Unforgettable stories of Djokovic, Gauff, Nadal & more on the court: 10 memorable moments of 2023 tennis season

Fifteen years after he won his first major title in 2008, Novak Djokovic was easily the story of the tennis year in 2023.

The Serbian superstar turned 36 years young amidst his season to remember, but seemed ageless: He matched the all-time Grand Slam record (24) with a trio of majors this year, with victories at the Australian Open, Roland-Garros and US Open across 56 match wins, seven total titles and a record eighth finish as the year-end world No.1.

But what other stories made headlines in the sport in 2023? From Coco Gauff's maiden major at her home Slam to Carlos Alcaraz's stunning Wimbledon win and Iga Swiatek's continued dominance on the women's side, there was no shortage must-see stories from events around the globe.

Here's 10 to dive into - with the looming presence of the now-retired Roger Federer and Serena Williams still surely felt on court and off.

Novak Djokovic's djomination

What superlatives should we use for Djokovic after this season? It's hard to find new ones, his 56-7 season coming to a close (in singles) with a title at the ATP Finals in Turin. He avenged his dramatic Wimbledon final loss to Alcaraz with perhaps the match of the year, triumphing over the Spaniard in a nearly four-hour three-set finale in stifling conditions in Cincinnati ahead of his fourth US Open title.

The scary thing: Djokovic says he wants to go even better in 2024, eyeing all four majors and gold at the Olympic Summer Games Paris 2024 - that Olympic title still being the only thing "missing" from Nole's CV.

Coco Gauff's maiden major

While Djokovic continues to write history, the 19-year-old American Gauff appears to just be getting started. Some four years after her stunning breakthrough at Wimbledon at age 15, the hard-hitting Floridian became the first American teen since Serena to win the US Open crown, coming back in a dramatic three-setter over Australian Open winner (more on that below) Aryna Sabalenka.

The win capped a meteoric American summer for Gauff, who won consecutive "biggest" titles in Washington, D.C., Cincinnati and then New York, helping her to finish at world No.3 at the close of the season. Gauff continues to shine bright on court and off - and isn't afraid to speak out, saying this in her US Open trophy acceptance speech: "Honestly, to those who thought they were putting water on my fire, you were really adding gas to it," she said.

"And now I'm really burning so bright right now."

Tennis: The stories to remember from 2023

Carlos Alcaraz's stunning Wimbledon win

After his breakout win at the US Open in 2022, Alcaraz finished last season as the youngest world No.1 ever and looked primed to become the one to beat in 2023. But injuries set back his early-season campaign before Djokovic (surprise!) halted his much-anticipated effort at Roland-Garros, beating the Spaniard in the semi-finals.

But it was Wimbledon where - shockingly - Alcaraz came into his own. In just his third career grass court event (digest that!), Alcaraz roared to the final, setting up a must-see clash with Djokovic. It was the then-20-year-old who prevailed, in five dramatic sets, 1-6, 7-6(6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4.

Although we didn't see a Djokovic-Alcaraz rematch at the US Open (Daniil Medvedev stopped Carlos in the semis), Alcaraz went 65-12 overall, claiming six titles and proving himself far (far, far, far) from a one-Slam wonder.

Sabalenka a major champ at last; Vondrousova, too

A major title for Sabalenka was expected and - some felt - imminent. But Marketa Vondrousova? Not so much.

The two women joined Gauff as first-time Grand Slam champions in 2023, Sabalenka winning arguably the best women's major final in recent memory with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 slugfest win over Elena Rybakina. The win was a moment of arrival for the then-24-year-old, but she couldn't replicate it at the other majors, coming oh-so-close: She made the semis at both the French and Wimbledon, the finished as runner-up to Gauff in New York.

An Olympic silver medallist at Tokyo 2020 in 2021, Voundrousova sliced and diced her way to becoming the first unseeded and lowest-ranked female winner at Wimbledon, beating Tunisia's Ons Jabeur in what was Jabeur's second consecutive Wimbledon final. Vondrousova started the year ranked No.92 - and finished as No.7.

Iga Swiatek stays the course

While it was a headline-grabbing year for each of Gauff, Sabalenka and Vondrousova, Poland's Swiatek rode the roller-coaster of being world No.1 for much of the year (a position she briefly gave up to Aryna), winning a third Roland-Garros title, claiming six titles overall and ending the season on a high by winning the WTA Finals - and reclaiming the top ranking.

2023: Absent Rafael Nadal not done yet

A year without Rafa (mostly)

While it was a dream year for Djokovic, Nadal suffered a nightmare one, a hip injury pushing him to sidelines after just four matches played at the start of the season. He wouldn’t return.

While retirement whispers swirled, Nadal was unfettered: He underwent surgery and then announced plans to play 2024 - the Paris Olympics included - saying that the season could be his last.

By the end of 2023 he was back to training in full, and the prospect of an Alcaraz/Nadal pairing for the coming Olympics being mentioned by both stars.

Rise of the young guns: Rune, Shelton, Andreeva & more

Gauff’s teenage star burned brightest, but she wasn’t the only youngster on the rise. Twenty-year-old Holger Rune and Jannik Sinner, 22, finished the year in the top 10, the Italian getting not one but two wins over Djokovic to close the year - the second en route to Italy’s Davis Cup triumph.

American Ben Shelton rocked New York with a startling run to the semis, trading barbs with Djokovic and backing up his run with a first career title in Tokyo.

On the women’s side, 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva made waves after a breakout run at Madrid in May, making the fourth round at Wimbledon and finishing the year as world No.57. She's the youngest player inside the Top 100.

Ons on the brink - again

Will Jabeur ever win a major? The fan favourite, known as ‘the Minister of Happiness,’ had as good of chance as any against Vondrousova at Wimbledon, where her nerves were clearly at play on Centre Court.

It was her third major final in 52 weeks, having lost at Wimbledon (Rybakina) and the US Open (Swiatek) in 2022.

Roger Federer, Serena Williams loom large; Venus plays on

The golden generation

What year is it, again? Tennis players have nearly made redundant the how-old-is-too-old discussion, no one more so than Venus Williams, who played a handful of tournaments over the summer after turning 43 in June.

It marked the first year of full “retirement” for one-named superstars Serena and Roger, though the two loomed large over the sport, Federer being feted at Wimbledon and Laver Cup, while Serena gave birth to a second child and made it clear she would stay quite busy post-tennis with a collection of business and media ventures.

Olympic fever catching on

The coming Paris Games certainly made their ripple felt in the sport, too, with building talk around the Alcaraz/Nadal pairing, as well as the thought (the dream!) of the Olympic podium helping to spur respective comebacks for Naomi Osaka, Caroline Wozniacki and Angelique Kerber (the Rio 2016 silver medallist), who are all now mums.

The race for Olympic spots in tennis will heat up in the first half of the tennis season, with the draw sizes smaller - 64 in singles and 32 teams in doubles - than those of the four majors in the sport.

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