Known as the most prestigious and graceful Tennis tournament of the calendar, Wimbledon had its glittering past and also a reputation over its 137-year-long history. But sometimes it's time to change, which revives the tournament and excites fans. Well, Wimbledon 2024 can be seen as the competition that slightly changed the ‘power game’ in the world of tennis. Just for example, it was the first Wimbledon tournament since 1996 that the Williams sisters’ (who dominated the grass courts) didn’t participate in either of the women’s categories. While that was supposed to happen over the period of time, with a few more new-ness in the 56th edition (of the open era) of Wimbledon, we can consider the 2024 edition as a catalyst of many future changes. Australian Open on Christmas Day? Check Out Five Instances When Happy Slam Was Played During Festive Season.

New Rivalries:

The ‘Big Three era’ in the men’s category is nearly coming to an end. Roger Federer retired in 2022 while recently Rafael Nadal announced his retirement. The Spaniard didn’t even play in the Wimbledon 2024 leaving 37-year-old Novak Djokovic to face the new challengers. But Jannik Sinner-Carlos Alcaraz are the new ‘kids’ on the block and are giving tough competition to the established stars.

Even though the new-found on-court rivalry is yet to reach the ‘Big Three’ level, the signs are really positive that fans can now have new challengers who are consistent with their performances and will be able to deliver at the highest level. Novak, not cut out from the competition though, had shown his ability, tactics, and experience on the court as valuable as age, speed, and agility reaching the finals of the Wimbledon 2024.

In the women’s category though, fans are yet to see a clear challenger like Serena Williams or Steffi Graf. Aryna Sabalenka is great on hard courts while Iga Swiatek is a master on the Clay court. This opened an opportunity for lower-ranked stars to shine on the green grass at the All England Lawn Tennis Club. Year Ender 2024: Australian Open Scripting New Record and Springing Up New Stars in First Grand Slam of Season.

New Champions:

As mentioned earlier, gone are the days when Roger Federer would win straight titles or either Serena Williams or Venus Williams get the winners’ dance. This bunch of competitors possesses multiple winners, and hence the excitement. Barbora Krejcikova – 31st seed at the time defeated Jasmine Paolini in the final. Similarly, top seed Jannik Sinner lost his match in the quarterfinals while seven-time champion and title-favourite in the tournament Novak Djokovic lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the finals.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 25, 2024 11:02 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).