The end of the tennis season (or any sports season) is always a bittersweet moment for fans. On the one hand, you have the culmination of another year of greatness and history. On the other hand, now we have to wait six more weeks to see some competitive tennis again.
 
This year, though, was one for the record books, from start to finish. We crowned two new Grand Slam champions to bookend the year. We saw Rafael Nadal, in an injury-shortened season, still defend his citadel of Roland Garros and win an unprecedented ninth Slam at the same venue. Novak Djokovic, in an off year by his recent standards, reminded us at Wimbledon and the Tour Finals that he is still the best tennis player in the world.
 
The season beheld the rise of Nick Kyrgios, who by all accounts looks to be ready to take over when the “Federer generation” is finally ready to move on. Doubles saw the new team of Jack Sock and Vasek Pospisil look to take over the game, while the Bryan Brothers said back to them, “Not so fast.”

And who can forget Roger Federer? The almost-forgotten greatest player of all time got tired of answering questions about when he will retire, so he showed us, on the court, that he is far from done. He is back up to No. 2 in the world and has earned the most points of any man since Wimbledon. He finally picked up his elusive Davis Cup title, one of the few missing pieces on an absurdly loaded list of career achievements. If he keeps up his form through May, he may yet rise to No. 1 again. Federer also came within a set of Grand Slam No. 18, proving that, although he may not be in his absolute prime anymore, he is far from washed up.
 
Of course, the season also sees falls. David Ferrer's fans had everything to be ecstatic about after 2013 and yet, at the end of 2014, are left wondering just how much he has left. Lleyton Hewitt had a solid year by his recent standards, but persistent rumors if his impending retirement are finally starting to sink into the public consciousness. American tennis, at least on the men's side, is still waiting for someone to pick up the ever-growing slack.
 
Much as we miss our sport, though, the offseason is necessary for both players and fans. Players need time to rest and recharge for next year and, much as we don't like to admit it, so do fans. Fans get burnt out watching their sport every single week. This offseason (along with the artificial one most fans and players take right after Wimbledon) is what lets us think back on the previous year and build expectations for the next one. The Australian Open is less than two short months away. That's really not so bad, is it?