Surprise Performance of the Year #1: Angelique Kerber

The biggest surprise of this year is definitely the rise of Angelique Kerber. Kerber started the season as the World No.10 who is known to be inconsistent and unreliable, but an impressive and successful year proved otherwise. She reached her first 3 Grand Slam finals, her first Olympic final, the No.1 ranking spot, and many other firsts during this year.

Kerber celebrates after winning a hard-fought point. Photo by Rick Rycroft/AP.

Kerber started her season in Brisbane, powered through the tough draw to reach the final, only to lose to the resurgent Victoria Azarenka. 

Azarenka and Kerber at the trophy ceremony in Brisbane. Photo credits to Jimmie48 Photography

However, Kerber managed to beat her for the first time in her career at the Australian Open 2 weeks later to reach her 1^st semifinal in Melbourne. In the final, she created a huge upset when she defeated Serena Williams, who is trying to win her record-tying 22^nd Grand Slam title, in 3 tough sets. She saved a match point in the first round against Misaki Doi, and that was the turning point of her whole 2016, despite it being just January. The triumph in Melbourne gave her a career-high ranking of 2, and allowed her to be the first German player of any gender to win a Grand Slam singles title since Steffi Graf.

The moment when Kerber won the Australian Open title. Photo by Reuters

Kerber then managed to defend her title at Stuttgart, defeating surprise finalist Laura Siegemund in the final. She had previously defeated clay court specialist Carla Suarez Navarro and Petra Kvitova to reach the final.

Another highlight of her season is reaching the final at Wimbledon, defeating 5-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams along the way. However, she lost to Serena Williams in the final, allowing her to reach her 22^nd Grand Slam title, tying Steffi Graf’s record.

Kerber and Serena Williams during the trophy ceremony in Wimbledon. Photo by PA

She won her 1^st Olympic medal in Rio, losing to Monica Puig in the gold medal match. She was favourite for the Gold Medal, but was on the receiving end of a massive upset in the final.

Kerber with her silver medal in Rio. Photo by AP

Her season became even better when she won the US Open title, her 2^nd Grand Slam of the year, and it came along the No.1 ranking when Serena Williams lost in the semifinals. 

Kerber with her US Open trophy. Photo by AP

Her season ended in Singapore, where she disappointingly lost to Cibulkova in the final.

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Year-End Ranking in 2015: 10
Year-End Ranking in 2016: 1 

Finals Reached: 8 (Brisbane, Melbourne, Stuttgart, Wimbledon, Rio, Cincinnati, US Open, Singapore)
Titles Won: 3 (Melbourne, Stuttgart, US Open)

Prize Money in 2015: $1,898,047 (Singles + Doubles)
Prize Money in 2016: $10,136,615 (Singles + Doubles)

Kerber’s Year-End ranking rose by 9 spots, and became the first German Year-End No.1 player since Steffi Graf did so in the 1990s. She reached the most tournaments finals in any calendar year in her career with 8 finals, the most on the WTA Tour. She also became the first player other than Serena Williams to exceed $10,000,000 of prize money in a calendar year