No. 20: Victoria Azarenka
The two-time Grand Slam winner has been around a very long time, spectacular at times, and disappointing, too. The Belarussian is still very powerful, from her forehand and her backhand, and she can also crush the ball when retuning, to nail it in the second serve. Yet the now 35-year-old is a little bit slower, running, and she has never been excellent at the net, putting it away. Now though, she has been more mature, off court, and when she is on, she can beat almost none. However, she hasn’t won a huge tournament since 2020, so because of that, she can get hurt, physically, each year. Next year, Azarenka will put together some cool strokes, but that doesn’t mean that she can win another Grand Slam. That is the way it is.
No. 19: Donna Vekic
She goes week after week, and when she is locked in, she can knock off many people. The Croatian is another player who has played for a very long time, winning well, and also, mediocre, at best. Earlier , she can drive with her hard forehand and her backhand, and attack, earlier, but she can also become frustrated, and then, she would lose. At least this year, she put together some terrific events, including the Olympics when she reached into the final, and also in the semis at Wimbledon, but she also almost collapsed, at the end. She won’t be there forever, so she better throw in some new strategies, and breath again.
No. 18: Marta Kostyuk
The 22-year-old Ukraine had a decent year, losing early in the second half, but at least she made it into the final at Stuttgart on the clay, upsetting Coco Gauff and finally losing against Elena Rybakina. She also went into the semis on the hardcourts , this time at Indian Wells, finally losing verses Iga Swiatek. There was another excellent week, when she reached it into the final at San Diego in February, upsetting Jessica Pegula, before she lost versus Katie Boulter. So it was a very good during the first four months, but then, she fell, very early. Maybe Kostyuk became hurt, physically, or she was just tired during the fall, but next year, she has to be more thoughtful, on and off.
No. 17: Beatriz Haddad Maia
The Brazilian has been grinding for a decade, and this year, she had a few good wins. In September, she won Korea, and in August, she reached into the final in Cleveland. Not bad. However, outside of that, she did not go deep in 2024, straining. She does like to rally, fore a long time, and she can also mix it up, too, but often, her ball can go short. Next year, she should swing harder.
No. 16: Mirra Andreeva
Already, the 17-year-old is rising, very fast, going for it earlier, and to try to find the lines. She is quick, and determent. Her backhand is excellent, and her forehand is pretty good, but she still needs to work it more, into the corners. Without a doubt, the Russian can go into the top 10 in 2025, or maybe even lower, but you don’t really don’t know until she sees it, and reasonable almost all the time. Critically, though, with all the young players, you have to think about it all the time.