Tennis.World.Craze's WTA Match of the Year #1 Dominika Cibulkova vs Agnieszka Radwanska

Agnieszka Radwanska 3-6, 7-5, 7-9 Dominika Cibulkova (Wimbledon R4)

The rivalry between Dominika Cibulkova and Agnieszka Radwanska continued into 2016, meeting for 4 times this year with all the meetings going to 3 sets. They met in Indian Wells, where Radwanska saved match points to come out victorious, Madrid, where Cibulkova came from a break down in the final set to win, and in Eastbourne where Cibulkova came out victorious despite being a set and a break down.

Tennis.World.Craze's WTA Match of the Year #2 Angelique Kerber vs Petra Kvitova

Angelique Kerber 7-6 (12-10), 5-7, 4-6 Petra Kvitova (Wuhan Open R3)

Kerber came into the match as the big favourite, especially when she just won the US Open and became the World No.1, defeating Kvitova along the way. This was Kerber’s first tournament as the new World No.1, and she would want to cement her position at the top with a strong showing in Wuhan.

Tennis.World.Craze's WTA Match of the Year #3 Sloane Stephens vs Dominika Cibulkova

Sloane Stephens 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7-5) Dominika Cibulkova (Acapulco Final) 

This match was Stephens’ 2^nd final of the year, having previously winning the title in Auckland earlier in January. Stephens is unbeaten in finals, having won all 2 of her finals in her career. Cibulkova, who is ranked 66^th, was a member of the Top 10 and have reached the Australian Open final in 2014 before suffering from an Achilles injury that kept her out of action for close to half a year.

Tennis.World.Craze's WTA Match of the Year #4 Serena Williams vs Angelique Kerber

Serena Williams 4-6, 6-3, 4-6 Angelique Kerber (Australian Open Final)

Serena Williams comes into the match as the big favourite, as she goes for her 22^nd Grand Slam title against a left-handed opponent in Angelique Kerber, whom she has a 5-1 head to head record advantage over. The only time Williams faced a left-handed player in a Grand Slam final was against Lucie Safarova at the 2015 French Open, and she faced a lot of problems against Safarova. Would it be the same against Kerber? Would Kerber, participating in her 1^st ever Grand Slam final, feel the pressure?

Tennis.World.Craze's WTA Match of the Year #5 Svetlana Kuznetsova vs Agnieszka Radwanska

Svetlana Kuznetsova 7-5, 1-6, 7-5 Agnieszka Radwanska (Singapore WTA Finals RR)

These two players had had some tough matches in the past, with their most recent encounter being in Wuhan where Kuznetsova prevailed in a 2 hours and 51 minutes thriller after saving a match point. Their head-to-head may come to as a surprise to some people, as it stands at 12-4 to Kuznetsova’s advantage. In 2 of their past 3 meetings, the winner have saved match points and won the match. Radwanska knew that in order to win this match, she had had to be more offensive and attack on the slow second serves of Kuznetsova. For Kuznetsova, it would be tough to adapt to the conditions of the Singapore Indoor Stadium Court as she only arrived in Singapore on Sunday after she triumphed in Moscow to be able to qualify for this event. However, Kuznetsova, known for her agility and good stamina, has won the most 3 set matches on the WTA Tour this year despite her age, and thus fatigue should not be of a major problem for her.

Tennis.World.Craze's WTA Match of the Year #6 Roberta Vinci vs Agnieszka Radwanska

Roberta Vinci 6-3, 2-6, 3-6 Agnieszka Radwanska (Doha QF)

This match is definitely 1 of the best matches in the year, with both players winning more than 60 net points combined in the match, which can be considered very impressive. Both players also had more winners than unforced errors, making it feel like the points were being won than being lost.

Tennis.World.Craze's WTA Match of the Year #7 Karolina Pliskova vs Venus Williams

Karolina Pliskova 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 Venus Williams

This match was a thriller between 2 big servers and hard-hitters, with both players able to hit serves that go faster than 115 mph. Their previous encounter was in Zhuhai, where Venus Williams prevailed in a tough 2 sets battle that ended 7-5, 7-6 to capture the inaugural WTA Elite Trophy and secure her place in the Year-end Top 10 rankings last year. 

Tennis.World.Craze's WTA Match of the Year #8 Daria Kasatkina vs Venus Williams

Daria Kasatkina 5-7, 6-4, 8-10 Venus Williams

It was a battle between youth and experience, with Kasatkina being a newbie on tour and Venus being a veteran having won 7 Grand Slams in her career. They met only once previously, with Kasatkina upsetting Venus in 3 sets at Auckland for her 1st ever Top 10 win in their first match of 2016. 

Tennis.World.Craze's WTA Match of the Year #9 Monica Puig vs Angelique Kerber

Monica Puig 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 Angelique Kerber

Monica Puig managed to create history when she won the Olympics final against World No.2 and heavy favourite Angelique Kerber, becoming the first Puerto Rico woman to ever win a medal at the Olympics, and the first person from Puerto Rico to win a gold medal.

Tennis.World.Craze's WTA Match of the Year #10 Karolina Pliskova vs Krisitna Mladenovic

Kristina Mladenovic 3-6, 6-4, 14-16 Karolina Pliskova (Fed Cup Final Rubber 1)

Many were shocked when the French Tennis Federation chose to play on indoors hard courts, instead of indoors clay courts, which the French players have an advantage on. The courts in Strasbourg looked pretty fast as compared to the rest of the hard court events on the tour, and that gave an advantage to Czech Republic as their crucial players like Petra Kvitova and Karolina Pliskova are hard hitters and prefer fast surfaces. Nevertheless, the French team also has hard hitters like Kristina Mladenovic and Caroline Garcia, which makes this tie even more exciting.

The draw was conducted in a local parliament the day before, and it saw Kristina Mladenovic, the French No.2 start against the Czech No.1 and her good friend Karolina Pliskova. Following that match is the French No.1 player Caroline Garcia facing Czech No.2 and recent Zhuhai Elite Trophy winner Petra Kvitova.

Tennis.World.Craze's WTA Match of the Year #11 Monica Puig vs Kristyna Pliskova

Monica Puig 4-6, 7-6 (8-6), 9-7 Kristyna Pliskova (Australian Open R2)

Monica Puig comes into this match as the favourite, coming off her career best performance at the Sydney International, reaching the final only to suffer a one-sided loss to Svetlana Kuznetsova. While Puig has her career best performance, Kristyna Pliskova has come into the match with a shock victory over home favourite Samantha Stosur in straight sets.

Tennis.World.Craze's WTA Match of the Year #12 Ekaterina Makarova vs Petra Kvitova

Petra Kvitova 5-7, 6-7 Ekaterina Makarova

Kvitova and Makarova faced off many times in their career, with Makarova winning their last encounter in a tough straight sets win at the Miami Open. It was a blockbuster 2^nd round encounter as both players were ranked in the Top 10 in the last year, but Makarova had some injury problems and soon fell out of the Top 10.

Tennis.World.Craze's WTA Match of the Year #13 Victoria Azarenka vs Garbine Muguruza

Victoria Azarenka 7-6, 7-6 Garbine Muguruza (Miami R4)

This match was definitely a match to watch as it was the first ever meeting between Victoria Azarenka and Garbine Muguruza. This match-up may as well be the future main rivalry of the WTA as both players are tipped to stay at the top for many more years.

Tennis.World.Craze's WTA Match of the Year #14 Angelique Kerber vs Karolina Pliskova

Angelique Kerber 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 Karolina Pliskova

Pliskova contested in her 1st ever Grand Slam final after a magical run which saw her defeat both the Williams sisters, and she faced the brand new World No.1 Angelique Kerber in the final. Kerber won the thrilling final to win her 2nd Grand Slam of the year and cemented her position as the World No.1. 

Tennis.World.Craze's WTA Match of the Year #15 Svetlana Kuznetsova vs Karolina Pliskova

Svetlana Kuznetsova 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (8-6) Karolina Pliskova 

Svetlana Kuznetsova’s dream run continues after surviving a tough battle against the US Open finalist Karolina Pliskova. She came from *6-5 *30-0 down in the final set to win the match and progress to the semifinals for the first time in her career after 5 failed attempts.

Tennis.World.Craze's WTA Match of the Year #16 Karolina Pliskova vs Garbine Muguruza

Karolina Pliskova 6-2, 6-7 (4-7), 7-5 Garbine Muguruza

This match saw a magnificent comeback from Karolina Pliskova, who came from 5-2 down in the final set and saved a match point in the path to the victory. With the benefit of hindsight, had Muguruza won this match, Muguruza would have a chance to progress to the semifinals.

Tennis.World.Craze's WTA Match of the Year #17 Agnieszka Radwanska vs Dominika Cibulkova

Agnieszka Radwanska 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 Dominika Cibulkova

This match is a thriller, seeing Radwanska coming from 5-2 down in the final set to defeat Cibulkova in 3 sets. This match also started one of the rivalries of 2016 between Radwanska and Cibulkova, which saw more 3 sets matches between them coming our way later in the season.

Tennis.World.Craze's WTA Match of the Year #18 Serena Williams vs Simona Halep

Serena Williams 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 Simona Halep

The 2^nd set was one of the best sets during the whole year, with the sole break deciding everything and that last game could possibly be the best game of 2016, lasting for 22 points. Williams was also 0/12 on break points in the whole of the 2^nd set. 

Tennis.World.Craze's WTA Match of the Year #19 Serena Williams vs Christina McHale

Serena Williams 6-7 (7-9), 6-2, 6-4 Christina McHale

Photo by AP

Tennis.World.Craze's WTA Match of the Year #20 Maria Sharapova vs Belinda Bencic

Belinda Bencic 5-7, 5-7 Maria Sharapova (Australian Open R16)

This was a blockbuster fourth round match between Sharapova and Bencic, with both players meeting for the first time in their career. Many fans have looked forward to seeing this match happening one day; with youth up against experience. Bencic, who has received a lot of spotlight despite her very young age, is the 12^th seeded player at the Australian Open while Sharapova, who used to be a teenage sensation too, is the 5^th seeded player. Sharapova managed to win her 600^th match of her career earlier in her campaign against Lauren Davis in a hard-fought 3 set match which saw Sharapova having a mid-match wobble.