But what about the women?
No one hails this as a golden age on the women's tour for one simple, undeniable reason: the WTA offers no compelling rivalries right now. Serena Williams is just too dominant. She's 33 years old and will be going for a true Grand Slam -- and her 22ndmajor singles title overall -- at the U.S. Open next month.
An argument can be made, however, that little-noticed women's doubles is enjoying a golden age -- in part because Serena and her sister Venus, the winners of 13 Grand Slam and three Olympic titles together, aren't partaking in the team discipline as often as they once did. Plus, the other doubles team to score a career Grand Slam in recent years, the Italian duo of Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci, ended their partnership earlier this year.
This has left four very good, very evenly matched teams vying for big titles such as the Rogers Cup, which is underway in Canada. All four teams play smart, entertaining, fast-paced tennis that uses every inch of the court and every shot in the book.
So, are you ready to pay attention to women's doubles? You should be -- and streaming services now make the discipline available to everyone with a high-speed Internet connection. Here's a primer on who you should be watching:
The Big 4 are Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis, Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova, Elena Vesnina and Ekaterina Makarova, and Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic. Here's a quick rundown on them:
• This year Mirza and Hingis, the Pinky and the Brain of tennis, have double-handedly raised the profile of women's doubles higher than it's been since Billie Jean King and Rosie Casal's 1970s heyday. The clever 34-year-old Hingis won a calendar-year doubles Grand Slam back in 1998 and certainly ranks among the discipline's five best players of the Open era. Her sparky personality and soap-opera-like journey -- early retirement, positive test for cocaine, infidelity charges -- make her a comeback story everyone wants to follow. And the hard-hitting Mirza -- an independent-minded Indian woman married to a cricket star from Pakistan, India's mortal enemy -- is a headline-magnet on the subcontinent whose celebrity status has helped grow the sport throughout Asia. Their thrilling Wimbledon victory last month, coming back from 2-5 down in the third set against Vesnina and Makarova in the final, had spectators gasping with every point.
• Going into Wimbledon, Mattek-Sands and Safarova were the story to watch. They came to together almost on a whim at the beginning of the year, and promptly shocked doubles fans by winning the Australian Open. The odd-ball team -- the tattooed wild-child Mattek-Sands and the cheerful, girl-next-door Safarova -- then won the French Open four months later, meaning they carried the weight of a possible calendar-year Grand Slam into Wimbledon. They came up short at SW19, but they're no flash in the pan. Mattek-Sands and Safarova appear to be psychically linked when on court and will be tough to beat for as long as they choose to play together.
• Makarova and Vesnina won the French Open in 2013 and the U.S. Open last year. Impressive accomplishments. But Wimbledon remains the most prestigious tennis tournament in the world, and they suffered a heart-breaking final-round loss last month. Can they bounce back at the U.S. Open? Of course they can, but Makaraova's burgeoning singles career -- she reached the semifinals at both Flushing Meadows last year and the Australian Open in January -- could grind her down.
• Bringing up the rear in this exalted group is Babos and Mladenovic, who have had a strong if somewhat under the radar season. The engaging and photogenic 22-year-olds won the Premier titles in Dubai and Rome but have so far come up short in the majors. They were the 2014 Wimbledon runners-up and no doubt believe they are ready for their Grand Slam breakthrough. They are.
You've now met the four best women's doubles teams, but there certainly is no guarantee that one of them will win the Rogers Cup this week -- or the U.S. Open next month. The second-tier offers plenty of tough competitors who have what it takes to win big titles. There's Flavia Pennetta and Hsieh Su-wei, both of whom have won majors with other partners. (Pennetta and Errani are teaming up in Canada, a potentially very strong pairing. No word yet on whether they might continue playing together beyond the Rogers Cup.) There's also Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka, who have won two majors and Olympic silver. Casey Dellacqua and Yaroslava Shvedova reached the French Open final this year. And Vinci, Errani's former partner, has taken up Karin Knapp.
OK, you're now ready to join an exclusive group: women's doubles fans. Remember, as a newbie, you have to bring snacks for the rest of us.
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