No. 10: Simona Halep
The Romanian won two Grand Slams on the clay of Roland Garros and the grass of Wimbledon. She is one of the most consistent player, running everywhere with some fantastic strokes. On the court, she is rarely tired, and while she can huff and puff, she will still move it all around the box. She has beaten everyone by breaking them down. However, she lost some critical matches at the Slams and other tournaments, too. Unfortunately, she had received a provisional suspension after testing positive for a prohibited substance. She has appealed and may have a strong case. When and if she will comes back next year, has yet to be determined. And that is very sad, for everyone.
No. 9: Veronika Kudermetova
She is gradually coming up, identifying which way to go. The Russian had a decent year, reaching the quarters at Roland Garros, upsetting Madison Keys. There were a few good wins, but she was unable to win a tournament, although she did reach in the final at Istanbul. The 25-year-old thinks that she will be more level headed. “In 2023, we plan to pay a little more attention to singles. Of course, I want to win as many Grand Slams and other tournaments as possible. I also want to be remembered in tennis as a person who carried well. I always keep it simple and kind to everyone, trying to help as much as possible,” she said. Apparently, she is looking up. Now though, outside of her head, she has to do some new stuff on court. Maybe she will swing away.
No. 8: Daria Kasatkina
She managed to reach the WTA Finals and won one match, beating Coco Gauff. That was the first time that she advanced to the year-end event. In July, she won a title in San Jose, beating Paula Badosa and Aryna Sabalenka, two top players. That tournament, along with winning in Charleston in 2017, was one of her best performances ever. However, she can check out on occasion. She is very potent, but she can misplace her thoughts. She has won six titles, which is very decent, but if she wants to reach the final at the Grand Slams, then she needs to listen with her body.
No. 7: Coco Gauff
The American had a fine year, going into the top 10 and she won some extraordinary matches. She is a major hitter. Her forehand and her backhand are pretty muscular, and she is also very good at the net. But while she is only 18 year old, she still has a lot of work to do. She has only won two small events, and outside when she reached into to the final in Roland Garros, she lost against the important players. Sure, it can be close, but even in the third set, she can throw in too many errors. Also, while she is super young, she lost to a ton of the top 10 players this year, like Iga Świątek, Halep, Maria Sakkari and Ons Jabeur. What that means is she has to more reliant, flatten out her shots and hit it deeper. As long as she can add some more solid strokes, then for sure next year, she will start to beat the best players next year.
No. 6: Maria Sakkari
In 2021, she rose, and she won some wild, fun matches. However, in 2022, she did not win a tournament, which was confusing. She can really hustle, and she can also throw in some wonderful drop shots. She can return brilliantly, but her serve is marginal. When she hits the ball, hers shot can be a little bit soft. Of course, she practices and plays all the time. It’s odd that she reached no. 3 in March and has only won one tournament in her career. So while she can look colossal, she has to decide what she will do in order to reach one of the Slams in the finals, which will be the first time. Our advice: step it up and smack the ball.