Tennis is back in business at the Brisbane International and the United Cup. There’s barely been time to breathe since the retirement of Rafael Nadal and Jannik Sinner sealing his stellar year with a Davis Cup victory in late November. The offseason feels as brief as the 12 days of Christmas, but there are some familiar stories on repeat before the first main event, the Australian Open, kicks off on January 12.

Nick Kyrgios Returns And Then Gets Injured: Rinse And Repeat

There’s been a familiar comeback routine performed by Nick Kyrgios. Having spent the back end of 2024 announcing his imminent return to the Australian Open after a considerable injury layoff, Kyrgios was targeting a grudge match with Sinner. The 2022 Wimbledon runner-up narrowly lost his first proper tennis singles match in Brisbane for 18 months against the detonating serve of Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. The 29-year-old is now uncertain about whether he can even play five sets at Melbourne.”I think I almost need a miracle, and I need, like, the stars to align for my wrist to hold up in a Grand Slam for sure.”

Kyrgios has been here before, specifically at Wimbledon 2021. “It was easy to get off the couch as Wimbledon is one of my favourite events and I heard there was going to be a crowd so it was an easy decision to come here.” After making it to the curfew hour on Court One against Ugo Humbert, the Australian said he woke up “in so much pain” and eventually had to pull out of his third-round clash with Felix Auger-Aliassime. The third round is where he could play Sinner. If only he could make it that far.

Tennis Doping Problem Gets Another Dirty Airing In Public

Novak Djokovic is returning to action with a new retired partner in the shape of coach Andy Murray for a crack at an 11th Australian Open title. It makes sense as both have been to the final business day at Melbourne on multiple occasions, albeit on opposite sides of the net.

Djokovic’s mind is still ticking on other things, like doping. I’m not questioning whether [Sinner] took the banned substance intentionally or not,” Djokovic said at a news conference in Brisbane. “We’ve had plenty of players in the past and currently under suspension for not even testing positive for banned substances. Some players with lower rankings waiting for their case to be resolved for over a year.” This is a discordant tune that has been played before. Tennis needs to sort out the transparency of a system that exhibits two-tier treatment. Talking of discontent…

The ATP And WTA Tennis Schedule Overload

The ever-increasing demands of tennis schedules are a body buster in plain sight. Wimbledon was decimated by withdrawals before and during the tournament. The players at the top of the tree are not holding back either. “They are trying to kill us in some way,” said Carlos Alcaraz about the ATP’s scheduling. Meanwhile, former World No. 1 and five-time Slam champion Iga Swiatek was also unbridled in her criticism, saying: “It’s not going to end well.”

The tennis calendar now looks even heavier. Of the Masters 1000 events, only the Monte Carlo and Paris tournaments will maintain the single-week format with Canada and Cincinnati joining the others as 12-day events.

With the increasing burden of the tour catching up mentally and physically, the showpiece long haul quality of the Grand Slams is increasingly affected as bodies fall by the wayside.

Next Gen Rivalry A B Movie After Big Four Era

Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray’s reunion is keeping the spirit of the Big Four era alive, but for how long? If this is the last year of the Djokovic roadshow – and the Serb can’t compete at the business end of the Slams– then where do the sparks fly? The Zverev-Fritz Slam match up is one to watch and definitely in the American’s favor for box office entertainment. Elsewhere, the challenge to Alcaraz and Sinner is minimal. Flushing Meadows semi-finalist Jack Draper is a marketing dream. Can he last the pace without feeling sick? The Spaniard and Italian shared all 2024’s Grand Slams.

Swiatek and Sabalenka have won seven of the last 12 majors, but Coco Gauff’s superb showing at the WTA Finals proved she is still capable of spoiling the pair’s private dining out on the big prizes. Barbora Krejčíková’s Wimbledon win was a brilliant surprise and an emotional narrative. More of that, tennis.