With the destination of the Davis Cup determined, the professional tennis season has come to a close. Thus, we begin our look back at 2017, a memorable year on and off the court. Our Top 10 On-Court Moments, and our Top 10 Off-Court Moments, will remind you of everything that transpired.
The men's game might seem increasingly filled with tall baseliners with two-handed backhands, but there are a few breaking the mold. There were career-highs for 5'11" David Goffin, 5'7" Diego Schwartzman, 5'9" Damir Dzumhur and 5'9" Yuichi Sugita, with 5'10" Kei Nishikori, 5'9" David Ferrer, 5'11" Alexandr Dolgopolov and 5'10" Philipp Kohlschreiber among the other Top 50 players also below 6'0" in height.
There aren't a lot of players serving and volleying anymore, but Mischa Zverev got to the Top 30 doing it, joining occasional exponents like Roger Federer, Gilles Muller and Feliciano Lopez.
And four of the current Top 10 have one-handed—not just longtime residents like Federer and Stan Wawrinka, but also newer names like Grigor Dimitrov and Dominic Thiem. What's more, two of the most talented up-and-comers, Denis Shapovalov and Stefanos Tsitsipas also have one-handed backhands.
Speaking of old school, a lot of players could qualify based on age alone. Around 20 percent of the ATP Top 100 is 35 or older, 40 percent 30 or older, and almost three-quarters of the players are 25 and older, with just three teenagers. On the women's side, 20 percent of the WTA Top 100 is 30 and older, and around two-thirds of the players are 25 and older, with four teenagers.
Grigor Dimitrov's throwback, one-handed backhand served him well during his breakout season: