Rafael Nadal is no longer here, Roger Federer’s trail is even more distant and, with the great fight for three-way history now settled, Novak Djokovic breathlessly faces another superior challenge. He still has some rope left, says the Serbian, but ahead is once again the most demanding face of Annapurna, the two young people who divided the last course in bites and who definitively established the new era; that is, no interference, at least not where the real battle is fought. Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, two greats each and a demonstration of strength that opened a wide chasm between them and the others, without exception; Until proven otherwise, the rest seem like mere decoration between the two new totems that converge and point again to yours-mine on the major stages of this 2025, unless a sudden inspiration illuminates the secondary ones, which sometimes Don’t let him rebel or let the protagonists themselves show signs of conformism. It doesn’t look good.
“Alcaraz is capable of creating more things on the court. At his best level, he is better than Sinner,” says coach Patrick Mouratoglou in statements collected by Tennis Majors. The facts say, however, that the Italian is today the undisputed man to beat, in command of the circuit since he won number one in June —almost 4,000 points ahead of the second in the rankingthe German Alexander Zverev—and transformed into a bullet since then. The one from San Cándido wins, wins and wins without stopping, in the same way that what happened in 2024 shows that if anyone can stop him it is the Murcian, three wins in as many matches during the last year. It happens that in terms of linearity, the current governor competes several inches ahead and not even the trace of doping distracted him, pending now whether or not the appeal presented by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) will succeed as a result of the double positive detected. in a March control.
With tennis pending that ruling, the two have sharpened over the last month to arrive ready for Melbourne, both without previous stops: straight into trouble. “I know that sooner or later I will win the Australian Open,” says the Spaniard, who perceives the biggest stimulus of the year in the first highlight event; conquered Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open, also reached the top, a victory in the event that begins on the 12th would allow him to close the circle of the four majors at only 21 years old. The redhead, 23, is looking forward to the two Europeans and sighs while waiting for the verdict, knowing that things would have to change a lot soon for someone to interfere between him and the man from El Palmar. Maybe Zverev? Maybe Medvedev? Perhaps some unexpected takeoff? It doesn’t seem like it. Them and the rest, two different planets. There is, however, the intimidating presence of the old Djokovic, who at 37 years old (for 38) is reformulating to capture the 25th major, a record among records, and also the 100th title. At nine is the record holder Jimmy Connors, so close and so far at the same time.
Without the company of the two contemporaries, Belgrade remains like an islet and facing a transcendental course, which will largely convey where its steps should go: withdrawal or more wood. Despite having to undergo surgery, he sealed 2024 with Olympic gold – in addition to the Australian semi-finals and the Wimbledon final – and despite having fallen to seventh place on the list and having lost momentum, he says he still feels the tingling to compete. In order not to lose vigor or appetite, he now entrusts himself to the inner fire that the Scot Andy Murray, forcibly retired, also retains. While waiting to see how the new formula works, very attractive in the eyes of the spectator, the Balkan player hopes to regain his rhythm through tournaments. “My priority was the Games and I achieved it,” he says from Brisbane; “I have had more ups and downs than other years, I have been more irregular, but now I plan to play more [11 competiciones la última temporada] and, in this way, hopefully, my level will rise.”
Sabalenka, Swiatek… and Badosa
The Serbian laureate is not amused at how the code was encrypted. sinner casethose five months of silence that elapsed since the International Tennis Federation (ITF) detected the Italian’s irregularity – acquitted after the investigation – until it was formally communicated. In between, the number one was able to continue competing and then had to do so amidst the background noise and shadow, which at the end of November obscured the name of the player who has dominated the WTA circuit in recent years, Iga Swiatek. The Polish woman was suspended for a month as a result of the result of a sample contaminated by a drug (trimetazidine) to alleviate problems falling asleep, but in her case there has been no appeal from WADA. The one-on-one with Aryna Sabalenka, then, will continue to predominate in a more oscillating territory, the feminine, but equally dictated by two voices.
In October, coinciding with the sanction period, the Belarusian (26 years old) dethroned the one from Warsaw (23) and in the next few days she will emerge as a great favorite in Australia, where she triumphed in the last two editions. Her evolution has multiplied her performance, while Swiatek continues to magnify her work from Paris – four trophies, three in succession – and the American Coco Gauff (20) appears as an alternative, although still at a notable distance. If the ATP is today a story of two, the girls fight at the cadence set by Sabalenka and Swiatek. Among the others, the decline of Elena Rybakina (25), the interesting rise of the Chinese Qinwen Zheng (22) and a revulsive angelic appearance that hints and yet to be exploited, the young Mirra Andreeva (17).
In a Spanish key, the focus is on Paula Badosa, the new reference after the departure of Garbiñe Muguruza. The 27-year-old Catalan made an outstanding recovery – recognized as the best comeback in the last campaign – and will try to make the leap that has eluded her until now in the majors, with the quarterfinals achieved at Roland Garros (2021) and Flushing Meadows (2024) as a limit. His tenacity and perseverance have guided him towards the frontier of top-10 and, once he has learned to live better or worse with his back problems, another acceleration is necessary to truly refute the strongest ones. With a risky proposal, relying on the service and trying to solve with the fewest possible number of shots, it will squeeze its possibilities knowing that the train waits for no one and that it must consolidate growth to settle in the intended privileged space. .
