Jannik Sinner won the first and final majors of 2024, the Australian Open and U.S. Open, further extending his stranglehold on the World No. 1 ranking. The Italian also reached the semifinal at Roland Garros and the quarterfinal at Wimbledon, the other two slams of the year.
By maintaining a record of 23-2 at slams in 2024, the 23-year-old has become the third-youngest player to register as many wins in a calendar year since Pete Sampras and Rafael Nadal.
Much like Sinner, Sampras, too, won two slams in 1993 (Wimbledon, U.S. Open) while making deep runs at that year’s French Open (QF loss) and Australian Open (SF loss). As for Nadal, he was already a three-time French Open winner before his magical run in 2008 that saw him win a fourth consecutive title in Paris and his first Wimbledon. As such, the Spaniard’s dominance was expected at that point.
Sinner’s consistent showing across the four majors of 2024 has led some to pronounce him the best player in the world. Carlos Alcaraz — who won the other two majors in 2024 — has received similar praise. However, his early exit at the U.S. Open and quarterfinal loss at the Australian Open have raised questions about his supremacy on hard courts.
That question is not associated with Sinner, who won the only two hard-court slams of 2024 to become only the fourth player since 1987 to achieve the feat. The Italian’s dominance on hard courts has already made him the early betting favorite to win the 2025 Australian Open for his third career slam.
Sinner (55-5 in 2024) will now look to close the year strong at upcoming ATP 1000 events in Shanghai and Paris before heading to Saudi Arabia for the ATP Finals. The Italian is almost a lock to end 2024 as World No. 1.
