Ranking the Biggest Disappointments in Tennis During 2016
Now that the 2016 tennis season is over, it's time to look back on moments, performances and incidents that disappointed us this year.
Anti-triumphs were aplenty. Just consider them the miserable end of the yin and yang. It seems that for every Juan Martin Del Potro feel-good victory, there was a Nick Kyrgios meltdown moment.
Eugenie Bouchard's year-long struggle is the bitter antidote to Angelique Kerber's two-Grand Slam surge to the No. 1 ranking.
Bouchard is on this list. But where? Rankings are based on expectations, an incident's impact on the game and presence in the news.
Roger Federer ended his season short. However, Federer performed as well as could have been expected, considering the surgeries and injuries and expectations were higher for Novak Djokovic and other members of the Big Four.
The following are the biggest disappointments in tennis in 2016.
Honorable Mention: Once Dominant No. 1s Fall to No. 2
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Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic walked into the 2016 Australian Open draw ceremony ranked No. 1. Both had won three Grand Slams the previous season and nearly pulled off calendar-Slams.
They would go on to finish 2016 with above-average results for anyone not considered among the greatest of all time. But more importantly+, they lost their top rankings and no longer dominate.
Williams and Djokovic receive honorable mention because although it's difficult to call appearances in the final of three Grand Slams or winning two Slams disappointing, their fall from dominance to No. 2 disappoints.
7. Sloane Stephens: Rising Star Hits Road Block
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No one expected Sloane Stephens to win a Grand Slam. But she certainly wasn't expected to crash out early at all the majors.
Stephens reached a career-high No. 11 in 2013 and appeared to be knocking on the door of the Top 10 in 2014. Despite an off season, Stephens won her first WTA title last year and seemed ready for a comeback.
Instead, she lost in the first round of the Australian Open to No. 102 Qiang Wang. She failed to advance into the second week of the French Open or Wimbledon and lost in the first round of the Summer Olympics. Stephens also missed the U.S. Open due to a foot injury.
Stephens hasn't played since and finished the year ranked No. 35.
6. Eugenie Bouchard: The Comeback That Wasn't
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Bouchard's year was worse than Stephens'. Once ranked as high as No. 5 (2014), Bouchard has yet to find her way back to the Top 20.
In fact, this year she struggled to get back to the Top 40.
Ranked No. 46, Bouchard, 22, didn't win any titles this year. She lost four of her final five matches and finished the season with $545,033 in prize money. That's about a quarter of the $2,311,022, earned by Madison Keys, 21, a contemporary of Bouchard's.
Her profile remains high. She gained a new endorsement deal with Colgate Enamel Health.
But her tennis is low. Bouchard makes the list because last year's struggles were supposed to be a sophomore slump, growing pains.
Last year, Bouchard ditched coach Sam Sumyk, who went on to coach Garbine Muguruza to a French Open title this year.
In June, Bouchard brought back coach Nick Saviano after splitting with Thomas Hogstedt, who went on to coach Keys to her first appearance in the WTA finals. (Keys has since ended her relationship with Hogstedt.)
5. Nick Kyrgios: Maturation Regression
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Speaking of setbacks, few were as disappointing as Kyrgios' on-court behavior. He ended his season, suspended for tanking during a match at the Shanghai Masters.
Kyrgios had his eight-week suspension reduced when he agreed to see a sports psychologist.
What makes Kyrgios' behavior most disappointing is he had his best year on the tour, climbing to a career-high No. 13. He won three titles this year, including the Japan Open.
At 21, Kyrgios is the youngest player in the Top 20. Still, he's old enough to know better and can no longer shrug off his actions as youthful indiscretions.
4. Rafael Nadal: Grand Slammed
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Rafael Nadal finished the season ranked No. 9. But he failed to reach the final of any Grand Slam tournaments. He lost in the first round of the Australian Open and withdrew from the French Open just before the third round.
After he withdrew from the French Open, a tournament he's dominated for much of his career, Nadal revealed he's been suffering from a serious wrist injury.
He took time off and missed Wimbledon. He missed out on the bronze at the Summer Games and lost in the fourth round of the U.S. Open.
He finished 39-14, not the worst record, but it was a disappointing year for Rafa.
Djokovic told Tennis.com's Kamakshi Tandon, "It's kind of expected to have some new faces in this sport,” the 12-time Grand Slam champion said, “but I still wouldn't rule out Roger and Rafa, and I would not take them out of that context of the best players in the world."
A 14-time Grand Slam champion, Nadal will never be counted out. But after his dismal performance in 2016, it's unclear if he can ever be counted on, again.
3. Indian Wells Sideshow: Head-Shaking Nonsense
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In one of the worst displays of chauvinism, former Indian Wells CEO Raymond Moore decided to demean female players in front of members of the media.
Among other things, Moore told reporters (via ESPN.com) at a press breakfast that "... in my next life, when I come back, I want to be someone in the WTA because they ride on the coattails of the men. ... If I was a lady player, I'd go down every night on my knees and thank God that Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal were born because they have carried this sport. They really have."
He resigned. But the issue didn't end there. When asked about Moore's comments, Djokovic chimed in with ramblings about women's hormones.
A debate about prize money is not disappointing. All professional sports have discussions about revenue sharing.
However, to reduce women tennis players to interlopers who should get on their knees, is beyond disappointing.
Besides, the Indian Wells women's final between Williams and Victoria Azarenka was far more exciting than Djokovic's lopsided 6-2, 6-0 win over Milos Raonic.
2. The Williams Sisters: Olympic Dreams Torched
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Serena and Venus Williams came into the Summer Games as defending champions in doubles and each with four Olympic gold medals.
Serena had just won the singles title at Wimbledon and the doubles with Venus.
So it was shocking to see them eliminated in singles and doubles by the third round. Venus entered the mixed doubles and won the silver medal with partner Rajeev Ram. She missed out on an opportunity to become the first person in tennis history to win gold in singles, doubles and mixed doubles.
The two most decorated tennis players in Olympics history left Rio with no gold.
1. Maria Sharapova: Drug Drama
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The biggest disappointment this year goes to Maria Sharapova and her melodrama over Meldonium, a banned substance she tested positive for during the Australian Open.
Sharapova's drug drama was a gray cloud that hovered over the entire season.
First, there was the initial shock of the failed drug test. While she awaited her punishment, Sharapova got into a war of words with WADA and the ITF. Then came the two-year suspension, that was later reduced to 18 months.
Although Sharapova continues to admit to no wrongdoing while taking "full responsibility," her image has been tarnished, and anytime one of the game's biggest names takes a credibility hit, so does the sport.
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