The more casual tennis fan may not realise what a long and gruelling season it is for all those involved with tournaments running continuously from very early in January till  December.

Prior to this year, I was someone who only really took note of the four Grand Slams and a few other tournaments but when the Australian Open began in Melbourne I started to listen to ‘The Tennis Podcast‘ to help follow it in some way without actually watching much live action! That really helped to develop my interest in the game and subsequently I continued to listen all year and followed so much (mostly via checking scores and watching some YouTube highlights) whilst also attending five tournaments in person. I will do my best to shoehorn them subtly into this post!

As much as I’d like to begin with a tournament that took place in Japan, I know the Grand Slams should take precedence. They were shared equally between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner with two apiece in the men’s game. For me though it is actually the final in the Paris Olympics which delivered the greatest moment of the year as Novak Djokovic put in an absolutely outstanding performance to beat Alcaraz and finally win the gold medal he so desired. I can’t say I’ve ever taken Olympic tennis too seriously but this really was inspirational stuff from a man who has won more grand slams than anyone.

The G.O.A.T.

Djokovic has been part of the “big four” (maybe it’s the big three outside of the UK!) for a long time now but is the last survivor. Roger Federer retired a couple of years ago and 2024 saw the careers of Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray come to an end. The latter was particularly hard for me to take as he is my all-time favourite player, and a man who has brought so much happiness. Mind you, he’s probably taken a few years off my life due to the tenseness of some of his matches!!

On the women’s side, it was a bit more balanced with just Aryna Sabalenka winning a couple (Australian Open and US Open) whilst Iga Świątek (French Open) and Barbora Krejčíková (Wimbledon) won one apiece. A big shout out too to Coco Gauff for winning the WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia but personally I’ll remember two other players who made quite the impact in 2024 having started the year as relative unknowns. Italian Jasmine Paolini may have lost two Grand Slam finals but getting there was a big achievement. On top of that, she won Olympic gold in the doubles and then went on to help her country win the Billie Jean King Cup.

Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini

The other female rising star has to be China’s Qinwen Zheng who finished the year with a top five ranking.

She was also a beaten finalist twice having been defeated in the Australian Open final and the WTA Finals but overall she performed strongly and consistently throughout the year and took the Olympic gold as well as victory in the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo. I really hope she can get over the finish line next year and win her maiden slam.

The Princess of China

Although I didn’t get to see Zheng play in Tokyo this year, I did get to see her fellow compatriot Xinyu Wang up very close albeit not actually on court! Sadly I was unable to meet one of my favourite players for a photo opportunity and could only look on with envy! Her inclusion in this post is probably not justified but it’s my review and she provides a good link between Zheng and the next player I’ll mention.

Meeting Britain’s number one player Katie Boulter was definitely my personal tennis highlight of the year. I’m very proud of her as she is from the same city as me, and she also finished the year in the top 25 having won two titles (San Diego and Nottingham) on the WTA tour.

The TV cameras picked me out a few times too as I was one of only a hundred people or so left in the arena when one of her matches finished quite late at night, and I was absolutely delighted to talk to her briefly after the match.

Alongside Emma Raducanu, Boulter played a major part in Great Britain’s success in the Billie Jean King (BJK) Cup. They got to the semi finals but were defeated by Slovakia who in turn lost to Italy in the final. Back in March I got my first taste of BJK Cup action when I saw Japan play Kazakhstan at Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo.

The arena was far from full but the atmosphere was absolutely terrific and quite different to other tournaments played there. The highlight for me was seeing my beloved Naomi Osaka (whose match against Iga Świątek in the French Open was probably the best women’s match of the year) play and win to put Japan in the driving seat.

The men’s equivalent is the Davis Cup which was also won by Italy who had Jannik Sinner in their team. Far removed from that final was the Japan and Colombia match I saw in early September on a boiling hot weekend in a packed-out stadium. I was there for the second day but wasn’t feeling too good and even slept through one of the matches in this epic clash!

Looking ahead to 2025, there will be a Davis Cup match in Tokyo between Japan and Great Britain in early February which I am very much looking forward to. Hopefully, rising star Jack Draper will be present to help Britain progress. He had a great year and rose through the rankings with his peak being a US Open semi final. I was able to see him play in the Kinoshita Open en-route to the quarter finals where he had to retire. After an earlier round match, I was lucky enough to get one of his signed match balls!

There really are so many tournaments throughout the year and it is impossible to keep up with them all not that I want to! Once upon a time, tennis was just something that came on my radar for a fortnight each year when Wimbledon took place. In the last decade or so I took more interest in the other three grand slams but 2024 saw me go deeper than ever as I followed a host of other tournaments whilst watching what was on offer in Tokyo when possible. With the 2025 season just around the corner, it’ll be interesting to see if my tennis passion continues in the same manner.

Click here to read ‘The Highs & Lows of This Year’s International Tennis Tournament In Tokyo’

Click here to read ‘I Met Britain’s No. 1 Female Tennis Player In Tokyo (& I Was On The TV Coverage A Fair Bit Too!)’

Click here to read ‘Two Tennis Tournaments In Tokyo Serve Up Mixed Fortunes For Me!’

Click here to read ‘Naomi Osaka Is The Star Attraction In Tokyo As Japan Compete In The World Cup Of Tennis’

Bonus: In November I went to watch the Yokohama ATP Challenger event at Keio University. There were a couple of Japanese players there who I knew but overall this tournament was for players ranked around the 200-300 mark.

I could hear the players going through all the emotions right in front of me. Actually, it was a little awkward at times as they’re so close and you don’t know where to look when they’re getting angry and shouting at their coaches or the umpires and ball boys/girls!