Fight To The Finish

The WTA season is officially over, the ATP Tour enters its final week, and the final team competition of the season is right around the corner.

As always, there is plenty to discuss, so let’s get into this week’s topics, presented by SuckerPunch! 🥒

What’s The Dill???

Welcome to the What’s The Dill portion of this week’s newsletter, brought to you by SuckerPunch! Every week we will feature the best question(s) asked on our “What’s The Dill” post which can be found under the Community tab on the Courtside Tennis YouTube channel.

Since we are nearing the end of the season, and there aren’t as many major stories breaking right now, I’m going to answer some more of your questions from previous Community posts.

The first question comes from @evenscostin2665:

This fan wants to know if Emma Raducanu will ever make another Grand Slam final run. 

For those who may have forgotten, Raducanu made history at the 2021 US Open by becoming the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam title. Emma was also only 18 years old and was touted as one of the next big stars in the sport.

However, that prediction has not really come true yet, as Raducanu has not won a title since. She has also struggled with injuries and does not play very many tournaments even when she is healthy. 

She is obviously a great player, and one who is capable of winning at the highest level on the biggest stages. 

But, there has been a lot of talk about Raducanu being unwilling to play qualifying or “lower level” tournaments anymore. In 2024, Emma only played 3 250-level tournaments, despite beginning the year ranked #301. She did make a few notable runs this year, including the 4th round of Wimbledon and quarterfinals at 2 500-level events (Stuttgart & Washington D.C.). 

Speaking of D.C., that is the only US Open lead-up tournament that Emma played. Her ranking was not high enough for direct entry into the 1000 events in Canada and Cincinnati, and she did not receive a wildcard, so she chose not to play qualifying at either of them. 

If Raducanu wants to make it back to a Grand Slam final, she has to be willing to play qualifying or more 250-level tournaments. Even 4-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka played qualifying at Cincinnati this year for more match play. 

Emma is certainly capable, but it is the motivation that is not there at the moment.

The next question comes from @zaytheshooter5:

This fan believes that Carlos Alcaraz is the most talented tennis player ever, and wants to know what his ceiling is in terms of Grand Slam title wins. 

While it is too early in his career to call him the greatest ever, it is undeniable that the Spaniard is a generational talent. 

At just 21 years old, Carlos’ list of achievements would be solid for an entire career, let alone just a fraction of one. He has already won 4 Grand Slam titles, including at least 1 on all three surfaces. He has been #1 in the world, and won the Olympic silver medal at the 2024 Games.

Additionally, he is an incredible athlete with a complete all-around game. Those two components may be the most important in his long-term success. Part of the reason why the Big 3 were so successful  is that they could adapt their games against different opponents and could use their athleticism to outlast the opposition. 

While we have seen his inexperience get to Alcaraz in some instances (the Olympic Final), this will only improve with time. Again, he is still so young, and that is often forgotten based on how mature he already is in his demeanor. 

50 slams is probably not in the cards, but it is entirely possible for him to challenge for the all-time record if he continues on his current trajectory. If he can follow in Djokovic’s footsteps in terms of longevity, I can easily see him with at least 20 slams before his career is all said and done.

The next question comes from @sinnerforthewin:

This fan wants to know if Jannik Sinner & Carlos Alcaraz were not on tour, who would be winning the slams.

Sinner and Alcaraz split the four slams in 2024, defeating Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev, Novak Djokovic, & Taylor Fritz in the finals. Alcaraz has won two more slams at Wimbledon & the US Open, beating Djokovic and Casper Ruud in those finals. 

Daniil Medvedev, Casper Ruud, & Alexander Zverev have been the most consistently good top players since Sinner and Alcaraz first started winning slams. However, Medvedev is the only previous slam winner of the three. Zverev has famously blown some 2-set leads in slams, and Casper has struggled to be competitive in the latter stages of slams. 

I don’t think we would see anyone consistently dominate the tour like Sinner and Alcaraz have. The slams would likely be split among 3 maybe even 4 players and there would be frequent changes with who is # 1 and #2 in the world. 

There is also the question of would Djokovic have already won a record 25th slam on a Tour without Jannik and Carlos? It’s quite possible. 

It is really difficult to predict what could happen in hypothetical scenarios, especially in tennis. But it is interesting to think about different “what if” scenarios now and then. 

I personally feel fortunate to be a fan at a time where two great players like Sinner & Alcaraz are making history and are bringing so much excitement to the sport. 

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Who Won Last Week’s Tournaments?

The final trophies of the ATP “regular season” were handed out and the WTA season had a thrilling finish at the WTA Finals.

At the Belgrade Open, Denis Shapovolov captured his first title in 5 years, defeating Serbian wildcard Hamad Medjedovic in the final 6-4 6-4. The win moved the Canadian up 22 spots to #56. Not a bad way to cap his comeback season.

In France, home favorite and qualifier Benjamin Bonzi won his first title with a 7-6 (6) 6-4 win over Cam Norrie. The win bounced Bonzi way up the rankings, and back into the top 100 at #77. 

Coco Gauff brushed aside all the talk about her “down” season with a captivating victory at the WTA Finals. 

Coco earned two big straight set wins in group play over #6 Jessica Pegula (6-3 6-2) and #2 Iga Swiatek (6-3 6-4) to book her spot in the semifinals. In the semis, she continued her great form to take down world #1 Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets 7-6 (4) 6-3. In the final, she faced a player making her debut at the Finals, Qinwen Zheng. She had to fight from a set and a break down, but eventually got the win in one of the best matches of the year 3-6 6-4 7-6 (2). The win also secured a top 3 finish in the WTA rankings.

Who’s Playing This Week?

The ATP Finals kicked off on Sunday, and for the first time since 2001, no members of the Big 3 are participating. Also, the Billie Jean King Cup will crown its champion this week.

On the first day of action at the ATP Finals, Taylor Fritz got his first win in group play in straight sets 6-4 6-3 over Daniil Medvedev. Jannik Sinner also won his first match over Alex de Minaur 6-3 6-4.

Even though players like Jessica Pegula and Naomi Osaka have pulled out of the event, the Billie Jean King Cup will still have plenty of starts to watch. Iga Swiatek will suit up for Poland, and Danielle Collins (USA), Paula Badosa (Spain), & Emma Raducanu (Great Britain) will also be in action. 

Rankings Watch

Here are some of the top movers in this week’s rankings:

Men:

• Benjamin Bonzi #77 (+47)

• Hamad Medjedovic #112 (+44)

• Denis Shapovolov #56 (+22)

• Cameron Norrie #50 (+7)

Women:

• Irina-Camelia Begu #83 (+19)

• Rebecca Marino #103 (+12)

• Barbora Krejcikova #10 (+3)

• Qinwen Zheng #5 (+2)

In Case You Missed It!

As always, there were plenty of hot shots and great rallies in last week’s tournaments.

Check out some of the highlights from the title runs of Denis Shapovolov, Benjamin Bonzi, & Coco Gauff!

One Last Thing!

Once again, If you guys want your questions answered in next week’s newsletter check out the post in the Community tab of the Courtside Tennis YouTube channel. You can also email us, drop them in the discord, or leave a comment on our most recent Youtube video. Make sure to put Courtside Digest before the comment so that way we can find it more easily. Thanks!