ATP Tennis Season Wraps Up... But Tennis Never Sleeps

The 2017 ATP season came to a close on November 19, as Grigor Dimitrov finished the best season of his life with the biggest title of his career. He did so by beating Frenchman David Goffin 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 at the ATP Finals to win the season-ending championships in what many consider a surprising albeit deserved victory. The title means that Dimitrov goes into 2018 ranked Number Three, a career high for the Bulgarian, and he will fly into the Australian Open with momentum.

Big News in Men’s ATP Rankings

With the usual two-month break between the ATP finals and the start of the Australian Open, leading tennis players are enjoying the hiatus in the hope of coming back stronger than ever in January. The Australian Open is the first of the year’s Grand Slam events and it will be held at Melbourne Park on 15–28 January 2018. Ahead of the Open, players have a chance to get back into the swing of things at the Hopman Cup in Perth, the Qatar Open in Doha, the Auckland Open in New Zealand, and other preparatory events, all of which take place in January 2018.

The ATP World Tour just published the 2017 year-end ATP rankings, after an exciting season that saw Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer finish as numbers 1 and 2, respectively. This is the seventh time that the two long-time rivals finished in this position, but only the first time since 2010. Closing out the top five are Dimitrov at No. 3; German Alexander Zverev at No. 4; and Dominic Thiem of Austria at No. 5. Nadal is at the Number One spot for the fourth time in his career; he is also the oldest player (at 31) to hold this ranking. Federer is the oldest player to finish No. 2 – at 36 – and for the Swiss legend it is a record 11th time in either the first or second position. Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic dropped outside the Top 10 for the first time in ages, as the 30-year-old Murray fell from 3rd to 16th place after not playing since July with a hip injury. Djokovic, the 12-time Grand Slam winner, ends the year in 12th, down five places, for his lowest ranking since March 2007.

With the impressive array of young players climbing the rankings, the 2018 season is going to sizzle and it’s hard to imagine waiting two, long months for the Grand Slam at Melbourne to kick off. The Roland Garros, also called the French Open, will take place May 27 – June 10, 2018, in Paris, France, followed by Wimbledon in London (July 2 – July 15). The final Grand Slam of the season is, as always, the much-anticipated U.S. Open in Queens, New York (Aug 27 – Sep 9, 2018).

Play Never Stops

Meanwhile, the International Tennis Federation – the ITF – continues to hold fascinating matches to keep avid tennis fans busy during the slower months at the end of the year. For example, click here for all ongoing tennis betting matches and enjoy the chance to place a wager on your favourite player.