2024 WTA roundtable Part 2: The next big star and 2025 dream rivalries

As we close out the Hologic WTA Tour this season, there’s plenty to look back on -- and even more to look forward to. In this second part of our roundtable, our writers discuss the coaching partnerships that paid off, the stats that left an impact and the matchups we hope to see more of in 2025.

2024 WTA roundtable: Biggest moments, surprising breakouts and new rivalries

1. There wasn’t a shortage of coaching changes in 2024. Which coach-player combo clicked best?

Greg Garber: You have to feel for Zheng Qinwen. She was making nice progress under Wim Fissette last year when he decided to work again with Naomi Osaka after her maternity leave. Zheng, in a terrific move, recalled Pere Riba, who beginning in 2021 had done the heavy lifting as she became a Top 30 player. All they did this year was collect a gold singles medal at the Paris Olympics and tear up the second half of the season. Going forward, the 22-year-old from China is going to be a handful.

Jason Juzwiak: I'll flag a recently formed duo and say that Coco Gauff's revamped team has quickly found its rhythm. Gauff admitted her relatively slow summer unnerved her, and to swiftly regroup with Matt Daly and Jean-Christophe Faurel and go title (Beijing), semis (Wuhan) and title (WTA Finals) to finish out the year is impressive for the entire team.

Courtney Nguyen: Shout out to the two Marks behind Jessica Pegula’s rollercoaster season. Her decision to split with David Witt in February was a stunner, but you have to give the always rational and secure American credit for the bold move. In came Mark Knowles and Mark Merklein, who helped Pegula tinker with her game -- and patiently wait out a couple of injuries -- to make her faster around the court, smarter in her backhand corner, and better on serve. The result? No more questions about not making a Grand Slam semifinal, let alone a final. 

Alex Macpherson: Conchita Martínez's task with Mirra Andreeva was a tough one: to handle the delicate sophomore season following a teenage prodigy's breakout year. There were injuries, expectations and a few heartbreaking losses. But Martínez was a relaxed, jovial presence who lightened the mood in her player box all year -- and ultimately, Andreeva maintained her upward trajectory to end the year in the Top 20, with a first title and Slam semifinal under her belt.

2. Which one stat or record carried the most weight this season?

Courtney: Iga Swiatek became the first player born after 1990 to win five Grand Slam singles titles when in May, she captured her fourth Roland Garros. At the time, she was the only player under 30 with five major titles on either the ATP or WTA Tour. Carlos Alcaraz would join both clubs a few weeks later at Wimbledon.

Alex: Sara Errani became just the seventh woman in the Open Era to complete the career Golden Slam in doubles after a dream run to the Olympic gold medal alongside Jasmine Paolini. And she did it at the age of 37, a decade after her last of five Grand Slam titles with Roberta Vinci. Talk about becoming a cross-generational legend.

Greg: Coco Gauff’s 8-0 record in hard-court finals. I’m still having a tough time wrapping my head around this one. Finals are difficult to reach, particularly big ones, are hard to reach. And yet, Gauff has never, ever lost at that stage. Against Zheng in Riyadh, she didn’t have her best stuff and still found a way to win. The same thing happened at last year’s US Open when she came back to beat Aryna Sabalenka in the final. She’s 20 years old … what’s going to happen when she gets her serve and forehand ironed out?

Jason: For the third straight year, Zheng basically moved up one standard deviation in the bell curve of women's tennis. To rise from the 8-15 range into the Top 5 by the end of 2024, she elevated her serve, becoming the tour's new ace leader. She slammed 445 this season -- way ahead of the rest of the tour -- and she is also the tour leader in percentage of first-serves won (75.7). It made a huge difference.

3. Now on to the next season: What would be your dream storyline once 2025 takes shape? 

Jason: Karolina Muchova is already back to World No.22 after playing eight tournaments this year -- just eight. And it looks to me like she's playing better than she was when she first cracked the Top 10 last year. Please let the fates give her another full, healthy season to see just how high she can climb.

Alex: The Open Era record of a five-year gap between Slam titles is due to fall. Jelena Ostapenko didn't break it at Wimbledon this year, but she's still the leading contender to do so, with Bianca Andreescu joining her in 2025. Otherwise, full seasons of good health for perennially injured Andreescu, Karolina Muchova and Marketa Vondrousova, please.

Greg: Great thoughts, Alex. Nothing would make me happier to see these players find a way to stay on the court for an entire season. When Naomi Osaka came back at the beginning of last year, she said the US Open would be a good benchmark as to where her game was. Turned out, Roland Garros was the place she announced her return. She pushed No.1 Iga Swiatek to the limit, losing a second-round match 7-5 in the third. It was also a second-round loss at the US Open (to Karolina Muchova), but her ranking is up to No.59 and, as it rises, she’ll soon be seeded at the Grand Slams. Watch out.

Courtney: Karolina Muchova. That’s it. That’s the tweet.

4. Who do you think has quietly laid the groundwork for a standout 2025 season?

Alex: It's counterintuitive to argue being sidelined for six months (again) is the groundwork for a standout season, but that's how Marketa Vondrousova works. Thus far in her career, the Czech has alternated between seasons of injury layoff -- this time, it's her shoulder -- and then coming out of nowhere with an artificially low ranking to surprise everyone with a deep run at a major tournament.

Courtney: Mirra Andreeva is set up perfectly to make her Top 10 debut next year. Her chemistry with new coach Conchita Martinez was outstanding this year, and she’ll turn 18 in April, which means she’ll be able to play a full schedule from there. We take Andreeva’s consistent growth and success for granted -- don’t tell me you already forgot she made the French Open semifinal -- but I really believe 2025 is the year she takes center stage.

Greg: I’ll go with Peyton Stearns here. Like Emma Navarro, Stearns is a former NCAA single champion and has progressed nicely at the tour level. After she hired coach Tom Hill, she won her first career title, in Rabat, and she’s had some moments since then that suggest she might be ready for a breakthrough. She made the quarterfinals in Toronto and beat Daria Kasatkin at the US Open and Leylah Fernandez in Beijing.

Jason: I think Amanda Anisimova is primed for a career-best season after her nine-month hiatus last year. Naturally, there were highs and lows this season upon her return, but the general trend has been upward, and she posted standout results when at her best. She seems pleased to be playing Top 40 ball again, and just a minor uptick in consistency could see her hit new heights.

5. If you could see any two players face off more regularly in 2025, who would they be and why?

Courtney: More Sabalenka-Rybakina please. Their Madrid semifinal was overshadowed by the match of the year final 48 hours later, but their power-for-power showdowns are always interesting, even when they’re blowouts. It would also mean we see Rybakina playing more tournaments. 

Alex: The last match of the WTA season answered this for me. Coco Gauff squaring off against Zheng Qinwen in the WTA Finals Riyadh title match had a frisson about it from the word go: two young players with contrasting game styles and personalities, but matching wills to win and embrace of the spotlight. It went down to the wire, and after trailing for most of the match, Gauff stole it in the home straight. The American has now won both of their pro matches and their only junior meeting, but Zheng will be determined to take revenge as soon as possible.

Greg: I know it sounds bold, but I’m looking forward to more matches between Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff. The head-to-head is still a one-sided 11-2 for Iga, but the last one -- a straight-sets win by Gauff -- suggests it will be a fairer fight going forward. Still only 20 years old, Gauff is coming off the WTA Finals title and, with a new coaching staff, seems committed to getting her game in order.

Jason: The WTA Finals reminded me that Barbora Krejcikova always brings her best against Iga Swiatek, making their matchups unpredictable. I love watching how their games adapt to each other -- it’s not always perfect point by point, but I can't get enough.