In her newest Sky Sports activities column, Gigi Salmon takes a visit down reminiscence lane reflecting on one of the best moments from 2024 and appears forward to what the New 12 months might deliver.

Whereas for many of us Christmas is the end line to the working yr, for skilled sportsmen and girls – considering particularly about tennis and soccer, which I’ve lined for various years – it is simply one other working week.

I keep in mind years in the past whereas working for Chelsea, we might head to work to look at and report on the gamers coaching on Christmas Day morning for the every day information programme, then for the gamers it was house to have an early Christmas lunch, then again a number of hours later to the coaching floor to go off to a resort in preparation for the Boxing Day match.

For tennis gamers it is related, though for many December 25 can be spent far-off from family members, with holidays within the Maldives lengthy since come and gone and the season getting underway in New Zealand and Australia earlier than the yr involves an finish.

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With just some days left of 2024 I wished to look again on what has been a really particular yr with the launch of Sky Sports activities Tennis, a channel devoted to a really particular sport.

We started within the rain in Doha for the WTA 1000 occasion, opening up the channel with Emma Raducanu wrapped up in opposition to the unseasonably chilly climate. And what a yr to launch, one which has concerned a bee invasion, a number of retirements, failed drug exams by the respective world No 1s and a Grand Slam semi-final run by the British No 1.

After launching in Doha we had been subsequent on web site in Indian Wells, the primary a part of the Sunshine Double set in Palm Springs – a favorite cease on the tour for many gamers however not one the place you anticipate to return throughout a bee invasion, which is what occurred not lengthy into the boys’s quarter-final between Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev.

I’ve since learnt that March is ‘swarming season’ in California and it simply so occurred that the Queen Bee took a liking to the spider cam on stadium one.

The day was saved by superstar beekeeper Lance Davis, who – barehanded – eliminated the swarm. I spoke to Alcaraz after the match who admitted that it was scary, he did not know what was occurring and that he was stung a number of instances.

A number of days later the Spaniard would win the title.

Retirements to recollect

It was additionally a yr for retirements. We had 18 in whole and most of which we noticed coming, but it surely did not make it any simpler when the time got here.

Andy Murray made his closing tour look at Wimbledon along with his brother Jamie within the doubles earlier than hanging up his racquet on the Olympics, an occasion which additionally noticed us wave goodbye to former world No 1 and Grand Slam champion Angelique Kerber.

Former US Open champion Dominic Thiem mentioned goodbye in Vienna, former world No 1 Garbine Muguruza confirmed that her year-long sabbatical was turning into everlasting and lastly Rafael Nadal, whose physique might take no extra, bowed out representing Spain on the Davis Cup finals.

Celebrity Sinner headlines in 2024

It was additionally the yr of Jannik Sinner which noticed the 23-year-old Italian win 73 matches and lose simply six, successful not less than a set in all 79 matches performed, leading to eight titles – together with his first two Grand Slam crowns in Australia and New York.

What made it so extraordinary is that he achieved most of this having failed two drug exams in March, which did not develop into public information till the tip of September – every week earlier than the US Open.

He would subsequently be cleared of any ‘fault or negligence’, one thing that WADA (World Anti-Doping Company) is at present interesting at CAS (Court docket of Arbitration for Sport), with a end result anticipated within the New 12 months.

The yr would finish with Iga Swiatek, world No 1 on the time, failing a drug check for a contaminated complement and serving a ‘silent’ one-month ban.

And for Aryna Sabalenka, what a yr ending as yr finish No 1, one thing she informed us on the WTA Finals had been a dream of hers for so long as she will be able to keep in mind.

She is one of the best participant on this planet proper now within the ladies’s sport on a tough court docket, successful each the Australian Open and US Open titles – two of the 4 titles she would win in 2024 whereas getting back from private tragedy off the court docket and an damage which led to her lacking Wimbledon.

Waiting for the New 12 months

To 2025 and we have now a lot to be careful for and look ahead to. I am excited to see how Raducanu will do.

A number of of us had been fortunate sufficient to have a while to speak along with her in pre-season and all of it sounds very optimistic. Along with coach Nick Cavaday, she has added famend energy and conditioning coach Yutaka Nakamura to her staff.

Expectations will all the time be excessive for Raducanu – she has no management over that after rising to fame along with her gorgeous US Open win in 2021 – however she appears higher ready each bodily and mentally for what lies forward.

As does British No 1 Jack Draper after a breakthrough season that noticed him attain a career-high rating of 15, win his first two profession titles and go on a run that took him to the semi-finals of the US Open.

Expectations will rise and the stress will change however he appears prepared for what’s to return and believes he has learnt from previous experiences.

The slight cloud over pre-season was a hip damage he picked up which led to his withdrawal from the season opener, the United Cup.

British No 1 Katie Boulter goes into 2025 at her profession excessive with new pressures to face, titles and factors to defend and a sense that she’s going to by no means be glad.

Waiting for the primary Grand Slam of the yr and Nice Britain will (as I write this) have seven direct entrants into the singles attracts: Katie Boulter, Raducanu, Sonay Kartal, Jodie Burrage, Draper, Cameron Norrie and Jacob Fearnley.

An additional eight gamers are set to run the gauntlet of qualifying: Harriet Dart, Francesca Jones, Heather Watson, Lily Miyazaki, Billy Harris, Dan Evans, Jan Choinski and Paul Jubb.

And let’s not neglect that we’ll be seeing Murray as soon as once more on the Australian Open however this time in a training capability alongside Novak Djokovic, who’s in the hunt for a history-making twenty fifth Grand Slam title and what could be an eleventh at Melbourne Park.

What’s extra, the outspoken Nick Kyrgios is again after, in his phrases, a “brutal” couple of years out injured to offer it “yet another shot” at successful a Grand Slam singles title.

As to who will win the Grand Slam titles in 2025, I am nonetheless considering that by way of so be careful for my predictions in columns to return!

When it comes to gamers to be careful for, Brits apart, I might say preserve an in depth eye on Arthur Fils. I assumed 2024 could be his yr however I believe I went a yr too early, in addition to Jakub Mensik and Matteo Berettini, if he can keep wholesome.

On the ladies’s aspect, Diana Shnaider had a breakthrough 2024. Can she construct on that momentum and confidence? It will likely be attention-grabbing to see how the partnership of Elena Rybakina and Goran Ivanisevic comes collectively.

Gigi’s 2024 spotlight reel

My private firsts for 2024 as a part of the Sky Sports activities Tennis staff: being taught the right way to escape from a crocodile in Miami, surviving ‘hell week’ at Barry’s Bootcamp, finishing a 10k with Laura Robson hours earlier than the semi-finals in Doha, getting Martina Navratilova and Annabel Croft to bop dwell on the channel and driving on the identical camel as Laura up a sand dune in Riyadh.

Sky Sports activities Tennis can be again on the street once more and the beauty of the tennis tour and the tournaments we cowl is that every one has its personal character, is pleasant for various causes and I additionally get the possibility to work alongside and have quite a lot of enjoyable with some nice folks

What a yr it has been with the launch of the channel protecting our loyal tennis base firm, knowledgeable and entertained and opening up the game we love and comply with to a brand new viewers, one thing we’re trying ahead to doing extra of within the New 12 months.

And whereas Raducanu mentioned she did not have a selected New 12 months’s decision, mine on a tennis entrance can be to be higher at predictions as mine had been actually surprising at instances!

One query to depart you with earlier than I log out for the yr: if I requested you to choose your most stunning piece of 2024 tennis information, the information that made you cease in your tracks and marvel if it might actually be true, wouldn’t it be the information of Sinner failing two drug exams, Swiatek failing one drug check or Djokovic hiring Murray as his new coach?

It is a robust name as they had been all fairly jaw-dropping.

Sky Sports activities+ has formally launched and can be built-in into Sky TV, streaming service NOW and the Sky Sports activities app, giving Sky Sports activities clients entry to over 50 per cent extra dwell sport this yr at no further value. Discover out extra right here.