Qatar’s Queen: Tennis Insights

What a time to be alive!

It’s a three-peat for Iga Świątek in Doha as the Pole finds her spark once again but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The entire week was off the charts on and off the courts but we were able to come up with a super quick 5-minute summary for you.

Before we get into it, please feel free to share any hot takes for the 2024 tennis season that you want us to feature on the channel in the link below.

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The main storyline of the week revolved around equality in Men and Women’s tennis. As a result, we saw fit to upload a video highlighting the differences between Men and Women’s tennis and what happens when both sexes play against each other.

We also just dropped our weekly special recap of the entire week and all the drama that went on with Rafael Nadal’s Saudi Arabia comments among the main themes. With the tension being at an all-time high, our audience has had a lot to say on both videos. Be sure to check out both videos here. 

What Happened Last Week

The ATP Tour continued its spread across three continents this week as Rotterdam, Buenos Aires and Delray Beach host events from 12-18 February.

Rotterdam (ABN AMRO) Open

Jannik Sinner continued his red-hot form, winning the title in Rotterdam after beating Alex De Minaur 7-5,6-4 in the final. The Italian’s win will now see him hit a career high world no. 3 on Monday. Alex De Minaur will also jump a couple of spots to no. 9. 

Argentina Open

Nicholas Jarry takes on Facundo Diaz Acosta after upsetting top seed and defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in the Semifinal.

Delray Beach Open

Taylor Fritz takes on Tommy Paul in the all-American final. No. 3 seed Tommy Paul steamrolled second seed Frances Tiafoe in the semifinal and will be looking to capture back-to-back titles on American soil.

Qatar Open WTA 1000 

Iga Swiatek made it a hattrick of titles in Doha after stopping Elena Rybakina 7-6(8), 6-2 on Saturday. As a result, Iga became the first player in nearly nine years to win a WTA Tour event three consecutive times, the last person being Serena Williams after she won her third consecutive title in Miami.

The Biggest Movers Of The Week 

ATP

On the Men's side, Marcos Giron, Alexander Shechenko, and Facundo Diaz Acosta all hit career highs. Meanwhile, Jannik Sinner will enter into the Top 3 for the first time in his career after winning the title in Rotterdam.

WTA

On the women’s side, Jelena Ostapenko will finally break into the Top 10 when the rankings get updated on Monday while Maria Sakkari will fall out of the Top 10 after her round-of-32 loss in Doha. Outside of the Top 10, these are the biggest movers of the week. Naomi Osaka sees a massibe leap 461 spots up after reaching the quarterfinal in Doha.

But what tournaments do we have coming up?

Major Tournament Updates 

Rio Open (19 February - 25 February, 2024)

All the top eight seeds at the tournament are ranked in the Top 40 and are led by World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz. Carlitos will be looking to bounce back from his shocking defeat to Nicolas Jarry in Buenos Aires. Alcaraz won’t receive a first-round bye and will therefore begin his campaign in the first round against home wild card Thiago Monteiro. Cameron Norrie, Nicholas Jarry, and Francisco Cerundolo are the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th seeds respectively.

Qatar Open (19 February - 24 February, 2024)

Although we saw Daniil Medvedev and Rafael Nadal withdraw from the tournament in Doha, we still have some of the biggest names to watch. Andrey Rublev will be the top seed while last year finalist Andy Murray will also be present at the tournament. We will also be seeing Karen Khachanov, Ugo Humbert, Alexander Bublik, and Lorenzo Musetti play in Doha. Who do you see winning the title?

Los Cabos Open (19 February - 24 February, 2024)

The tournament usually took place in July or August, but it was moved to February this year, creating a short Mexican swing alongside the Mexican Open in Acapulco. Alexander Zverev is the top seed but other big names participating include defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas, Casper Ruud, and Alex De Minaur. Holger Rune has withdrawn from the tournament due to injury.

Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships (18 February - 24 February, 2024)

The Hologic WTA Tour concludes its three-tournament tour through the Middle East on the outdoor hard courts at the Dubai. Barbora Krejcikova won the tournament last year to capture her first WTA 1000 title after becoming just the fifth woman to defeat the reigning World No.1, No.2, and No.3 at a WTA tournament. However, she has now withdrawn due to a back injury.

Last year finalist Iga Swiatek leads the way along with No.2 Aryna Sabalenka, who will play her first tournament since winning the Australian Open. Eight of the WTA's Top 10 are set to play Dubai, with the exception of  No.5 Jessica Pegula due to neck injury and No.10 Karolina Muchova due to wrist injury. These are the top 8 seeds.

More updates to come.

Watch Out For This Player

Tallon Griekspoor

Although he couldn’t convert any of the 6 breakpoints he had against Jannik Sinner at the Rotterdam Open semifinal, Griekspoor was able to turn up the heat against the Italian in the second set with some of the most devastating ball-striking we had seen in the tournament. Also, his wins against Hubert Hurkacz and Lorenzo Musetti in the earlier rounds were absolutely impressive. If he continues to improve his decision making on crucial points, he might have a chance at finally cracking the Top 20 this season.

HOT TAKE

Stefanos Tsitsipas will drop out of the Top 10 when the ATP ranking gets updated on Monday and it will be the first time we won’t have any one-handed backhanders in the ATP top ten. That being said, we believe that this could actually be the beginning of the end for one-handed backhanders at the highest level of competition. This doesn’t mean that Tsitsipas or Grigor Dimitrov won’t return to the Top 10. It just means that going forward, we may likely see fewer players use one-handed backhands because of its obvious deficits on the offense and defense.

Off The Court

Nadal Stirs The Pot

Rafael Nadal touched upon the pay gap in tennis in a recent interview. He pointed out how women earn more in modeling than men simply because they are in higher demand. In Rafa’s words, "What is unfair is that there is no equal opportunity. If you ask me if I am a feminist, if a feminist means saying that they deserve the same opportunities, yes I am." He then added that, "I don't want me to earn more than Serena Williams because I am Rafa Nadal. I want women to earn more than men if they generate more than men."

"The prizes, in tennis, are practically the same. Why? Because there was the opportunity for women's tennis to be liked by the world. Women's tennis is liked by the world, they earn a lot of money. If the women world champions are popular, they fill the stadiums... The more they win, the better," Said Rafa.

What do you make of those remarks?

Simona Halep Sues Quantum Nutrition

The company made the supplement that Halep says led to her 4-year doping ban. Halep is now seeking over $10 million in damages in addition to punitive damages due to the company’s negligence.

Trivia Of The Week

Roger Federer holds the joint-record of the most Rotterdam Open titles (3) with Arthur Ashe. Federer won the tournament in 2005, 2012, and 2018. Despite being one of the more popular tournaments, the other members of The Big 3 traditionally skip the event. Rafael Nadal has not participated since 2009 while Novak Djokovic has not played there since 2010 despite tournament director Richard Krajicek trying to convince Novak every year.

Highlights Of The Week

1. Point of the Tournament

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2. Speed Demon

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Until next time, keep swinging.

For The Love of Tennis