This Year In Tennis: Recap of 2016

This Year In Tennis: Recap of 2016

As 2016 comes to a close and a new year for tennis is on the horizon, now is the perfect time to recap some of the highlights from the last year in tennis, from rising players to veteran wins.

Rise of Milos Raonic

For the sixth straight time, Milos Raonic received the honour of being Canada’s male player of the year in 2016. This was not the only recognition of Milos’ rise in the tennis world. In 2016, he rose from a ranking of 14th to third in the entire world. He even made the Wimbledon final, but lost to the legendary Andy Murray. A feather in Raonic’s cap for the year, however, was his win in the Brisbane final against Roger Federer and a second victory over Federer at Wimbledon. Some even expect that Milos will win a Grand Slam sometime in the next few years of his tennis career.

Andy Murray and Angelique Kerber Named ITF Champions

To top off stellar years in tennis for both players, Andy Murray and Angelique Kerber were named ITF Champions for 2016—Andy Murray for the men, and Angelique Kerber for the women. Kerber made history with this title as the first person from Germany to win since Steffi Graff in 1996. Murray made history as well, as he became the first person from Great Britain to win since 1973 and the second oldest since John Newcombe in 1974.

Wimbledon 2016 Champions

Wimbledon was once again a banner year for all those who won. In the Singles category, Andy Murray came out on top for the men and Serena Williams emerged victorious for the women. This was Murray’s third Grand Slam in Singles and his second Wimbledon win—his first was in 2013. For Serena, this was her 14th title at Wimbledon, seventh in the Singles category, and her 22nd Grand Slam in Singles.

Other winners at Wimbledon include Pierre-Hughes Herbert and Nicolas Mahut in Men’s Doubles; Serena and Venus Williams in Women’s Doubles; and Heather Watson and Henri Kontinen in Mixed Doubles. These wins served as the first titles at Wimbledon for Pierre-Hughes Herbert and Heather Watson.

Wimbledon: Most Attended UK Sporting Event

Wimbledon is easily one of the most celebrated occasions in the United Kingdom. In 2016, it was once again the most attended sporting event of the year, with a total of 494,000 people over 14 days. As with most years, Wimbledon was also a star-studded event, with some British royals watching the games as well.

Other significant events in the tennis world in 2016 included Monica Puig’s Olympics gold win in singles, Dominika Cibulkova’s win in the WTA finals in Singapore, and Alexander Zverev’s first title in St. Petersburg, Russia.

With such a phenomenal year in tennis at an end, one cannot help but wonder—will 2017 shock the tennis world? Will it top these memorable events from the past year? Only time will give us an answer on that one.