Tennis season 2020 - What was best moment? Biggest surprise? Plus predictions for 2021 Grand Slams

ByEurosport

Updated 28/12/2020 at 14:59 GMT

What was the best moment of the 2020 tennis season? What was the biggest surprise? And who is going to win the Grand Slams in 2021? From Sofia Kenin and Novak Djokovic's triumphs at the Australian Open at the start of the year to Iga Swiatek and Rafael Nadal's incredible wins at the rescheduled French Open it was a unique and remarkable year.

Iga Swiatek and Rafael Nadal, Roland-Garros 2020 champions

Image credit: Getty Images

We asked our team of writers to provide their favourite moment of the tennis year and also what they considered to be the most surprising.

Next, it's time to look ahead to the 2021 season, which we all hope will be slightly more normal than the last. Who is going to win all four Grand Slams?

Do you agree with our picks from 2020 and our predictions for the coming year? Get in touch with us on Twitter @Eurosport_UK.

WTA Madrid

Osaka 'taking a lot of inspiration' from clay experts as she seeks first title on surface

19 hours ago

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Moment of the year

It’s got to be Iga Swiatek reminding all adults aged 20 and over that they’ve underachieved. To not drop a set in a Grand Slam is one thing, to do it as a 19-year-old underdog is another thing entirely. There have been many false dawns on the women’s tour, so we’ll stop short of predicting lasting greatness, but she has all the weapons to establish herself on all surfaces.

Watch Swiatek run into stands to embrace family after French Open glory

Surprise of the year

I mean, the pandemic – and all the various complications to the world of tennis – was a big surprise. But Serena Williams’ failed quest for a record 24th Grand Slam title (most recently seeing her falter in the US Open last four) continues to baffle. Since the 2017 Australian Open, she’s reached four Slam finals, a semi-final and a quarter-final. We’re all willing her to surpass Margaret Court, but with the big 4.0. arriving next September, she needs to do it sooner rather than later.

2021 Grand Slam predicted champions…

Australian Open: Bianca Andreescu and Novak Djokovic

French Open: Iga Swiatek and Rafael Nadal

Wimbledon: Simona Halep and Novak Djokovic

US Open: Bianca Andreescu and Novak Djokovic

Ben Snowball

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Moment of the year

A moment which laid bare why Roger Federer is a true champion was on full display when he played Tennys Sandgren in the Australian Open back in January. Federer went SEVEN match points down and yet he was able to recover to . It was the Swiss' greatest escape in his 22-year career and his refusal to give in was admirable, despite him being far off his best, and will live long in the memory.

Highlights: The Miracle of Melbourne - see Federer's amazing escape to beat Sandgren

Surprise of the year

This is easy. Novak Djokovic getting disqualified from the US Open was a moment of madness and sent shockwaves around the tennis world. It was quite an unbelievable sight as his US Open title defence came to an abrupt halt in a matter of seconds. It has raised the question of what psychological state he will be in entering the 2021 campaign.

2021 Grand Slam predicted champions…

Australian Open: Naomi Osaka and Roger Federer

French Open: Iga Swiatek and Dominic Thiem

Wimbledon: Iga Swiatek and Novak Djokovic

US Open: Naomi Osaka and Daniil Medvedev

James Kilpatrick

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Moment of the year

Naomi Osaka crowning a wonderful and important fortnight in New York with a US Open title. Neither of her wins at Flushing Meadows yet have been met with the acclaim they have deserved from the stands, but the work she did for racial and social justice with her customised masks and her fine words for the media will have a lasting impact.

Surprise of the year

Playing a tennis tournament, disregarding social distancing, packing in fans to courts, and dancing shirtless in discotheques during a pandemic will lead to an outbreak of the disease. Oh. No. Wait. That wasn't a surprise, was it, Adria Tour?

Djokovic warms up by dancing with DJ and pianist before Adria Tour match

2021 Grand Slam predicted champions…

Australian Open: Daniil Medvedev and Victoria Azarenka

French Open: Rafael Nadal and Kiki Bertens

Wimbledon: Serena Williams and Alexander Zverev

US Open: Naomi Osaka and Novak Djokovic

Carrie Dunn

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Moment of the year

It feels like a lifetime ago now, but back in January we had a normal Australian Open, full of fans and no Covid procedures. There were a few extraordinary moments in Melbourne but none more so than in his quarter-final match up with Tennys Sandgren. Only days earlier, Federer had already completed one great escape when winning six points in a row in a super-tie break from 4-8 down to dump out John Millman. Then Sandgren bore witness to just how deep Federer’s greatness runs as he saw chance after chance of a compelling contest shut down by Federer, clinging on for dear life. Okay so he lost to Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals but this was an extraordinary moment.

Switzerland's Roger Federer celebrates winning his match against Tennys Sandgren

Image credit: Getty Images

Surprise of the year

Novak Djokovic’s summer lockdown. Not just the misguided Adria Tour, which resulted in a spate of Covid cases amongst the elite of men’s tennis, but also for advocating an anti-vaccination stance during a pandemic and claiming that positive emotions can purify polluted water. Not a great summer’s work in all honesty.

2021 Grand Slam predicted champions…

Australian Open: Ash Barty and Daniil Medvedev

French Open: Simona Halep and Dominic Thiem

Wimbledon: Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic

US Open: Naomi Osaka and Novak Djokovic

Tom Adams

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Moment of the year

Naomi Osaka’s US Open win was confirmation that the three-time Grand Slam Champion is the new superstar of tennis. In a year when Osaka was expecting to be the face of Japan’s Olympic Games, she impressively refocused her energy to dominate the biggest tournament of the season. And she did so while simultaneously making use of her platform to make a statement on racial inequality. Osaka walked out on court wearing a facemask emblazoned with the name Tamir Rice for the final. It was the seventh time she had worn such a mask, and the seventh different name, all victims of racial violence in the United States. When asked by an interviewer after the final what the message of her facemasks was supposed to be, she replied: "What was the message that you got? The point is to make people start talking.”

Surprise of the year

Qiang Wang didn’t just upset Serena Williams at the Australian Open, she deservedly beat the 23-time Grand Slam Champion. Usually when Williams wins a second-set tie-break to level things up, all of the smart money would be on her to take the match. But Wang played the better tennis in the decider, ultimately progressing from the fourth-round tie with a 6-4 6-7 7-5 win. And to make it even more special, Wang produced her famous win in front of a largely Chinese crowd as they celebrated Chinese New Year.

Highlights: Serena slumps to shock defeat to Wang

2021 Grand Slam predicted champions…

Australian Open: Ash Barty and Novak Djokovic

French Open: Simona Halep and Rafael Nadal

Wimbledon: Naomi Osaka and Roger Federer

US Open: Naomi Osaka and Novak Djokovic

Tom Bennett

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Surprise of the year

It has to be Iga Swiatek winning the French Open. At the age of 19. Without dropping a set. While obliterating the top seed, and then swatting aside the fourth seed in the final. Considering she hadn’t previously won a tournament on the WTA Tour, and hadn’t won a tournament of any sort in two years, there were questions asked throughout the two weeks about pressure, nerves, and when the occasion might get to her. But it never did. It was a remarkable performance and, with not many points to defend in 2021 away from Roland Garros, expect her to climb up the rankings.

Moment of the year

“We are sitting here like ducks.” Victoria Azarenka was not the only player unimpressed with the different weather conditions at this year’s French Open, which was held four months later than normal. The change of start date meant a wet and chilly tournament, and saw players taking to the courts in jackets, leggings, long sleeves, and sometimes armed with umbrellas. There were a number of glum faces on day one in particular, including Azarenka and Margarita Gasparyan, who was told to go inside and warm up after sitting shivering on her chair. The damp conditions didn’t always make for the best tennis, but it was fascinating to watch, and may not happen again for some time.

'We are sitting here like ducks' - Watch as Azarenka argues with French Open officials

2021 Grand Slam predicted champions…

Australian Open: Novak Djokovic and Naomi Osaka

French Open: Rafael Nadal and Garbine Muguruza

Wimbledon: Novak Djokovic and Simona Halep

US Open: Daniil Medvedev and Bianca Andreescu

James Walker-Roberts

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Moment of the year

Seeing a phone notification reading 'Novak Djokovic disqualified from US Open' and then taking it all in. The initial reaction to watching the video when he struck the lineswoman in the throat, then watching it again, and again, and again, the bulging eyes of the Serbian when he realised what had happened, the frantic checking of the rulebook regarding such actions, Djokovic's decision to ignore post-match media duties and then posting an apology on social media, the unfortunate reaction from some fans in blaming the lineswoman, the wondering who would win a maiden Grand Slam now the favourite was out. This was a disqualification like no other, and easily one of tennis' biggest and most memorable moments of the 21st century.

Novak Djokovic at the 2020 US Open

Image credit: Getty Images

Surprise of the year

Iga Swiatek demolishing the competition at the French Open. Very few, if any, called the 19-year-old as a potential winner for this year's Roland Garros, but she outlined that she is not just one for the future by winning her first Grand Slam without dropping a set, beating Simona Halep and Sofia Kenin along the way. Remarkable, but it would be of no surprise if she did it all again in 2021.

2021 Grand Slam predicted champions…

Australian Open: Ash Barty and Novak Djokovic

French Open: Iga Swiatek and Rafael Nadal

Wimbledon: Ash Barty and Novak Djokovic

US Open: Sofia Kenin and Daniil Medvedev

Michael Hincks

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Moment of the year

When 19-year-old Iga Swiatek won the rescheduled autumnal edition of Roland Garros it was more than surprising. It was, in her words, “life changing”, and given the fact that she was seriously considering heading off to university before settling on continuing her sporting career, that was not simply a throwaway remark. Astonishingly, Swiatek did not drop a single set in the tournament as she became the first player from Poland to win a Grand Slam singles title and the youngest French Open women's champion since Monica Seles in 1992, all while playing a refreshingly creative and attractive brand of tennis.

Iga Swiatek of Poland poses on the rooftop of les Galeries Lafayettes Rue de la Chaussee d'Antin with the Suzanne Lenglen Cup following her victory in the Women's Singles Final against Sofia Kenin of The United States of America on day fifteen of the 2020

Image credit: Getty Images

Surprise of the year

Nothing appeared more certain in 2020 after both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal had withdrawn from the US Open than Novak Djokovic cruising to his fourth triumph at Flushing Meadows. It seemed inevitable. Yet after one inexplicable act of recklessness, it was all over. The moment the world number one struck a line judge in the neck with a ball after an innocuous point in an already silent Arthur Ashe Stadium was truly shocking, and an incident that will be remembered for decades to come. In a year that began so perfectly for Djokovic in Melbourne, it ended up being a nightmare in numerous ways.

2021 Grand Slam predicted champions…

Australian Open: Naomi Osaka and Novak Djokovic

French Open: Simona Halep and Rafael Nadal

Wimbledon: Iga Swiatek and Novak Djokovic

US Open: Naomi Osaka and Daniil Medvedev

Dan Quarrell

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Moment of the year

It’s an easy choice this year to be honest and Iga Swiatek is the story of the year. Winning a Grand Slam before a WTA tournament is absolutely bonkers, and she didn’t even drop a set. Women’s tennis is in a fantastic place from a competitive standpoint and is far more enjoyable to watch than the men’s tour. Whilst the men’s game panics about what happens when the Big Three retire, the women’s game will be in good hands whenever Serena Williams decides to hang up her racket.

Poland's Iga Swiatek kisses and celebrates with the Suzanne Lenglen trophy during the podium ceremony after winning the women's singles final tennis match against Sofia Kenin of the US, at the Philippe Chatrier court, on Day 14 of Roland Garros 2020

Image credit: Getty Images

Surprise of the year

Just how reckless some people are. A lot of sports let themselves down in 2020 but tennis, and in particular Novak Djokovic and his Adria Tour, really took the biscuit. The fact that Djokovic then purported himself as an anti-vaccination advocate just topped things off. Then you look at some of the criticism directed at people like Simona Halep, Nick Kyrgios or Ash Barty for playing it safe, it’s mind-boggling. When you consider how many people this pandemic has killed, the frankly arrogant attitude of some within tennis has left a sour taste in the mouth.

2021 Grand Slam predicted champions…

Australian Open: Bianca Andreescu and Dominic Thiem

French Open: Iga Swiatek and Rafael Nadal

Wimbledon: Simona Halep and Roger Federer

US Open: Naomi Osaka and Novak Djokovic

Pete Sharland

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Moment of the Year

Nothing could have been more significant than Novak Djokovic's self-inflicted wound at the US Open. The Serbian looked unstoppable when he breezed through Cincinnati and the opening rounds of the US Open, and looked good for an unbeaten season. But nothing summed up his strange, strange year than this meltdown, coming so soon after his ill-advised Adria Tour, odd views on vaccines and .

Surprise of the Year

The next crop of WTA stars is coming, and it looks like the women's game might skip a generation. The French Open draw opened up perfectly for Elina Svitolina after the exit of Simona Halep and the withdrawal of Ashleigh Barty but she was blown off court by Nadia Podoroska, a qualifier, leaving the teenager Iga Swiatek to win the title. Caroline Wozniacki's generation was overshadowed by the elder stateswomen, Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams, but it appears that those who followed her may have their thunder stolen by their successors, with Svitolina and Karolina Pliskova misfiring at Slams, but the likes of Naomi Osaka, Swiatek and Bianca Andreescu have shown they can seize their moment.