Bold predictions for 2024: How many Grand Slams for Novak Djokovic? Titles for Rafael Nadal and Emma Raducanu?

It’s time to put 2023 behind us and look ahead to what might occur in the new year by way of some bold tennis predictions.

But we’re back again with some big calls for the season ahead…

In two of the last three seasons Novak Djokovic has won three Grand Slam titles.

In the other season he won one of the two he played.

But in 2024? Well, Father Time remains undefeated, and Djokovic is turning 37 in May.

The chasing pack might not have appeared to have closed the gap that much at the majors, but Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Jannik Sinner and Holger Rune did all beat Djokovic in 2023.

Doing so over five sets remains one of the greatest challenges in tennis, and it seems unlikely that Djokovic won’t win one of the four Slams in 2024.

That would move him clear of a tie with Margaret Court on 24 Grand Slam titles. But he won’t move beyond 25 next season.

Emma Raducanu returns to the WTA Tour ranked at No. 299 in the world.

She hasn’t won a title since her 2021 US Open victory, and has only made one semi-final since that memorable run.

So why is she going to win a title next year?

Because a break might have done her a world of good.

Not only because it will hopefully have helped with the injury issues that bothered her since her US Open win, but because she has had some time out of the spotlight and might come back rejuvenated.

“Mentally, I feel like I’m in a better place to compete now than I ever have been before since the US Open.”

Raducanu has shown flashes of her potential since her Grand Slam victory and this could be the year where it starts to come together again.

There are a lot of unknowns with Naomi Osaka’s comeback.

She hasn’t played since September 2022, gave birth to her daughter Shai earlier this year, and returns to a WTA Tour that is very competitive at the top.

Plus, even before stepping away Osaka hadn’t been playing close to her very best for a while.

Just as Serena Williams, Elina Svitolina and Caroline Wozniacki have made successful returns after becoming mothers, so too can Osaka.

Is this bold or is it not?

On the other hand, he’s surely going to be doing everything he can to be in the best shape for the French Open, and then the Olympics too, which is played at Roland-Garros.

If Nadal gets through the first part of the season healthy then his unrivalled clay pedigree and experience will see him start as one of the favourites throughout the clay season.

But he’s still 37 and on a physically demanding surface the likes of Alcaraz and Sinner might now have caught up to him.

We reckon Nadal will add to his 92 career titles though.

Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka will start the 2024 season as the clear No. 1 and No. 2 on the WTA Tour.

Just 245 points separate them, and then it’s 2,970 points down to third-placed Coco Gauff.

But Gauff has the opportunity to pick up plenty of points over the first half of the season, and world No. 4 Elena Rybakina can do so over the second half.

Jessica Pegula is also not far behind and if she can get beyond the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam for the first time could put herself in the mix.

Looking at the leading contenders for Grand Slam titles in 2024, Andrey Rublev, Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas are probably in the second tier below Djokovic, Alcaraz, Sinner and Daniil Medvedev.

And they all come into the new season with some questions: can Rublev make it past the quarter-finals of a major after nine straight defeats? Can Zverev get back to his very best level after taking positive steps in 2023? Can Tsitsipas rediscover his top form after a largely below-par year?

For any of them to reach a final they would likely have to get past Djokovic, Alcaraz, Sinner or Medvedev.

Zverev perhaps looks the most likely to make a major final, especially at the French Open where he has made the semis for the last three years running.

But it was less than a year ago that Tsitsipas was runner-up at the Australian Open, so perhaps he could find some Melbourne magic again.