2024 WTA News & Gossip

[Kieran]

Thanks for the recap MM. I understand completely what's going on. It's hogwash. I'm really sick of the way the sport has been handled the last few years. It's enough to make me stop watching it. That time may come sooner rather than later.

There are a lot of warning signs that the sport might make huge mistakes that cost it viewers, attendees at tournaments, and eventually sponsors etc. I see things such as on court coaching as a woodworm that might succeed in weakening the sport. That’s just one example, but these doping bans are also a very worrying trend. If tennis loses the trust of fans, it’s not a given that it’ll get it back…

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Chinese Zhang Shuai has continued her late season resurgence, earning a wild card into the main draw of AO 2025, Zhang won the womens singles event at the AO Asia Pacific Play Off in Chengdu, China.

 

[PhiEaglesfan712]

There are a lot of warning signs that the sport might make huge mistakes that cost it viewers, attendees at tournaments, and eventually sponsors etc. I see things such as on court coaching as a woodworm that might succeed in weakening the sport. That’s just one example, but these doping bans are also a very worrying trend. If tennis loses the trust of fans, it’s not a given that it’ll get it back…

The warning signs might be there? There is at least 30 years of evidence of the WTA making huge mistakes. The cracks have been there ever since Virginia Slims left the WTA in the mid-90s: https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-01-12-mn-19286-story.html

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

The warning signs might be there? There is at least 30 years of evidence of the WTA making huge mistakes. The cracks have been there ever since Virginia Slims left the WTA in the mid-90s: https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-01-12-mn-19286-story.html

Please I think we have all moved on since the Virginia Slims Phil lol! The biggest mistake the WTA has made, in my opinion, was to allow 'On court Coaching' and recently made friends with the Devil and allowing the WTA Finals be moved to Saudi! of course money was a big factor in their decision

 

[Fiero425]

The warning signs might be there? There is at least 30 years of evidence of the WTA making huge mistakes. The cracks have been there ever since Virginia Slims left the WTA in the mid-90s: https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-01-12-mn-19286-story.html

You ain't wrong! VS was w/ the ladies from the beginning back in '71! I hate smoking, but even though I'm not much a drinker, I tolerate beer, wine, & hard liquor sponsoring sports! I don't think people realize where women's sports has come from! Way back when, they survived on expense $$, teaching, coaching, & bagging groceries! BJK was the 1st woman to win $100+ K in a season by taking 10 VS events back in '71! Equity didn't occur until the USO gave both men & ladies $90 K in 1982! They're making millions now, but are destined to screw it up! Their main problem, a lack of star power IMO! It helps to have a top lady from the USA,, but it's been wanting here for years; even w/ the Williams out there on speed-dial into their 40's! I miss Osaka, Barty, & Andreescu! End RANT!

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

You ain't wrong! VS was w/ the ladies from the beginning back in '71! I hate smoking, but even though I'm not much a drinker, I tolerate beer, wine, & hard liquor sponsoring sports! I don't think people realize where women's sports has come from! Way back when, they survived on expense $$, teaching, coaching, & bagging groceries! BJK was the 1st woman to win $100+ K in a season by taking 10 VS events back in '71! Equity didn't occur until the USO gave both men & ladies $90 K in 1982! They're making millions now, but are destined to screw it up! Their main problem, a lack of star power IMO! It helps to have a top lady from the USA,, but it's been wanting here for years; even w/ the Williams out there on speed-dial into their 40's! I miss Osaka, Barty, & Andreescu! End RANT!

For someone who doesent watch the 'current womens game' your comments of a lack of star power is not completely justified
Nothing remains stat in our game, and we cannot compare different eras in tennis, due to the different variables
I believe the WTA is still transitioning from when Serena Williams retired, and yes she and her sister Venus who by the way hasnt officially retired had Star Power and could fill any arena around the world. Even Ash Barty who I admired, didnt have the 'star power' of the Williams sisters.
WTA today has great depth and in the current Top Ten we have some great athletes and players, Sabalenka, Swiatek, Gauff, Paolini, Rybakina and other players on the rise,give them time to reach greater heights.
BTW Osaka and Andreescu are still playing ( due to different circumstances arent playing to their full potential, like a few years ago)
I suggest start watching the current WTA players they might just surprise you, as time waits for nonone especially those who live in the past

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

The entry field of the ASB Classic WTA250 in Auckland has a rather solid field , December 30th to Jan 5th
Keys, Anisimova, Osaka, Tauson, Miss Sun, and even Emma Raducanu.
Bianca Andreescu has withdrawn citing ' personal reasons' tournament director, Nicolas Lamperin, and when asked to elaborate, he would not.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

WTA500 Brisbane entry lists December 29th - Jan 6th,
Sabalenka (1) Pegula ( 7) Navarro (8) Kasatkina (9) Badosa (12) Schnaider (13) Kalinskaya (14) Ostapenko (15) Mirra Andreeva (16), just some of the top players on the list, which is quite a strong field before the first major of the year
BTW The defending champion Rybakina wont be defending her title in 2025 she will be playing at the United Cup

 

[Kieran]

You ain't wrong! VS was w/ the ladies from the beginning back in '71! I hate smoking, but even though I'm not much a drinker, I tolerate beer, wine, & hard liquor sponsoring sports! I don't think people realize where women's sports has come from! Way back when, they survived on expense $$, teaching, coaching, & bagging groceries! BJK was the 1st woman to win $100+ K in a season by taking 10 VS events back in '71! Equity didn't occur until the USO gave both men & ladies $90 K in 1982! They're making millions now, but are destined to screw it up! Their main problem, a lack of star power IMO! It helps to have a top lady from the USA,, but it's been wanting here for years; even w/ the Williams out there on speed-dial into their 40's! I miss Osaka, Barty, & Andreescu! End RANT!

I don’t think Barty or Andreescu can be equated with “star power”. Unless we’re talking about the star equivalent of Pluto the ‘planet’.

The women have been punching above their weight for decades, and Osaka only became more interesting - or curious - once her schoolgirl politics became known. Then she became embarrassing during that BLM horror show. Sharapova had some measure of star power but really Serena only transcended the sport in recent years, Venus too, to an extent.

A problem for great women players was highlighted during the peak of the great Martina Navratilova, that when they become super aggressive and loudly competitive, they get denounced as being manly. This is terrible, because these players are generally the only ones with worth watching. In Gordon Forbes excellent book on tennis in amateur days, he skips to the seventies and I think it’s Rod Laver describing a woman’s match to the author, courtside:

“There’s a lob, and there’s another lob. And there’s a drop shot that’s also a lob.”

It’s very funny but it captures what people in general feel about the women’s game - that it can’t help but be compared to the men and come up short (like a drop shot lob)…

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

9 Top WTA players were the highest paid female athletes according to Sportico in 2024! ( out of the 15 highest paid females)

1. Coco Gauff
3. Iga Swiatek
4. Qinwen Zheng
5. Aryna Sabalenka
6. Naomi Osaka
7. Emma Raducanu
11.Jasmine Paolini
13. Jessica Pegula
14. Elena Rybakina

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Belinda Bencic ( who had a daughter Bella, in April this year) started playing a few lower grade WTA tournaments, beginning in October this year
Bencic who received a WC into the WTA 125 Arte Angers Laine in France has made the QFs in singles and SFs in doubles.
Bencic is on the entry list to play at the United Cup for Swiss in 2025.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Swiss Agency Perfect Match associated with Markus Gunthardt, tournament director and former player, acquired license to host WTA500 grass court tournament in Berlin until 2029.It's their 3rd German tennis event ( also Stuttgart and Bad Homburg)

 

[shawnbm]

Anybody see the Garden exhibition a few days ago? Navarro played Pegula in one match and then it was to be Shelton and Alcaraz.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Anybody see the Garden exhibition a few days ago? Navarro played Pegula in one match and then it was to be Shelton and Alcaraz.

Hi Shawnbm,
No, though from what I read via social media, it was a packed with fans, Emma defeated Pegula, Carlos v Shelton match, was very entertaining, with Alcaraz winning

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Every player in the Top 50 have signed onto play at the AO in 2025,
Players using PR,
Bencic ( back at GS for the first time since 2023)
McNally
Burrage
Zheng Saisai
Kovinic

 

[Kieran]

I don’t know why Carlos is still playing. He’s gonna be Rafa-like in his poor choices. Think of it, he could have a career slam by age 21 in January, but he’s increasing the chances of him turning up there knackered..

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

I don’t know why Carlos is still playing. He’s gonna be Rafa-like in his poor choices. Think of it, he could have a career slam by age 21 in January, but he’s increasing the chances of him turning up there knackered..

Well he has another exho after the Madison Square Garden, he is playing Frances Tiafoe in Charlotte tonight, he was complaining that the tour was too long? he keeps playing from what I am reading Carlos isnt playing any pre AO tournament in 2025.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Donna Vekic has added Sascha Bajin to her team for the 2025 season

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Alycia Parks new coach is Jeremy Chardy, Parks won her 3rd challenger title at the WTA125 Angers defeating Belinda Bencic in 3 sets and now rises to No 84 in the rankings

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

WTA Awards Week Kicks Off ,
Today the WTA has revealed the 5 Player Awards as voted by The International Tennis Media,

Player of the Year ,
Aryna Sabalenka, no arguments from me, apart from Aryna defending her AO title and winning her first USO title, recapturing the No 1 ranking in October this year, her most impressive performance this year of any player in the WTA, in my opinion, was when she won the WTA 1000 event in Cincinnati, her serve was just unreturnable, apart from her ground strokes, I knew after she won the title she would win her first USO Grand Slam title.

Doubles Team of the Year,
Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini,
Apart from winning WTA1000 in Rome and then the China Open (Beijing), WTA500 Austria Linz, they reached their first Grand Slam final at RG before winning the Gold Medal in doubles at the Olympics, also made their debut at the WTA Finals in Riyadh.

Most Improved Player of the Year,
Emma Navarro,
Emma's consistent results n 2024 saw her make her Top Ten debut in September.Winning her first title of her career WTA250 in Hobart, went on to reach a further six SFs at WTA250, 500, 1000 and Grand Slam level.Emma also had 3 wins over Top 5 players including Sabalenka ( Indian Wells)

New Comer of the Year,
Lulu Sun,
Having been ranked outside the Top 200 in January before soaring to No 40 by the end of 2024, Sun made the main draw at the AO, before her first top ten win over No 8 Zheng as part of a QF run at Wimbledon as a qualifer ( she made history as the first New Zealand woman to reach that stage in the Open Era), Sun also reached her first tour final at the WTA500 in Monterrey.

Come Back Player of the Year,
Paula Badosa,
Having shut down her 2023 season after Wimbledon with a back injury, Badosa at one stage thought of retirement, she showed incredible resilience in 2024.
Badosa made the round of 16 at WTA1000 Rome, 3rd round at RG, winning her 4th career title at DC Washington (HC), reached SFs of WTA1000 events at Cincinati Open, China Open and at the WTA500 Ningbo Open, her best Grand Slam results with a QF at the USO.








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