It’s official, the ATP tour will kick off 2023 with the United Cup in Australia from December 29th to January 8th.

There’s $15 million at stake and tons of points at play in this co-ed tournament. The United Cup is a revamped version of the now-defunct ATP Cup. I guess they’re trying to get it right this time. At the end of the day, it’s just a warmup event for the Australian Open, the first slam of the year.

It seems like only yesterday we were crowing Novak Djokovic at the ATP Finals. However, the ATP moves fast. The players will have a short couple of weeks to rest, and it’s back on the tour. What are the main things to look for in 2023? Well, I’m glad you asked! Here’s what you should look for:

Novak Djokovic will be looking to assert his dominance on the tour once again, and what better place to do that than at the very first Grand Slam of the year – the Australian Open – a title he’s won a record nine times.

Rafa Nadal had a heck of a 2022. It will be tough for him to replicate that success anywhere else other than Roland Garros. Although he holds 14 titles in Paris, it is very likely he’ll contend for his 15th.

Wimbledon will be the tournament where there’s a high likelihood of seeing a new winner. There are two men that seem to have matured their game on the grass. Their names are Kyrgios and Berrettini. Look for either of those men to hoist the Wimbledon trophy in 2023.

Carlos Alcaraz will begin the year as the number-one player in the world. However, he’s not the only youngster with a ton of game. The younger generation is looking mighty fine with players like Jannik Sinner and Holger Rune. The future looks bright for these kids in 2023.

Russians will take revenge. Medvedev and Rublev had a pretty good year in 2022. However, they were shut out of Wimbledon due to political reasons and underperformed at Grand Slams. Look for this duo to come out strong in 2023 and re-establish some dominance on tour.

Any way you look at it, the 2023 season promises to be as exciting as any other one we have experienced. We will still miss Roger Federer roaming the draws though. For those of us missing Roger, you can always pick up his signature racket at Tennis Warehouse to feel a little closer to the tennis great.

Like always, don’t forget to jump on to the TennisPAL app to stay up to date on tennis news, find groups of friends to play with, and get a virtual coach to help with your tennis game.