendar year. However, in the following season, the Pole found able competitors in Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina, who together claimed five of the last seven majors. Moreover, their collective success across 2023 led to legendary comparisons from some of the veterans and experts in the field. In 2023, Swiatek picked up six titles which included defending French Open crown and and claiming a maiden season-ending Tour Finals trophy; Sabalenka, who remained the only WTA player to make at least the semis in each of the Slams, clinched her first-ever major at Australian Open before and 1000 trophy in Madrid; and Rybakina was the only player to lift to 1000 trophies in this year – Indian Wells and Italian Open – while also making her second career Grand Slam final in Melbourne.
Indian tennis – Sania Mirza retires, Sumit Nagal ends on a high
On March 5, Indian tennis icon Sania drew curtains on her path-breaking journey in the sport after an exhibition match at the Lal Bahadur Tennis Stadium in Hyderabad, the very venue where she had announced her arrival with a historic WTA singles title win almost two decades back. Earlier in January, Sania, who won six doubles Grand Slam titles and 43 major titles and is a former world no.1 in women’s doubles, played her final major at the Australian Open where she had reached the final alongside Rohan Bopanna in mixed doubles.
The evergreen Bopanna, on the other hand, has been racking up record after record with more title wins across 2023. After becoming the oldest ATP Masters 1000 champion when he won the Indian Wells doubles alongside Matthew Ebden, The 43-year-old also became the oldest man to make a Grand Slam doubles final in the Open era after he and his Aussie partner took down Frenchmen Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert, five-time major champions, to make the US Open final. And last month, he had become the oldest to win a match at the ATP Finals, where the pair made the semis. Bopanna, who also ended his Davis Cup career earlier in September after India’s win against Morocco, added a gold medal haul to his illustrious resume as well from his mixed doubles show at the Asian Games alongside Rutuja Bhosale
Indian tennis also witnessed some stunning performances in the singles category, especially from Sumit Nagal, who made a remarkable return from injury to finish 2023 inside the top 150. En route, he became the first Indian player to win two Challenger titles on European clay after lifting the trophy in Rome and Tampere.
