New Year's Musings (2026)

You say goodbye (to 2025), I say hello (to 2026)...

Whew! The old tennis year is finally over (though not without leaving one final bird dropping on the shoulder of the perception of women's tennis, of course), just in time for the new tennis year to begin.

Don't look now, but the clock will strike early Down Under, as we're mere hours away from the first serves of early qualifying matches in Brisbane and, in Perth (which *used* to host the great opening week Hopman Cup competition... ah, good times), the first women's singles match-up in an ARG/ESP tilt taking place on Day 1 of this year's edition of the (totally made-up) United Cup team event.

Of course, that doesn't mean it's too late to sneer into the rear view mirror at a few things from 2025 that we can *hopefully* leave in the dust as the WTA heads off to a batch of new adventures.

For example...

SEE YA...
The arrival of...
another new -- poorly-crafted and repetitive -- marketing and rebranding strategy from the minds of the Women's Tennis Association (2025's dead-on-arrival thud: "WTA Rally the World") or, to be more accurate, another campaign sourced out to a firm that simply cuts-and-pastes notions from the WTA's recent marketing disasters, changes a few "buzz words" and then dubs it the latest grand idea that will break on through to the other side. At least we can only *hope* we don't have another one dropped into our laps on short notice.
Bearing witness...
to any further desecration of the U.S. Open Mixed doubles competition. Of course, that doesn't mean that last year's doubles-specialists-hating slam trophy-awarding invitational is going anywhere. But the *second* version of the would-you-rather-we-cancelled-the-whole-thing-since-we-can't-figure-out-how-to-make-money-off-the-old-version? event at Flushing Meadows this summer will surely be tweaked to be a *bit* less insulting to the very players who have devoted their careers to the discipline, while also a *little* less welcoming to the sort of individuals who would publicly denigrate doubles players and then join the event in hopes of making some "easy money." Right... right? Yeah, I know, it's never a smart move to think that common sense will prevail in tennis (or a lot of other areas these days, for that matter). But, hey, it's January 1st and we're supposed to be sorta optimistic about the next 364 to follow.
People willfully (or unwillingly) being...
pulled into any stupid men's tennis vs. women's tennis discussions, be they generated *by a player's actions themselves* or by the usual misogynistic tennis social media trolls and/or those trying to make political points on the heads of some of the top female athletes in the world (eight of which were in the Top 10 highest-paid female athletes on earth in '25, including five of the top six). Of course, who knows if Aryna Sabalenka will seek to engage in yet another version of her recent "Battle of the Sexes" mockery-of-a-cultural-moment with Nick Kyrgios and seemingly attempt to set back the perception of women's tennis *another* 50 years before the end of '26. It's never not a problem when the actions of the best player in your sport -- intentionally or not -- actively work *against* it. Wasn't there *anyone* with her ear to tell her -- whether she wanted to hear it or not -- that this was a bad idea? One that was no help to women's athletics, tennis, the WTA or Sabalenka herself. The world #1 already has a glaring *personal* public perception problem, and the BoS will only add to it. As has been noted many times before, while the WTA and ATP play the same *sport* they don't play the same *game*, and trying to compare players of various stripes and rankings across tours is just nonsensical. As Diane Dees noted in her recent on point comments on the event, the whole notion of the discussion essentially crowns men's tennis as being the "better" of the two competitions simply because men are, as a general rule, stronger. It shouldn't be necessary to point it out, but such a (mostly) aesthetic difference between the two versions of the sport does not also necessarily connotate "entertainment value," as the variety, depth, (sometimes-wild) unpredictability and, well, the "Real Housewives Players of the WTA Tour" aspect of the women's game (see last year's Sabalenka/Gauff "non-story" story after RG, the Townsend/Ostapenko U.S. Open blow-up, etc.) allows women's tennis to more than hold its own against the men's tour when it comes to discussion-worthy moments, topics and stars, and, quite frankly, often laps it several times over whenever the men's match-up at hand *isn't* Alcaraz/Sinner. Just because the WTA itself is too preoccupied with pretentiously casting itself as an "aspirational" entity seeking to change the world (one UE at a time?) doesn't mean that, as noted in this space quite often over the years, "the most interesting tour in the world," on which a multitude of players regularly trade off wearing the "she got the beat" crown, isn't uniquely "simply irresistible" in its own right. (Come now, you didn't think I *wasn't* going to throw in my three "fake WTA marketing campaign" ideas to make a point, did you?) Why tennis allows itself to be tied into knots by such stupidity, rather than advance from a position of relative strength, is hard to fathom. Basketball used to endure similar condescending cracks thrown at the women's game when compared to the men's, but the recent rising success of that sport has made such issues largely drift away the last few years as *both* are now appreciated individually for their own best traits and stars. Meanwhile, tennis has produced loads of stars on both tours, yet still such indignities sully the discussion and cheapen the entire enterprise. One is tempted to say that maybe shared events/stages could play a part, but other sports -- swimming, track & field, various winter sports -- routinely share event sites in simultaneous competitions and don't subject themselves to similarly self-destructive tendencies. FloJo didn't need to challenge Carl Lewis back in the day, Katie Ledecky's legend isn't diminished by the accomplishments of Michael Phelps in the pool, and Mikaela Shiffrin and Lindsey Vonn don't see their superior accomplishments minimized by comparisions to male skiiing greats. Maybe it's a case of the individual athletic aspect of women's tennis -- see the above '25 earnings note, and the sport's still-preeminant position atop worldwide female athletics -- producing a true "double-edged sword" that is always going to maintain the ability to both amplify and harm.

But enough about 2025. That's old news. 2026 is ready to strut its stuff...

HOW YA DOIN'......
Dasha Down Under
...after a trying year both on (w/ a ranking fall) and off-court (the usual controversy, then an anticipated -- since both her coming out and espousing of anti-war views -- dropping of her Russian representation), Dasha Kasatkina (who also got engaged in '25) was finally able to settle into her new Australian clothing this offseason just in time for the start of a '26 where she'll (hopefully) be immediately embraced by the Aussie fans. A great start would be appreciated. She was just 19-22 in '25, but still managed to post a nice 10-4 mark in majors with a pair of second week (AO/RG) runs despite a season-ending ranking fall from #9 to #37. Any sort of all-Dasha on-court reunion will have to wait, though, as now-fellow-countrywoman Dasha Saville is pregnant.
Welcome to the Club?
...can somesome crack the "Big 3" hold on the Top 3 positions in the rankings, where Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff have finished (in some order) for the last three seasons? Over that stretch, the three have won 9 of 12 majors (and 11 of 15 since the '22 RG). Though a far cry from the "lock" that Alcaraz/Sinner have on the men's majors (they've shared eight straight slam wins, won 9 of 10, and have met in the finals of the last three majors), it's been a great run. Still, the notion of some different (and maybe even unexpected) names lifting major titles surely feels far, far more likely in the women's slam events (so, every match could change the tournament). Amanda Anisimova and Jessie Pegula have reached the final in three of the last five slams, but have yet to win one; while Elena Rybakina ('22 Wimbledon winner) will try to put together a *complete* season with the health and drive of her '25 4Q (i.e. truly "unbuttoning that top button") to get back into the major winner's circle. Mirra Andreeva, though she flagged down the back stretch of last season, is still in her "waiting on the doorstep" era (until she no longer is), while the prospect of "Mbokomania!" breaking out in Melbourne or New York isn't a completely foreign concept. Meanwhile, both Belinda Bencic and Naomi Osaka put themselves back into the discussion with comeback SF runs last year at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, respectively. At the same time, if none of those players (or any others) can make a big dent in the four biggest events on the schedule, there *is* a chance that we could see *two* players complete Career Grand Slams in 2026. Swiatek needs only an Australian Open crown, while Sabalenka is short wins at Roland Garros and Wimbledon (it'd be a huge grab to win both, but she's capable... and wouldn't have to face you-know-who to do it.)
How the Wheelchair World Turns
...(a hopefully now 100%) Diede de Groot attempts to wrestle back control of the women's roller tour from Yui Kamiji, who won three majors (and the YEC) while the Dutch fromer #1 was out following hip surgery and played out her comeback over the final two-thirds of the season. De Groot got her first win over Kamiji in fifteen months in her final '25 event in early October. Under the radar: could a NextGen WC star break through at slam time? Say, Pastry Ksenia Chasteau becoming the first French woman to win a WC major? The 19-year old was a promising able-bodied tennis player before losing her left leg at age 14 in a motorcyble accident in January 2021. She won the junior U.S. Open WC title in '23, then RG in '24. Last year, she reached the women's doubles final at Wimbledon.
Rubbing hands in anticipation...
...for another incoming reel of Karolina Muchova "Shot of the Year" nominees. What sort of shot will the Czech pull off th-... nah, nevermind. It'll be better to be surprised.
Did you know...
...that Uzbekistan is suddenly brewing as an under-the-radar upcoming force on tour? With former Hordettes Kamilla Rakhimova, Polina Kudermetova and Maria Timofeeva changing their national affiliation, the nation now sports two Top 105 players, and three in the Top 150. The next highest ranked Uzbeki is 18-year old Laima Vladson, in the #880s, following a final junior season where she was ranked in the Top 10, won two J300 titles and picked up her first pro title in a small ITF event at mid-season... all when she was representing Lithuania. She announced *her* switch in late November.
Hmmm, (finally) Zheng Qinwen vs. Emma Navarro?
IYKYK. This would be an entire special episode of "The Real Players of the WTA Tour" reality TV show.
Hoping for one (or, you know, five or ten in a WTA dream sequence)...
...classic Krejickova-Siniakova doubles pairings for old time's sake (and probably a few more titles)
Might we see, umm...
Serena Williams on a court in 2026? She re-entered the drug-testing pool during the offseason, so it's at least a *possibility* -- most likely in WD, maybe with Venus, or MX, possibly at the U.S. Open -- that she's entertaining. Just don't call it a comeback.
The Philippines and the world awaits...
...to see what Alex Eala will do for an encore following a '25 season that saw her slam MD debuts at three majors, a Miami SF run, a maiden tour final at Eastbourne and a pair of Top 5 wins while becoming the first Filipina to ever crack the Top 50. Next up to try to shake some trees? Maybe Tereza Valentova. The likes of Ella Seidel and Lilli Tagger are worth watching, too.
And if she can stay out of her own way (a *big* if)...
Aryna Sabalenka will attempt in '26 to finish as the #1-ranked player for a third straight season. If she does, she'd be the first to do it over three consecutive *full* seasons (Ash Barty was #1 from 2019-21, but that includes the "frozen ranking" year of '20 when she played just 11 matches) since Serena Williams from 2013-15. Previously, the last to do it was Steffi Graf with a string of *four* straight #1 years from 1993-96 (w/ a "co-#1" with Monica Seles in '95) before a knee injury in '97.

Well, it's about that time, so...

I don't know why you say goodbye (to 2025), I say hello (to 2026).

All for now.