No. 25: Shuai Zhang
The 33-year-old keeps improving, not just the doubles, which she has been wonderful, but also in the singles. Four years ago, at the Australian Open, she won the doubles with Sam Stosur. They were so happy, and they also took the US Open. How about that? However, in the singles, though, she won just three singles, which is decent. If she is going to beat everyone, she has to out-hit the huge players. Here and there, she has won a few big matches, like this year, she upset Anett Kontaveit. She is very steady, and she can still run quite fast, but she doesn’t have enough power.
No. 24: Marie Bouzkova
Another Czech continues to beat some fine players. She started the year ranked No. 97 and gradually, she became much more fit and more caring. She reached the semis at Guadalajara in October and she was satisfied. However, she has to improve her serve, net play and forehand, too. That is the only way she can reach into the top 5 in 2023.
No. 23: Amanda Anisimova
The 21-year-old has had an interesting year, with some phenomenal shots, but also, she has to feel unfulfilled. She believes that she can mince down almost anyone, and she has won a lot of matches going deep. Still in the Grand Slams, she backed off. Yes, she can whack her forehand and backhand and she can attack. However, she is not fast enough yet and her serves are marginal. She did get hurt in August, so in September, she stopped for the rest of the year. Next year, if she is healthy, then she will add some new diverse shots and come into the net more. If she reaches the top 10, it will because she trusted her skills and found ways to improve.
No. 22: Barbora Krejcikova
Krejcikova and her partner, Katerina Siniakova, rose to no. 1 in doubles. They were so conformable. In singles, she had an odd year. At the Australian Open, she reached the quarters, and was no. 3. She looked very decent. However, after that she went down so slowly, losing everything for seven months. Finally ,at the end of September, she found out what she had to do to recover. Somehow she did, with more spin, winning Estonia and Ostrava and upsetting the no. 1 Iga Swiatek. Then she lost at her next event. If she can be more attentive, then she can push herself back into the top 5. Maybe. She has to keep find some consistency.
No. 21: Elena Rybakina
At Wimbledon, she almost came out of nowhere to win her maiden Slam on the grass. She was so ferocious, bending down, do a split and aim for the lines. She returned very deep, and with a lot of skill. That was her two best weeks ever. But, after that, she just looked decent. Without a doubt, she is only 23 years old, so she has more time to throw in some more variety in her strokes. She is very good but not phenomenal yet.