Is there a bigger oxymoron than the “tennis off-season”? Most definitely not! It runs for 11 of the 12 months and in the one month that remains, the players even as they whine and cringe at the workload, play the International Premier Tennis League to make some extra bucks.
Yet, old habits die hard and as has the custom always been, we pick out the best and worst of the year gone by with the “off-season” as the marker.
Serena Williams warms up before facing Monica Niculescu, of Romania, in a qualifying tennis match at the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament, Tuesday, March 10, 2015, in Indian Wells, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 12: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY - NO COMMERCIAL USEAGE) Serena Williams of the United States and Novak Djokovic of Serbia dance on stage at the Champions Dinner at the Guild Hall on day thirteen of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 12, 2015 in London, England. (Photo by Thomas Lovelock - AELTC Pool/Getty Images)
Indian tennis players Sania Mirza, left, and Leander Paes laugh during an exhibition mixed doubles match against Martina Navratilova and Mahesh Bhupathi at Sania Mirza Tennis Academy in the outskirts of Hyderabad, India, Thursday, Nov. 26, 2015. The match was held to promote International Premier Tennis League (IPTL). (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)
LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 21: Roger Federer of Switzerland runs to play a forehand in his men's semi final against Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland on day seven of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals at the O2 Arena on November 21, 2015 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Eugenie Bouchard, of Canada, serves to Shelby Rogers, of the United States, at the Rogers Cup tennis tournament Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2014, in Montreal. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Paul Chiasson)
LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 20: Rafael Nadal of Spain hits a backhand during the men's singles match against David Ferrer of Spain on day six of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals at the O2 Arena on November 20, 2015 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
Britain's Andy Murray holds the winner's trophy after defeating Belgium’s David Goffin in three sets, 6-3, 7-5, 6-3, during their singles Davis Cup final tennis match at the Flanders Expo in Ghent, Belgium, Sunday, Nov. 29, 2015. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
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