TennisReporters.net will review 2017’s top 30 women and men, our annual feature.
No. 11: Kristina Mladenovic
As the Frenchwoman said, she was great from January through June, and then, she totally collapsed. She says that the pressure came on and she couldn’t shake it. She couldn’t think anymore, and she became very frustrated. In the first five months, she was unbelievably good, on hard courts and on clay. She is super strong, plays with a lot of variety, either way back on the baseline and putting away at the net. If Kiki gets her head on straight, she could actually reach the Grand Slam final. If not, she can disappear once again.
No. 12: Svetlana Kuznetsova
The Russian has been playing for eons, having won the US Open in 2004 when she was very young, confident and she believed in herself. That was 13 years ago and now, she plays tournament after tournament, playing fantastic, and the next week, she gets mentally down and then she plays flat. That is Sveta, who loves to talk —which is a very good thing — but she got hurt towards the end of the year and now, she cannot go to Australia in 2018. Hopefully, she will returns in February, and she will be fresh. And maybe next year, she will win her third Grand Slam [she also won Roland Garros, on clay, in 2010] and then, she will be thrilled and continuing on forever. There is no doubt that she will become a coach someday.
No. 13: Sloane Stephens
A couple years after she started on the WTA Tour in 2010, the American looked like she would win a major pretty soon. She was so fast, so steady, and pretty smart overall. But then when she was close to winning the Slams, at the Aussie and Wimbledon, she backed off. Then she fell down mentally. Hello, 2016! She underwent surgery and could not play for nine months. When she returned, and for the first time, she went for it. She had an amazing summer, and eventually, she won the US Open. After that, she was exhausted and failed to win a match in Asia, and even at the Fed Cup final. In 2018, she can certainly win another Grand Slam. She is that good.
No. 14: Julia Goerges
What a great year by the German, who did very little against the big guns before this year. In 2017, she raised her head and rarely backed off. Another veteran, she realized that if she can actually push forward, be aggressive, and be patient, then she would have a legitimate chance to go deep. And she did. Can she crack the top 10 for the first time? Sure she can. She wants it badly.
No. 15 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
The “other” Russian is another veteran, who plays great at times, and then she gets down on herself and she checks out. However, in 2017, she finally became more consistent, which is why now, at four different Grand Slams, she has reached the quarters. In 2018, perhaps she will reach the semis for the first time? Hmmm