There’s a very good reason why the Professional Tennis calendar year is divided into ‘seasons‘, according to surfaces. We start off the year with the Australian Open on hard courts, then shift to the clay season leading to the French Open in May, and after that, the short grass season in the name of Wimbledon. The hard courts return in August, anticipating the US Open; and that pretty much extends until the end of the year, with the indoor Masters tournaments.

Each playing surface has its own peculiarities; like how you slide on clay, or the unpredictable, weird bounces of the grass turf. Hard courts have the truest bounce; but can change drastically in quickness depending on the finishing of the surface. The wear and tear on knees and leg muscles also differ according to surfaces. 

So that’s why tennis journalists are making a big deal about Carlos Alcaraz-Garfia and what he’s accomplished, by annexing the Roland Garros and Wimbledon crowns in a single year, this 2024. That’s a turnaround of just 5 weeks, and two very different surfaces.

In the Open era, Carlos is only the 6th person to have achieved that special double slam - following the footsteps of Rod Laver, Bjorn Borg, Rafa Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. And if you’re there thinking that he’s not the only one, and now he’s the 6th - think of all the players who did win the French, yet fell by the wayside trying to capture Wimbledon - or won Wimbledon, but had disappointed during the French. That’s players like Murray, Sampras, Agassi, Becker, Edberg, McEnroe, and so on. They all could have picked up a French and/or a Wimbledon in their career, but not in the same year. 

In fact, as the French came first on the calendar, it was often the case that the French champion of a given year would sit out Wimbledon, citing fatigue or not enough time to prepare for the new surface. Similarly, big servers or serve and volley specialists would skip Paris, and just prepare early on grass. 

Over on the Ladies’ side, kudos to Barbora Krejcikova for taking the Wimbledon crown, and a salute to Italian Jasmine Paolini for reaching the Finals of both Roland Garros and Wimbledon this year. She may not have won either, but she does join an elite class for having reach the Finals of these two Slams in a single year. 

Widening the net to include both men and women, only 8 players have accomplished that in the last 20 years - Federer, Serena Williams, Djokovic, Nadal, Justine Henin, Andy Murray, and now, Alcaraz and Paolini. And again, this is harder to achieve than one would think. On the Ladies’ side, even the likes of Swiatek, Sabalenka, and Gauff have not come close. 

And let’s see who’ll emerge as Ladies Champion next year as no one has successfully defended her crown since 2016. Yes, that 8 different champions, as there was no Wimbledon in 2020. 

So, that’s three Slams down for the year; and it’s truly been one for the new guns, as Carlos Alcaraz-Garfia and Jannik Sinner have emerged as more solid contenders for carrying the torch of the future of tennis.