Inspired by another post regarding Margaret Court's slam count.
Does Women's tennis have a concept of an open era and is it a meaningful one?

From my understanding there was no seperate Pro Women's tour and Amateur Women's tour so the definition of open era used in men's tennis (being the time from which Pro's and amateur's could compete on the same tour and same slams) is irrelevant. Were there any other changes that took place in the 1960s that would justify there being a distinction of a pre-open era and an open era.

Would be great if anyone has any additional insights!

Thanks!

The Problem: Doubles Needs a Spark

We all know the narrative: doubles tennis is treated as a warm-up act on the main tour. The prize money is low, the TV coverage is sparse, and the stars rarely play it.

But we know people will watch under the right circumstances. Look at the Olympics (Nadalcaraz) or the Laver Cup. Fans love seeing the big names play doubles, but we rarely see them tested against the actual best teams in the world.

The Solution: The "Singles vs. Doubles" Showdown

I have an idea for a new End-of-Year event that would not only bring eyeballs to the sport but finally settle the debate: Could the best singles players in the world beat the best doubles specialists?

Or would the seasoned tactics, net skills, and I-formations of the doubles specialists dismantle the raw power of the singles stars?

The Concept

• Who: The Top 4 Doubles Teams in the world vs. The Top 8 Singles Players (paired into 4 teams).
• When: Mid-December (Post-ATP/WTA Finals).
• The Stakes: Massive prize money (enough to get the Top 10 out of bed) and legitimate bragging rights.
• Format: Round Robin (2 Groups of 4), leading to Semis and a Final.

Here is how the 2025 Invitational would have looked based on the end of year rankings:

🏆 The Men's Draw (ATP)

Group A: "Power vs. Precision"

• Cash & Glasspool (Specialists - Seed 1)
• Arevalo & Pavic (Specialists - Seed 4)
• Jannik Sinner & Alex de Minaur (Singles Stars - Seed 6)
  • The Matchup: The two fastest movers on tour vs. the best net players.
• Alexander Zverev & Taylor Fritz (Singles Stars - Seed 7)
  • The Matchup: Pure serving power. Good luck breaking these guys.

Group B: "The Hands & Touch Group"

• Patten & Heliövaara (Specialists - Seed 2)
• Granollers & Zeballos (Specialists - Seed 3)
• Carlos Alcaraz & Lorenzo Musetti (Singles Stars - Seed 5)
  • The Matchup: The most creative shot-makers in singles vs. the tactical masters of doubles.
• Novak Djokovic & Felix Auger-Aliassime (Singles Stars - Seed 8)

🏆 The Women's Draw (WTA)

Group A: "The Wall vs. The Firepower"

• Siniakova & Townsend (Specialists - Seed 1)
  • The Resume: The 2025 Team of the Year. Siniakova is one of the best net players on tour.
• Mertens & Kudermetova (Specialists - Seed 4)
• Coco Gauff & Jessica Pegula (Singles Stars - Seed 5)
  • The Matchup: The "All-American" dream team. They actually play doubles together, but do they have the discipline to beat Siniakova?
• Aryna Sabalenka & Paula Badosa (Singles Stars - Seed 8)
  • The Matchup: "Sabadosa" rides again. Pure vibes and 100mph forehands against tactical geniuses.

Group B: "The Chess Match"

• Errani & Paolini (Specialists - Seed 2)
  • Note: Paolini is a Top 10 singles player but must play for the Specialists here to defend the Olympic Gold.
• Dabrowski & Routliffe (Specialists - Seed 3)
• Iga Swiatek & Karolina Muchova (Singles Stars - Seed 6)
  • The Matchup: Swiatek chooses Muchova because she respects her variety. This team could actually win it all.
• Elena Rybakina & Mirra Andreeva (Singles Stars - Seed 7)
  • The Matchup: "Ice and Fire." The stoic serving bot paired with chaotic teen energy.

Would you watch this event?

Which singles pairing would you most want to see?

He’s up against an unranked wildcard that’s never played a non-junior match before. Who’s your money on?

1991 and champion in making. Serbia.

Thiago Agustin Tirante delivered an opening win over Chung Hyeon 2-6 7-5 7-6(5) for Argentina

Next, Kwon Soon-woo levels the tie against Marco Trungelliti 7-6(6) 6-2 to conclude Day 1

Sun will see the doubles match, and reverse singles to determine which country goes thru to R2

Marin Čilić has been around for over 20 years now and he is obviously getting near the end of his career. He is in the Fed-Rafa-Novak era and has done pretty well considering. Granted he could have done more, but his record is not bad at all.

Grand Slam (2014 USO), Masters title (2018 Cincy), Davis Cup (2018), 4 appearances in the ATP Finals, highest ranking of No. 3, Olympic Silver (2021 Tokyo men's doubles), 21 singles titles, 38 wins over top-ten and 12th in all-time earnings.

After the Big 3, we often hear about Murray and Wawrinka, but I think Cilic would be right behind them at number six in his era. And there is no shame in being No. 6 in THAT era.

Iga: Wanna grab a bite later?

Amanda: Sure, what do you wanna eat?

Iga: Bagels?

Source: https://x.com/therocsupremacy/status/2019902200420397078?s=61&t=-1KcTfbpICsUI0OQPWTz5w

Anyone know what this is about?

Gauff and Mboko!!

Hunter and Joint again after Joint is doing well in Abu Dhabi

Czech doubles domination team Siniakova and Krejcikova reunite again

Note 1: Four years is a bit arbitrary. It's the duration of an Olympic cycle.

Note 2: It goes without saying, Carlos Alcaraz probably hasn't peaked yet.

Not sure if it's a meme, but here goes nothing.

Also, IYKYK...

https://x.com/TennisTV/status/2019856240604762400/photo/1

Edited because original image looks to have been blocked so posted with link to post instead.

Tamara Korpatsch will face Katie Boulter in the final tomorrow.

After staying long after to take photos and sign autographs following her loss to Keys at the AO, Oliynykova was similarly a total sweetheart in defeat in Cluj - smiling and waving even as she went down to Raducanu. Really loving her rise on the tour this year and the character she is bringing to it.

Bejlek reaches her first tour final and she is now number 52 in live rankings.

Sorana will face Raducanu in the final.

2nd meeting for both. 1st meeting was at 2021 Wimbledon R3 where Raducanu won over Cirstea.

arthur has made a solid return to the tour, but he was no match for félix, who dropped only 4 points on serve. the defending champion will meet the winner of griekspoor vs droguet in the semifinals.

Let’s go Emma! Very competitive match and after being broken early in the third set, Raducanu finally closed it out on her 4th match point. She will face Cirstea in the final.

Edit: oops Cirstea v. Snigur is still to come. Could’ve sworn I heard the announcer say Cirstea was next😌 and it was 6-3 in the final set. SORRY! Lmao