Presents galore in 2023

IT’S Christmas Eve, in case you’ve forgotten.

And presents are already being handed out – just ask Naomi Osaka.

Osaka’s daughter Shai was given a mini racket from her mother’s sponsor, Yonex last week.

The racket is identical to the Dragon and Spider Lily-inspired racket designed by Naomi and her sister Mari last year.

Osaka posted pictures of the racket on Instagram along with a backpack with her daughter’s name, “Shai,” written on it.

Meanwhile, in Dubai, Denis Shapovalov and fiance Mirjam Bjorklund were getting into the festive spirit sharing images if their Christmas preparations.

The couple, both professional players, posted pictures of their decorated Christmas tree and a finished gingerbread house that they made together.

Shapovalov resumed training last week after being sidelined for six months due to a knee injury he suffered at Wimbledon in July.

And Emma Raducanu – remember her? – is still planning a return to tennis in the New Year. But she took time out last week to post images of her “favourite” time of the year with photos enjoying the Yuletide.

One of her pictures saw her showing off a giant penguin plushie. ‘A what?’ We can already her to shout. No, we don’t know either – presumably a giant stuffed cuddly toy.

Raducanu missed out on an automatic place in Melbourne next month, she will have to go through qualifying rounds, but she will be one of the seeds in the tournament with only Kamilla Rakhimova (99), Yafan Wang (100), Dayana Yastremska (102) and Tamara Zidansek (103) ahead of her special ranking of 103.

ANOTHER name on the list of qualifiers is Dominic Thiem.

The Austrian has suffered a series of injuries in past seasons, which has seen him slump in the rankings No.352.

Thiem, now 30, made the Melbourne Park final in 2020 and can still gain direct entry into the main draw of the tournament if one player pulls out.

The qualifying tournament starts on January 8, with the main draw from January 14-28.

2023 was a good year for Novak Djokovic, certainly better than 2002.

But the Serb will be 37 in May and many are predicting the time has come for a new domination.

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannick Sinner will be hot on his heels, as maybe Holger Run.

The Danes new coach Boris Becker suggested last week Djokovic will pick up a couple more Slam titles, but added: “You’re not really meant to play tennis like that at the age of 36. When does the guy get tired, or when does he run out of motivation?”

When indeed.

Djokovic won’t be too worried that the missed out on another award in the run-up to Christmas.

The American news agency Associated Press announced its biased Male Athlete of The Year award, with Djokovic and soccer legend Lionel Messi losing out to a baseball player.

Outside of baseball no one has probably heard of Japanese Shohei Ohtani.

In world rankings of sports baseball is only big in the US and Japan – but with half the fan base of tennis.

For the record the US-centric agency gave Ohtani 20 votes – out of 87 available – with Messi and Djokovic each receiving 16.

ANOTHER player suitably rewarded for efforts in 2023 was World No.7 Marketa Vondrousova, who won the Czech Republic’s Tennis Player of the Year.

Vondrousova defeated Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur in the Wimbledon final 6-4, 6-4.

INDIAN Wells picked up its ninth consecutive award for ATP Masters 100 tournament of the year last week, and for good reason.

Held in the Californian desert, the Indian Wells Tennis Garden offers, and we quote the ATP here: “top-notch player facilities and amenities; plentiful practice courts that allow fans to watch players up close; and unparalleled dining options.”

“This award reflects the dedicated support from all of our wonderful tournament staff, volunteers, fans and so many others who bring the BNP Paribas Open to life every year and contribute to the sustained success of our one-of-a-kind event,” Tournament Director Tommy Haas said.

Queen’s Club in London picked up the ATP 500 Tournament of the Year award and celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2023, the Nordea Open in Sweden was voted ATP 250 Tournament of the Year.

AND player honours?

Djokovic naturally figures high on the list with an eighth ATP No. 1 ranking.

Jannik Sinner is at last showing some real form and he figured in a number of categories, the most improved player of the year and fans’ favourite award most prominent.

And his mentors, Darren Cahill and Simone Vagnozzi, shared the Coach of the Year award.

2023 WTA winners also included Indian Wells, then added Charleston with its green courts as the WTA 500 winner and the Transylvania Open in Romania the WTA 250 event winner.

ONE player determined to carry on – some say regardless – is Venus Williams.

At the age of 43 the veteran plans to make another comeback during the 2024 North American hard court swing.

Williams will miss the Australian Open in a few weeks time but has targeted Indian Wells and the Miami Open in March for a return to the court.

“I am targeting March, that’s when the tournaments go back to the States, so my goal is to be up and running when tournaments come back to the US,” she said.

“I tried my best to recover for the US Open. I did not reach my form so now I am just resting until I get back.”

FOR sale! A Manhattan residence with Central Park views in one of the city’s most prestigious co-op buildings has hit the market for $9.75 million.

Then plush home is the former residence of one John McEnroe, who sold it in 2013 for $3.1m.

It’s now on the market for a whopping $9.75m.

The fourth-floor apartment has a private lift, a great room with a fireplace overlooking the park, a formal dining room and a large eat-in kitchen, plus the library, which is lined with built-ins, listing photos show.

Four bedrooms, a couple of bathrooms and a kitchen for for chef – says the slick marketing brochure.

AND talking of money… Jessica Pegula covered an incredible 50,000 miles during the 2023 season, becoming the player who participated in the most matches on the WTA Tour.

Pegula, who averaged one match every 2.29 days, played a total of 136 matches, singles, doubles, and mixed doubles.

She began the WTA Tour season with her first match against Petra Kvitova in the opening game of the United Cup in Australia and ended as the runner-up in the WTA Finals, ultimately won by Iga Swiatek.

FINALLY … It’s not just players the ITIA (the anti-corruption body) are going after.

On Thursday the ITIA suspended four officials from the sport and fined them for breaching the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP).

Three of them, Edvinas Grigaitis, Givi Khudoiani, and Arsen Movsisyan, were sanctioned by an independent Anti-Corruption Hearing and the fourth, Manuel Sperger, accepted a direct sanction from the ITIA.

Austrian Sperger accepted a seven-and-a-half year suspension and a $25,000 fine for manipulating scoring data for betting intentions and facilitating wagering.

Lithuanian Grigaitis was given a three-year suspension for four breaches, including manipulating scoring data, facilitating wagering, and plotting to commit offences.

Georgian Khudoiani received a 14-year suspension and was fined $25,000 after collaborating with Armenian Movsisyan, who was suspended for six years.

MEMORY Lane … 2008 – yes, 15 years ago when the ATP released this hilarious video of players singing the Twelve Days of Christmas.

AND … Happy Birthday to Casper Ruud, who turned 25 on Friday.