54 – the number of WTA players who’ve reached the quarterfinals at least once in the past 12 Slam tournaments. 

Tennis experts and fans have often pointed out that men’s tennis hasn’t had much of a change of the guard in terms of big tournament winners, generally providing the same face-offs between players in the final rounds. At the same time, the last seasons of the WTA Tour have repeatedly been criticized for not providing any champions the public could become used to due to the steady turnover of winners and players competing in the last rounds of the most prestigious tournaments. To better understand if these assumptions are actually justified, we analysed the Slam draws from the past three years (starting with the 2018 US Open) and listed all the players (male and female) who reached a Major quarterfinal at least once, in an attempt to understand the differences between what’s going on the ATP and WTA tours.

41 male players have reached the quarterfinals of a Slam, while on the WTA circuit the 96 available slots have been occupied by no fewer than 54 different tennis players. We can also see this same discrepancy by looking at some other stats on the number of players to make it through only once to a Major quarterfinal: on the male tour, in the timeframe considered (the last twelve Slams played), there were 17 players, while in the female one the number rose to 21. The women whose only accomplishment was to reach one semi-final are over twice as many as the men who did the same: some of the male players are Pouille, Karatsev and Hurkacz, while the women’s list includes Sevastova, Anisimova, Strycova, Podoroska, Zidansek and Kerber.

The greatest difference between the two tours, however, can be found in the number of players who get past the semi-finals. There have only been four major tournament winners among ATP players in the past three calendar years: Djokovic (the Serbian won 7 times), Nadal (2), Thiem, and Medvedev. Among WTA players, on the other hand, there have been as many as eight different Slam tournament champions:  Osaka (a four-time winner), Barty (2), Halep, Andreescu, Kenin, Swiatek, Krejcikova, and Raducanu.

Del Potro, Zverev, Federer, Berrettini and Tsistipas were the only male players to get to the finals, but there were no fewer than nine female players achieving the same result: Serena Williams (three times), Kvitova, Vondrousova, Muguruza, Azarenka, Brady, Pavlyuchenkova, Pliskova, and Fernandez. “One-time-winners” aren’t easy to find among male players, since all four major tournament-winners (Djokovic, Nadal, Thiem and Medvedev) have done well in several other Slams, which isn’t the case amongst the female players. In the eleven Slams that we’re analysing, two players (Andreescu and Raducanu) didn’t get any other important results other than their wins; in their case, if truth be told, the explanation to this probably lies in their very young age, and in the injuries they sustained, making their “isolated” wins more than understandable.

This fact should, however, be considered together with the cases of three other female players (Krejicikova, Swiatek and Kenin) who, in addition to their finals victory, only reached the quarterfinals once. The absence of continuity in today’s strongest female circuit-players can be inferred from an additional statistic:  among male players in the past three years, Djokovic (10 times), Nadal (9), Federer (5), Thiem (5), Zverev (6), and Medvedev (5) got through to Major tournament quarterfinals at least five times, but amongst the female players only Serena Williams (6) and Barty (6) did the same.

Further confirmation of what we uncovered can be found by looking into the players in the top positions of the ATP and WTA rankings. Among the men, after the 2018 US Open, the only players who reached the first position are Djokovic and Nadal; meanwhile, Medvedev, Tsitsipas and Rublev have reached the Top 5 for the first time in the past three years. And let’s not forget Berrettini, Schwartzman, Bautista Agut, Shapovalov, and Ruud, who also made their debut in the Top 10.

In the WTA rankings, on the other hand, these past 36 months have seen Halep, Osaka and current number 1 Barty pass the queen’s crown around; compared to the men’s circuit, even more players have ascended to the Top 5 for the first time: Sabalenka, Andreescu, Bencic, Kenin. There are “only” two players, Swiatek and Krejcikova, who’ve gotten through to the first ten positions of the ranking in the time frame we’ve been looking at.

In conclusion, the tennis élite has a very different profile in the two tours. It’s a difference that is bound to be reduced as the likes of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic get older: but will the advent of new rivalries at the top be able to preserve the sport’s popularity?

Article by Ferruccio Roberti; translated by Giulia Bosatra; edited by Tommaso Villa

The 2021 US Open was historical from many points of view, starting with the full-capacity crowd coming back to Flushing Meadows. On court, we witnessed Djokovic’s bid for a Calendar Year Grand Slam fall short against Daniil Medvedev in the final, while Emma Raducanu took the tennis world by storm, winning as a qualifier and without dropping a set. These were just some of the topics of the tournament recap by Hall-of-Famer Steve Flink and Ubitennis CEO Ubaldo Scanagatta. Here’s their chat:

00:00 – Emma Raducanu’s historical feat: “She had an easier draw than Fernandez, who had to defeat many great players, but she was very impressive nonetheless!”

06:18 – Barty and Osaka’s premature exits: “Hadn’t she lost to Rogers, Barty would have won the whole thing…”

09:35 – Was Fernandez too tired during the final?

20:17 – The Canadian defeated Aryna Sabalenka, who once again missed out on a big chance: “She seems to have a split personality…”

25:24 – The men’s final – how distant was Djokovic from his best form?

28:59 – “Djokovic is the best at handling the pressure, I don’t think that was the main reason behind his defeat…”

35:05 – Was the crowd actually on Nole’s side or did they just want to witness history being made?

39:16 – What was the secret behind Medvedev’s winning tactics?

41:50 – Djokovic fell short of the Grand Slam in a similar way to Serena Williams – how similar are their performances?

50:16 – Rod Laver’s prediction for the final…

52:25 – Who is the best claycourt player, Djokovic or Federer?

55:05 – Carlos Alcaraz won over the hearts of the crowd – how quickly will he reach the Top 10?

56:29 – Is Zverev on the right track to win a Major? What about Berrettini and Sinner?

62:48 – The Canadians: who will have a better career between Shapovalov and Auger-Aliassime?

Transcript by Giuseppe Di Paola; translated and edited by Tommaso Villa

Dominic Thiem has described Emma Raducanu’s unprecedented run to the US Open title as a milestone moment in the history of women’s sport.

The British 18-year-old stunned the world of tennis in New York by becoming the first ever qualifier to win a major title. Raducanu entered the tournament ranked 150th in the world and was only playing in her fourth WTA Tour event. Nevertheless, she won 10 matches in a row without dropping a single set. During her run she beat top 20 players Belinda Bencic and Maria Sakkari. In the final she defeated fellow rising star Leylah Fernandez.

Reacting to Raducanu’s breakthrough performance, Thiem says it was ‘one of the greatest’ moments ever witnessed in sport. The Austrian won the US Open in 2020 but was unable to defend his title this year due to a wrist injury.

“For me, it’s one of the greatest achievements ever in women’s sports,” Thiem told Omnisport on Monday.
“It’s an incredible journey if you look at the stats. She didn’t lose one set the whole tournament. She came from qualifying and she didn’t even play one tiebreak.
“That’s simply amazing and something that probably was never witnessed before.
“And also the way she plays, her technique, the way she moves, somehow she brought it up to a new level for the whole game … it was great to see.”

Raducanu is the first female player from her country to win a major tournament since 1977. As a result of her New York triumph, she has surged up the rankings to a high of 23rd in the world and has an outside shot at playing in the WTA Finals later this year depending on her results at upcoming events.

Shortly after lifting the US Open trophy, Raducanu says she will continue to take things as they come and has vowed to stay grounded. Although that might be easier said than done for an athlete who has gone from being relatively unknown to becoming one of the most sought after athletes in the world in less than a year.

“For me, I don’t feel absolutely any pressure,” she said. “I’m still only 18 years old. I’m just having a free swing at anything that comes my way. That’s how I faced every match here in the States. It got me this trophy so I don’t think I should change anything.”

Djokovic was under pressure

As for the events that unfolded in the men’s tournament at Flushing Meadows, Thiem believes nerves played a part in Novak Djokovic’s final performance. The world No.1 lost in straight sets to Daniil Medvedev who won his maiden major title at the age of 25. Djokovic was on the verge of achieving the Calendar Slam which hasn’t happened on the men’s Tour since in 1968. Following his defeat, the Serbian described the past few months on the Tour for him as ‘emotionally very damaging.’

Despite suffering a blow in his quest to become the most decorated Grand Slam singles player in the history of men’s tennis, Thiem believes Djokovic will bounce back even stronger in the new season.

“I expect him to be as strong as ever in 2022. I think after he won in Roland Garros, everybody was only talking about the calendar slam – first about the golden slam, and then about the calendar slam,” Thiem told Stats Perform on Monday.
“He [Djokovic] was under pressure. Nobody can feel that or anything like that because of it being the calendar slam.
“I can feel it in a smaller way, probably from last year’s final and from some other matches. And at some points it’s just getting to you. And so, I really felt for him as well towards the end of the match.
“So, it can happen that it also makes him even stronger next year when all these talks and all this pressure is not that big anymore.”

Medvedev’s win has raised questions once again about if there is a changing in the guard happening in men’s tennis with the next generation breaking through and ending the dominance of the Big Three. Djokovic, who is the youngest member of the Big Three, was the only member of the duo who played in New York this year. Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal withdrew from the event due to injury.

“For me, there are three GOATs in the game, and each of them has achieved something very unique,” Thiem commented.
“So it’s still the same for me as it was before. The three of them are the best in the history to me.
“And I’m only super happy to be in the same era with them and to be able to compete with them. Hopefully many more times next year again.”

Thiem is set to return to competitive tennis at the start of 2022 after ending his season early due to injury.