After 11 months of enthralling tennis, the dust has finally settled on another record-breaking year on the WTA Tour. It was a year marked by exciting storylines and intense rivalries. It also saw the birth of new stars, some of whom took part in the best matches of the season. Here is a Top 5 list of the matches that took the tennis world by storm in 2024.
Top 5 WTA Matches Of 2024 Season
#5. Australian Open second round: Anna Blinkova defeats Elena Rybakina 6-4 4-6 7-6 (20)
There is only one place to start. Coincidentally, or not, this match also happenned in the early stages of the season. Elena Rybakina’s second-round meeting against Anna Blinkova at the Australian Open was expected to be a routine win in the books.
But the unheralded Blinkova shredded the script in the most remarkable fashion. After the two players exchanged sets, nobody would have envisaged the sheer drama that was about to unfold in a historic third set.
Blinkova and Rybakina played a staggering 42 points in the tie-break, lasting 31 minutes – the longest in Grand Slam singles history. The Kazakhstani wasted six match points. The Russian squandered nine of her own before she made it count on her 10th attempt. She won the tie-break with a bizarre score of 22-20.
ANNA. BLINKOVA.
The moment Anna prevailed in a match etched into Grand Slam history.#AusOpen • #AO2024 • @wwos • @espn • @eurosport • @wowowtennis pic.twitter.com/JTUTc9YR9p
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 18, 2024
#4. WTA Finals (final): Coco Gauff defeats Zheng Qinwen 3-6 6-4 7-6 (2)
The championship match at this year’s WTA Finals will be fondly remembered for many things, but it’s not for its quality. Still, the match was a cliffhanger right up to the last ball, and because of that, it made the cut on this list.
Zheng Qinwen was a set and a break up in the second, and then the third set. She served for the match at 5-4 in the decider, yet Coco Gauff refused to lose. It was edge-of-the-seat stuff and it was only fitting that the contest had the ultimate of late twists.
Gauff roared back and recalibrated her game. She dominated the tie-break and snatched the title from Zheng’s grasp. With her first WTA Finals title, Gauff earned a record prize money of $4.8 million.
#3. Wimbledon semifinal: Jasmine Paolini defeats Donna Vekic 2-6 6-4 7-6 (8)
One word to describe this match: thriller. Jasmine Paolini outlasted a tearful Donna Vekic in the longest-ever Wimbledon women’s semifinal at two hours and 51 minutes.
The energetic Italian, whose infectious smile had won her many fans at the All England Club, stormed back from a break down (twice) in the third set. She was also two points from defeat in the 10-point tie-break before Vekic capitulated under the most intense pressure.
A loss of this kind can sometimes crush a player. But it had an uplifting effect on Vekic’s season. She went on to clinch a silver medal at the Olympic Games in Paris on her least favorite surface. “This match, I’ll remember it forever,” Paolini said in her post-match interview. We will, too.
#2. French Open second round: Iga Swiatek defeats Naomi Osaka 7-6 1-6 7-5
Only two matches toppled Paolini’s Wimbledon epic, and they involved Iga Swiatek. The first one was a breathtaking second-round match at the French Open. Swiatek and Naomi Osaka renewed their rivalry in a battle between four-time Grand Slam champions. Osaka, who was only six months into her comeback season, punched above her weight and stood within a point of completing the biggest upset of the tournament.
The aura and invincibility that Swiatek had created while competing at Roland Garros seemed to faze the Japanese superstar. A 5-2 lead in the third set and then a match point was not enough for Osaka to put down the defending champion, who rallied from the brink and won five straight games. It is a French Open classic that will be discussed for years.
#1. Madrid Open final: Iga Swiatek defeats Aryna Sabalenka 7-5 4-6 7-6 (7)
There is only one match that just about beats that French Open second-round rollercoaster, and it was this year’s Madrid Open final. It was a clash of the top two players on a prize-giving weekend in the Spanish capital, and it duly delivered. This was not only the best women’s match of 2024 but definitely right up there as one of the best in the last decade. It took three hours and 11 minutes – the longest WTA final of the season – for Swiatek to dethrone Aryna Sabalenka as Madrid champion. And that was after she saved three match points.
Main photo credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
