The WTA Finals wrapped up with Coco Gauff pulling off a thrilling, three-hour win to close out the season. But before the players head off for some R&R, our writers are taking stock of 2024’s standout moments, breakout stars and season-defining shifts. Here’s Part 1 of our roundtable discussion:

1. What’s your pick for the defining moment of the 2024 WTA season?

Alex Macpherson: It has to be the Madrid final. The top two players in the world, Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka, going at each other for over three hours in a big final without any let-up. There were championship points saves, there was a 9-7 deciding tiebreak won by Swiatek, and there was the sense that this is where the rivalry turned into something era-defining.

Jason Juzwiak: In each of the past three years, Aryna Sabalenka kept getting closer to a US Open title, but fell achingly short each time. This year, she got across the finish line in New York, and that became the fulcrum point where she pivoted from being "one of" the best to becoming the season's top player and, at last, year-end World No.1.

Greg Garber: This is probably recency bias talking -- just got home from 10 days in Riyadh -- but I have to say the WTA Finals were a fitting climax to the season. The battle for No.1 was already largely decided going in, but the quality of the matches was generally terrific. How about Iga Swiatek coming back from being down a set and two breaks to Barbora Krejcikova in the first group match – and Krejcikova advancing ahead of Swiatek with a win over Coco Gauff?

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2. Every season has its share of unexpected breakout players? Who surprised you the most?

Greg: It’s not often that you see a 30-year-old player break out with a career-best season, but that’s what happened with Danielle Collins. After announcing her retirement, she went off on a 15-match win streak, taking titles in Miami and Charleston. It took Sabalenka three sets to end that run in Madrid. The good -- no, great -- news? After repeatedly insisting she was committed to her health and would retire, she recently announced she’s coming back for 2025.

Alex: I did not see Magdalena Frech, her upgraded defense and her pinpoint passes coming at all. She'd spent the four years since her 2019 Top 100 debut floating in and out of the lower reaches of it but had yet to make a tour-level semifinal coming into this season. But the 26-year-old started 2024 with a run to a Slam fourth round for the first time at the Australian Open, built on it with a first WTA final in Prague and triumphed in Guadalajara to lift her first trophy. Frech notched five Top 20 wins along the way and ended the year at No.25.

Jason: I'm curious to see where everyone else falls on this question, because, to me, the choice is clear. I highly underestimated Jasmine Paolini's potential and did not expect such a breakthrough this year. It's not just the two Grand Slam finals -- it's also a WTA 1000 title in Dubai, a doubles surge which included an Olympic gold medal, a ferocious forehand, which I never gave its due. She really shocked me, and I have to tip my hat. More to come in 2025?

3. What on-court storyline from the season do you think flew under the radar?

Jason: Because she was hindered by injuries and had ankle surgery at the end of the year, I had forgotten that Karolina Pliskova won nine matches in a 10-day span in February -- with a transcontinental flight in the middle of that run for good measure. The former World No.1 could still be a force in the game with some consistent form and luck with her health.

Greg: How about Emma Navarro? She finished up 2023 playing ITF and WTA 125s and got her ranking up to No.42 in late October. One year later, the 23-year-old American is the year-end No.8. She made a fairly seamless transition from college and began 2024 by winning eight of nine matches in Auckland and Hobart. She became a fixture late in big events, reaching the quarterfinals at Wimbledon as well as the semifinals in Toronto and the US Open. Final record: 52-23 and $3.5 million in the bank.

Alex: Diana Shnaider, 20, raised her ranking from No.108 in January to No.12 in November. Her haul of four trophies was more than anyone but Swiatek and Sabalenka, and she completed the surface sweep of titles in her first full season to boot. She possesses breathtaking power, but also soft hands and excellent net instincts for her age (see her Olympic silver medal in doubles). It's a wonder more people aren't paying attention -- but the relative lack of hype will serve Shnaider well, and she's coming for the top of the game in 2025 regardless.

4. And which off-court storyline stood out the most?

Alex: Who won the tiebreak in "Challengers"? And who did Tashi Duncan want to win? Luca Guadagnino's film leaned into the sensuality of tennis with a knowingly absurd plot, but also had a deadly accurate eye for the sport's archetypes and unspoken narratives. It was a hit with almost all of my non-tennis friends, and it got Andrea Petkovic peaking with her analysis, too.

Jason: Yeah, tennis might be having a bit of a pop-culture spotlight, with “Challengers” being a hit and Coco Gauff being mentioned in a new Tyler, the Creator verse. “When I listen to it, it's like, why is my name in this song?” Gauff said to WTA Insider last week. “Especially, I've been a fan of Tyler literally since I was 14 years old, and I would have never guessed that would happen."

Greg: I’ll cast a vote for the growing relationship between the WTA and Harvard University. Before I talked with Caroline Garcia, I had no idea that the two were working to prepare professional players for their next chapter, retirement. Garcia is one of five WTA Tour players enrolled in the Harvard Business School’s 2024-25 Crossover Intro Business program.  Garcia, winner of 11 singles titles, is joined by Aldila Sutjiadi, Angelina Gabueva, Fernanda Contreras Gomez and Katarzyna Piter.

5. Which rivalry came out of nowhere and captured your attention?

Alex: Elena Rybakina's matches against Jasmine Paolini used to be more known for not finishing. Their contests at Cincinnati 2023 and Dubai this year ended, respectively, in a retirement and a walkover from Rybakina. But then they exchanged victories in two of the most riveting matches of the clay season (Rybakina winning in Stuttgart, Paolini at Roland Garros), and then the Italian took their WTA Finals tilt to edge ahead 3-2 in the head-to-head.

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Greg: Again, recency bias might be a factor here … but give me more of Coco Gauff and Zheng Qinwen. They were the two youngest players at the WTA Finals (the youngest finalists in 20 years) and they put on a show in the championship final with Gauff winning in a third-set tiebreak. The head-to-head is 2-0 Gauff, but we might be seeing this one for another 10 years.

Jason: After losing handily to Coco Gauff in the Auckland semis in the first week of the year, Emma Navarro surprisingly took a chunk out of Gauff's summer, winning their Wimbledon and US Open meetings. With Gauff back on track and Navarro at a career-high ranking, I have my eye on their matches in 2025.