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Svetlana
Kuznetsova
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| Photo by AFP |
Kuznetsova
had her resurgent season last year, qualifying for the WTA Finals and also
returning to the Top 10 in the rankings. At the age of 32 next year, it would
be interesting to see if Kuznetsova can still play as many tournaments and go
deep in them, and if she can retain her place in the Top 10 of the rankings
especially with the return of Azarenka and Sharapova.
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Elena
Vesnina
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| Photo by Getty Images |
Vesnina is
another Russian who had her resurgent season last year, with her return to the
Top 30 and breaking into the Top 20 of the rankings despite starting the year
outside the Top 100. Vesnina is a doubles specialist, and we would see how she would
maintain her spot in the Top 20 of the rankings, and defending a huge chunk of
points at tournaments like Wimbledon, coupled with playing doubles at every
tournament.
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Serena
Williams
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| Photo by Reuters |
Williams
would come into the new season feeling refreshed and healthy, having not participated
in any professional tournaments since the US Open. With the return of Sharapova
and Azarenka, Williams definitely has more competition next year and would be
motivated to play more tournaments, after playing just 8 tournaments this year.
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Victoria
Azarenka
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| Photo by Brisbane International |
Azarenka
returns to the tour as a Mother, having gotten pregnant in the middle of the
season in June after Roland Garros. Many would question if Azarenka would
return to her best form and play her best tennis when she returns to the court
after being out for a long period of time, and especially with the close
competition of the top players.
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Maria
Sharapova
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| Photo by AP |
Sharapova
returns to the professional circuit as a refreshed player, after her suspension
for taking Meldonium. Sharapova has been practicing on the courts regularly as
according to her social media accounts, and judging by her never-give-up
attitude, Sharapova would once again be aiming to be the best when she returns
to professional tennis.
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Caroline
Wozniacki
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| Photo by Getty Images |
Wozniacki
had an awesome 2nd half of 2016, from almost dropping out of the Top
100 at the US Open to returning to the Top 20 by the year-end, which was very
impressive. If she could keep the momentum going into the 1st half
of 2017, where she is not really defending many points, she can definitely
return to the Top 10.
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Jelena
Jankovic
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| Photo by Getty Images |
Jankovic
had her injury problems this year which forced her out of some tournaments, and
has fallen out of the Top 50 in the rankings. She had some impressive wins this
year though, defeating Roland Garros champion Garbine Muguruza in Wuhan and
Belinda Bencic in Dubai. She would be looking to bounce back from her poor
performances in the next year, and her main goal is to definitely break back
into the Top 30.
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Ana
Ivanovic
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| Photo by Getty Images |
Ana
Ivanovic had many injury problems this year which forced her to end her season
early at the US Open, but generally her season has been poor as she suffered
many disappointing losses. Ivanovic has also fallen out of the Top 50 in the
rankings, and she is currently on a 4-match losing streak that dates back to
Wimbledon. Her only Top 10 win was over Simona Halep in Dubai, and she would
want to return to the Top 10 after she dropped out from it in 2015.
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Ekaterina
Makarova
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| Photo by Skysports |
Makarova
had many injury problems in 2015, which caused her to fall out of the Top 10
despite a bright start to the season. In 2016, she failed to break back into
the Top 20, after she was unable to make any deep runs at any big tournaments,
losing to a higher ranked player at 14 tournaments. Makarova has the quality of
a Top 10 player and consistently progressing deep in tournaments, and I would
definitely be looking forward to Makarova’s 2017 season.
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Lucie
Safarova
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| Photo by Getty Images |
Safarova
started the year in the World’s Top 10, but she ended the year as the World No.
62. She only reached 1 quarterfinal this year in Prague and going on to win the
title. She had 12 opening round losses this year, which is very disappointing.
Safarova made a successful return to the Doubles competition, but she has not
played her best tennis in the Singles competition. I would look forward to
Safarova’s 2017 season to see if she can play her best tennis again and return
to the Top 20.
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Belinda
Bencic
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| Photo by Kyoto |
Winning
her sole title in St. Petersburg this year, she broke into the Top 10 and
looked on course for a very successful season. However, everything started
going wrong for Bencic since then, due to a back injury, she fell out of the
Top 40 and ended the year as the World No.43. It has been a very disappointing
season other than the title and the Top 10 entry, and as a 19 year-old, she has
a great future ahead of her. Let’s look at her 2017 and see if she could
re-enter the Top 20 and win a title again.