Sharada Iyer, Tennis With An Accent
Hello, there! Before I get around to the topic of this piece, let me wish you and everyone in the world a happy and prosperous 2024.
Let’s now look at tennis’s new season which began on 29 December of 2023. What makes the new season so interesting? These primary reasons can be bracketed under the common theme of “player comebacks,” with the players’ names also functioning as the subheadings. Rafael Nadal’s comeback won’t continue in Australia, but he will come back this year, alongside Naomi Osaka, Angelique Kerber and Emma Raducanu.
Injuries and maternity reasons divide that quartet into two separate pairs.
Despite playing in different venues in events that began on different days at the United Cup, these comeback pros did deliver victorious showings. Kerber won her first match at the season-opening event against Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in straight sets. Naomi Osaka did the same in her debut against Kerber’s compatriot, Tamara Korpatsch. Nadal got through against a familiar rival in Dominic Thiem in two sets. Raducanu’s match against Elena-Gabriela Ruse did go the distance, but the former US Open champion thwarted the Romanian at the end.
Carlos Alcaraz said about Nadal, “What joy to see you again on the court, Rafa!” Alcaraz’s message can be borrowed and extended to the other three comeback players as well.
In a sport where there’s always a newer face to look forward to – even if the usual suspects pocket titular glory – the riveting of interest toward these players is particularly special. It’s not just because they’ve been especially successful among their colleagues on tour. This factor only ensures the desire of their fans to see them instantly pick up their old habits of finding triumphs.
Apart from this fan-driven perspective, the return of these players promises a certain tethering to the normalcy viewers have become accustomed to in a volatile sport. Holding on to this normalcy also evokes the nostalgia of seeing their names in live action instead of being forcefully relegated to annals of past glories, even before time came calling for their careers.
This is especially true for the two former World No. 1s, Nadal and Kerber, for whom age is also becoming a ticking marker. The Spaniard is just a few months away from turning 38. After having spent 349 days away from the game that also saw him undergo a couple of surgeries, this comeback is unlike any other he’s had in the past few seasons. Likewise for Kerber, who will turn 36 in a few days and wants to exit professional tennis on her terms after a high swan song at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Yet, even if one looks past age — given that Osaka and Raducanu are still in their 20s — tennis hasn’t been any kinder to the younger players trying to make a comeback in 2024.
Injuries have waylaid Raducanu’s plans on the circuit. She has struggled to string continuous wins together. Meanwhile, Osaka has battled depression and has needed to take a step back from the game to put herself – the person – first, even before thinking about her image as the professional tennis player. Her return is happening due to being at peace with the sport and all that it entails.
Somewhere, as we watch these accomplished professionals play, it’s this sense of inner peace that makes us want to make the most of them, for however long we get to see them. That, too, regardless of how their matches turn out – not only now but for the rest of the season and the months and years ahead.
Tennis with an Accent 