New thread for a new year!
The tennis season starts tomorrow with the United Cup, what are everyone's predictions for the year ahead regarding major winners, breakthrough players, big surprises etc.?
My predictions for the four slams are -
Australian Open - Jannik Sinner/ Aryna Sabalenka
French Open - Carlos Alcaraz/ Iga Swiatek
Wimbledon - Jannik Sinner/ Amanda Anisimova
US Open - Jannik Sinner/ Aryna Sabalenka
ATP Year-End 2026 Top 10 Predictions:
1 - Jannik Sinner
2 - Carlos Alcaraz
3 - Alexander Zverev
4 - Novak Djokovic
5 - Taylor Fritz
6 - Ben Shelton
7 - Lorenzo Musetti
8 - Jack Draper
9 - Casper Ruud
10 - Felix Auger-Aliassime
Alex de Minaur to drop out of the Top 10 but remain in the Top 15.
Players such as Jiri Lehecka, Jakub Mensik, Joao Fonseca and Flávio Cobolli to all be around 10-15 range.
Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, Karen Khachanov to remain in the 11-20 zone along with Davidovich Fokina and Bublik.
Holger Rune and Tommy Paul to return from injury successfully.
Surprise players to have a breakthrough year and enter the Top 30 - Ethan Quinn and Jenson Brooksby.
Lots of top players to have strong comeback years - Dimitrov, Fils, Humbert, Hurkacz, Korda, Berrettini
WTA Year-End 2026 Top 10 Predictions:
1 - Aryna Sabalenka
2 - Iga Swiatek
3 - Amanda Anisimova
4 - Coco Gauff
5 - Elena Rybakina
6 - Jessica Pegula
7 - Mirra Andreeva
8 - Belinda Bencic
9 - Victoria Mboko
10 - Jasmine Paolini
Madison Keys to drop out of the Top 10 and drop well down as she struggles to recapture the form of the previous year. Ekaterina Alexandrova to also fall out of the Top 10 but remain in the 11-20 range while Victoria Mboko will establish herself in the Top 10 in her first full season on the main tour.
Qinwen Zheng to have a strong return from injury and come close to the Top 10 along with Naomi Osaka, Clara Tauson, Liudmila Samsonova and Karolina Muchova.
ATP Next Gen Finalists 2026 Predictions:
1 - Joao Fonseca
2 - Martin Landaluce
3 - Nicolai Budkov Kjaer
4 - Rafael Jodar
5 - Justin Engel
6 - Rei Sakamoto
7 - Federico Cina
8 - Joel Schwarzler
Darwin Blanch and Henry Bernet as the dark horses.
What's up with Jack Draper?
Finally watching some of this United Cup stuff, Billy Harris acquitting himself well in his place.
For the AO this year, having previously supported Alcaraz on his rise up the ranks to double Wimbledon champion, I am changing track to Fritz now as I believe Alcaraz is getting a bit too metro for my taste with the pink sleeveless tops and the whole “I love myself” aesthetic. There’s only so much flexing, posing and slow‑motion fist pumps you can do before it gets childish. A man can take two rounds before wondering if he’s supporting an athlete or his brand.
Don’t get me wrong, the kid is a phenomenon. His game is outrageous, his movement is ridiculous, and he’s probably going to win another ten Slams before he’s 30. But somewhere along the way the raw and slightly awkward teenager turned into a walking ad campaign. Every match now feels like a cross between a forehand lesson and a fragrance advert.
But as a fan, I find myself drifting toward players who look like they’ve just crawled out of a five‑setter rather than a photoshoot. And before anyone says it, yes, I know the results speak for themselves. He’s still winning. He’s still electric. He’s still the most talented young player on the planet.
So I’m stepping off the Alcaraz train. No hard feelings. No bitterness. Just a quiet acknowledgement that the vibe has changed and I’m looking elsewhere to place my support. He’ll be fine without me.
For me, Alcaraz has moved into a different lane. There’s nothing wrong with that, it’s just not my lane and never was. He’ll probably win another Wimbledon next year but I’m also a big Fritz fan.
For me, Taylor is very Gen Z, with his influencer girlfriend and the whole LA ecoshpere vibe. There’s something that says, he doesn’t pretend to be anything other than what he is, a slightly clumsy big hitting American with a monster forehand.
Tennis needs that right now. We’ve had years of boring media‑trained robots. Fritz brings a bit of flair, chaos, and “I’ll date who I want” wnergy. It’s no coincidence Andre Agassi was in his fathers remit growing up or at least knew his father from his academy in Vegas.
Fritz feels like a man who could lose in the first round or beat a top‑five player depending on what side of the bed he woke up on. There’s something human about that. He’s flawed, sometimes brilliant, occasionally disastrous, but entertaining..
He brings a bit of personality back into the sport like his predecessor from vegas Andre Agassi. And if he ever actually puts it together for a full tournament, he could be dangerous and pick off a few Slams. Until then, I’ll back him and enjoy the ride.
Is there an Australian Open thread yet? The draw has been made and some cracking first round matches like Dimitrov vs Mahac and De Minaur vs Berrettini.
Here you are!
I see Raducanu has sacked her coach.
What a surprise. I must send my CV in. 2 years money up front…..
At what point does introspection start and one starts to think that if you've had 9 coaches by the age of 23, perhaps the problem isn't the coach?
Officially Raducanu's parents have 'stepped back', but I'd hazard a guess that they're still pulling most of the strings behind the scenes.
She got off to a winning start today in Cluj anyway, 60 64 against Greet Minnen.
Raducanu was 0-5 down....has now won 10 games in a row....
So 7-5 3-0 currently..... frustratingly erratic as usual.
Nice to see Jack Draper back in a Davis cup match, straightforward looking win.
Raducanu through to semi in Romania and Boulter (who was in pretty desperate form) same in Czech Republic.
Raducanu into the Cluj final, first final since winning the US Open. Would be nice to see her winning something again, and no doubt a good confidence booster. Will have her work cut out for her against Sorana Cirstea and (presumably) a boisterous crowd though.
Raducanu taken apart by Cirstea quite easily, 60 62. No fight, no energy and looked like she didn't even want to be there.
Cirstea a massive step up opponent wise.
Better news for Boulter winning in three sets despite a bad wobble when throwing away the first set.
Norrie up a set and a break against DeMinaur.
That performance from Raducanu yesterday looked abysmal from the highlights....and the score 6-1, 6-1
Djokovic up next for Draper
Apparently the good play has been coached out of her…….Just guessing but maybe going through coaches like you know what through a goose isn't helping?
I think Raducanu is going to sit around the 20 -30 mark. Seems she can't compete with the higher ranked players. Maybe she might be more comfortable with a female coach? A couple of big wins for Kartel against Navarro and then Keys. What has happened to Boulter? She seems to be dropping like a stone. Is it that she is more interested in wedding plans at the minute.
Have only been dipping in and out of Indian Wells. Tiafoe vs Zverev should be a good one to watch tonight if it is shown.
Yeah she seems to just be churning through them I think about 9 since she won the US open?!
Draper defending a lot of points with winning Indian Wells last year, but him against Djokovic could be fun. Norrie looks to have a winnable match against Hijikata. Kartal has Rybakina next can't see her beating her but who knows.
Osaka getting a pummelling at the hands of Sabalenka, who is playing very well (and very, very loudly 🙄)
Can't see Kartel causing Rybakina any trouble in the match. Not a fan of kartels game.
Zverev in control of his match against Tiafoe.
Unbelievable, lights out tennis from Alcaraz in his game v Ruud.
Can't see it being anything other than straight sets.
Kartal on earlier than expected after a retirement in the march before. I fear it might be similar to the Alcaraz/Ruud game!
Draper beats Djokovic in a third set tiebreak, big win for him.
Fantastic match from both players - superb play
Really surprised to wake this morning to the news that Svitolina had beaten Swiatek. I went to bed when Iga won the 2nd set, as she seemed to be on the march. Thats a really good win for Svitolina, she should get some confidence from it.
I (foolishly, because I had a very early start today) stayed up for the whole match - Iga never really got into it at all, she looked horribly out of sorts. The odd point here and there were flashes of her old self, and occasionally she strung a few together, but she never looked convincing. The commentators referred to the panic that seems to set in when things aren't going her way - she's an excellent front runner but can't seem to scrap and fight from behind - and that was really obvious last night.
Svitolina, on the other hand, although she had a good few poor periods, just looked calm and worked her way back into it.
I continue to be very impressed by her physical and mental agility!
Draper unsurprisingly looked a bit wrecked against Medvedev, that hindrance call came at pretty key point in second set
Jesus, even by her own standards the screeching and screaming is off the scale in this Sabalenka final 🙄
Hoping and praying that Elena can find a break, and soon..
Medvedev pushed Sinner hard, 2 tie breaks….
