While 2018 is ending, We Are Tennis by BNP Paribas has decided to sum up the tennis news, but not only, of the past season. The last six months were marked by Djokovic’s spectacular return, Serena’s anger, and Google Maps giving us bad news.

July

Djoko, the hero: the Serb has won his fourth Wimbledon and his first Grand Slam tournament since 2016. Injuries are gone, doubts too, the Serb IS BACK! In women’s tennis, Angelique Kerber put an end to Serena Williams’ dream of catching up with Margaret Court and her 24 major tournaments won. Time is ticking for the American… whereas things have just started for the new young king of France. His name isn’t Emmanuel Macron, but Kylian Mbappé, who was imperial until the World Cup final, which France won against Croatia. « Les Bleus » have truly deserved their second star.

August

Djoko, second act: after dominating Federer in the final in Cincinnati, he has now won all the Masters 1000 on the circuit. However, Rafa Nadal is still the world number 1, thanks to his win at the Canadian Open. At the end of the month, the US Open is starting with very high temperatures. The world number 1 Simona Halep didn’t enjoy the heat, as she lost in the first round at Flushing Meadows. Nick Kyrgios, on his side, managed to defeat Pierre-Hugues Herbert, with the support of the umpire Mohamed Lahyani, who stepped off his chair to motivate the Australian. One of the strangest images of this 2018 tennis season, but not the less controversial… Another strange scene occurred during this American fortnight: Alizée Cornet was penalized for an « anti-sporting behavior », after discreetly changing her shirt on the court between two points.

September

Djoko, third act: the legendary comeback carried on at the start of the month when the Serb won his third US Open, defeating Del Potro in the final. Federer lost against John Millman and Rafa Nadal had to withdraw from the tournament in the semi-finals. In the women’s draw, Naomi Osaka claimed a surprise win which was ruined by Serena Williams’ behavior, as the American was furious at the umpire for a warning received during the final, after she communicated with her coach in the middle of the match, which is forbidden. In other news, homosexuality was made legal in India, Australia had to deal with a scandal involving needles in strawberries, and France won another world title: the baguette is now considered to be an intangible cultural heritage.

October

The end of the season was marked by a generational fight in men’s tennis : the thirty-year olds Djokovic, Anderson and Federer respectively triumphed in Shanghai, Vienna and Basel but the young prodigies Basilashvili, Medvedev, Khachanov, Tsitsipas and Edmund also won trophies this month. In the WTA, the Masters was won by Svitolina, the most performant player of the end of the season. Halep ended her season injured but at the top of the ranking, for a second consecutive season. This Peruvian man was hurt too, when he found out that his wife was cheating on him after seeing her kissing her lover on a bench…on Google Maps. Still with Google, the search engine saw « Charles Aznavour » become the top-trending search, after the French artist sadly passed away. RIP.

November

The new generation of tennis player has found its leader : Alexander Zverev. He won his first Masters after defeating Federer in the semi-finals and Djoko in the final. An amazing job ! The women ended the year 2018 with Czech Republic’s win in the Fed Cup while the Croatian men, were imperial against France in the BNP Paribas Davis Cup final, which was the last edition to be played in its current format. Melania Trump didn’t really care, and ended her trip to Africa with a 95 000 dollar bill left at her hotel in Cairo and wearing a pith helmet. The climate experts ended up touching our feelings: the current global warming could have consequences on the price of beer pretty soon. If the government wants to find an alternative, legalizing cannabis could be an option.

December

While the « Yellow Jacket » movement is symbolizing the popular rebellion in the French streets, the world of tennis is on holidays, as always during this period of the year. While some are enjoying their holidays more than they should (hey, Eugenie Bouchard !), others are already back at work, like Andy Murray, who will try to make his comeback in 2019. Djoko, Federer, Nadal and maybe Murray against Zverev and Tsitsipas’ crew, Halep defending her throne and Serena still chasing the ultimate record: we can’t wait for the new season to begin.