{"id":97344,"date":"2026-02-05T08:30:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T13:30:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/?p=97344"},"modified":"2026-02-04T18:43:25","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T23:43:25","slug":"what-we-didnt-learn-in-january","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2026\/02\/05\/what-we-didnt-learn-in-january\/","title":{"rendered":"What We Didn’t Learn In January"},"content":{"rendered":"

The tennis season is certainly up and running, with the first Major concluded as January expired. Every season comes with a fresh set of questions. The players have expectations and demands of themselves, and neither the journalists nor the fans are left out. So far, we\u2019ve had about a month’s worth of quality tennis. While some things have been put into perspective, for example, the answer to the recurring question of whether Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner will continue to dominate the Slams looks like a resounding yes. We\u2019ve also\u00a0learned a few things<\/a>\u00a0along the way; however, some questions are still not clear, or we don’t have enough evidence or enough tennis to guess either way. Here, we look at 5 of these things;<\/p>\n

What We Didn’t Learn In January<\/h2>\n

1. Can Alexander Zverev Finally win a Slam?<\/h4>\n

Based on his showing in Melbourne, cynics will argue that he doesn\u2019t, pointing to his inability to dispatch an ailing Alcaraz in the semis, despite being given a glorious opportunity<\/a>\u00a0back into the match he looked certain to lose early on.<\/p>\n

However, believers will cite that he was one service hold away from making the final, where he would have faced an aging Djokovic, which, on the evidence of Sunday and by Djokovic’s own admission of a lack of energy during the finals, would have probably finally clinched that elusive Grand Slam. They\u2019d also add that he only needs some of the luck that allowed Djokovic to find himself in the semis in the first place. Whether he finally wins that elusive Slam this year still feels unlikely, but the good thing from his point of view is that he keeps finding himself in the latter stages of these Slams, and hopefully, anything can happen.<\/p>\n

2. Can Naomi Osaka Return to her Very Best?<\/h4>\n

Another Slam where Osaka has been unable to make a deep run, this time due to\u00a0injury<\/a>. She certainly made headlines<\/a>, but it wasn\u2019t for her tennis. Breaking onto the scene in late 2018 through to 2021, she was expected to do many great things. Once tipped to be Serena Williams’s successor, the plan has not really materialized. Instead, we\u2019ve been treated to flashes of her brilliance, but ultimately, they’ve been too short-lived.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s worth noting, though, that since then she has long breaks in tennis, having had a child and battles with mental health. Returning to the Tour, it\u2019s mostly been a mixed bag, and unfortunately, her exploits this new season have not been enough to make a suggestion either way. The hope is that she can return to the court soon and, fingers crossed, build some real momentum.<\/p>\n

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3. What Youngster can consistently challenge Alcaraz and Sinner?<\/h4>\n

Based on the last month, it’s hard to make a strong case for any of the youngsters. Lorenzo Musetti is the one beaming light, having come incredibly close to knocking out Djokovic<\/a>\u00a0before succumbing to injury. The truth remains that being fit enough in the latter stages of the top events is certainly part of the challenge, one Musetti has struggled with throughout his career.<\/p>\n

Learner Tien also showed some real promise, again showcasing his undeniable talent and taking out a big name<\/a>\u00a0in the process. However, the way Zverev dispatched him in a relatively easy fashion suggests there\u2019s still some way to go if he\u2019s to bridge the gap between himself and the top two. There was very little elsewhere to give fans hope that someone was ready to make a step up, but with some players still finding full fitness and others coming back from injury, it\u2019s maybe too early to have final declarations on this subject. Tennis fans will certainly be hoping someone does before the season runs out.<\/p>\n

4. Will Serena Williams return to the Tour?<\/h4>\n

This will be some news if the 23-time Grand Slam champion finally decides to return to the sport. Although the face of women\u2019s tennis for many years has kept her plans close to her chest, the fact remains that she entered the testing pool late last year. She did take to X in December, calling the comeback rumors awildfire<\/a>. Still, when asked on the Today Show last month, she target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”refused to confirm<\/a> or deny, further stoking rumours that we might see her on a tennis court professionally sometime this season.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been suggested that she might make a comeback solely to play doubles with her big sister, Venus, but right now it\u2019s anyone’s guess. There will certainly be plenty hoping to see the tennis icon grace the courts again in whatever form that takes. Time will tell, though.<\/p>\n

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5. Who will win more Slams this year: Alcaraz or Sinner?<\/h4>\n

Probably one of the most exciting tennis conversations right now, as both players are again expected to dominate all Slams, as they did in previous years. However, over the last two seasons, the players have had something of a gentleman\u2019s agreement, with each splitting the Slams two apiece. From the looks of it, it appears that Alcaraz is looking to disrupt that arrangement, having won the Australian Open<\/a> for the first time in his career<\/a>, a title that Sinner has won in the past wo seasons. In fact, having also won the US Open, it now appears that he has his sights on coveting all Slams in sight, and with the French Open on the horizo– a competition he\u2019s won the past couple of seasons, he might be looking to tilt this conversation his way early on.<\/p>\n

However, on closer inspection, they have now traded Slams in which they have looked the dominant force in the last three Slams, with Sinner having won Wimbledon<\/a> last year. Also, Sinner came agonizingly close to the French Open<\/a> last year, blowing three match points, suggesting that it might not be business as usual for Alcaraz at Roland Garros. Alcaraz has certainly drawn first blood, and considerably so; it remains to be seen how Sinner responds to this setback. Whatever the case, this promises to be one interesting talking point to keep an eye on.<\/p>\n

Main Photo Credit: Phil Didion\/The Enquirer \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The tennis season is certainly up and running, with the first Major concluded as January expired. Every season comes with a fresh set of questions. The players have expectations and demands of themselves, and neither the journalists nor the fans are left out. So far, we\u2019ve had about a month’s worth of quality tennis. While […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5743,"featured_media":89222,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,2,4],"tags":[85,5729,5862,43544,10332,476],"class_list":["post-97344","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-atp","category-featured","category-wta","tag-alexander-zverev","tag-carlos-alcaraz","tag-jannik-sinner","tag-learner-tie","tag-lorenzo-musetti","tag-naomi-osaka"],"modified_by":"Yesh Ginsburg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97344","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5743"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=97344"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97344\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":97389,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97344\/revisions\/97389"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89222"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97344"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97344"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97344"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}