Gigi Salmon reflects on the women's Grand Slams and finding a balance to manage the demanding nature of the schedule. She also explains why Elena Rybakina is the player to watch in 2026, and the presenter reflects on Brit Joe Salisbury taking a break from tennis due to his struggles with anxiety in her latest SportNews column.
If things are very predictable at the top of the men's game the same can't be said of the women's.
The four Grand Slams produced four different winners! Year-end No 1 was Aryna Sabalenka and the winner of the WTA Tour Finals was Elena Rybakina.
Add in the rise this year of two-time Grand Slam finalist Amanda Anisimova, who started the year ranked 36 and finished as the world No 4, there's six-time major champion Iga Swiatek, and despite the ongoing discussions about the Coco Gauff serve and forehand, she won the French Open and finished as the third best player in the world.
One thing a lot of the top female players spoke about this year was finding a balance, something to give them respite from the relentless nature of the WTA Tour which can be damaging both physically and mentally.
Sabalenka took time out at various stages of the season to recharge and switch off, during which she said she had to repeatedly and politely turn down the tequila that she was offered at nearly every restaurant she went to in Mykonos!
Having spoken to her for SportNews Tennis after winning in both Miami and Madrid she did say she would be celebrating with tequila, definitely someone who knows how to work hard and party hard!
Swiatek also suggested that moving forward she would look to make the schedule work for her and I think that it's something we will see more of the players doing as how often do we get to the back end of the year and see seasons shut down early or players not at their best due to injury or fatigue?
Ons Jabeur who we spoke to recently at the tour finals in Riyadh having stepped back from the tour in July to focus on her wellbeing, revealed that she had been struggling physically and mentally on the tennis court for two years.
She also told us that she hadn't put a timeline on when she would return, something that became more understandable in the week after the finals when she announced her pregnancy, such great news for Ons and husband Karim with the baby due in April.
Someone who was full of energy as she sprinted to the finish line was Rybakina who won Ningbo and reached the semi-finals in Tokyo to secure her place in the WTA Finals and then go on to win the final - undefeated - and collect a cheque for $5.235m!
Rybakina has a game which, when she's on, can make her unplayable. The difficulty in recent years has been the consistency whether due to illness or difficulties off the court which saw her coach Stefano Vukov provisionally suspended from the tour at the start of the year. A lengthy investigation by the WTA found him to have breached the code of conduct, specifically for 'abuse of authority and abusive conduct.'
Rybakina maintained throughout the process that she was never mistreated by Vukov and on appeal, the ban was lifted in August and he returned to the coaching box.
A fit, healthy and happy Rybakina will be very dangerous in 2026 and it all bodes well for great competition, continued rivalries and a strength in depth in the women's game highlighted by the fact that in the end of season review show on SportNews Tennis, where I was joined by Tim Henman, Laura Robson and Jonathan Overend, we largely went for different winners of the Grand Slams, with some surprising predictions thrown in!
From a British point of view, I touched on Jack Draper when speaking about the ATP season, but also on the men's side it was so good to see the return to form of Cam Norrie, who was able to turn his season around from being down at 91 in the world back in May, to a position where he will be seeded at the Australian Open next year as the current world No 27.
And remember we start the year with the best two players in the world in men's doubles right now, Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool, after their incredible year with five Brits in the Top 10.
A word on Joe Salisbury and to wish him well, who with partner Neal Skupski made it to the final of the Tour Finals before announcing he would be taking a break from the sport due to his struggles with anxiety.
Joe, who is a former world No 1, said that he has been experiencing "heart palpitations" going on to say: "I've been struggling to sleep and then, because of the feeling in the stomach, struggling to eat well, eat enough. It's almost like a feeling of dread - that something bad is going to happen."
Joe has said that he is unlikely to return to the tour until next April at the earliest.
On the women's side lots to look forward to. British No 1 Emma Raducanu recently withdrew from a couple of post-season exhibitions due to light bone bruising on her right foot, but at 29 in the world and with the continued partnership with coach Francisco Roig and new physio Emma Stewart on board, preparations can now begin for the new season that will start in Perth at the United Cup alongside Jack Draper and captained by our very own Tim Henman!
Sonay Kartal and Fran Jones both finished within the Top 100 after good years which they will be looking to build on and Katie Boulter will be hoping to stay injury free to put pressure on those ahead of her.
As always there's no rest in the tennis calendar, exhibitions will continue throughout the off-season and don't forget on SportNews Tennis you will be able to see Draper's return to action at the UTS and then the best of the new generation with the Next Gen Finals.
It has been another great year being part of and seeing the growth of SportNews Tennis. Thank you to everyone involved in every area of the channel and to you for watching.
Once again we have made a promise to be better with our predictions, after seeing a slight improvement this year and in the close season. Tim is going to be working on his TikTok's [or is it TimTok's?] after making quite an impression with Amanda Anisimova saying that she enjoyed them and then being part of one on the plane out of Riyadh.
And Laura will be juggling her tennis with training for the London Marathon so lots to keep everyone busy and we look forward to being back together and back with you in 2026.
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