Jannik Sinner put a seal on a terrific tennis season with a dominant 6-4, 6-3 victory over American Taylor Fritz in the final of the year-end Nitto ATP Finals 2024. Sinner also achieved his first year-end number one title, being commemorated in Turin in his home country.
Sinner ended the year with a phenomenal 72-6 record, good for a 92.1% win-loss percentage, marking him as the first player outside of the big three of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and Novak Djokovic to finish a calendar year with a 90+% ratio in the 21st century.
He also became the first player since Ivan Lendl in 1986 to win the ATP Finals event without dropping a set — multiple matches against the best players in the world, showing an unforeseen amount of dominance. Sinner also remarkably won a set in every single match played in a calendar year: at just 22-years-old, his ability and form bodes well for an incredible career at the highest level.
Sinner’s year was slightly marred by the doping controversy he faced ahead of the US Open, after it was revealed he tested positive for an anabolic steroid clostebol following the early season hard court swing. Nevertheless, Sinner’s season remains one of the finest efforts by an individual player in the history of the ATP, with two grand slam wins and a slew of major titles beyond. Here is how the Italian stacks up against some of the other best years players have to offer.
Jannik Sinner 2024: Australian Open, US Open, ATP Finals, 3x Masters 1000
Sinner started the year strong with his maiden grand slam tournament win in Australia, beating Djokovic in the semifinals and becoming the only player to not face a single break point against the Serb in a grand slam match. He bounced back from a 2-0 deficit to beat Daniil Medvedev in the final.
He went on to win the Miami Masters soon after, and although dogged by injuries in the summer which saw him withdraw from Madrid and Rome as well as the Paris Olympics, he finished the year on a strong note with victories in Montreal, the US Open, Shanghai, and the ATP Finals. He also lifted the ‘Six Kings Slam’ and its USD 6 million prize money to gain a nice bonus.
Roger Federer 2006: Australian Open, Wimbledon, US Open, ATP Finals, 4x Masters 1000
The most dominant year of the Swiss maestro’s mid-2000s dominance, Federer won a preposterous 92 matches in 2006, losing only 5 matches out of which four were to Rafael Nadal. For the second time in his career, Federer picked up three of the four slams, losing to Nadal at the French Open finals for a slam record of 27-1.
One of the most commandingly dominant peaks of any player, and 2006 was the jewel in Federer’s crown as he established himself as one of the greatest of all time.
Novak Djokovic 2015: Australian Open, Wimbledon, US Open, ATP Finals, 6x Masters 1000
Djokovic went 82-6 in 2015, staying on top of the rankings for all 52 weeks and matching Federer on the Grand Slam front by reaching all four slam finals. A disappointing loss to Stan Wawrinka at Roland Garros is the one blemish on the season, but an elite strike-rate in big tournaments saw Djokovic reach eight out of nine Masters 1000 finals, winning a record-breaking six in the year.
Djokovic was often considered third fiddle to Nadal and Federer, but was elevated to the top table by a fantastic season where he held a 9-3 record against his greatest rivals, including beating the Swiss at the finals of Wimbledon and the US Open.
Rafael Nadal 2008: French Open, Wimbledon, 3x Masters 1000, Olympic Gold
Nadal’s seasons in 2008 and 2010 are hotly contested in terms of his best: although he won three slams and completed the career grand slam in 2010, the season chosen here is the one where he went from upstart to legend.
Nadal completed the ‘channel double’ by winning his fourth consecutive Roland Garros, thoroughly dominating Federer in the final as he dropped only four games. His biggest win would be at the Wimbledon final a month later, in a match that is widely considered the greatest tennis match of all time as he overcame Federer 9-7 in the fifth set at the end of a titanic clash.
The coup de grace for Nadal’s year would be at the Beijing Olympics, where he secured Olympic Gold in singles — a feat never matched by Federer, and one Djokovic had to wait until 2024 to achieve.
Honourable mentions: Andy Murray 2016, John McEnroe 1984, Guillermo Vilas 1977, Rod Laver 1969
McEnroe possesses the best win-percentage of any player in the open era, an incredible 96.55% as he lost only three matches all year. However, he only played 87 games, which pales in comparison to Guillermo Vilas in 1977. The Argentine won an ATP record 130 matches, and set what remains the longest win-streak with 46 consecutive wins, becoming the first South American player to win a grand slam title.
Andy Murray’s 2016 is what gave him the credentials of an all-time great. He lifted his second Wimbledon title as well as winning his second Olympic gold medal, before going on a 25-match and five-title win streak at the end of the year to seal year-end world number one, needing every single win for his monumental snapping of Djokovic’s long streak at the top.
Nevertheless, there is nothing quite like the only time in the open era that the Grand Slam has been achieved by a man, as ‘Rocket Rod’ Laver won all four slam titles in 1969, a record that looks increasingly unbeatable the longer it remains in place.