What did the tennis world look like the last time Donald Trump was US President? ft. Serena Williams, Rafael Nadal, Emma Raducanu
Donald Trump defeated Kamal Harris in the elections to become the President of the USA for a second time. The last time the Republican wielded the Presidency, was on January 18, 2021, before Joe Biden took over as the President.
In the tennis world, a lot has changed since Trump was last president. New players have emerged as the future stars of the game, some old guards have retired and players who were on top of the rankings have now dropped down due to inconsistent form or injury.
Let's look at the rankings on both the men's and women's sides when Donald Trump was the President of the USA for the last time.
The Big Three were still in the Top 5 of men's tennis
The famed Trio of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer were still at the top of the ATP Rankings. The Serbian and Spaniard were 1 and 2 respectively, but the Swiss legend had slipped to No. 5 on the rankings.
For Nadal, 2021 would be a tumultuous year as the Spaniard would have to cut his season short due to injury concerns regarding his left foot. The Spaniard won two titles at the Italian Open and the Barcelona Open, but faced his third-ever loss at Roland Garros, losing to Novak Djokovic in four sets in the semifinal.
For Roger Federer, 2021 turned out to be the last year of his professional career on the Tour. He played only 13 matches in the season, notably reaching the quarterfinal at Wimbledon, losing to Hubert Hurkacz. That remained the last match the Swiss played on the Grand Slam stage.
For Novak Djokovic, 2021 was one of the best seasons in the Serb's playing career. He won three Major titles and fell one match short of completing the Calendar Slam, as he lost to Daniil Medvedev at the finals of the US Open.
The current duo of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz were making their way through the ranks back then, with neither having won a Major title yet. Sinner However reached the year-ending ATP finals and entered the main draw as an alternate.
Serena Williams was on her way out, and Raducanu was yet to make her Main draw debut on the Tour
Back in January 2021, women's tennis saw the beginning of the end of Serena Williams's illustrious career. The American icon did reach the semifinal of the Australian Open (lost to Naomi Osaka) but had to cut her season short due to injuries. She did not make any significant moves at any of the events after the 2021 Australian Open.
On the other hand, Emma Raducanu was yet to make her main draw debut. 2021 was a year to remember for the Brit, as she reached the fourth round at Wimbledon as a wildcard, and became the first player to win a Major title as a qualifier in the Open Era when she won the 2021 US Open.
The Top three spots on the WTA Ranking back then were Ashleigh Barty, Simona Halep, and Naomi Osaka. Barty won the Wimbledon in 2021 but retired from the sport on a high after winning the Australian Open next year.
Osaka won her fourth Major title at the 2021 Australian Open, but since then her career went haywire as the Japanese player had to forego a large part of the subsequent season due to various reasons. On the other hand, Halep got embroiled in a doping controversy which saw the Romanian lose her ranking and be banned from the sport.
The current top three players Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, and Coco Gauff were still making their way through. Only the Pole had won a Major title back then, as she won the 2020 French Open.