Welcome back everyone, and happy 2026. We hope the year is not merely new but improved. We\u2019ll start Australian Open preview coverage next week. (Happily, Tennis Channel will be on site.) But this week, with a nod to Nick K.\u2014columnist and former Oregon gubernatorial candidate Kristof; not self-saboteur and episodically committed tennis player Kyrgios\u2014let\u2019s start with a game of predictions for the new year.<\/p>\n
We can revisit in 11-plus months and see how we all performed. My answers are in bold.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Tennis will:<\/p>\n
A) Survive and advance, despite inevitable high-profile retirements and the usual, inevitable political infighting. <\/p>\n
B) Update its clip-sharing policies.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
C) Take a stand against \u201cdata companies\u201d that sully the sport with betting opportunities. <\/p>\n
D) Take a stand on the goitrous blight that is the 12-day Masters 1000 event, aka the extended dance version no one asked for.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
E) Dispose with the PTPA lawsuit<\/a> that\u2014while raising legit concerns about the lack of player empowerment\u2014is a poorly drafted, poorly reasoned, wildly expensive publicity stunt masquerading as legal action. <\/p>\n F) All of the above.<\/p>\n \u2022 The four majors on the men\u2019s side will be won by:<\/p>\n A) Jannik Sinner and\/or Carlos Alcaraz. And the drawbridge remains up\u2014for the third consecutive year\u2014for the rest of the field. <\/p>\n B) Sinner only. He\u2019ll defend in Australia. He\u2019ll win that one additional point in Paris. He\u2019ll defend at Wimbledon. He\u2019ll replicate 2024 and win in New York. The first Grand Slam winner since Rod Laver. <\/p>\n C) Alcaraz only. He\u2019ll win the Career Slam in Australia. He\u2019ll defend in Paris. He\u2019ll defend at Wimbledon. He\u2019ll replicate 2023 and \u201924 and win Wimbledon. He\u2019ll defend in New York. The first Grand Slam winner since Rod Laver. <\/p>\n D) An interloper or two\u2014Ben Shelton? Alexander Zverev? F\u00e9lix Auger-Aliassime? A lightning-in-a-bottle Alexander Bublik on grass?\u2014who will break containment and break the Sinner-Alcaraz stronghold.<\/p>\n \u2022 Novak Djokovic will:<\/p>\n A) Win that 25th singles major, as early as Australia. <\/p>\n B) Reunite with Andy Murray. <\/p>\n C) Continue to exist in this no-man\u2019s-land, good enough to make the latter rounds of majors, but, at 38 (going on 39), not capable of taking six sets in 48 hours from Sinner and Alcaraz. <\/p>\n D) Keep the Los Angeles Olympics in his sights. <\/p>\n E) Call an end to an unrivaled career.<\/p>\n \u2022 Aryna Sabalenka will:<\/p>\n A) Continue her transcendent tennis and retain the top spot, causing more casual fans to appreciate her generosity of power \u2026 and generosity of spirit. <\/p>\n B) Finally win Wimbledon, the event that might be best suited to her skill set.<\/p>\n C) Continue her admirable\/vexing habit of playing deep into events but often stealing defeat from the jaws of victory.<\/p>\n D) Leave tennis abruptly to become a full-time influencer.<\/p>\n \u2022 This player will still be \u201cactive\u201d at the end of 2026:<\/p>\n A) Venus Williams <\/p>\n B) Stan Wawrinka <\/p>\n C) Ga\u00ebl Monfils <\/p>\n D) Novak Djokovic <\/p>\n E) Danielle Collins<\/p>\n \u2022 The WTA will:<\/p>\n A) Finally, reach a deal with the ATP, an acquisition masquerading as \u201ccommercial aggregation.\u201d <\/p>\n B) (Personal pet peeve\/cause to support) Remind the world that, amid this women\u2019s sports boom, for decades, the WTA has been the standard-bearer, the piston and most lucrative women\u2019s league. (Over 60 players made more than $1 million in 2025; eight of the 10 highest-paid female athletes are WTA stars. The Mercedes deal blows away any comparable sponsorship for women\u2019s sports. Take a victory lap! Remind the world who is boss! Tennis is the OG of the women\u2019s sports boom and should be hailed as such!) <\/p>\n C) Improve its media rights, both in terms of dollar figures and distribution.<\/p>\n D) Deal with its \u201cquiet quitting\u201d issue. So many players who should be in their prime years are failing to find joy and fulfillment, and taking time off or leaving the sport entirely.<\/p>\n E) All of the above.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u2022 Come summer, Alcaraz\u2019s coach will be:<\/p>\n A) Juan Carlos Ferrero, after they hash out their differences of money and priorities. (\u201cWe are family and families fight, but always are there for each other.\u201d) <\/p>\n B) Samuel L\u00f3pez <\/p>\n C) Patrick Moura \u2026 never mind. <\/p>\n D) David Ferrer, called in as a relief pitcher (summoned from the Spanish bullpen as it were) after a slow start to the season. <\/p>\n E) Rafael Nadal\/Carlos Moy\u00e1, super coach.<\/p>\n \u2022 Peng Shuai will:<\/p>\n A) Announce a tennis comeback. <\/p>\n B) Depart China and become an outspoken dissident against authoritarianism, censorship and autocracy. <\/p>\n C) Become an honorary tournament director, a show of good faith (and good optics) now that the WTA has backpedaled (as if chasing down a topspin lob) and returned to China<\/a>. <\/p>\n