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TennisReporters.net’s top 32 in 2022: women 25-21

December 15, 2022 by Matthew Cronin

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.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Right, Lead Story Tagged With: amanda anisimova, Barbora Krejcikova, Marie Bouzkova, Matthew Cronin, Shuai Zhang

2023: The outlook for American women

November 29, 2022 by Matthew Cronin

American Jessica Pegula finished the year ranked No. 3, but at times she could be upset on the court. The 28-year-old finally won a huge tournament in Guadalajara dismissing Maria Sakkari in the final. But soon thereafter in the WTA Finals in Texas, she did not win against three opponents.

Oh well, in 2022, she went from flawless to floundering.

“It just gets frustrating after it happening so many times in a year; I don’t think that’s happened so many times to someone else as it did to me, so that’s why I was very frustrated,” she said.

A few years ago, she was outside of the top 60, and she was somewhat consistent, but she was not aggressive enough. Then she had decided that win or lose, when she has a real chance to jump on the ball, she would go for the lines. But that can be risky.

“All these challenges and I just did a good job of handling it, knowing I’m in a really tough section and maybe someone in my section is going to win the tournament and I think just decided more like, ‘Okay this is my chance to work my way through the draw and be that person that’s going to win,’ ” she said.

Pegula is the top American, just ahead of No. 7 Coco Gauff. They both play doubles together, a decent amount, and they are No. 3.

Pegula has yet to reach the semifinals at a Grand Slam, but she could do that next year. To do it, she has thrown in some new shots.

“Luckily it worked out but it’s definitely challenging but at the same time if you take it the right way it can be extremely motivating,” she said.

NOTES

Gauff has had a very good year, as the 18-year-old improved a lot. But there are times when she gets deep into the tournaments, she can miss a lot of shots. She can hit the balls pretty hard, but she can be predictable. It will take her years to correctly decide which strokes to hit. That did happen with former No. 1 Ash Barty. When she started, she always had a lot of variety, but when she played from the backcourt, her shots could be very short. Eventually, she grew up and her forehand, her first serve and the return rose so high.

The good thing for Gauff is that the reason why she plays lots of doubles, that the No. 7 is pretty good at the net and when she returns. In 2023, she can bring it into the singles and possible win a Grand Slam. But that is a big maybe.

With the retirement of 23-Grand-Slam-winner Serena Williams, which players can win a major next year? Obviously, Gauff, but you can throw in the rest of the top 30 such as Americans Madison Keys, Danielle Collins and Amanda Anisimova.

The veteran Keys has gone years without great results. When she was playing terrific with her massive strokes, but she has pulled out a lot due to her injuries. She is making the effort, but the No. 11 is not that fast, and she still is not comfortable at the net. At the 2016 US Open, she reached the final, and it looked like that eventually, she would grab it someday. But now, it is very questionable. Maybe she will have a few more years when she is looking like that she is jolly. This year, she had two very good tournaments at the Australian Open and Cincinnati, but that was it. She has to be more advanced, especially about her second serve and at the net.

Collins is so up and down. She did have some strong results, such as at the Australian Open, when she reached the final, beating Iga Swiatek before she lost to Barty. The No. 14 Collins loves to swing away, and she can boom the ball, but she throws in too many errors. The 28-year-old wants to continue to mix it up, and that is a good thing, but in order to get better results, then she should add some different thumps.

Anisimova started at No. 81 in January and now she is ranked No. 23, which is good because she got hurt at the US Open, and then she could not play for the rest of the year. She is only 21 years old. Let us assume that she is continuing how to really play when she is extremely close. This year she did win some tough matches, but she has also lost against Simona Halep twice, Aryna Sabalenka and Ons Jabeur, among others. However, Anisimova did out hit against the four-time major champion Naomi Osaka. She was up in the top of the world. But not always. The Floridian can be very frustrated, but each year, if she wants to build with her strokes, she needs to find something new, and some very cool.

By the way, outside of the top 30, there are three Grand Slam winners who are still playing: Sloane Stephens, Sofia Kenin and Venus Williams. Clearly, the seven-time Grand Slam champ Venus is 42 years old, and she is too slow now. She may retire next year.

Stephens, who won the 2017 U.S. Open, she did not play well almost all year. Will she return and strike the ball hard?

Almost three years ago, Kenin won the Australian Open. But now she is ranked No. 238. She has played quite a bit this season, but she cannot get moving again. Something is going on. Why? No one really knows.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Left, Lead Story Tagged With: amanda anisimova, coco gauff, danielle Collins, Jessica Pegula, madison keys, Matt Cronin, Matthew Cronin, Serena williams

Wimbledon: Amanda Anisimova beats Coco Gauff

July 3, 2022 by Matthew Cronin

Amanda Anisimova is still becoming more mature, on the court and off. Over the past few months, she began to think more clearly about her oncourt tactics. Both her forehand and her backhand are titanic, and while she isn’t incredibly fast, she can be pretty quick when chasing would-be winners. She stares at the ball and then she can decide to rally or leap on the lines.

On Saturday, she beat Coco Gauff 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-1 to reach the fourth round. She was extremely excited.

“It was a super tough match today, but it was extremely special to get to play on Centre Court for the first time in my life,” Anisimova said. “It’s super exciting how many Americans are doing well and have advanced here so far. I think we have a ton of strong players. Even today playing against Coco, I think that’s extremely exciting and good for our country to play on Centre, both being American.”

She is the only American woman left in the tournament at Wimbledon. Jessica Pegula lost today, and a bunch of players lost in the first week. So now it is up to No. 25 Anisimova, to go further.

“At the end of the day it’s about the consistency and how well you do at each tournament. It’s still something that I’m working on,” she said. “Just getting far into tournaments – I had a couple quarterfinals this year where I think I could have gone past it. I just try to take the experience. I’m just here for the journey so I’m building off of that.”

It was a windy day, and the 18-year-old Gauff, who reached the final at Roland Garros, fell out in the last two sets. She could have been much more patient, but she just could not get it together. However, she said that Anisimova can go almost all the way. Oh, really?

“I think she has got a good shot of pretty much going all the way to the final. If she plays like she did those last two sets against me, I think that’s some top-notch tennis right there,” Gauff said.

Anisimova will face the Frenchwoman Harmony Tan on Monday, who upset Serena Williams in the first round.

Swiatek’s streak ends

There was a wild upset when the No. 1 Iga Swiatek’s 37-match win streak finally ended. The 32-year-old veteran Alizé Cornet was very driven and she snapped winners all over the place. She can hit it short and soft with her second serves, but she is still very quick and she can blast her forehand. However, Cornet had not reached the quarters at Wimbledon. Earlier this year, at the Australian Open, she upset Simona Halep before Danielle Collins took her down in the quarters.

But this time, Swiatek finally grew cold, and she lost, 6-4, 6-2 to Cornet. But, when she gets back on the hard courts, the Pole should be ready to punch it again.

Outside of Anisimova and Cornet, there are two players who are lurking, the former two-time champion Simona Halep, and the current No. 5, Paula Badosa. Halep won the 2019 Wimbledon, stunning Serena in the final. Currently, she looks pretty good, but to get there, she has to hit it even harder. Last week, Anisimova punched Halep in Germany on the grass. The Romanian is always very steady, but she has to attack the net.

Badosa has had a strong year. But, she has yet to reach the semis at the Slams. The Spaniard picked it up last year, and she can be self-consistent, but once again, on grass, if she wants to go even further, she has to try and bang it down. Kick it, if you can.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Left, Lead Story Tagged With: Alizé Cornet, amanda anisimova, coco gauff, Iga Swiatek, Simona Halep, wimbledon

Amanda Anisimova rising: step on the gas

May 1, 2022 by Matthew Cronin

American Amanda Anisimova is finally rising, and on Thursday, she out-hit huge hitter Aryna Sabalenka. She is only 20-years- old, and last year, she was erratic at best, but now, she is smarter, and as she grows, she is more alert. She is ready, she can hustle, and she can mix it up. She is currently ranked No. 33 and very soon, she will crack the top 30s

The American needs that. When you want to step on the gas, and you are secure, then you won’t be afraid constantly.

Then on Saturday, Anisimova beat Petra Martic in straight sets. Then she is picking up. She wanted to beat the very best players, and she was pretty close, but this season she has lost to Leylah Fernandez.

Look at the No.1 Iga Swiatek, who now has won 23 wins in a row. At the end of January, after she lost at the Australian Open, she put her head down and she kept coming. The last time she lost was to Ash Barty, who won the AO, and then out of nowhere, the Aussie decided to retire. That was a shocker, but she did, so then Swiatek went way up in the sky and has been almost perfect.

In the AO, Anisimova upset Belinda Bencic and Naomi Osaka. That was almost stunning. But now it is almost normal.

The American will face Victoria Azarenka on Monday, which will be two players who can bash the ball. The emotional Azarenka can look terrific, but she does get hurt on court a lot. However, early on, she is more consistent and patient.

The four-time Grand Slam champ Osaka is in there, and she totally loves playing the hard courts, and she actually likes clay. But, on grass, well, she is very honest in saying it is a challenge.

“I don’t feel like clay should be harder for me than grass. To me, grass is probably the most scariest thing. But, of course every year is a new thing, and there are new players that are coming up that are really, really amazing to watch,” Osaka said. “I don’t want to like think that it’s going to be that easy to go back to the quarters, but it’s something that I feel like I should be able to do, and I’m just going to keep working on it match by match.”

There are a bunch of players who have a chance to go pretty deep next week including Bencic, Jessica Pegula, Coco Gauff and Canadian Bianca Andreescu, who has recently returned.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Left, Lead Story Tagged With: amanda anisimova, madrid, naomi osaka, victoria azarenka

Danielle Collins: ‘It’s been wild’

August 10, 2021 by Matthew Cronin

In the last three weeks, Danielle Collins won Palermo and San Jose. In the San Jose final, the American beat Russian Daria Kasatkinaa 6-3 6-7(10) 6-1, hitting some huge swings, with 54 winners and 12 aces.

Collins has now won 11th straight, and now, she will be ranked No. 28. She was hurt last year, physically, which is a professional tennis hazard as almost everyone gets injured eventually. However, on court, she looks fast, steady and aggressive.

“I just had to really kind of lock into that mentality of being really patient with myself, and putting myself in an aggressive position consistently, but also accepting the fact that there were going to be some errors and mistakes along the way,” Collins said.

This week, Collins spoke about the former No. 1, Serena Williams, who is friendly with her. The 23-time Grand Slam winner says that when you are on court, it is important to play with the attitude.

“She always offers something and you can always learn something from watching Serena. I think that’s really important for the younger generations is seeing the emotions she plays with and seeing the consistent positive attitude and self-belief that she has,” Collins said.

The 27-year-old does believe that Serena is the best player of all time. However, the Australian Margaret Court won 24 Grand Slams, but the 39-year-old Serena helps the other players.

“I think it’s so many things but she offers so much to us emotionally and she has inspired so many generations of tennis by her accomplishments but also the great things she does off the court by giving back,” Collins said. “She’s an incredible figure that we are so lucky to have in our sport. Just to see her over the years and become the greatest player of all time, it’s been wild.”

NOTES
This week in Canada, Sorana Cirstea continues to play better this year than she as for years. She looks much smarter on court.

American Amanda Anisimova is really struggling, but she did win a match on Monday. Two years ago, she was ranked No. 21. Now she is ranked No. 86. Time to go upwards…

Another American Tommy Paul, qualified, and in the first round, he beat Vasek
Pospisil on Monday. The now consistent Paul is ranked No. 56, and he should be able into the top 40s, next week. That would be a career high.

Reilly Opelka beat Nick Kyrgios in three tough sets. By the US Open, he should be ranked in top 30. The Americans need it. Better than nothing.

San Diego man Taylor Fritz lost again, and he plays every week.. Why? He has so much talent. He must be tired, traveling, from Europe to the United States. He must be tired, mentally. Take a breath.

Filed Under: Lead Story Tagged With: amanda anisimova, danielle Collins, daria kasatkina, Palermo, Reilly Opelka, San Jose, Serena williams, Tommy Paul

16 top American women in 2021

April 8, 2021 by Matthew Cronin

There are 16 American women who are in the WTA top 100. That is a lot, compared to going back all the way into the 1970

Now, there are many players who come from Europe, Australia, Asia, Africa, and South America. Because of that, it is harder to beat many mediocre players, as their forehands have become so much better, including with first serves, net game and returns. The field is now much taller and superfast.

Right now, the Americans are in Charleston but not many from Europe. Here is a 2021 roundup after three months, one week and counting, starting from the top:

Sofia Kenin
She has won the Aussie Open. But, she is a little bit hurt now. When she is healthy, she can smash the ball and win another Slam

Serena Williams
The great players like Serena have great weapons: serves, forehands, backhands and returns. But she is aging, and she knows that she is a slowing down.

Jennifer Brady
In the last two Grand Slams, she reached the semis at the 2020 US Open and the final at the 2021 Australian Open, which means that she is locked in.

Madison Keys
When she is on, she can blast the ball. Still, she always gets injured and now, she cannot move well and is producing a lot of errors.

Alison Riske
She has come a long way into the top 30. She started loving the grass, but now she is addicted on the hardcourts.

Jessica Pegula
She has had a terrific season, showing tremendous confidence. She is gaining every week and can reach the top 20.

Amanda Anisimova
The 19-year-old is gaining ground. By the end of the season, she can be in the top 10, if she shows more maturity.

Cori Gauff
She is super young, and already, she is darn good. But, she has to be develop more strategy on the court.

Danielle Collins
She is 27 years old, and she knows what is going on. As long as she can exploit her fierce competitiveness, she could go into the top 20 this year, a career high.

Shelby Rogers
She had a wonderful second-round victoryagainst Anisimova in Charleston, 7-5 in the third. Next week, she might be in the top 45, a career high.

Sloane Stephens
Is the 2017 US Open winner ready to dance again? During the past two years, she was totally out of it.

Ann Li
She is only 20, and she really runs very well, but she needs more power and depth.

Bernarda Pera
There are some good wins, but in the past year, she barely won, so she has to change tactics.

Lauren Davis
She is a huge fighter, and she likes long rallies, but she does not have a hard serve. She needs to go for the lines, very quickly.

Christina McHale
She has been around for 12 years, and she will continue to play, because she loves tennis. But now, she must find a way to win more matches.

Venus Williams
She came into the WTA in 1997 and built a Hall of Fame career many times over. Now, she is 40 years old and looks like she will retire pretty soon.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Left, Lead Story Tagged With: Alison Riske, amanda anisimova, Ann Li, Bernarda Pera, Christina McHale, cori gauff, danielle Collins, Jennifer Brady, Jessica Pegula, lauren davis, madison keys, Serena williams, Shelby Rogers, sloane stephens, Sofia Kenin

TennisReporters.net 2020 yearend review: top 30-26 women

November 29, 2020 by Matthew Cronin

30. Amanda Anisimova
The American is very young, and she needs to improve a lot. Yes, in 2019, she was impressive, but in 2020, she did not go very far. She is powerful, and she goes for winners, but she has to be more selective. In 2021, the 19-year-old should be a little more mature. If she can hit with more variety, her chances to succeed will soar.

29. Dayana Yastremska
Another young player, who is on 20-years-old, the Ukranian started very strong and reached the final in Adelaide, upsetting against Aryna Sabalenka and then losing to the No. 1 Ash Barty. But, then she was spotty; over the next nine months, she was at a middle of the road. Two years ago, she started to lock in and she was confident and fearless. But, during the summer and the fall, she wasn’t moving quickly enough and she hesitated. Another young player who will inprove, but she has to work on her serve and shots at the net in 2021.

28. Yulia Putintseva
The Kazakhstan had a decent year, reaching the quarters at the US Open, knocking off Petra Martic before she lost to Jennifer Brady. Two years ago, she played Roland Garros and she scratched into the quarters, shocking Jo Konta. In the second week, she fell to Madison Keys. She can crack with her very strong forehand and move well.

27. Karolina Muchova
The Czech is coming fast. At the start of the year, she was ranked No. 109, and now hit No. 27. She will rush into the top 20 pretty soon. She beat Venus Williams at the US Open early. In the round 16, she fell to Vika Azarenka, losing in the third set 6-4. Three years ago, she was good, but not damn good. She might be, as long as she uses her wordbook.

26.Alison Riske
Years ago, the American loved on the grass. In the last 10 years, she has found her way on the hard courts and clay. But eventually, practicing has improved her play on those surfaces. She has always been powerful.Yes, in 2019, she won a lot of terrific matches. But this year, she went 6-8. Injuries played a part earlier but she seemed to be 100 percent physically. In 2021, Riske may find her form again and find her path into the top 20 or higher.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Left, Lead Story Tagged With: amanda anisimova, Dayana Yastremska, Karolina Muchova, Yulia Putintseva

Nadal: Back and hustling on every point in Rome

September 16, 2020 by Matthew Cronin

Rafa Nadal is finally back, and he has not played at a tournament since late February. There he is, in Rome, at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, blasting Pablo Carreno Busta 6-1, 6-1. Careno Busta, who reached the semis at the US Open, barely losing against Alexander Zverev. The steady Carreno Busta was close to a fifth-set victory, but he couldn’t kiss the lines. Zverev found a way to prevail.

Dominic Thiem ended up winning the 2020 US Open, inching over Zverev, in a fifth-set tiebreaker. Thiem was weeping in joy, while Zverev was so disappointed. The German was so sad that after the ceremony, he broke down. Neither will not play Rome this week, as they are totally exhausted.
But there are a number of terrific players, such as Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Matteo Berrettini, who won in the round of 32. Stefanos Tsitsipas went down in the third set to Italian Jannik Sinner.

Nadal has won Rome nine times, a tremendous amount. His lefty forehand is very heavy, with a tremendous spin. And he hustles every second, and when he is set up, then he can blast the winner.

Last year, in the final, Nadal took down Djokovic in three sets on the Italian clay. Obviously, the Serbian has beaten Nadal on the hardcourts, but on the soft clay, Nadal is still king.

But this week with Nadal and Djokovic, if they play lights out, then they will meet each other in the final on Sunday. The whole world will watch the match.

There were three good wins on Tuesday, from the 18-year-old Italian Lorenzo Musetti upsetting Stan Wawrinka. Two other young players won: Andrey Rublev and Denis Shapovalov.

The former two-time Grand Slam champion Angie Kerber is still struggling. The German can be so steady, when she was No. 1, grabbing the 2016 Aussie Open, the 2016 US Open and 2018 Wimbledon. But, since then, she hasn’t won the big ones, and really, she hasn’t dominated at other events. She was injured when she arrived in January, and she went down early in, at the AO. She lost against the long veteran, Sam Stosur, in the first round, and then shortly after, she pulled out in California and Florida. Kerber subsequently withdrew due to a left-leg injury. Now she is back, and she feels pretty healthy, but she has a lot of work again. At the US Open, she made it into the fourth round, but she couldn’t hit with enough topspin or depth. She did win three matches, and then the very good American Jennifer Brady punched her out.

The 32-year-old Kerber still has a solid three years of play when she is healthy, but her move back up the rankings from No. 22 will take some time. In Rome, early this week, she lost to Katerina Siniakova.

Kerber may not win Roland Garros as she never really understand exactly how to work on clay.

The very young teenager Coco Gauff had a solid win, beating Ons Jabeur in the first round.

Two-time Grand Salm champion Garbine Muguruza beat another former major champ, Sloane Stephens, in two sets. She is up and down, but when she feels 100 percent healthy, she can win any match. Muguruza is fast, and she really likes to attack. She could win the event in Rome, as long as she is durable.

Stephens is mentally out of it, in the past one year and six months. She has to turn it around during the fall, or she will continue to drop down farther than her present No. 33.

Amanda Anisimova is ready to make a move. But, it won’t happen in Rome as she was bested by Dayana Yastremska in the round of 32. Every month, you can tell that the 19-year-old is studying and improving. And when he does, she will break into the top 10 in the next months. A learner.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Left, Lead Story Tagged With: . Rome, amanda anisimova, Angie Kerber, Dominic Thiem, gabrine muguruza, Novak Djokovic, rafa nadal