Tennis: Variety is the Spice of Life

For the most part, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer have been battling it out for nearly a decade now at the summit of men’s tennis. In what seems almost similar to two preying mantises waiting for the other to breathe its last breathe before devouring its playmate; men’s singles has been very reliant on their talents.

Swiss tennis legend Federer has 17 Grand Slam titles to his name with his Serbian foil winning 10 during his career. Yes, it could be argued that the mercurial clay court wizard, Rafael Nadal should be muttered in the same conversation as Federer and Djokovic, having won 14, but the Spaniard now sits in 8th place in the ATP World Rankings and looks a shadow of his former self.

That’s not to say there won’t be players to rival the duo in the future – Andy Murray managed to win his first Wimbledon title in 2013, and let’s not forget Stan Wawrinka winning Roland Garros this year. Both of these players have shown tremendous promise, but that’s not the point of this article. What has come apparent in recent years is that when the Grand Slams come around, we seem to see the same old faces in the latter stages of the men’s tournament.

Again, there’s an argument in the women’s division that Serena Williams nearly accomplished a clean sweep of Grand Slams in 2015, but the performances of non- and lower seeded competitors were a lot more diverse compared to the men’s tournaments. After beating sister Serena in the quarterfinals of the US Open, many predicted that the younger Williams sister would go on to win the tournament. However, it was the turn of 33-year-old Italian Flavia Pennetta to win her first Grand Slam, and spoil the party.

Point being is that the women’s game has evolved tremendously over the last decade, and with such a competitive field nowadays, it makes for more excitement. Let’s take Wimbledon for instance; the infographic below shows that 26 unseeded women reached the quarterfinals in the last decade compared to 11 men. There have also been 9 female champions compared to 6 male champions at Wimbledon in the last decade. But probably the most interesting stat is that the top men’s seed each year has never gone out before the quarterfinals, where 8 have in the women’s.

Furthermore, you only have to look at how close the top 10 WTA Rankings are to show just how level the playing field is in women’s tennis currently. Which essentially bodes well for the future of the women’s game. Uncertainty on who is likely to prevail when Serena Williams isn’t about makes for compelling viewing, and fundamentally why women’s tennis is in the best position it’s been in for a long while.