Jannik Sinner, Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula: Who is facing a big 2024 tennis season?

The 2024 tennis season will see Novak Djokovic again start as the one to beat on the ATP Tour.

On the WTA Tour it will be Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka leading the way heading into the Australian Open.

But which players are facing big seasons as they look to challenge or keep up with those at the summit?

Jannik Sinner fully inserted himself into the conversation as a potential Grand Slam winner in 2024 with his showings in the back end of last season.

“I think he’s going to reach the No 1 in 2024 or he’s going to give himself the chance to reach the No 1. That’s my prediction.”

Sinner took significant steps forward in 2023, as shown by receiving the ATP’s Most Improved Player of the Year award, and his coaching team getting the Coach of the Year award.

Now he will look to build on his flying finish and go into 2024 full steam ahead.

As Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Holger Rune are being talked up as the trio to challenge Novak Djokovic in 2024, Daniil Medvedev is somewhat flying under the radar.

But the world No. 3 had a very good season in 2023.

He won two Masters events – one on hard courts and one on clay (!) – and beat Alcaraz in impressive fashion to reach the final of the US Open. He also had a good showing at Wimbledon by making the semis.

It was a welcome return to form after a drop in level in 2022, and Grand Slam success – and trying to stay ahead of Alcaraz, Sinner and co – will be the big ambition next season.

Stefanos Tsitsipas’ season started so promisingly as he reached his second Grand Slam final at the Australian Open.

Even though he lost to Novak Djokovic, Tsitsipas said making the final was a “step forward” and he “couldn’t be more excited” about what’s ahead.

But Tsitsipas’ season did not progress as planned.

A shoulder injury hampered the first part of the year and he didn’t rediscover his best form over the summer. With strong competition around him at the top of the rankings, and a lot of points to defend in Melbourne, Tsitsipas will be aiming to start 2024 strong.

Taylor Fritz had some good moments in 2023, including becoming the first American in 20 years to reach the semi-finals at Monte Carlo and making the US Open quarter-finals.

He also reached a career-high ranking of world No. 5.

But for much of the season it was a case of Fritz coming up just short.

He lost in six semi-finals and aside from the US Open didn’t make the second week of any of the other Grand Slams.

Fritz has the power-hitting game to be a force but is facing competition for his spot as American No. 1 as well as a battle to keep up with those at the very top of the game.

Coco Gauff had been making steady steps of progression after her Wimbledon run as a 15-year-old in 2019.

But last summer she burst through with a spectacular run that saw her win in Washington and Cincinnati before triumphing at the US Open.

Gauff will start 2024 at No. 3 in the world and surely with more Grand Slam aspirations.

With those aspirations come increased expectations as Gauff shapes up to be one of the leading contenders on the WTA Tour. Can she keep pace with Swiatek and Sabalenka over the course of the season?

Jessica Pegula’s improvement over the last couple of years can be measured by her record against the top 10.

Having won just three top-10 matches in 2022, she improved to 7-4 against the top 10 in 2023.

The next challenge for Pegula is to go beyond the quarter-finals at a Grand Slam.

She lost in two major quarter-finals in 2023 to take her total losses to six at that stage. She is yet to reach a semi-final, but looks well placed to do so in 2024.

Elena Rybakina started 2023 in red-hot form, winning Indian Wells and making the final at the Australian Open and Miami Open.

She looked very much a part of the new ‘Big Three’ that was leading the way on the WTA Tour.

But Rybakina couldn’t maintain her high level throughout the season.

She had a good title win in Rome and made the semis of WTA 1000 events in Montreal and Beijing, but saw the second half of her year disrupted by injuries.

With a lot of points to defend early in 2024, Rybakina will need to be at her best again to stay towards the top of the world rankings.

After a standout 2022 season, Ons Jabeur did not reach the same level in 2023.

She had a 36-17 win-loss record and only made it to the quarter-finals of one WTA 1000 event. There was also another Grand Slam near-miss as Jabeur was beaten in the Wimbledon final for the second year in a row.

It was a stop-start season at times due to injury problems and Jabeur will be looking to bounce back in 2024.