TennisReporters.net’s top 32 in 2022: women 20-16

Liudmila Samsonova
Mal Taam/MALTphoeo

No. 20: Liudmila Samsonova
In the summer the Russian began to take off, winning Washington Cleveland and Tokyo. She didn’t beat a lot of the top 5 players, but she edged out Emma Raducanu Kaia Kanepi and Garbine Muguruza. The light switched it is on. She can real hustle, and she can also whip her backhand. Her forehand is mighty, but sometimes she can misses it. If she can add more variety to her first serve and at the net, then next year she will a chance to reach the top 10. To do that, she really has to learn to grind in tough matches.

No. 19: Ekaterina Alexandrova
The veteran Russian had some very good tournaments, winning Korea this fall on the hardcourts in the Netherlands on grass in the summer. She was hurt at the beginning of the year, so it took her some time resume at a high level. She has won three titles, but not the biggest events. Her forehand is mammoth, and her backhand can be reasonable. However, in the Slams, she has never reached the second week, ever. She needs to find a consistent mindset. The positive thing as when she lost, almost all of them were three-setters. Yes, she lost, but at least she was trying super hard. Next year, maybe she will turn it around.

No. 18: Jelena Ostapenko
When she won ‘17 Roland Garros, it seemed like she was going to win a bunch of Grand Slam titles. She attacked constantly, went for the lines, especially crosscourt and with her returns. But after that, she started to be messy, and then she was not listening. Sure, she won a few other titles, but at the Slams, she made too many errors. She rose to reach ‘18 Wimbledon in the semis. But after that, she only made in the second week one time in the Slams. There was nowhere to go. This year, she was pretty decent, winning Dubai, beating three very good players. However, that was in February, and after that she lost early. In order to reach the top 10 again, she will have to re-adjust. Just try some new stuff.

No. 17: Anett Kontaveit
When she is thinking really well, then she was very respectable, winning in Russia and she reaching the finals in Doha, Hamburg and Estonia. So that was good, but she lost some other early matches. A couple years ago, she was not only fit, but more focused and determined to hit winners. Now, she does not know where she is going. Does she want to be aggressive or be patient? Should she mix it up, or punch the ball? Somehow, when she is in to it, she looks terrific, but other times, her head begins to slide. She just have to focus again and fast.

No. 16: Petra Kvitova
Years ago, she won Wimbledon twice with her hard, flat ground strokes. It was all about one strategy: attack. She also won some other big events on the hard courts. While she can waiver, she can be locked in at times. She went deep at the Australian Open and Roland Garros, which was unusual. She is a terrific person, talkative and thoughtful. However, to win another Grand Slam, that would be surprising. The 33-year-old can reach into the second week, but the younger players think that she is slowing down now. But look, she has won 29 titles, a very strong career. In 2023, Kvitova has to show that she is still compete at a high level.

TennisReporters.net 2021 year-end review: top 10-6, the women

Anett Kontaviet

10. Ons Jabeur
The Tunisian had a terrific year, overall, re-thinking what she should do during the match. She is so fast and can hit it harder, crosscourt and down the line. A couple years ago, she was decent, but not wonderful. Currently now, she can grind it. While she wants to rally for a long time, there are times when she doesn’t go for it enough and look to end points by cracking winners. Next year, if she wants to reach the top 5, she will have to dig in and slam it even more.

9. Iga Swiatek
When she is on and focused, she is thrilled and compelling. Other times, when she isn’t playing well, she can be ticked off. When she won Roland Garros last year, she was phenomenal, sliding on the clay, charging in and she pounded it. She is young, and she can be impatient, so she must be more consistent. In 2022, if she wants to go higher, it would be nice to see her improve her serve and her forehand.

8. Paula Badosa
The New York-native Spaniard jumped up the rankings by gradually pushing herself. She is working with the coach, Jorge García, and apparently, he found a solution this year. Badosa is willing to mix it up, with her slice, spin and flat shots. Using that kind of variety can be confusing, but it is possible. She had beaten a number of top-level players, winning Indian Wells. So now, next year, she will add with more strokes. Just push even harder.

7. Anett Kontaveit
The Estonian is now at her career high. She started this year at No. 23, dropped down to 31 in May and then she rapidly bolted up. Somehow, someway she won four smaller tournament titles, but important ones. At the WTA Final, she reached the final, and while she lost, she beat a series of solid players. She is intelligent, quick and can change direction. Now she is much smarter on the court. “I think I’m excited for the next season. Really want to keep this momentum up, just keep improving on my game,” she said. She will charge once again.

6. Maria Sakkari
The Greek is another one who rolled up, being incredible consistent, and she was very rugged. She scrambles and jumps up in the air while crushing the ball and deep. After the end of the season, she wrote, “Before this year, I would say that sometimes I was a little too hard and negative on myself. This season, with the help of surrounding myself with the right people, I’ve concentrated on making my mindset much more positive by manifesting kinder thoughts. I would definitely say that being nice to yourself is always a good idea.” It must be. Next year, then, she won’t be negative for the rest of the year. She hopes.

TennisReporters.net 2020 year-end review: top 25-21 women

Maria Sakkari

25. Angie Kerber
A few years ago, she was the No.1, and she was amazingly consistent. She would run, left to right in the backcourt or toward the net. She is not that great when she serving, but her return is legendary. In 2020, Kerber was so-so. She hesitated and she was thinking,”What the heck was going?’ She couldn’t flow. Over the years, Kerber had some wonderful matches. She won three Grand Slams: the US Open, Wimbledon and the Aussie Open. She was locked it with no errors. If the German wants to dive into the top 5 in 2020 and win a major again, she has to figure out what is bogging her down.

24. Jennifer Brady
The American had a fine year. At the US Open, she made it all the way into the semis, winning five matches in straight sets. Nor even close. However, in the second week, she had to face Naomi Osaka. She is totally different. Brady was close until when she lost 6-3 in the third. She had a few chances, but right now, Osaka is more powerful, and playes with more variety. Overall, Brady. 25, showed that she improved a lot, and she believes 2021 can be another break out year Her chances of reaching the top 10 is narrow.

23. Anett Kontaveit
At the Austrian Open, Kontaveit edged Iga Swiatek 7-5 in the third. In the last few games, there it was, ready to nail it and embrace it. She was thrilled, but in the quarters, she was exhausted. Simona Halep quickly blew her out. Kontaveit had some good wins in the summer, but she couldn’t upset Osaka, at the US Open. She is 24 years old, and she grew up in Estonia. In a nation without a tennis history, she will need more time to progress at the highest level. However, as long as she clubs her forehand, she will have some terrific shots in 2020.

22. Maria Sakkari
The Greek had a fine summer and fall, upsetting Elina Svitolina and Serena Williams. At the Aussie Open, she took donw Madison Keys. Then she had a tough three-setter, losing to two-time Wimbledon, champion Petra Kvitova. Over the past two years, the fast Sakkari is getting smarter. There are times when she falls apart, not thinking during the points. But at the other times, when she is really thinking, she can play without fear. In 2021, maybe she can reach the top-15, if she can beef up her mediocre serve.

21. Marketa Vondrousova
Five years ago, in the juniors, she was No. 1. Many people saw that the Czech is darn good. Now in 2020, she is already gaining month by month as she adds more shots and variety. However, this year, she couldn’t put it together. She didn’t not win a lot of big tournaments. She did upset Svitolina, but that’s it. After she reaching the 2019 Roland Garros final, she was gone for the rest of the year due to left wrist surgery. She is still coming back, and if she is 100 percent in 2021, then she will make a run again.

Top 30 in 2018: Women 25-21

No. 25: Dominika Cibulkova
The 29-year-old Slovak has played so many tournaments, with winning 446 and 280 losses. Can she eventually hit 1,000 total? Possibility, for sure, but she will need more than a few years more on tour. Sure, she isn’t tall, but is super intense when on court. She is still swift, she celebrates and she can yell. Her serve is marginal, but both her forehand and backhand can be deep. She believes in herself, most of the time, and when she isn’t playing well, she will still try and try again. Cibulkova did reach the 2014 final at the Australian Open. Can she do it again next month? You have to give her an opportunity, at least a little bit.   

No. 24: Mihaela Buzarnescu
What a year by the 30-year-old, who was out for years because she had a shoulder and knee injuries. In July, she won San Jose and upended Elina Svitolina at Roland Garros and Birmingham. She is a big hitter and he’s hitting her stride. Buzarnescu started the year ranked No. 59, and now she is close to reach the top 20, or even further. Not bad. Good, in fact. 

No. 23: Carla Suarez Navarro
The 30-year-old veteran had a fine year. Yes, the Spaniard won’t be able to win a Slam, but she is always out there, trying, re-tooling her tactics. Years ago, this one-hander was way back behind the court. For sure, she was very steady. But, in order to upend the most important players, she had to run forward. She didn’t do it enough, but only once in a while. Now, she can attack while remaining steady. Suarez Navarro has been around for 15 years. Give her another five years, because clearly, she loves playing the sports, win or lose.

No. 22: Jelena Ostapenko
At times, the Latvian is so, so good. In 2017, she won Roland Garros, moving quickly and blasting off of both sides, nailing on top of the lines. Sure, she can rack up a ton of errors. But, when she is excited and thinking on court, she can lock in. However, this season Ostapenko dropped, and she lost a number of important matches starting in August. Good thing she reached the semis at Wimbledon, but she lost in the first round in Paris to Kateryna Kozlova. She wasn’t there. The 21-year-old is still young, so in 2019, she will play great at times, but still, she has more things to improve, and to figure it out. 
  
No. 21: Anett Kontaveit
The Estonian had some terrific wins, outside in the Grand Slams, but she did reach in the final in Wuhan, upsetting the 2017 US Open champ Sloane Stephens and she finally lost to the young riser Aryna Sabalenta. In Rome, she knocked off Venus Williams and Carolina Wozniacki before she went down to Elina Svitolina. Kontaveit can be very aggressive, and she can crack her forehand, but on court, she can get alarmed and she can totally lose it. The 22-year-old should get better next year, and improve her backhand and net play. If she does, she can reach the top 10 in 2019, at some point. And then?   

Report card: top five women in Rome

Here are the women with the best results last week in Rome.

Elena Svitolina A+
In Rome, in 2017, Svitolina finally rose, winning the tournament. Two weeks later in Paris, she backed off, was nervous and she lost early. But she never stopped trying. In 2018, last week, she played brilliantly. She is so quick, so powerful, and she is very smart. She won the event fairly easily, crushing Simona Halep in the final. Now, once again, she has a legitimate chance to win a Grand Slam at Roland Garros. But there will be pressure, serious pressure …

Simona Halep A
Props to beating Maria Sharapova in the semis. She could have folded but she did not, she ripped her shots and she jumped on it. Unfortunately, in the final, Halep was exhausted. Her legs were very heavy, and she couldn’t run fast enough against Svitolina. Still, the No. 1 Halep was more than respectable, so for the “millionth” time, she has a shot to win her first Grand Slam. If she remains focused …  

Maria Sharapova B+
Even though Sharapova lost in the semis against Halep, she played substantially better last week. Finally. She took a breath, she hustled, she was patient when she could. Yes, she can be erratic and still, a little off. She won Roland Garros twice. So, when she arrives in Paris, she may not win, but she will push, hard. There, her confidence will return. 

Anett Kontaveit B+
Out of almost nowhere, Kontaveit reached the semis, upsetting CoCo Vandeweghe, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Venus Williams, and Caro Wozniacki before losing to Svitolina. On clay, Kontaveit looks pretty darn good. So, at RG in Paris, she could be a real factor.

Jelena Ostapenko B
Believe it or not, the 2017 Roland Garros champion is getting better. She has had a tough year, but she did reach the final in Miami on hardcourts. In Rome last week, she did beat Jo Konta, and then, went down against Sharapova 7-5 in the third. Ostapenko was very close to that win. While the 20-year-old person can blast the ball from both wings, she has to be a little more comfortable with staying in longer rallies. She did win Paris last year, smoking the ball, so maybe she can do it again.