The stars of tennis are straight back into action as we head into 2020. Here, we pick out New Year’s resolutions some of the big names should consider.
A new tennis season has arrived with the 2020 campaign set to get under way over the next few days with the ATP Cup and Qatar Open on the men’s side along with three WTA Tour events.
Players will only have two weeks of tournament play before one of the biggest events of the year, with the Grand Slam season starting at the Australian Open on January 20.
A dramatic 2019 saw plenty of changes in tennis, with the rise of new stars like Bianca Andreescu and Coco Gauff, while other trends, such as the superb success of the Big Three in the men’s Grand Slams, remained the same.
For some ATP Tour players it was a year that did not live up to expectations, while there were similar stars who struggled on the WTA Tour.
But whether or not 2019 was a year of success or disappointment, now is the time for players to set new goals for another busy season.
Here, we suggest 10 resolutions for 2020 which some of the biggest stars may have in mind for a new year in tennis, starting with the great Roger Federer.
Roger Federer: One more Grand Slam
A good 2019 season from Roger Federer saw him finish ranked number three in the world.
But his lack of a Grand Slam title will have hurt, particularly with the nature of his Wimbledon final defeat to Novak Djokovic, which saw him squander two championship points and lead Martina Hingis to describe it as “brutal”.
Djokovic is now within four Slams of Federer’s record total (20), while Nadal is just one adrift.
Federer has acknowledged he has gone back to the drawing board ahead of the new season, with his priority being finding a way to get over the line in one of the six “big ones”.
He defined those as the four majors, the Olympic Games and the ATP Finals.
But with the two-year anniversary of his last Grand Slam win coming up and with many assuming his tennis career is rapidly moving closer to its end, perhaps it is one last major he would crave most this year.
Serena Williams: Breaking the Grand Slam record
After four major final defeats in the last two seasons, it is easy to select a goal for Serena Williams in 2020.
The American is still one away from Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24 Grand Slam titles after losses to Angelique Kerber, Naomi Osaka, Simona Halep and Bianca Andreescu at Wimbledon and the US Open (two final losses at each event).
Serena’s legacy on and off the court is already secure after another decade of dominance, but she and her fans are desperate to catch and surpass that landmark.
Andy Murray: Health and competitiveness
Andy Murray will not be enjoying a great start to 2020 after having to withdraw from the ATP Cup and Australian Open due to an injury setback.
He recovered in style from career-saving hip resurfacing surgery in 2019 and the 32-year-old has stressed his priority is staying pain-free and being able to enjoy playing on the ATP Tour again. That is his primary goal.
Deep down, though, a competitor like Murray is craving a return to the highest level. If he can stay healthy, the Briton will be desperate to prove he has what it takes to climb back up the rankings and challenge his old rivals once more.
Rafael Nadal: Australian Open or Wimbledon glory
Rafael Nadal recently said he would not trade in any of his 12 French Open titles, with that being a record which is likely to last a lifetime.
But now his place in the Roland Garros history books is secure, perhaps the Spanish star would most like to even up his record ever so slightly in 2020.
Along with his Paris heroics, Nadal has won an impressive four US Open titles, including triumphing in two of the last three years.
But his record at the Australian Open is a lot worse, winning it just once in 2009 and suffering defeats in four finals, including to Novak Djokovic last year.
At Wimbledon too he has struggled to compete with Federer and Djokovic, not reaching the final since 2011 and his last of two wins coming back in 2010.
Nadal, a recent winner of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship, will have the chance to improve that Melbourne record later this month.
Novak Djokovic: Regain world number one spot
As well as competing to end their careers with the most Grand Slam titles, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are also locked together on five year-end world number one rankings.
Djokovic looked on track to get his sixth in 2019 only to fall away slightly towards the end of the year, allowing an in-form Nadal to move in front after his US Open success.
The Serbian, pictured posing with a Koala ahead of this week’s ATP Cup, will want to re-establish himself at the top in 2020.
If he does so, it will almost certainly mean he has added to his all important Grand Slam total of 16 in the process.
Bianca Andreescu: A year without injuries
The tennis world would love to see what is possible if Bianca Andreescu can go the whole of 2020 injury free. The Canadian believes she can reach the world number one ranking and few would argue with that.
She has already pulled out of the ASB Classic as she recovers from a knee injury sustained at the WTA Finals and has acknowledged she needs to find a way to be on court more consistently.
Andreescu achieved extraordinary results and accolades despite having huge problems with injuries in 2019 as well as during her previous years while trying to reach the WTA Tour. Getting on court and staying there is therefore her biggest battle in 2020.
Naomi Osaka: Olympic Gold
Naomi Osaka has won majors in 2018 and 2019, so perhaps it is something else she will see as her ultimate prize this year.
While further Grand Slam titles and a return to world number one would also be very nice, the Olympic Games is an event which only comes around once every four years.
That the 2020 Olympics are taking place in her home country of Japan makes the tournament an opportunity of a lifetime for Osaka both on and off the tennis court.
Simona Halep: A hard court major
Simona Halep has shown amazing consistency over recent seasons on the WTA Tour and was rewarded with French Open and Wimbledon victories in back-to-back years in 2018 and 2019.
A hard court major would give Halep a Grand Slam title on every surface and she has got close before, having lost a 2018 Australian Open final to Caroline Wozniacki and reached the semifinals of the US Open in 2015, though she has struggled in New York more recently.
Ash Barty: End Australia’s wait
A magnificent 2019 for Ash Barty saw her win the French Open and WTA Finals on her way to securing the year-end number one ranking for the first time.
What may be the WTA Player of the Year’s top target for 2020 arrives very quickly, with the Australian Open starting in two weeks’ time.
Following her 2019 success, Barty will now face added pressure while playing on home soil as Australia hopes to see the wait for a homegrown winner of their major tournament come to an end.
The country has not seen an Australian player, male or female, win the title since 1978.
Zverev, Thiem, Tsitsipas, Medvedev and more: Stop the Big 3’s dominance!
Whether it is Alexander Zverev, Dominic Thiem, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Daniil Medvedev or, as Rafael Nadal has recently suggested, Denis Shapovalov and Jannik Sinner, there is a host of candidates looking to end the Big Three’s dominance of the Grand Slams.
Nobody has managed it yet in the last three years, with Stan Wawrinka’s victory in the US Open of 2016 the last time a male major winner was not named Nadal, Djokovic or Federer.
There is a growing view that 2020 will be the year that comes to an end, but the Big Three are at the top of tennis for a reason and an intriguing fight lies ahead over the next 12 months.