The 2016 season has come and gone, and 2017 play is nigh. (That didn't take long.) Here's a look at the quirkiest moments, largely outside the lines of the tennis court, from the year that was.

16

The inescapably entertaining duo of Andrea Petkovic and Jelena Jankovic "uncensored" at the Volvo Car Open was a sight (and sounds) to behold. Come for the cozy banter. Stay for the Southern-drawl impressions:

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15

There was that time Frances Tiafoe more or less "played dead" on the court—and won the point against Sam Groth. "Fake and bake," the ATP World Tour termed it.

14

It doesn't get more unintentionally amusing than this (as long as no one is truly hurt):

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Sometimes the pros hit their own doubles partners with shots. It's a neat little reaffirmation that sometimes these elite players can be akin to us weekend warriors.

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13

After her opening-round loss at the WTA Tour's stop in Washington, D.C., Eugenie Bouchard faced the media. In doing so, she faced some rather silly queries as well, including what she thought of Victoria Azarenka's then-recent pregnancy announcement.

See three different spots in this clip, starting at the 0:52 mark here, that left Bouchard in near-tears as she giggled her way through the morass:

12

Handshake of the Year? There was no love lost after Bouchard fell in that Citi Open match by a 7-5, 6-4 count to Camila Giorgi. Some observers said Bouchard would have liked to avoid that exchange, while others saw it as Giorgi wanting next to nothing to do with it. In this age of social media and fake news that we live in, people will see what they want to see.

11

Away from sanctioned match play, dancing took center stage at times. Witness the moves delivered by Juan Martin del Potro and Venus Williams at various times:

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10

Talk about awkward. Bethanie Mattek-Sands revealed in the Indian Wells women's doubles trophy ceremony in March that CoCo Vandeweghe's mother had once called her Britney by mistake. (Side note: R.I.P., Vine.)

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9

"I'm 36 years old ... I play fair." Venus' extended, matter-of-fact statements to chair umpire Carlos Ramos at the French Open in late May were classic. The occasion was the midst of her 7-6 (5), 1-6, 6-0 take down of Alize Cornet, and upon being accused of receiving coaching from her player's box, Venus was not having it. The classic coda she tacked on in the moment: "Just FYI."

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8

Robin Haase mocked foe Gonzalo Lama's grunt in their first-round match at the Prostejov Challenger event in late May, ultimately "earning" a hindrance call and a lost point. He also dropped the match, 6-3, 6-3. That's salt in the proverbial wound.

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7

Venus Williams provided some of the season's best, most thoughtful quotes, as is her wont. In losing to Kurumi Nara after her first appearance at the Indian Wells event in 15 years, the ever-frank Venus posted this: "Not everything can end fairy-tale."

Then, upon making the Wimbledon semifinals for the first time since 2009, she had this gem to share: "The first time you win, nobody picks you; the last time you win, nobody picks you,” Venus said, with that zen grin she gets after a victory. “You’ve just got to pick yourself."

6

Raymond Moore, the since-resigned Indian Wells tournament director, provided a different, decidedly sordid quote this year. At a media breakfast (yes, a media breakfast) during his event, he delivered the season's verbal shot heard 'round the world:

"If I was a lady player, I'd go down on my knees every night and thank God that Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal were born, because they have carried this sport."

Thankfully, from Billie Jean King to Serena Williams to Andy Murray and others, Moore's statement was resoundingly smacked down by the sport's leaders.

5

Snakes on a Court. Cats, bats and mosquitos, too. Sometimes wildlife makes its way to tennis, and we must be okay with that, if briefly:

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4

At times media pieces speak to the high-end haircuts that pros get at the US Open and other top-tier events. Then there are other, more spontaneous snips. Svetlana Kuznetsova had a late-breaking moment for herself this season, nearly laying claim to the WTA Finals singles championship. She fell to Dominika Cibulkova, but before that, she created a mini viral moment by cutting her own hair on court.

3

Russian president Vladimir Putin, when not prying into America's political future, defended his country's athletes who had entered into a ballooning, meldonium-fueled scandal early in the year. Among them: Maria Sharapova.

By late December, Russian authorities were acknowledging that "an institutional conspiracy" had taken place since the 2014 Games in Sochi that had tarnished the Olympic movement itself.

2

Serena Williams managed to avoid letting 2016 fall into the rear-view mirror without some surprising off-court news to call her own. In an announcement on Reddit of all places, she revealed that she recently became engaged to, well, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian.

1

Some players go into beast mode when they harbor insatiable appetites for winning. Nick Kyrgios did the opposite this year, going into so-called tank mode in more or less "phoning in" a disappointing 6-3, 6-1 loss of a performance. At some points, he basically walked away from the ball, be it an incoming groundstroke winner or ace fom across the net. Opponent Mischa Zverev later quipped that some of Kyrgios' serves seemed to come in as if Zverev's girlfriend were hitting with him. Youch.

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Damage was done, but to his tardy credit, Kyrgios later apologized:

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Memo to Kyrgios: Continue working on yourself, your maturity and your game, by all means. But please do so and prove the doubters—yea, the haters—wrong in 2017. A good many players who didn't make it to the biggest stages in the world, some whose bodies perhaps broke down on them, would gladly trade places with you.

Follow Jon on Twitter @jonscott9.