The 2016
WTA Season finally ended after the Year-End championships in Singapore and
Zhuhai. The season was considered disappointing for many of the fans after many
top players had a loss of form, and the quality of the top players are
massively decreasing. The fans were once more disappointed when WTA decided to
opt for a new streaming platform other than TennisTV, and then announcing that
there would be no streaming services on their new “WTA Network” in the first
quarter next year.
Twists and Turns
It has
been a fairly weird year with lots of twists and turns; after 3 former World
No.1s went AWOL.
 |
| Sharapova at her press conference on 7th March. Photo by AP |
- Maria
Sharapova being controversially banned for taking a banned substance called
Meldonium.
- Victoria
Azarenka unexpectedly got pregnant despite having no official boyfriend.
- Serena
Williams not willing to play as many tournaments as before due to injuries
The Unbelievables
· Angelique
Kerber managed to reach 3 Grand Slam finals, win an Olympic Silver Medal, reach
the No.1 spot, which close to 99% of fans did not expect would happen this
year. It has truly been an unbelievable season for her this year, and she did a very great job.
 |
| Kerber with her US Open trophy. Photo by Getty Images |
· Karolina
Pliskova’s footwork drastically improved this year, and managed to reach her 1st
Grand Slam final at this year’s US Open despite not passing the third round of
any Grand Slam before this.
· Kiki
Bertens had to reach at least the fourth round of a Grand Slam before the
Olympics Qualification Period ends to qualify for the Rio Olympics, as
according to the criteria set by the Netherlands Tennis Federation. She was
faced with a very tough draw, but still produced a magical run by defeating
Angelique Kerber, who would go on to reach 3 of the 4 Grand Slam finals this
year and be the World No.1. She followed it up with a win over Camila Giorgi, a
former Top 30 player, and then Daria Kasatkina, a WTA Rising Star, in a match
that ended 10-8 in the final set. Furthermore, she beat Madison Keys, who would
enter the Top 10 later that year, and former semifinalist Timea Bacsinszky to
reach the semifinal. However, she lost to Serena Williams in the semifinal in a
tight match due to a calf injury.
· Dominika
Cibulkova created a massive upset when she won the WTA Finals, defeating World
No.1 Angelique Kerber in the final. She also managed to defeat Svetlana
Kuznetsova in a three-set thriller in the semifinals.
 |
| Cibulkova with her WTA Finals title. Photo by WTA |
Rising Stars
We also
saw rising stars in Daria Kasatkina, Madison Keys, Jelena Ostapenko, etc.
trying to fight with the world’s bests and they made great progress over this
year. These young stars are able to fight with the best, and that can be seen
when young players such as Kasatkina defeated veterans Venus Williams and
Roberta Vinci. Madison Keys, another rising star, reached the Top 10 in the
rankings for the first time in her career and also qualified for the WTA Finals
for the first time in her career. She definitely has a great future ahead of
her and I can see her winning Grand Slam titles. These young rising stars are
on the rise, and be prepared to see them excelling on the tour next year. It
has been a pleasure seeing the rising stars, who would be the future World
No.1s and Grand Slam champions.
 |
| Keys with her title in Birmingham which got her into the Top 10. Photo by Getty Images |
Veterans / Comeback Players
Many
veterans like Zhang Shuai, Elena Vesnina, Svetlana Kuznetsova, etc. also
returned to top form again, coming back to vie for more titles. Vesnina reached
her 1st Grand Slam semifinal, Zhang, who considered retiring, won
her 1st ever match at a Grand Slam and reaching the quarterfinals of
the Australian Open, and Kuznetsova broke back into the Top 10. It has been
inspiring to see players like Kuznetsova to come back from an injury that kept
them out for a long period of time and to be successful again. It is like
having a 2nd career; starting again and refreshed and trying to work
the way from the bottom to the top. Kuznetsova even qualified for the WTA
Finals, and her success is definitely an inspiration for most. There are TONS
of veterans coming back to fight for more in 2017, and that include many former
World No.1s and Grand Slam champions! Another successful example is Dominika
Cibulkova, who rose from No.66 in February to No.5 after the WTA Finals, and
that alone is an inspiration to many people.
 |
| Zhang at the Australian Open. Photo by Australian Open |
Upsets
There were
many upsets during the season this year, and that could be both positive and
negative. The positive thing is that the quality of players on tour is becoming
closer and closer and the fight would be more intense. However, the negative
thing is that, without the 3 top players (Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova,
Victoria Azarenka), other top players could not uphold the quality a Top 10
player should have, and the level of the top players have decreased. For
example, in Dubai, all the seeds fell in their opening match despite it being a premier event. Also, in Madrid,
a premier mandatory event with all of the top players attending, only 1 seed
managed to progress to the quarterfinals.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Highlights of the season
(January)
-
ASB
Classic
o
Jelena
Ostapenko vs Naomi Broady
§
There
was drama between these 2 players when Ostapenko was frustrated and
accidentally threw her racket at the ballboy after she failed to reach to a
shot. Broady was protesting against the umpire to default Ostapenko because of
her actions, but the umpire did not do so. Broady then saved match points to
win the match, and when they shook hands at the net, Broady told Ostapenko that
she hit the ballboy with her racket, and she also received much support from
fellow players on social media after the match. (For full report, please go to this website.)
 |
| Ostapenko at the match against Broady. Photo by Photosport |
o
Resurgence
of the former World No.1 Victoria Azarenka
§
She
proved that once again she could beat the best after she won the title in
Brisbane, defeating soon-to-be World No.1 and Australian Open champion
Angelique Kerber in the final. After this win, she was the favourite for the
title in Melbourne.
 |
| Azarenka's title in Brisbane. Photo by Brisbane International |
-
Australian
Open
o
Angelique Kerber’s rise
§
No
one expected Kerber to win the title. But she defied all the odds and defeated
the heavy favourite Serena Williams, who was going for her 22nd
Grand Slam title. Had Williams won, she would have tied Steffi Graf’s record
for the most number of Grand Slam singles titles won in the open era. Kerber
saved a match point in the first round against Misaki Doi, had she lost that
match, would she still reach the final of Wimbledon and won the US Open? Would
she have been the World No.1 and an Olympic silver medallist? That saved match
point was probably the turning point of Kerber’s career, and that paved the way
for every success Kerber had this season. For Serena, could it be nerves
getting to her? After all, breaking a record that no one has broken before has
a massive amount of pressure especially when she was the heavy favourite to win
it.
 |
| The moment when Kerber won the Australian Open. Photo by Reuters |
o
Rise
of Zhang Shuai
§
Zhang
Shuai has never won a match at a Grand Slam. For the first time in her career,
she won a match at a Grand Slam. Ranked No.133, she won it against the World
No.2 Simona Halep to create a massive upset. She then powered through the draw;
defeating Alize Cornet, Varvara Lepchenko, Madison Keys to reach the
quarterfinals. There, she faced another Grand Slam quarterfinal debutant
Johanna Konta. She ran out of steam after winning 7 matches in a row including
qualifying, losing in straight sets.
(February)
- Fed
Cup
o
Netherlands
defeats Russia
§
Netherlands
Fed Cup team produced an upset that no one expected them to, by defeating
powerhorses Russia in the first round of the Fed Cup World Group. Russia sent
out veteran Svetlana Kuznetsova and former Top 10 player Ekaterina Makarova,
but they won none of their matches after the underdogs sent out the spirited
Kiki Bertens and Richel Hogenkamp to upset them. Hogenkamp and Kuznetsova also
played a match that lasted 4 hours long, which is the longest match of Fed Cup
history.
-
St.
Petersburg
o
Belinda
Bencic enters Top 10
§
Youngster
Belinda Bencic finally entered the Top 10 with some impressive runs recently,
and reached the final in St. Petersburg to enter the Top 10 for the first time
in her career.
-
Dubai
o
All
seeds losing their opening round match
§
At
the Dubai Tennis Championships, all the 8 seeds lost their opening round match.
This phenomenon has not happened in the history of any ATP or WTA event, and
this was the first time that it happened.
o
Roberta
Vinci enters Top 10
§
Despite
losing her opening round match in Dubai, other players’ performances allowed
the veteran to enter the Top 10 for the first time in her career after an
incredible half a year which included a run to the final of the US Open.
-
Qatar
o
Resurgence
of Elena Vesnina
§
Elena
Vesnina had her breakthrough of the season at the Qatar Open, having her
career-best win over Simona Halep and also defeating Caroline Wozniacki to
reach the quarterfinals only to lose to Carla Suarez Navarro.
(March)
-
(Happened
at the Australian Open)
o
Maria
Sharapova failing a drug test
§
Maria
Sharapova shocked the whole world when she held a press conference to inform
everyone that she had failed a drug test at the Australian Open, after taking a
prohibited substance called Meldonium / Mildronate. She said that she have been
taking Meldonium for 10 years due to various health conditions, and did not
know that the substance was banned starting from this year. She failed to check
the new anti-doping drugs list at the end of last year, and therefore continued
taking Meldonium. She received little support from her colleagues, and received
a provisional suspension of 2 years until a hearing from ITF was held.
-
Indian
Wells and Miami
o
Victoria
Azarenka achieving the sunshine double
 |
| Trophy ceremony in Indian Wells. Photo by BNP Paribas Open |
beating both Serena Williams, Angelique Kerber, Garbine Muguruza and many more quality players like Svetlana Kuznetsova during this stretch.
-
Miami
o
Svetlana
Kuznetsova’s run to the final
§
Svetlana
Kuznetsova produced very excellent results over the 2 weeks in Miami, reaching
the final having defeated World No.1 Serena Williams, Ekaterina Makarova, and
Timea Bacsinszky, all of which are former Top 10 players. However, she ran out
of steam in the final where Azarenka was just too good for her.
(April)
-
Stuttgart
o
Incredible
run by Laura Siegemund
§
Laura
Siegemund reached the final of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, defeating 3
straight Top 10 players in Simona Halep, Roberta Vinci and Agnieszka Radwanska,
all in straight sets, achieving her first Top 10 wins that did not involve a
retirement.
-
Istanbul
o
Buyukakcay
winning her 1st title
§
Cagla
Buyukakcay won her 1st WTA Title, and her country’s first ever WTA
Title. What made it even more special is that she won it in her home country,
letting her home fans witness history. She is definitely an inspiration for all
the tennis fans in Turkey, after achieving so many firsts for Turkey in tennis.
 |
| Buyukakcay with her record breaking 1st WTA Title. Photo by Getty Images |
(May)
-
Madrid
o
Disappointing
performance from top players
§
At
a Premier Mandatory tournament in Madrid, all the top players were expected to
attend and excel. However, only 1 of the 16 seeds progressed to the
quarterfinals, which showed that the top players are now performing not as good
as before. There has been claims that without the “3 big sisters” of the WTA
(Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka), the level and quality
of tennis in the WTA is dropping drastically.
-
Rome
o
Serena
Williams wins her first title of the year
§
Serena
Williams finally won her 1st title of the year in Rome. Many were
surprised that Williams did not win a title this year until now, as she has won
a title in January every year since 2011. Could this be a sign that her
dominance is over?
 |
| Serena with her title in Rome. Photo by Reuters |
(June)
-
Paris
o
Muguruza
defeats Williams to win her 1st ever Grand Slam title
§
Garbine
Muguruza defeated Serena Williams at Roland Garros for the second time in her
career, to win her 1st Grand Slam title. Williams once again failed
to win a Grand Slam final after losing in the final of the Australian Open to
Angelique Kerber. Is Serena really feeling the pressure?
 |
| Muguruza with her 1st Grand Slam title in Paris. Photo by Getty Images |
-
(Happened
at the Australian Open)
o
Maria
Sharapova suspension
§
The
ITF ruled that Maria Sharapova, who was suspended for taking Meldonium, would
be banned for 2 years. Sharapova felt that the decision was too harsh, and
immediately appealed to CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport)
-
Birmingham
o
Madison
Keys enters the Top 10
§
After
winning the title in Birmingham, Madison Keys enters the Top 10 for the first
time in her career. This was the first time that there were 3 American women in
the Top 10 of the WTA Rankings since 2005.
-
Wimbledon
o
Serena
Williams wins her 22nd Grand Slam title
§
Serena
Williams finally won her 22nd Grand Slam singles title, matching
Steffi Graf’s record. She performed really well at Wimbledon, including a 48
minute destruction of Elena Vesnina in the semifinals. Many fellow players also
congratulated her on social media for her win and making history once again.
 |
| Williams with her 22nd Grand Slam title. Photo by Reuters. |
(July)
-
Stanford
o
Johanna
Konta wins her 1st title
§
Johanna
Konta wins her 1st ever WTA Title by beating Venus Williams in the
final. Konta showed some nerves during the final when she was up 7-5, 4-1 and
lost the second set. However, Konta calmed herself down and managed to win the
final set and the title. This is Konta’s first WTA Title, and there would
definitely be more to come.
 |
| Konta with her 1st ever WTA Title. Photo by AP |
(August)
-
Rio
Olympics
o
Monica
Puig shocks the whole world
§
Monica
Puig shocked the whole world by winning the first ever gold medal for her
country, Puerto Rico, in the singles event. She became the first female
medallist for her country, and this would definitely go down as one of the
biggest upsets in the history of tennis. She managed to upset Garbine Muguruza,
Petra Kvitova and Angelique Kerber along the way to the Gold Medal.
 |
| The Medal Podium in Rio. Photo by Getty Images |
o
Russia
wins their first gold in Women’s Doubles
§
Ekaterina
Makarova and Elena Vesnina was the favourites to win the Gold Medal in Rio, and
they did it. They prevailed from a very tough field that included the Williams
sisters, Garcia/Mladenovic, Hlavackova/Hradecka, Bacsinszky/Hingis, Chan
sisters and many other quality pairings.
 |
| Makarova and Vesnina with their Gold Medal. Photo by Reuters |
-
Cincinnati
o
Pliskova
takes away No.1 dream from Kerber
§
Angelique
Kerber had to triumph in Cincinnati to take the No.1 spot away from Serena
Williams, and she was a match away. After winning the Silver Medal in Rio,
Kerber was expected to be suffering from fatigue and exit early in this
tournament. However, she defied the odds and she reached the final, being a
match away from the No.1 spot. But, Pliskova is now the one who defied all the
odds and defeated Kerber in the final which prevented her from taking the No.1
spot.
(September)
-
US
Open
o
Pliskova
gifts the No.1 spot to Kerber, and Kerber wins the US Open
§
After
Pliskova defeats Serena Williams in the semifinals of the US Open, Kerber is
confirmed to be the new World No.1 in the rankings on the next Monday. Kerber
and Pliskova met in the final, and Kerber won in 3 sets to win her 2nd
Grand Slam title this year. This time Pliskova gifts the No.1 ranking to
Kerber, when she just took it away from her 2 weeks ago. Kerber became the
first German to be the top of the WTA Rankings since Steffi Graf in the 90s.
 |
| Kerber with her US Open trophy. Photo by AP |
-
Tokyo
o
Resurgent
Wozniacki, Rising Osaka
§
The
final of the Tokyo Pan Pacific Open was contested by Caroline Wozniacki and
home favourite Naomi Osaka. Wozniacki, who was a set away from dropping out of
the Top 80 at the US Open, returned back to top form and reached the
semifinals, and now the final of this tournament. Whereas, the wildcard Naomi
Osaka defeated Dominika Cibulkova, Aliaksandra Sasnovich and Elina Svitolina to
reach her 1st ever WTA Final. In the end, Wozniacki won the final
and her 24th WTA Title.
 |
| Wozniacki with her title in Tokyo. Photo by Reuters |
-
Wuhan
o
Resurgent
Kvitova
§
Petra
Kvitova looked to be on top form, when she won the title in Wuhan. She managed
to defeat World No.1 Angelique Kerber in a match that lasted 3 hours and 28
minutes, Ostapenko, Svitolina, Konta, Halep, and Cibulkova in the final. It was
a fantastic string of wins, especially when 5 of the 6 players she defeated
were in the Top 20.
 |
| Kvitova's triumph in Wuhan. Photo by Getty Images |
(October)
-
Beijing
o
Johanna
Konta enters the Top 10
§
Johanna
Konta enters the Top 10 in the rankings for the first time in her career after
reaching the final in Beijing, which also boosted her chances of qualifying for
the year-end WTA Finals. Her run included wins over Karolina Pliskova, whom she
have not beaten before, Zhang Shuai and Madison Keys.
-
Tianjin
o
Return
of Peng Shuai
§
Peng
Shuai, who reached the US Open semifinals in 2014, came back from an injury
that kept her out of action for close to a year. Peng Shuai has been quite
lucky in Tianjin; receiving a walkover in the first round and the quarterfinals
and needing to play only 3 matches to win the title. Nevertheless, Peng Shuai
played very well all week long and managed to win her 1st ever WTA
Title in her career, having previously fell in 6 WTA finals.
 |
| Peng with her 1st ever WTA Title. Photo by Tianjin Open |
-
Moscow
o
Magical
Run of Svetlana Kuznetsova
§
Svetlana
Kuznetsova produced a magical run in Moscow, knowing that she had to win the
title to qualify for the WTA Finals. She handled the pressure well, and managed
to defend her title to successfully qualify for the WTA Finals which allowed
her to kick Konta out of the 8th and final position.
 |
| Svetlana Kuznetsova with her title in Moscow. Photo by AFP |
-
Singapore
o
Cibulkova’s
dream tournament
§
Dominika
Cibulkova, who was ranked as low as No.66 in the world in February after a
comeback from an Achilles injury, debuted at the WTA Finals with an outside
chance of winning the title. Going 1-2 in the Round Robin stage, Cibulkova shocked
everyone when she defeated Kuznetsova despite being down and out in the 1st
set. Kuznetsova led 4-2 in the final set and had game points for 5-2, but
Cibulkova managed to take the last 4 games of the match to win this thriller. Cibulkova
then played the match of her life after she defeated World No.1 Angelique
Kerber in the final.
o
WTA
Streaming Services
§
Many
fans were excited when WTA announced that they would have a new streaming
platform called the “WTA Networks” that would commence on 1st
January 2017, and all the WTA Matches would be televised. However, CEO Steve
Simon days later announced that the streaming services would not be available
in the first quarter of 2017, leaving many fans shocked and disappointed.
However, fans can still watch the matches if their local broadcasters have
bought the rights to broadcast the matches.
(November)
-
Zhuhai
o
Kvitova’s
run in Asia continues
§
Petra
Kvitova, who had deep runs in both Wuhan and Beijing, continued her dream run
in Zhuhai by winning the tournament without losing a set, keeping her on track
for a return to the Top 10 early next year.
-
Strasbourg
o
Czech
Republic wins Fed Cup for the 3rd consecutive year
§
Czech
Republic defeated France 3-2 to win their 3rd consecutive Fed Cup
title after around 11 hours of action played over 2 days. Pliskova defeated
Mladenovic in a Fed Cup classic match that lasted for 3 hours and 48 minutes,
the longest ever match in Fed Cup history. Garcia managed to create 2 upsets over
Kvitova and Pliskova to give France a 2-1 lead, but Strycova defeated Cornet in
straight sets to make it level again. The doubles match was played by the World
No.1 pair of Mladenovic and Garcia up against Pliskova and Strycova, with all 4
players being unbeaten in doubles when playing Fed Cup. Pliskova and Strycova
managed to upset the No.1 pairing and capture Czech Republic’s 3rd
successive Fed Cup title.
 |
| Czech Republic won their 5th Fed Cup in 6 years. Photo by AFP. |