20. Simona Halep
Before she became injured, the Romanian played for years, and she rarely went down and retired. She may be a little bit short, but she is so strong and she can sprint. She is emotional, and very intense. Halep has won two Grand Slams, knocking off a number of the other top players. However, over the years, she can go back and push the ball, instead of slapping harder. Next year, assuming she will be healthy, she will punch herself back into the top 10 and will have a solid chance to win another Grand Slam.
19. Emma Raducanu
The Brit came out of nowhere at the US Open, given that when she started the year ranked No. 345. She won her firs Grand Slam, starting in the qualifying, and winning 10 matches, in all straight sets. She out-hit so many good players, like Belinda Bencic, Maria Sakkari and Leylah Fernandez. Her forehand and her backhand were deep and ruthless. She looked sort-off good at the net, too. In New York, she was placid and very confident. The 19-year-old will be around for a very long time, but in the fall, she was mentally exhausted. However, she is very young, and next year, she will be refreshed.
18. Jessica Pegula
That was quite a year by the American, who finally understood that she had to confront her mental game, improve and let it all go. Over many years, she wasn’t beating the top 20 players, so many people though that she looked decent, but not fantastic. But in 2020, and then in 2021, she started hitting much better, with depth and pace. She has played some long matches, and watching it, you could see that she just wanted to fight and she did. In 2022, she certainly wants to go into the top 10 for the first time. To do that, she has to amend her serve, play at the net, and return game. That is a lot of work.
17. Petra Kvitova
The Czech has always been a super, nice person, talking with the press and in onn-on-one interviews. She is so realistic about her game, whether she loses ofwins. Some other players barely want to talk at all. Kvitova has grown up a lot, and she is aging, but at least she has won two Grand Slams, and she also won some huge events. But there are times when on the court, she can be mediocre, and then she can check out. She does crush the ball, both sides, and she has a jumbo first serve. Her weakness is moving from left to right. The thing is that if she wants to win another Slam, she is going to have to refocus on her movement. If she does, she had a very good chance to win Wimbledon again.
16. Angelique Kerber
The German has won three Grand Slams and, like Halep, she likes to rally, rally, rally until her opponent becomes exhausted. Kerber, who could probably jump into the ocean and swim for 3,000 miles, with no problem. However, last year she began to mentally buckle, and she grew sorrowful. In the first six moments, she was shaky, but in the summer, she began to play better, finally, winning a lot of matches. The 33-year-old loves playing tennis, and it is her entire life. So, in 2022, if she begins to play amazing, then she can win just one more Slam.