Happy New Year! It was officially a slow news week in professional tennis… BUT, live tennis is underway as tennis kicks off the 2024 “season.”
Professional tennis is broken. Here’s how to fix it: Tennis is doing what it does every 10-15 years or so — having a reckoning with its endless schedule, its nonsensical governing structure, and a competitive format that even devout fans struggle to understand. Full Story: The Athletic
Australian Open tennis tournament increases prize money: Australian Open tennis officials have announced an increase in prize money by 10 million Australian dollars ($6.8 million) for the upcoming tournament, which begins on Jan. 14 at Melbourne Park. Tournament director Craig Tiley said in a statement Friday that the Grand Slam tournament will now offer 86.5 Australian dollars ($58.4 million) in total prize money. Full Story: NBS Sports
Will Novak Djokovic finally get his long-sought Olympic gold medal: Djokovic, still healthy and motivated at age 36, dominated tennis last year—but don’t drape that gold medal around his neck just yet. Full Story: Tennis
USTA announces areas of focus and improvement for 2024 junior tournaments: The USTA is making some changes to the ranked junior competitive pathway. The updates will primarily focus on two components of the junior experience: ranked team events and the selection process for the national championships. Full Story: USTA Editorial Note: I usually don’t focus on Junior tennis, but I have thoughts on these changes coming in an upcoming post.
‘Break Point’ Season 2 trailer highlights young talent in tennis: Netflix teased Break Point Season 2 by sharing a trailer for the season. Season 2 features Aryna Sabalenka, Maria Sakkari, Jessica Pegula, Coco Gauff, Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, Daniil Mededev and other tennis pros. The trailer teases a “changing of the guard” in professional tennis. Full Story: UPI Full Trailer: YouTube Editorial Note: This trailer has clips of training techniques, so I will apparently be writing about that every Tuesday for the rest of my life.
This Week in Professional Tennis
| Date | Tournament | Tour/Level | Location |
| 12/29-1/7 | United Cup | Exhibition | Australia |
| 12/31-1/7 | Brisbane International | ATP 250 WTA 500 | Australia |
