Although the narratives surrounding majors and the next generation of talent across the ATP and in 2024 have been remarkable, the calendar year has still been one of the saddest in recent memory due to key retirements.
2022 was nothing but a dagger to the heart of tennis lovers when Roger Federer, Serena Williams and Juan Martín del Potro hung up the racket, with Federer stealing tears from most fans due to his embrace with Rafael Nadal at the Laver Cup. It is Nadal who will be leaving the sport this year, which will leave a gaping whole in this sport due to the sheer unfathomable nature of some of his achievements.
His record at Roland Garros will stand the test of time, not just in tennis, but across all sports.
112 wins, four losses and 14 titles across 19 attempts at the event, becoming synonymous with the tournament and the surface it was played on.
Nadal and clay are a love story that cannot be matched in tennis terms. He made a name for himself on red dirt before he achieved his glorious accolades on hard and grass. The forehand will be forever remembered, the celebrations and his sheer willingness to sacrifice every tendon in his body for just a single point, his highlights will forever be immortalised.
His name has featured across some of the sport’s most titanic tussles, including the final of Wimbledon 2008 against Federer, in which he finally achieved major glory on a new surface, or the decider of the 2012 Australian Open, where Novak Djokovic won a nearly six-hour epic that saw both needing chairs across the presentation.
One of the illustrious 'Big Four,' another of Nadal’s major rivals, Andy Murray, has concluded his fine career in 2024, bowing out at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Constantly feeling like the bridesmaid in his early career, Murray lost his first four major finals before cracking through at the 2012 US Open against Djokovic.
The Scot actually broke into the top-two in the rankings before his Serbian counterpart, peaking there in 2009 just prior to September, but would wait a further three years for success.
He won hearts across the United Kingdom in 2013 when he broke a 76-year drought to become the first British man since Fred Perry to claim the title.
Murray would do so again in 2016 after defeating Milos Raonic in a year that saw him claim nine titles and end the year as the world’s No.1 player.
Many thought he would finally enjoy his time in the sun.
Cruelly, it was not to be for Murray, who would only claim just one more title across his career with hip injuries plaguing the latter stages of his time on the tour.
But he still left fans with memories, known for his determination on court and unwillingness to wilt even when his back was completely and firmly against the wall. Thanasi Kokkinakis will tell you all about that.
Claiming three majors, the ATP Finals and two Olympic gold medals, it is one of the all-time great careers.
When it comes to injuries, Murray shares much with Dominic Thiem, whose career concluded in Vienna this week at the hands of Luciano Darderi.
The 31-year-old dazzled fans with a blistering backhand that even Federer admitted blew him off the court.
Thiem was a clay court specialist it seemed, breaking through for titles across February’s South American swing and across April and May when play centred around the red clay that he so flourished on.
He dispatched Djokovic at Roland Garros in 2017 and made the next two finals at the event before being overcome by Nadal, but his two greatest wins came on hard courts.
First was the 2019 Indian Wells final for Thiem's maiden and sole Masters 1000 title, where he emerged victorious from a set down against Federer in what was a display of brute power and finesse that the Swiss Maestro could do nothing about. The next came 18 months later in one of the most bizarre Grand Slams ever thanks to the insidious Covid-19.
Thiem had reached the Australian Open final in January and fell in five to Djokovic, but with nobody in the stands and the tour having just resumed from a four-month lockdown, nobody was sure who the form player would be.
Paths opened up and the former world No.3 capitalised, racing to the final where he and Alexander Zverev played out one of the more dramatic deciders imaginable.
Both were tight, especially Thiem at the commencement, and he would have to be the first player since Gaston Gaudio in 2004 to win a Slam from two sets down in the last match.
That is exactly what he did, overcoming a nervy German to win what would be the concluding title of his 17 before wrist injuries began to wear him down in one of the greatest shames in the modern era of tennis.
2024 has also seen the retirement of fan favourite John Millman, the Australian gentleman who was adored by many around the world for his humility and genuine nature both on and off the court.
His win over Federer at the 2018 US Open will long live in the folklore of tennis, and his lone title in Kazakhstan in 2020 was just reward for a career of hard work and overcoming adversity with injuries.
Uruguay’s Pablo Cuevas has hung up the racquet, ending the tenure of a truly great shot maker, while Croatia’s big serving giant Ivo Karlović also called it quits after two years of inactivity.
Karlović made headlines in 2003 by becoming the first and only player in history to defeat the defending Wimbledon champion in the opening round when he trounced Lleyton Hewitt comfortably.
The enigmatic showman in Dustin Brown will conclude his career at season’s end due to persistent injuries, one of the true exponents of a grass court specialist. Who can forget when he made a name for himself by defeating Nadal at Wimbledon in one of the biggest upsets in Grand Slam history?
America’s Steve Johnson also ended his seasoned campaign on the ATP Tour.
Retirements are a part of any game, but 2024 has seen men’s tennis lose a plethora of stars and genuine people, making it as one of the saddest seasons in the sport’s history.
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