It was a cathartic year in professional tennis with some notable drop-offs, flameouts, missteps and more than the usual supply of shenanigans.Here are our 10 biggest disappointments of 2016:1.?Maria Sharapovas drug banAfter five consecutive years of finishing among the WTAs top 10 players, the long, cool Russian ended 2016 with no ranking at all. That followed a cathartic year that began with a trip to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, her only on-court action of the season, and ended in October when the Court of Arbitration for Sport reduced her two-year suspension to 15 months.Sharapova was caught with meldonium in her system, a drug she said was first prescribed for a heart condition 10 years earlier, but one that has shown recovery benefits and was added to the banned list in 2016. Sharapova and her team, apparently, never read that email. Thus, the second-most successful active womens player (five Grand Slams), and possibly the most successful off it (with more than $20 million annually in endorsements), was taken out of play.Shell return in time for next years French Open at the age of 30 but hardly contrite. I know who I am and I know how Ive played the sport since I was a young girl, with integrity, she said. Ive never taken the easy way out. Im one of the biggest fighters in the game. I love what I do and I will continue to keep doing it and forming my legacy.2. Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer lose a stepIn a case of cruel symmetry, the French Open represented the end of an era. Federer, struggling with knee and back injuries, was forced to pass on Roland Garros, ending his record streak of 65 consecutive Grand Slam appearances that dated to 1999, when he lost in the second round of qualifying for the US Open. Nadal won his first two matches in Paris and then withdrew before the third, citing a nagging left wrist injury.He had been seeking his unprecedented 10th French Open title. Nadal, now 30, finished the year ranked No. 9. Federer, 35, is at No. 16. Theyll both be in action for 2017, but few are willing to bet either will bring home another major title.3.?Novak Djokovics second-half flameoutHe won the seasons first two majors and the talk of a single-season Grand Slam seemed quite plausible. But after he completed his career Grand Slam, taking the French Open in a four-set final over Andy Murray, it all fell apart. He acknowledged private issues after losing to Sam Querrey in the third round at Wimbledon and then lost his first match in the Rio Olympics to Juan Martin del Potro, leaving the court in tears.There was a wrist injury that dogged him for months and an unnerving lack of confidence. Djokovic gamely reached the finals of the US Open and the ATPs year-end tournament in London, but he lost to Stan Wawrinka and Murray, respectively. The season couldnt end quickly enough for the 29-year-old Djokovic.4. Serena Williams surpassed by Angelique Kerber: Like her Serbian counterpart, Serena lost her grip on the No. 1 ranking in surprising fashion. In nine years of Grand Slam play, Angelique Kerber had never, ever reached a final. In Australia, the German had only reached the fourth round twice, but in 2016, she blew through to the final opposite Williams and emerged with a three-set victory, her first ever on the major stage.Serena won the rematch at Wimbledon but Kerber took the seasons last major, the US Open, and finished the season No. 1. Serena, who averaged two Slam titles for each of the past four years, looked all of her age - 34 - and her season ended abruptly in New York for the second straight year.5.?Garbine Muguruza doesnt back it upLike Djokovic, Muguruza saw her season essentially end after capturing her first French Open title. Before meeting Serena Williams in the 2015 Wimbledon final, the young Spanish player talked a good game, saying: She knows I can win against her, that Im not afraid, and I dont think shes used to this. Muguruza lost that match but returned the favor a year later at Roland Garros, winning her first Slam title by beating Serena in a straight-sets final.And then -- nothing. Muguruza got smoked 6-3, 6-2 in the second round at Wimbledon by qualifier Jana Cepelova. Then in her third match at the Rio Olympics, she lost 6-1, 6-1 to eventual gold medalist Monica Puig. Her US Open also ended badly, with a second-round loss to Anastasija Sevastova. Muguruza, now 23, has won all of three career titles. Its time to stop talking and start winning.6.?Nick Kyrgios checks outFirst, the 21-year-old Aussie took himself out of the running for Rio following a long-running feud with the Australian Olympic Committee. Kyrgios website explained in a statement the reason was, The AOCs unfair and unjust treatment and that the organization had chosen to publicly and privately disparage him.Then, three October days after winning the biggest title of his career in Tokyo, Kyrgios visibly tanked in a 6-3, 6-1 loss to Mischa Zverev in Shanghai. If you dont like it, I didnt ask you to come watch. Just leave, Kyrgios explained. He was fined $25,000 and suspended for the balance of the season. In a tweet, Kyrgios had the last word: Im better than that. I can go on about excuses but there are none. Sorry. Hes got all of 2017 to make up for it.7.?Eugenie Bouchard drops off the (tennis) radarIn 2014, the Canadian blew through to the semifinals of the Australian Open and French Open and the final at Wimbledon. It was an astonishing breakthrough for a player who turned 20 that season, suggesting there was a new competitor at the highest level of tennis. But then Bouchard lost 18 of 30 matches in 2015 and reportedly sustained a concussion in a fall in the US Open locker room.The 2016 campaign was better (31-24 and over $500,000 in prize money), but the record in majors was a so-so 4-4 after shed gone 19-4 two years earlier. Her social media skills, on the other hand, are stellar. Bouchard spends an awful lot of time sharing provocative shots of herself on Twitter and Instagram. Might time be better spent on the practice court?8.?Gael Monfils goes rope-a-dope?The 30-year-old Frenchman was one of the feel-good stories of the 2016 season, finishing with a personal-best year-end ranking of No. 7. He vaulted into the semifinals opposite Djokovic at the US Open, his best effort ever in New York, but was visited by a fit of Monfils Madness.He was booed in the second set of a four-set loss for an apparent lack of effort, moving ESPN analyst John McEnroe -- of all people -- to call Monfils sluggish behavior bizarre and unprofessional. Djokovic became so unstrung he ripped open the collar off his shirt. Monfils later defended his actions as strategy. Instead of being able to say this was finally the year Monfils won a Slam, people were saying it was the same old Monfils.9. Roland Garros still roof-lessThe record Paris rainfall forced the Louvre museum to move its lower-level art treasures to higher ground and left the Seine rising to dangerous levels. But at Roland Garros, the only Grand Slam venue without at least one roof-covered show court, there was no defense against the weather that wreaked havoc on the schedule.French Open tournament director Guy Forget, a popular rainy-day interview subject, said the schedule for a new roof was now 2020 -- at the earliest. In other countries, Forget acknowledged, things are quicker. Welcome to France.10. The Gong Show dooms Andy MurrayThe Wimbledon champion was facing Kei Nishikori in the US Open semifinals and looking good, leading two sets to one. And then, with the score tied 1-all in the fourth, a huge noise -- much like a gong -- rang through Arthur Ashe Stadium. The point was immediately stopped by chair umpire Marija Cicak, sending Murray into hysterics.He felt he was in command of the point and it should have continued, based on Cicaks earlier promise to play through such distractions. Later, the USTA said that a digital audio sound processor had malfunctioned. 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He says so-called TRT is only one problem and he wants to go even further than the ban. "Its about time," St-Pierre told reporters at a promotional event in Montreal on Friday. "I think its a good thing. Paul George Shoes Outlet . The Lightning are 2-0 so far on a four-game road trip, giving the club five straight wins as the guest and improving Tampas away record this season to 11-8-2. Virat Kohli has rated Indias players eliminating their hunger for personal milestones in favour of the teams cause as a major highlight of his tenure as Test captain.India sealed the series against England 3-0 in Mumbai with one match still left, and despite what the scoreline suggests they have had to work very hard. They lost three tosses out of four, they have made comebacks with the bat and their bowlers had to be highly disciplined to take wickets on good pitches. Kohli felt getting the better of such difficult situations required a bit of selflessness.One thing that I really wanted the team to do was express themselves in Test matches and not think about personal performances, he said, when asked what uncertainties he had when taking over the captaincy and when he thought he had nailed them. Because a lot of the times, you have an hour in the Test match where you can take the game away and you are still not willing to go for it because you are close to your milestone or things like that. These are the things that we have gotten out of our system completely.We just look at the situation and play and thats why we have been in winning positions more often than not. Even with the teams that we have played, we have made quite a few changes and the guys have bought into it. So as a captain that gives you total freedom to play the XI according to the conditions that you are going to play in, and the ultimate aim has been to win games and win series.The other demand Kohli made of his men was to not be satisfied with winning one Test in a series and sitting on the lead. Thats why we have won five [series] in a row, he said. And as I said, its been an outstanding effort by the guys so far. Long it may continue because we are going to play for another eight-10 years, and this mindset needs to continue for us to be a top-quality consistent side.Considering the effort India had to put in - across three back-to-back Tests - on fair pitches, Kohli believed the 3-0 over England was the teams best result in recent times.Out of the five that weve won, this is the best by far, he said. Because of the quality of the opposition, and the kind of cricket that weve played as well. Were very proud of that, and for me as a captain, this is definitely on top.I think the pitches have been far more true than the New Zealand series. That is something that I observed immediately. All wickets have been good cricket wickets and we have had to play good cricket to win these three Tests, and none of the matches have been surrendered by the opposition. We have had to work hard for it, and the bowlers have had to work harder in this series, I feel, to get batsmen out and to control the flow of runs as well. We have used more in-out fields in this series than we did in the New Zealand series so its pretty evident that the wickets have been better.Kohli was pleased with how India maintained constant pressure because England, he said, were not going to break down on their own. We have been put under pressure many times, he said. I think I would give my team a lot of credit for bouncing back from those tough situations. We havent got anything on the platter. We have had to work hard for it. And its been a result of constant pressure that we have forced the opposition to make mistakes.With the bat as well we have shown really good character to come back into the game, showing enough patience, more than the opposition, so I would credit my team more than calling it an easy series. No series win is easy, especially not this one. We know England is a quality Test side,, and we knew that they would try to bounce back.ddddddddddddEven in this game after being 2-0 down, they put 400 runs in the first innings. This is not a team that will throw in the towel. They will fight, and we saw another example of it. We were tested but we came out on top.One of the key factors in the resilience India have shown with the bat has been Kohli himself. He has made 640 runs in four Tests, scoring a double-century on a square turner in Mumbai, a big ton from 22 for 2 in Visakhapatnam, and a scarcely believable 81 in the second innings when he kept hitting shooters for fours.Still Kohli cherishes his hundred in the second innings in Adelaide more. Chasing 364, he took India within striking distance of a win, but a collapse in the end left him heartbroken.I am still personally very attached to the one in Adelaide in the second innings because that was the beginning of this transition, Kohli said. This has been an on-going process, so I have only gained from the energy around in the change-room and from the team-mates as well. But this probably can be second-best, in my heart I still rate the one in Adelaide in the second innings higher than the ones I have scored elsewhere.This innings was really satisfying. It was a test of patience. Knowing we are 2-0 up, we cant be taking anything for granted going into the last Test. You dont want to leave one Test with the opposition still having a chance to level the series. So from that sense, it was very important to wrap it up here.Vijay was going great guns, I was enjoying batting with him but then that collapse happened in the middle. So all sort of things come into your head, whether youre going to be able to reach 400 or if you want to get close to the target. The lead was never in mind at that stage, we just wanted to get close to 400.Things shaped up nicely, and then we thought a 40-50 run lead will be great. But eventually, we got 231 of them. That for me was a revelation of me understanding that yes, you can bat for longer periods than what you might have thought initially. If youre focused on what the team needs, you dont realise, you dont feel the tiredness, you dont feel the fatigue. Its all about what the team wants, and in that process, you can go on for longer than what you think otherwise.An advantage for India in keeping a focus on those small targets was that it helped them not to get dragged into the revenge series that the marketing machinery kept building an England tour as.Thats all for TRPs [ratings], Kohli said. I feel all these little visuals that you see on Star [host broadcaster] and TV before the series, a lot of the campaigns are pretty exciting for people to watch actually. They like those sort of things, people talking about the series and saying this one will thrash this one.As cricketers, honestly, its far from what we think about. We understand how the game goes, and how minute these moments can be in Test cricket of winning and losing games. If you focus on that, youre already taking your mind off what youre going to do. These things are just to spice things up for viewers, which is great. It engages fans well, but as cricketers we should understand what to pay attention and what not to. We cant expect these things not to be shown or displayed. Its our responsibility to focus on our job and the viewer should get what they want, which is exciting cricket and the campaign should help things spice up a bit as well. ' ' '