Tennis’ biggest moments come four times a year, with each of the four Grand Slams taking their unique places on the calendar. What comes after is always a bit of a hangover. The tennis world stands still for a moment, but during the season, tennis is never truly dormant, and plenty of smaller tournaments fill the week following each Grand Slam. In reverse order, here are those weeks ranked:
Ranking the Four Post-Grand Slam Weeks
4. US Open
There isn’t much the week after the US Open could do to salvage itself. Not only is it the week after a Grand Slam, but it’s also the week after the last Grand Slam of the year, and most players take this time to rest and recover for the end of the season, which tends to have the weakest tennis. As such, this week is the least compelling of the four.
On the ATP side, the only action is the Davis Cup qualifiers, determining which countries will compete in the finals in November. The Davis Cup doesn’t always attract top players, and while there can certainly be great Davis Cup matches, it doesn’t make for the best week of tennis. There are women’s tournaments, but the draws tend to be far weaker than tournaments early in the year, and the slow downgrading of these tournaments reflects that. Guadalajara once held WTA 1000 status but has since become a 500. The 250 played during this week has changed a few times, but it now takes place in São Paulo. These two tournaments feel disjointed from the rest of the calendar, as the Asian swing follows the US Open.
3. Wimbledon
The week after Wimbledon is strange in that most tournaments are played on clay, even though clay season is well over. Clay specialists get one last go before the season transitions to hardcourts, and the week exists in a strange limbo of not really belonging anywhere on the calendar, so it gets stuck after Wimbledon.
There are three ATP 250s: Bastad, Gstaad, and Umag. There are a few top players scattered in these draws, but for the most part the week after Wimbledon is a week of rest, vacation, and increasingly often, weddings. The WTA side is similar, with two 250s (this year, Athens and Iasi) that dig deep in the rankings for the draws. This isn’t a bad thing, and it allows lower-ranked players to participate in main draws, but it does little to alleviate the post-Wimbledon hangover.
2. Australian Open
With the Australian Open coming so early in the season, the week afterward feels like the year truly kicking into gear. Although tennis in February is odd, having so many tournaments across different surfaces in different parts of the world can make for some interesting storylines and constant tennis.
There’s initial Davis Cup play for the ATP, which tends to attract even fewer top players than the later stages. Unlike the week after the US Open, though, this is complemented by a 250 in Montpellier. There are two 250s on the WTA side (Ostrava and Cluj-Napoca) and one 500, Abu Dhabi, that kicks off the Middle East swing. While many top players are resting as they do after every Grand Slam, players who were disappointed with their Australian Open run tend to take advantage of this week and have the energy for it, given its place in the calendar.
1. French Open
The week after the French Open is far and away the best post-Grand Slam week, given the nature of the grass season. There are only three weeks of grass warmup tournaments before Wimbledon, and many players want to maximize their time on court, from those who are strong on grass and want to pick up points to those who aren’t comfortable on the surface and want to figure it out before Wimbledon.
The men’s side features two 250s, Stuttgart and ‘s-Hertogenbosch, that tend to attract top players. The Stuttgart final this year was played between Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz, two top-10 players—a sight rare to see the week after a Grand Slam. The WTA also has a 250 in ‘s-Hertogenbosch as well as a 500 at Queen’s Club, which tends to be a very strong tournament. With the complete surface shift and players giving it their all for grass season, this week feels like any other, not one coming off the heels of a Grand Slam.
Main Photo Credit: Geoff Burke – Imagn Images
