Tennis Random, Random (On Court)

[ponchi101]

Other than Swiatek dominating that year in Guadalajara, Svitolina and Rybakina are not players that you expect to dominate. Elina simply does not have the power, Elena does not have the consistency. Those undefeated campaigns were great, but you would not expect that too often.
I think the lack of a dominant player in the WTA is not pointed out by that. You can see it in the results of the year: 5 big tournaments, 5 different winners. The only consistent player is Aryna, who reached 4 finals and one semi. And even then, she is not that far above the rest.

[ti-amie]

[JTContinental]

Was I in a coma when they announced Nick Kyrgios was going to play Sabalenka in an exo?

[ashkor87]

Was I in a coma when they announced Nick Kyrgios was going to play Sabalenka in an exo?

why? it could actually be an ideal exho.. prove nothing, of course, but these kinds of matchups never do.

[ponchi101]

Nick needs the money, probably.
Nah, he was so well endorsed.

[ashkor87]

I would bet on Saba but maybe too fragile mentally like Court was vs Riggs?

[ponchi101]

Court wasn't weak against Riggs. Riggs just played for real that match.
It was the BJK match that he rope-a-doped everybody. Remember that the guy was the consummate hustler. He had money on himself.

This one will be just hit and giggles. Kyrgios is still too young for his tennis power to have deteriorated at all. If he even presses a bit, there is nothing Aryna can do.

[ti-amie]

[JTContinental]

Cue the whining from players about not having enough time off, all of whom take more time off during the year than most of us do, even subtracting training time from their time off.

[ponchi101]

Cue the whining from players about not having enough time off, all of whom take more time off during the year than most of us do, even subtracting training time from their time off.

Oh, you called me?
For the top players, and the length of the tour:
Yesterday, to my surprise, I catch that they are showing the Carrasco Challenger on TV. Playing in the semis are Cristian Garin and Barrios Veria; not a couple of nobody's.
That tells you how difficult this sport is. Garin was, just a few years ago, a top player. Now he is relegated to playing Challengers in Uruguay. Go tell him the season is too long. He obviously needs the money, and he needs to play into late November.

[JTContinental]

Meanwhile, Taylor Fritz is complaining that he only gets one week off between now and January 1, to which I say, maybe cut down on the Saudi Arabian exos (which he won't)

[mick1303]

From Monte Carlo 2010 to Miami 2012 - 2 years: Djokovic and Nadal split slams 4:4, neither of them won YEC, Nadal won 4 MS, Djokovic won 6 MS.
Comparing to 2024-2025:
Sinner and Alcaraz split slams 4:4, Sinner won both YEC, Alcaraz and Sinner won 4 MS each. So they as a duo done marginally better - the same amount of big titles, but swapped 2 YEC for 2 MS.
I can't find any 2 years period when the domination was that large and at the same time there was so little separation between the top 2.

[ponchi101]

And in 2010-2012, Rafa and Novak had Roger, Murray and Stan to contend with (I know, Stan was never a dominant force, but, three slams gets him in the conversation).
I say the level that Carlos and Jannik are dealing with is a bit below; you can see it when they do not show at a tournament, and it is really a crapshoot. It is not a weak era, but it is not a golden era either.

[mick1303]

And in 2010-2012, Rafa and Novak had Roger, Murray and Stan to contend with (I know, Stan was never a dominant force, but, three slams gets him in the conversation).
I say the level that Carlos and Jannik are dealing with is a bit below; you can see it when they do not show at a tournament, and it is really a crapshoot. It is not a weak era, but it is not a golden era either.

That's why I picked that specific time - before that Roger was a factor, after that Murray and then in 2014-2016 - Wawrinka. And while Djokovic and Nadal still were the main characters, they did not dominate to such degree as during this specific time.
If we'll limit ourselves with calendar years only, I suspect 2024-25 is unprecedented.
In 2006-2007 numerically Federer and Nadal were slightly more dominant, but it can't compare because their results were not that balanced, Federer led 6-2 in slams, won both YEC during that time, etc.

[mick1303]

And in 2010-2012, Rafa and Novak had Roger, Murray and Stan to contend with (I know, Stan was never a dominant force, but, three slams gets him in the conversation).
I say the level that Carlos and Jannik are dealing with is a bit below; you can see it when they do not show at a tournament, and it is really a crapshoot. It is not a weak era, but it is not a golden era either.

I'm not subscribing to "weak/strong era" theories. IMO it is an engine for fans to discredit the achievements of the players they do not like, because they can't do this on the basis of merit. Then "weak era" narrative comes into play. I think on average tour is getting gradually stronger, it is a natural process in any sport. Maybe with the exception of professional boxing (the overall number of fighters is declining and they fight each other less frequently).