WTA Top 10: Who’s here to stay?
Is women's tennis going to see something different in the next season? The top 10 players in the Women’s Tennis Association include Serena Williams, Caroline Wozniacki, Venus Williams, Vera Zvonareva, Kim Clijsters, Jelena Jankovic, Samantha Stosur, Francesca
Schiavone, Agnieszka Radwanska and Elena Dementieva in the descending order. However, radical changes are closing in.
With only 6 weeks to go before the WTA Championships, the foremost debate in the world of women’s tennis these days is whether or not the ever elusive world number one Serena Williams will return this season. The last tournament she competed in was the Wimbledon
Championships in which she emerged as the victor. However, after that win, she suffered a bizarre foot injury which forced her to withdraw from every tournament till date. Although Serena has never been much of a fall player, she is under great pressure from
tour officials to participate in the WTA Championships. She has also talked about possibly participating in the Fed Cup against Italy, but it is as yet not clear
Caroline Wozniacki has so far had a good run this year, being one of the two younger players in the top 10. At 20, she has accomplished a lot this year, undermined only in the 2010 US Open semi-finals, proving that she is as yet a learning player; during
her loss to world number four Vera Zvonareva.
6 players who seem to be completely assured in the top 10 positions include Caroline Wozniacki, the Williams sisters, Kim Clijsters, Zvonareva and possibly Sam Stosur. Players such as Francesca Schiavone and Jelena Jankovic may still be required to make
some effort to retain their places, although solid performances in Asian tournaments may secure their spots. For players who may have been suffering a bad run this year, such as Elena Dementieva, Na Li or Maria Sharapova – who played below their standards
this year – there is good news. With Serena Williams possibly out of the running and Kim Clijsters indecisive due to a surgical operation, the competition is drastically reduced. With two of the upper tier players bowing out of this round, outside players
may stand a great chance of recovering a top 10 position.
Players such as Agnieszka Radwanska and Victoria Azarenka could play at Doha at the end of the WTA Championships, but the advisability of playing is questionable. Both of them have played remarkable tournaments this year, but they may be in danger of burning
out. Azarenka already suffered a concussion during the US Open, while Radwanska may have overplayed herself this year. Stosur and Jankovic, on the other hand, would benefit from big tournaments; Stosur, because it would increase her own confidence after her
abominable loss to Clijsters at the US Open quarter finals, and the Serbian player because she seems to have imploded since her semi-final against Stosur at Roland Garros. Another player to watch out for is former world number one Ana Ivanovic, who has already
stated that she would like to finish the year with one title, as a boost to her own game.
Surprisingly enough, this year’s WTA season is oddly reminiscent of 2009. In both the years, Serena captured the Australian Open and Wimbledon, while Clijsters seized the US Open. One major difference however, is Schiavone’s success at the French Open, where
she – most likely for the only time in her career – won the Championship.
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