Nothing compares to the delight of seeing your favourite tennis players compete live in person or on the TV screen. The tennis calendar for both the men’s and women’s tour is a busy and lengthy one as players try to accumulate as many points to get into the major events. Here are just some of the best tournaments you cannot miss…
Australian Open (Melbourne)
The Australian Open, which begins the competitive tennis season in mid-January, is the first Grand Slam of the year. Given that the top 20 players don’t even earn that many points throughout the course of the whole season of competing in other events, the Australian Open champion receives a staggering 2,000 ranking points. Meaning that during this fortnight of men’s and women’s singles, doubles, junior’s, and wheelchair championships, this tournament pits the best against one another on the blue and green courts.
The Australian Open has gone a long way since it first began in 1905, and it is now recognised as a major tennis competition worldwide. Since it has been taking place in Melbourne for the past three decades, this magnificent event has given us more winning legends than we could ever need. Mats Wilander, Rod Laver, Andre Agassi, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer are a few of the famous men legends. Margaret Smith, Steffi Graf, and Martina Hingis are just a few of the notable female icons.
Melbourne continues to be the “Best Sports Tourism Destination of The Year” due to its unmatched sports culture in comparison to other Australian locations. With an endless programme of sporting activities, it draws a variety of sports lovers all year long. But the Australian Open, which takes place from January 14 to January 27, is unquestionably one of Melbourne’s largest events, drawing more than 780,000 locals and tourists.
BNP Paribas Open (Indian Wells)
The Indian Wells Masters, also known as the Indian Wells Open and BNP Paribas Open, takes places at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, California, in early-to mid-March. It is a Masters 1000 event for ATP and WTA. Former no.2 player Tommy Haas is the tournament director. It is the world’s biggest ATP Tour and WTA Tour event combined, which go on for two weeks. The event, which attracts more than 475,000 spectators each year, features the top players in the globe vying for more than $17 million in prize money.
It is regarded as one of the top sporting and entertainment arenas in the entire world. The cutting-edge venue has a year-round tennis club that is available to the public, as well as amazing live music performances and a variety of sporting events.
Miami Open (Miami)
The Miami Open, also referred to as the Miami Masters and, for sponsorship purposes, now branded as the Miami Open presented by Itau, takes places at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. Both the men’s ATP Tour Masters 1000 circuit and the women’s WTA 1000 circuit include it. Typically, the Miami Open takes place in March or April.
The Miami Open tennis campus is a cosy spectator zone that showcases Florida’s culture, cuisine, art, and entertainment and accentuated by the sport’s largest TV screen to watch every player in action.
Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters
The Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters is the first of three ATP Masters 1000 competitions held on clay, and it marked its 100th anniversary in 2006. Due to its gorgeous setting, the Monte-Carlo Country Club, and lengthy history of champions, the tournament is a player and fan favourite.
Since 2009, Monte Carlo has been the only Masters 1000 competition without a required player commitment. Despite this classification, the majority of the best players choose to participate in the competition.
The only player to win eight straight championships in the same tournament was Rafael Nadal, who did so between 2005 and 2012. He competed in his 11th final in 2017 and defeated Albert Ramos Violas to win the championship a record-tying 10 times in the Open Era. In the final against Kei Nishikori the following year, Nadal increased this record to 11 victories.
Billie Jean King Cup
Billie Jean King Cup by BNP Paribas is the women’s world cup of tennis – the highest international tennis competition for women.
Players have the opportunity to represent their country in a sport that is primarily played by individuals at this renowned team competition. This is one of the only times in the year we see the top female tennis players strive together as a team and show compassionate dedication to their nation, team players and fans.
It was launched as the Federation Cup that was introduced in 1963 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the ITF, and it continues to draw the top female athletes in the sport. It was shortly abbreviated to “Fed Cup” from 1994 to 2020. Prior to being renamed the Billie Jean King Cup in September 2020 as a worthy tribute to a tennis superstar and long time advocate for social justice and equality.
French Open (Paris)
The French Open, usually referred to as Roland-Garros, is the second major grand slam of the year and home to the finest clay courts in the world. It lasts for two weeks and is held in the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, starting in late May. Both the competition and the location bear the name Roland Garros, a French aviator. There are 20 courts within the 21-acre Stade Roland Garros complex. The centrepiece, Court Phillippe Chatrier, was built in 1928 and has seating for nearly 15,000 people. The second largest show court bears Suzanne Lenglen’s name, a legendary former French tennis star.
The total prize money of the French Open for singles is over whopping 43 million euros, which allows the men’s and women’s singles champions to take home over more than 2 million euros.
Wimbledon (London)
The Wimbledon Championships is the oldest and most prestigious tennis competition in the world. It has been hosted at the All England Club in the heart of Wimbledon, London, since 1877. It is the only major currently held on grass and is the only Grand Slam that still enforces a curfew at night, despite the fact that matches can now go until 11 p.m. under the lights. It is the home of tradition and elegance, where high standards are prioritised at all times.
Wimbledon is known for its royal patronage and all-white dress code for contestants and serves the famous strawberries and cream, which is also part of their rich heritage. Another unique aspect of Wimbledon is the Aorangi Terrace, often known as “Henman Hill” or “Murray Mound”. During the event, masses of spectators without show court tickets can watch live tennis matches on a giant television screen at the side of No.1 Court from a grass-banked area in the grounds.
US Open (New York)
The US Open Tennis Championships is an annual hard-court tennis competition, which takes place in Queens, New York. It has historically been the year’s fourth and last Grand Slam competition. The French Open, Wimbledon, and the other three are listed in chronological order. The final Monday in August is when the US Open begins. It is distinct from the other Grand Slam competitions in that it is the only one to use tiebreaks in the decisive set. The US Open will play a tiebreak if a match goes to a fifth set and that set finishes at 6-6 as opposed to the other Grand Slams, who will continue to play until one player has a two-game advantage.
Particularly for its entertaining nature, this Grand Slam frequently hosts exhibition games. For a professional/celebrity doubles match, tennis players Andy Roddick and Andy Murray paired up with actors Will Arnett and Will Ferrel, respectively. The spectators go wild, and the atmosphere gets fired up, which makes it such an experiential place to visit.
Davis Cup Finals
The Davis Cup described as the men’s World Cup of tennis, is the premier international team event, which is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF). Founded in 1900 by Dwight Davis, it is the largest yearly international team competition in all of sport. The tournament started in 1900, as a challenge between Great Britain and the United States. By 2016, 135 nations entered teams into the competition. Great Britain has been the only country to participate in every competition, which has won the trophy ten times.
Nitto ATP finals (London)
The ATP Finals is the ATP Tour’s annual season-ending championship. The top-eight singles players and top-eight doubles teams from the season are represented, making it the most important tournament on the ATP schedule after the four majors. The event is occasionally characterised as a “fifth Grand Slam” because of the significance associated with participating in and winning the competition.
The competition has a special format that is not used by any other ATP Tour competitions: the players are divided into two groups of four and play three round-robin matches in each group. The top two players from each group advance to the semi-finals following the round-robin stage, and the winner is decided in the final. Under the current competition rules, the victor may collect up to 1,500 ranking points if they are an undefeated champion in the round-robin round.
Despite having a different name at the time, the competition was first conducted in 1970. Six singles championships are shared held by Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, while Peter Fleming and John McEnroe hold seven doubles championships.
WTA finals
The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) holds the WTA Finals, formerly known as the WTA Tour Championships or WTA Championships, at the conclusion of each season. The top WTA-ranked athletes are the only ones allowed to compete in the event. The Virginia Slims Circuit, which was the forerunner of the WTA Tour, held its championship tournament in 1972, when the format was first used. Eight singles players have been split into two round-robin groups since 2003, along with eight doubles teams.
After the majors, the WTA Finals offers the highest prize money and ranking points. With 8 singles and 13 doubles victories, Martina Navratilova is the most successful player.
The point totals for the singles are determined by adding the point totals from sixteen different competitions (excluding ITF and WTA 125 tournaments). A player’s best results from two WTA 1000 tournaments with 900 points for the winner, two WTA 1000 tournaments with 900 points for the winner, four Grand Slam events, and four WTA 1000 tournaments with 1,000 points for the winner must be included among these sixteen tournaments.
In the doubles, point totals are determined by any combination of the year’s eleven tournaments. This combination does not have to contain outcomes from Grand Slam or WTA 1000 competitions, unlike in the singles.
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