World Tennis League 2024: Falcons Win The Season Opener; Know Results, Current Standings, Schedule

The much awaited World Tennis League 2024 got off to an electrifying start as the Falcons produced a dramatic comeback victory over the Hawks in the season opener.

The Falcons defeated Hawks 29-26 in a closely contested encounters at the iconic Etihad Arena.

In the women’s doubles, Aryna Sabalenka and Mirra Andreeva gave Hawks a strong start, racing to a 2-0 lead. However, Elena Rybakina and Caroline Garcia recorded a remarkable comeback for the Falcons before the Hawks clinched the set 7-6 in a thrilling match, marking an exhilarating start to the season opener.

In the women’s singles, Sabalenka started on a dominant note and surged to a 5-0 lead. Rybakina, staged a solid comeback and showed intent, but Sabalenka ultimately prevailed, taking the set 7-6 and giving the Hawks a 14-12 lead.

In the men’s doubles too, Sumit Nagal and Jordan Thompson delivered a remarkable win for Hawks against Andrey Rublev and Denis Shapovalov.

However, it was the men’s single tie that became the game changer. Rublev went all guns blazing for the Falcons in the men’s singles, winning the fourth set, making the overall score 24-26 for his team and took the match into Over Time. Under the unique format of World Tennis League , if the trailing team claims the fourth set, the overall match extends into Over Time (OT) as a continuation of the final set.

In the OT, Rublev pulled off two back-to-back games, making the overall score identical to 26-26, pushing it further to the first Super Shootout of the season.

Rublev then rode on a phenomenal momentum and defeated Thompson 10-6 in the Super Shootout, eventually helping his team earn the bonus points.

 

World Tennis League 2024: Results, Schedule

Falcons 29-26 Hawks – Dec 19

• Women’s doubles: Garcia/Rybakina (Falcons) 6-7 Andreeva/Sabalenka (Hawks)
• Women’s singles: Elena Rybakina (Falcons) 6-7 Aryna Sabalenka (Hawks)
• Men’s doubles: Rublev/Shapovalov (Falcons) 5-7 Nagal/Thompson (Hawks)
• Men’s singles: Andrey Rublev (Falcons) 7-5 Jordan Thompson (Hawks)
• Overtime: Andrey Rublev (Falcons) 2-0 Jordan Thompson (Hawks)
• Super shoot-out: Andrey Rublev (Falcons) 1-0 Jordan Thompson (Hawks)
• Super shoot-out tiebreak winning bonus 2-0 (Falcons)

Kites 25-20 Eagles – Dec 19

• Mixed doubles: Paolini/Ruud (Kites) 6-4 Badosa/Shevchenko (Eagles)
• Men’s singles: Casper Ruud (Kites) 6-4 Alexander Shevchenko (Eagles)
• Women doubles: Halep/Paolini (Kites) 7-5 Nagal/Thompson (Eagles)
• Women’s singles: Jasmine Paolini (Kites) 5-7 Iga Swiatek (Eagles)
• Overtime: Jasmine Paolini (Kites)1-0 Iga Swiatek (Eagles)

Eagles vs. Hawks – Dec 20

Falcons vs. Kites – Dec 20

Falcons vs. Eagles – Dec 21

Hawks vs. Kites – Dec 21

Final – Dec 22

Also Read: World Tennis League 2024 Returns To Abu Dhabi; Teams, Squads, How It Works

World Tennis League 2024: Current Points Table

A team receives 2 bonus points for each super shoot-out tiebreak won.