Tennis news - Laver Cup, Indian Wells, ATP and WTA Finals, what's still to play for in 2021 season after US Open?
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Updated 21/09/2021 at 15:09 GMT
With the US Open in the rear-view mirror there are still two months of the 2021 tennis season remaining and they feature the Laver Cup, Indian Wells and ATP and WTA Finals. Daniil Medvedev and Emma Raducanu were crowned champions in New York, but there is more silverware up for grabs as the two tours continue around the world.
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The Grand Slam season may be over for another year, but there is still plenty of life left in the 2021 tennis season.
Daniil Medvedev and Emma Raducanu were crowned singles champions in New York, and attentions now turn to the remaining three months of the calendars.
Players will not be heading to the Far East as they have in previous years as tournaments have been cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but there are Masters events, the Laver Cup, and the season-ending finals to look forward to…
Laver Cup
While September features ATP 250 events in Europe and the USA – and Andy Murray playing on the Challenger Tour in France – the highlight is likely to be the Laver Cup.
After not being played last year due to scheduling issues, the team tournament will return for a fourth edition in Boston from September 24-26 September.
Team Europe have won all three times so far, but will be without Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. They still boast a strong line-up with newly-crowned US Open champion Medvedev set to play along with world No 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas and world No 4 Alexander Zverev.
But will Team World finally get a win? Nick Kyrgios is on John McEnroe’s side along with Canadian duo Denis Shapovalov and Felix Auger-Aliassime. A raucous atmosphere is guaranteed as the best players on the ATP Tour compete alongside each other for three days.
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Chicago Fall Classic and Ostrava Open
The two next big stops on the WTA Tour are the indoor Ostrava Open in the Czech Republic and the outdoor Chicago Fall Classic.
The WTA 500 events run in back-to-back weeks starting on September 20 and will see different players competing at both. Czech Karolina Pliskova will play the Ostrava Open along with US Open quarter-finalist Elina Svitolina, Iga Swiatek and French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova.
World No 2 Aryna Sabalenka is set to play in Chicago along with Bianca Andreescu, Garbine Muguruza, Petra Kvitova and Belinda Bencic. Raducanu may also feature although her schedule after winning the US Open is uncertain.
Former world No 1 Kim Clijsters has taken a wild card for the event and will make her first competitive appearance since last year's US Open. The 38-year-old came out of retirement in February 2020 but hasn’t played in 2021 after undergoing knee surgery and then contracting Covid-19.
Indian Wells
Usually played earlier in the year, the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells is the biggest event remaining on the ATP and WTA calendar. It has been rescheduled to run from October 4 to October 17 and will feature most of the top players in the world.
Djokovic, Ashleigh Barty and Naomi Osaka are all on the entry list, with Serena Williams and Dominic Thiem among the few big-names missing out.
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Indian Wells is back on the tennis calendar
Image credit: Getty Images
Indian Wells, which is an ATP and WTA 1000 event, was not played last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but will be at full capacity this time around. Carlos Alcaraz, Leylah Fernandez and Coco Gauff are set to make their debuts at the tournament.
It is the penultimate Masters event on the ATP Tour before the Paris Masters, which starts on November 1.
ATP Finals
Turin will host the ATP Finals for the first time after they were switched from London.
The top eight players in the world qualify for the tournament, with world No 1 Djokovic and 2019 and 2020 champions Tsitsipas and Medvedev so far confirmed. Zverev, Andrey Rublev, Matteo Berrettini, Casper Ruud and Hubert Hurkacz are set to fill the remaining places as it stands.
The tournament starts on November 14, a week after the NextGen Finals, which are for the eight best players of the season aged 21 and under.
Auger-Aliassime, Sinner, Alcaraz, Sebastian Korda, Jenson Brooksby, Lorenzo Musetti, Juan Manuel Cerundolo and Brandon Nakashima are currently set to qualify for the event in Milan.
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WTA Finals
The uncertainty over the WTA Finals was ended this week as it was confirmed the season-ending tournament will be played for one year only in Guadalajara, Mexico.
With tournaments in the Far East cancelled due to the pandemic, the event has had to be moved from Shenzhen, China, where it was first played in 2019. As with the ATP Finals, the top eight singles players and doubles teams of the year will play in Guadalajara.
World No 1 Barty will be the defending champion and as it stands will be joined by Sabalenka, Pliskova, Krejcikova, Swiatek, Maria Sakkari, Osaka and Muguruza.
2022 Australian Open
Less than two months after the 2021 season finishes, the first Grand Slam of 2022 takes place in Melbourne.
Djokovic will be bidding to win his record-breaking 21st major while Barty will be hoping to lift the trophy on home soil.
The tournament runs from January 17 to January 30 and will be shown live on Eurosport and discovery+ after a new long-term deal was agreed.
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