Tennis News: Denis Shapovalov, Aryna Sabalenka and Taylor Fritz

Denis Shapovalov was an also-ran for years. After being ranked mostly in the teens (with a career-high of 10) for years, the Canadian plummeted to 140 in 2024. He was 25 years old but seemed as if he was well into his 30s. Maybe he was closer to the end of his career than the beginning. After all, he had only one career title to his name, and that was in 2019.

That changed this weekend. Playing in a tournament that Novak Djokovic owns, the Belgrade Open, Shapovalov defeated a Djokovic protegee, Hamad Medjedovic, in straight sets in the final. The Canadian will jump 22 places when the new ATP rankings come out, all the way to 56. That is still not where he wants to be, of course, but it's better than he was earlier in the year.

Shapovalov will next play in the Davis Cup finals at the end of November so his season is not quite done. His win should definitely help his confidence at the event. Canada won the event just two years ago in 2022.

Denis Shapovalov wins and so does Aryna Sabalenka (in a way)

In completely different news, Aryna Sabalenka has not won a match since she learned she was guaranteed to finish as the year-end WTA No. 1. That is partly meant as a silly remark, but it still holds true. Sabalenka dropped her last two matches at the WTA Finals and failed to reach the final of the event for the second straight year. She has yet to win the tournament.

Still, 2024 was a big year for the Belarusian. She claimed two Grand Slams (the Australian Open and the US Open), and she will finish as the year-end No. 1 for the first time. She also begins 2025 knowing she is the favorite in Melbourne, as she has won the last two Australian Opens. She will certainly make a run at being No. 1 at the end of 2025, too, but now she just needs to win that darn WTA Finals.

Taylor Fritz has a real chance

Finally, Taylor Fritz will attempt to become the first American man to win the ATP Finals since Pete Sampras in 1999. American men's tennis has struggled for the most part over the last two decades but has seen a bit of an uptick over the last couple of years with players such as Fritz, Tommy Paul, and Frances Tiafoe. While Fritz won't be among the favorites at the year-end event, stranger things have occurred.

For instance, while Alexander Zverev has never won a Grand Slam, he has won the ATP Finals twice. David Nalbandian appeared in just three of the Finals, but he won one in 2005 when he defeated Roger Federer in the final. Fritz could win the tournament, and that would be a huge boon for tennis in the United States.

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