The 2022 Tennis Quiz: 15 Smash Trivia Questions

Serena Williams’s third-round loss to Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic on Sept. 2, 2022, at the US Open, was the most-watched tennis telecast in ESPN’s 43-year history, peaking with 6.9 million viewers. Serena Williams’s defeat to Venus Williams at the 2001 US Open finals was watched by 22.7 Million viewers  – but was broadcasted on CBS prime-time television.

Serena Williams announced on Aug. 9, 2022, that she would retire from playing tennis after the US Open to focus on having a second child and being a mother, a fashion maker, and a venture capitalist.

39-Year-old Roger Federer broke the age record for quarterfinalists in the Open era (since 1968) held by Ken Rosewall, who was also 39 when he reached the last eight in 1974. Rosewall was 39 years, 224 days old on the final day of the ’74 Wimbledon tournament, while Federer was 39 years, 337 days old on the last day of this year’s event.

Roger Federer Fact

Roger Federer’s bid for a ninth Wimbledon title was over on July 8, 2021, after Hubert Hurkacz won against him in the quarter-finals. The defeat marked his first straight-set loss at Wimbledon in 19 years and could be his final appearance at the grass-court Grand Slam. On Sunday, Aug. 15, 2021, Federer announced in a video on his Instagram account that he would miss the 2021 U.S. Open because he needed more knee surgery.

Venus Williams – a 42 years-old seven-time Grand Slam champion – bowed out in the first round of the US Open (for the second consecutive appearance) on Aug. 30, 2022. On the same night, Emma Raducanu became the third-ever defending US Open champion to lose in the first round. Naomi Osaka, who won two of her four Grand Slam titles in Flushing Meadows, was also eliminated that night.

Spanish tennis star 35-year-old Rafael Nadal became on Jan. 30, 2022, the first tennis player with 21 career Grand Slam men’s singles titles, one more than his rivals Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. Nadal won the Australian Open final against World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev. Djokovic tied in on July 10, 2022, when he won the 2022 Wimbledon title against Australian Nick Kyrgios.

Rafael Nadal, 36, on June 5, 2022, beat Casper Ruud to win the French Open for the 14th time, making him the oldest man to win the French Open. It’s his 22nd Grand Slam win overall. The previous oldest French Open singles champion record holder was Andrés Gimeno (Spain), who won in 1972 at 34.

Rod Laver (pictured) hit a Grand Slam (winning all four major tennis titles in the same year) in 1962 and 1969 – the last time any male singles tennis player achieved the title.

Grand Slam Facts

Only five players have achieved a Calendar Grand Slam, the last being Steffi Graf in 1988. Novak Djokovic won the first three Grand Slam tournaments of 2021 but failed to win the United States Open in Sept. 2021 for the same title.

Novak Djokovic has held the No. 1 spot for the most weeks in total in the history of the ATP rankings.

Novak Djokovic Bonus Fact

He is also the only man to win all nine of the Masters 1000 singles titles, something he has done twice.

Novak Djokovic has won nine Australian Open titles. He had hoped to secure his 21st Grand Slam singles trophy in 2022, breaking the record he shares with rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal for the most in the history of men’s tennis.

Why was Djokovic out of the 2022 Australian Open?

The Australian government prevented the No. 1-ranked tennis player, Djokovic, from defending his Australian Open title after authorities revoked his visa for not being vaccinated against Covid-19, saying that ousting him was necessary to keep Australians safe. On Jan. 16, 2022, Djokovic was deported one day before the Melbourne tournament.

Less than two months after winning the Australian Open for her third Grand Slam singles title, Ash Barty retired from tennis at age 25 while ranked No. 1. It’s her second retirement from tennis, having walked away from the game as a teenager in late-2014 for nearly two years because of burnout, saying she was overwhelmed by the pressure and travel required. In a six-minute video posted on her Instagram account on March 23, 2022, Barty said she no longer feels compelled to do what she knows is required to be the best she can be at tennis. Barty walks away with 15 titles to her name.

Daniil Medvedev is the professional Russian tennis player who defeated Novak Djokovic in the 2021 US Open final to win his first major title, becoming the first Russian man to win the tournament since 2000. Until Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021, the No. 1-ranked Djokovic had been undefeated in the sport’s four most important matches of 2021.

Medvedev in 2022

The current men’s No. 1 is not eligible to participate in Wimbledon 2022 after The All England Club announced it would bar all Russians and Belarusians from its fields. On June 15, the US Tennis Association Board decided to let Russians and Belarusians enter the US Open tournament under a neutral flag — an arrangement used at the French Open, which ended June 5. The US Open starts on Aug. 29 in New York.

Mattel released a Naomi Osaka Barbie doll in time for the 2021 Olympics. The doll features clothing inspired by Osaka’s Nike tennis outfit at the 2020 Australian Open.

More Barbie Facts

In 2021 Barbie announced a Maya Angelou doll and added a Ken doll who uses a wheelchair to their Fashionistas lineup.

Naomi Osaka left the Tokyo 2020 Olympics without a medal. The four-time major champion was upset in the third round Tuesday, July 27, 2021, by Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic. The 23-year-old Osaka lit the Olympic cauldron to open the Games officially.

Where was Naomi Osaka born?

Naomi Osaka was born in Osaka, Japan, to a Haitian father and a Japanese mother. They moved to the United States when she was three.

Serena Williams injured her ankle after slipping on the wet grass on Monday, June 28. Williams then had to retire from her first-round Wimbledon 2021 match. On June 13, 2022, Williams announced she would be returning to the 2022 Wimbledon tournament. On June 29, 364 days after her injury, Williams came within two points short of victory in her first Wimbledon 2022 match.

Slipping Wimbledon Fact

Williams’s retirement came within an hour of Centre Court watching France’s 33-year-old Adrian Mannarino also falling on the same baseline and retiring from his match against Roger Federer.

U.S. tennis star Coco Gauff has announced on July 18, 2021, that she tested positive for the coronavirus and will not lead the U.S. tennis team at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.