Archives for December 2025

Tennisreporters.net, top 10 of 2025: 2025, men, 5-1

December 23, 2025 by Matthew Cronin

5. Felix Auger-Aliassime

A few years ago, he was ripping the ball, to the right, and to the left. He was quite quick. However, he stared to slip, as he was occasionally hurt, but he lost himself. Yet during the summer, he became more consistent on hardcourts when he reached into the semis at the US Open, and he tried to chop down Jannik Sinner. While it was close, he didn’t have more depth. Yes, he can try to hit deep shots, but his return and at the new serve isn’t yet phenomenal. Next year the Canadian will try to win a Slam for the first time. A lot of people want to, but he knows that the opportunity is right there. He has to prove it.

4. Novak Djokovic

Fans really believe that he is the best player,ever. Maybe he is, given that the Serbian has won 24 Grand Slams, which is remarkable. His heavy serve, his much improved forehand, his amazing backhand, crosscourt, returning deep, and improved touch at the net. He has won 101 titles — way up there — and 1,161 wins. Is that enough? No, as next year, assuming he is healthy, he will continue to win more tournaments. Not so much when you get older, and he is 38-years-old, so he is a little bit slower, and there is nothing you can do about it. At the US Open, he looked good, but however, in the semis, Carlos Alcaraz was faster and more lethal. In January, he will go to the Australian Open, where he won it 11 times. Can he do it again? Maybe, 50-50. “In terms of playing ability there is nothing to choose between No. 1 and 100,” Djokovic said. “Instead, it’s a question of who believes and who wants it more? Which player is mentally stronger? Which player is going to fight the hardest in the big points? These are the things that determine who is the champion.”

3. Alexander Zverev

Will he win a Slam next year? The German has been close at hardcourts and the clay. He has played so many long matches. He tries variety and can crush the ball. However, there are times in the matches when he isn’t rational much, because he is thinking about his life. Yes, he is really into it, and others, he wants to go home. Regardless, when he can bash the ball, both sides, then he looks terrific. But this year, all the top players beat Zverev, like Sinner did in the final of the Aussie Open. It was somewhat close, but Zverev couldn’t win it. Next year, the 28-year-old has to boom up again.

2. Jannik Sinner

In 2023, the Italian was perpendicular up and down. Same. Thing. But by 2024, he became totally on fire, winning the Australian Open, Wimbledon and, in the fall, Beijing, Austria, the ATP Masters 1000 Paris, and the ATP Finals in Turin beating Carlos Alcaraz. He is very tall and he can bend down and tag it, down the line and crosscourt. He can hit it quite flat, and spin it, too. His first serve is huge and he has astronomical athleticism. However, he can overthink it, and he can also be predictable. He has won four Slams. The 24-year-old can win again in 2025, but if he has to solve Alcaraz, somehow. If so, he will be No. 1 again. But he may not, unless he can enhance his slice, his return and net game. Yet he will do anything you have to do in order to get something great.

1. Carlos Alcaraz

The Spaniard will go to practice even more to improve his volleys. Just like all the great players, month after month, they will think about it a lot. His forehand and his backhand are not only sizable, but he can be patient, mix it up, touch it and slam it. The reason why he is No. 1 is because he can practice for many hours, just like with former champion Rafa Nadal. Alcaraz can return deep from way back, and as he wants to rally for a while. Or, he can just hit it as hard as he can. He was hurt in 2024, so when he returned in the Aussie Open, he wasn’t quite there. But day after day, he became gradually better, winning Monte-Carlo, Rome, and at Roland Garros, in the final, as he edged Sinner 7-6 in the fifth set, a classic match. Right after that at Wimbledon, Sinner came up to beat Alcaraz 6-4 in the fourth set. Those two are dominating, going to the Slam finals. At the US Open, Alcaraz beat 6-4 in the fourth. Now, and intense rivalry, 10-6 for the Spaniard versus the Italian. It will go on for years, just like Nadal versus Djokovic. Sinner said: “I think that we have a good friendship also off the court [with Alcaraz.]. It’s something great to see. We see that this is possible, it’s not like you have to be enemies also off the court. Of course we are enemies when we step on the court, we try to play our best tennis. But it ends there. After the handshake, everything is fine again.”

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Left, Lead Story

Tennisreporters.net, top 10 of 2025: women, 5-1

December 22, 2025 by Matthew Cronin

Aryna Sabalenka — Aryna Sabaalenka, Mal Taam/MALTphoto

No. 5. Elena Rybakina

She is just so fast, and she can move forehand and smash the ball. Her forehand and her backhand can go infinite on the lines. However, she can mess it up for month after month. Clearly, she can be upset. Before the fall, she played a lot, and she lost to some key matches. In the fall, she started to be much more consistent. The 23-year-old won ‘22 Wimbledon with some awesome matches. At the end this year of the WTA Finals, she snapped it, beating all five including Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka, So when she charges, and thinks regularly, she can have another major.

No. 4. Amanda Anisimova

The American really came alive in 2025, when she learned much more, point after point. She can be exceptionally aggressive, and she can flatten it out. However, when she gets on court, she can be brilliant. In the final of Wimbledon, she was so nervous that she couldn’t do anything, losing 6-0, 6-0 to Swiatek. The wild thing was that in the semis, she stunned Sabalenka, and two more days later, she collapsed. That does happen at the Slams, and the 24-year-old reset at the US Open, when once again, she reached the final on the hardcourt. Believe it or not, she beat Swiatek in the quarters. In the final, her forehand and her backhand were monstrous, yet Sabalenka tacked her 6-3, 7-6. Decent, though. Will she continue to her improve her serve and succeed at the net? When she is locked in, she can win a major Slam.

No. 3. Coco Gauff

Many people think that the American can win many Grand Slams, and she might, but she has taken it twice, winning the ‘23 US Open, and ‘25 Roland Garros. What that means is she can be really feisty, or sit back and rally. She likes the hardcourts, and her backhand can be huge. However, her forehand has been up and down, and while at the net, she can bend down and put it away. At the US Open, she thought that she could win it again, yet Naomi Osaka outhit her. She is only 21-years-old, so she will be mature, and she does think about what she should do. She tried hard during the fall, and she won Wuhan, when she looked very good. Yet again, she backed off at the WTA Finals, and that was it. She does fight, a lot, so in 2026, she really has to much more with her forehand, and her returns. If she improves in those areas, she will win another Slam.

No. 2. Iga Swiatek

Over the past four years, she rose up so high, sprinting, and crushed her backhand and her forehand. She would go crosscourt, in the middle, deep, and then she would flatten it out down the line for a winner. Yes, she is very emotional when she on, but there are times when she gets ticked off and loses focus. She has been No. 1 a long time. This year, she was very good, but not spectacular. Of course she has won six Slams, winning Roland Garros four times (clay), the US Open (hardcourts), and in June, she won Wimbledon, crushing Amanda Anisimova 6-0, 6-0. She was on top of the ball, each point. However, Sabalenka was more consistent, because over the past couple years, her serve improved a lot. The Polish Swiatek can hit a fine first serve, but her second serve was OK, but not wonderful. If she is healthy, she will another Slam, but how many more? She is only 24-years-old. So in a few years, she could be 10 Slams, or higher. That would be jolting.

No. 1. Aryna Sabalenka

She once said that the three years ago, she was pretty good, but not at the top. However, even though her serve was poor at times, her forehand and her backhand were wildly aggressive, and her return, too. She was very loud when she was hitting the ball at the WTA, as she was learning to play, and the teenager eventually could slap the ball. She did, and as she said, “I like to think of each Grand Slam as a brand new opportunity instead of thinking about it as something that I have to defend.” She has won four Slams, including the ’25 US Open, pushing past Anisimova in two tough sets. She could a little bit better, at the net, and her serve, but she always try to improve her game. She will win many more Slams.

Tennisreporters.net, top 10 of 2025: men, 10-6

December 21, 2025 by Matthew Cronin

No. 10. Jack Draper

The Britain works hard when he practices and in the matches. He is super consistent, and he can change it up, too. But the 23-year-old can back off, deep in the third or fifth sets. He looked terrific after he won at Indian Wells, but in the fall, he couldn’t play well because he got hurt during the summer. Now he looks pretty good, but he must be patient. If he can stay healthy, most of the time, he can stay in the top 10, or even better.

No. 9. Ben Shelton

The American had a very good year, not perfect, during the year. But his consistent much more real. His forehand and his backhand were more stable, as when he flattened them out, rather than with too much spin. His serve is gigantic, and he loves to cheer after he grabs a winner. But this young player still has much to improve at the net and with his return. If he does, he can go into the top 5 or even better.

No. 8. Lorenzo Musetti

The 23-year-old Italian, played stellar on the clay, beating so many good players, going deep in Monte-Carlo, Madrid, Rome and Roland Garros. He didn’t win it, but at least he was smart. He couldn’t beat Carlos Alcaraz a few times. On the hardcourts, he played week after week, and he had some fine events, but he also lost too early. Yes, his forehand and his backhand are very good, but he has to be more combative if he wants to beat the top players. How about on the green grass?

No. 7. Alex De Minaur

The Aussie had a solid season and as he used his consistent groundstrokes. Yes, he might not be highly powerful, but he can run side to side. Jannik Sinner beat him three times in 2025, as the Italian hits the heck of the ball. De Minaur likes to get set before he goes for it. He doesn’t have the power to keep the big hitters from overpowering him early. He will try to add another new shots, and if he does, he will stay there in the top 10. But to win a Grand Slam for the first time? I am not sure.

No. 6. Taylor Fritz

Over the past few years, the San Diego-based American played tremendously. Yes, he can smash the ball, with this huge forehand and his backhand, and also, he can rally for a long time. Of course, it was a real opportunity at the 2025 US Open, but Sinner was too much for him. Fritz can be happy, after he won, but when he loses, and then he becomes displeased. He is pretty good at the net, and when he returns, he looks decent, but he is not consistent enough. The good thing is that he can be very confident on the court, and he will think that if he playing very well, he can grab it. But not yet. However, if he can improve his volley and at the net, he will have a shot at the Aussie Open and the US Open. We think.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Left, Lead Story Tagged With: Matt Cronin, Matthew Cronin

Tennisreporters.net’s top 10 of 2025: women, 10-6

December 21, 2025 by Matthew Cronin

No. 10. Ekaterina Alexandrova

How did the Czech reach into the top 10, and stayed there? Well, she keeps trucking, even when she can mess it up. However, she can charge and forget about the losses. She reached at the US Open, upsetting Jasmine Paolini and Elena Rybakina before she had to retire with an injury. In Berlin, she won it during the summer, knocking down Aryna Sabalenka. In the fall, she was hurt, so she couldn’t play. She can be a blast, just like when she won ’23 Wimbledon. That was a shocker, but her powerful backhand was phenomenal. Look, she can be mediocre, but she will persevere with some tremendous shots. If she is healthy in 2026, she can get into the top 5 and try to win a Slam once again. But maybe not.

No. 9. Mirra Andreeva

The 18-year-old player was tremendous during the first three months, winning Dubai and Indian Wells – which can be on some hot days – knocking off Rybakina, Iga Swiatek and Sabalenka, blasting her shots. But she began to skid, not all the time, yet here and there. She is young, so she has to learn to use more strokes. Still, the shots she has now are very heavy and superfast. When players are very young, the game can be complicated, but she can hang in there just like her coach, Conchita Martinez, who won Wimbledon. Andrea has a terrific backhand, and her forehand is darn good, but in the summer and the fall, she missed a lot. In 2026, if her serve is faster and is better on low volleys, then she will stay in the top 10.

No. 8. Jasmine Paolini

She was so consistent, extremely fast and improved a lot last year. Yes, she has been around a while, but the 29-year-old finally decided to be patient. When she had an opportunity, she can go into the lines. She went deep at times in tournaments in the first half, but in the fall she was so-so. She won in Rome, beating Coco Gauff. She advanced into the Cincinnati final but Swiatek outhit her. In the WTA Finals, she was there, but she did not win a set, perhaps she was drained. That was tough. In 2026, she can re-tool.

No. 7. Madison Keys

The veteran had not won a Grand Slam for 12 years, but at the 2025 Australian Open, she finally nailed it and won. She was always a huge hitter, with her strong forehand and backhand, but she isn’t that fast. Plus, she was mediocre at the net. A very nice person, she finally realized that if she was playing really well, then she can defeat anyone. She did on some hot days, bumping off Rybakina, Swiatek and Sabalenka. That was phenomenal. However, after that, she was OK, but not splashy. The 30-year -old gets hurt a lot, and it will continue year after year. If she is playing well, then she will have another shot to win her second Slam. At the 2026 Aussie Open? Maybe.

No. 6. Jessica Pegula

Years ago, the older American was very steady, but that was it. She couldn’t beat the top players. But she decided to clip her forehand, and use her strong backhand, going down the line and crosscourt. Her serve will never be able to generate a bunch of aces. Her net game has improved. She plays often and she grinds for a long time. This year, she reached the final in Miami, won Charleston and Germany, beating Swiatek. At the US Open, she reached the semis again, but Sabalenka outhit her 6-4 in the third. Pegula gave it all, but it wasn’t good enough. The terrific thing is that in the fall, she went to the WTA Finals, beating her good friend, Gauff, her doubles partner. But Sabalenka beat Pegula again, as did Rybakina, who won the event. It is possible that the 30-year-old Pegula can win a Slam someday, but that goal is getting more challenging by the year.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Right, Lead Story Tagged With: Matt Cronin, Matthew Cronin