WTA Number 23, Yanina Wickmayer in 2010
Yanina Wickmayer is a professional tennis player from Belgium, currently ranked world number 23 by the Women’s Tennis Association. Her claim to fame came with her best performance at the 2009 US Open semi-finals.
Wickmayer began her 2010 run exceptionally well. She won the WTA tour title in New Zealand and even managed an appearance at the fourth round of the Australian Grand Slam. Wickmayer put on a great show for her spectators, although she lost the match to Justine Henin in three sets.
Yanina Wickmayer was selected to represent her country in the Fed Cup once again in 2010.The Belgian was scheduled to play in the Fed Cup World Group play-off ties, against Estonia. Wickmayer and comeback queen Kim Clijsters, both managed victories on their singles rubbers at this event. Because of these wins, the Belgium began the tournament with an almost immediate advantage and a comfortable start.
However, Clijsters injured her foot before the next match, as a consequence, Justine Henin was called upon to substitute for the US Open champion. While Henin is normally an exemplary player, she herself had been injured earlier in the same week and played sub-standard tennis, losing her rubber.
At this point, Yanina Wickmayer was completely responsible for saving the team by taking the fourth tie victory. She succeeded at this magnificently, taking her opponent down in three sets 2-6, 6-1, and 6-1 (even managing a double fry).
Her next tournament was the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, where Wickmayer made it to the second round of the tournament. However, she fell to compatriot and former top player Justine Henin, with a score line of 6-3, 7-5.
Wickmayer also participated in the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome, as the eleventh seed. She reached the third round by defeating Karolina Sprem and Aravane Rezai but fell to seventh seed Jelena Jankovic, in the third round.
However, as she had been defending her 2009 Estoril title this week, and she lost points from dropping out in the first round. This was the first time she lost ranking points in a long time. This was probably her worst failure in 2010, besides her US Open showing.
While her run at the Grand Slam was satisfactory, she lost to Estonian player Kaia Kanepi, in the round of the last 16. The defeat was a disappointing one, because Wickmayer was one set up with 6-0, before Kanepi dominated her to win the match.
In retrospect, Wickmayer’s season went downhill towards the end of the year. While she began on a promising note, she ended with four straight losses and was unable to win a match after Flushing Meadows.
Although she is a good player, she has not made too much improvement over the year. If anything, her performance has deteriorated. While she has the potential to be a great player, Yanina Wickmayer is beginning to be regarded as a pro, who reaches the highest level of her expertise, in the middle of a tournament.
After that, she tends to fumble and freeze up in the deciding matches. Although she is persistent and makes an effort to perform at her best, she is prone to errors. Anger is a constant enemy of hers on the court.
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