Women's Tennis Association 2016

[bangkokbobby]

more pics and video on my blog: 2016 US Open Day 7: Caroline Wozniacki, Angelique Kerber Move Into Quarterfinals

Caroline Wozniacki


Not only did I watch two of my top three favorites (Madison Keys and Petra Kvitova) lose today on day 7 of the 2016 US Open, it was like watching the same match twice. Keys and Kvitova are two players with power, skill and tremendous serves. Unfortunately, those strengths are often negated by their propensity to commit unforced errors. Against a lot of players, they can get away with mistakes. Not today. Not against Caroline Wozniacki and Angelique Kerber. Styles make fights, as the saying goes. And for Maddie and Petra, there are probably no two players who are stylistically as much of a problem for both of them (well, maybe Agnieszka Radwanska). In her pre-match interview, Keys said she knew she would need to be patient but then went out and just tried to blast away as she does against everybody. That spelled 33 unforced errors for Maddie to only 7 for Caroline. Granted, Keys also hit 30 winners to just 12 for Wozniacki, but the problem is when you hit that many unforced errors, they will undoubtedly come at crucial points. They did. Same for Petra Kvitova. Although she didn’t try to rip the ball in half with every shot like Keys, Petra’s 43 unforced errors to only 8 for Kerber were the reason why Angie is moving on the quarters and Kvitova is not.

Angelique Kerber


I give all due credit to Angie and Caro. They played smart tennis. And it leaves me wondering what is next for Petra and Maddie. I’ve said for years that Petra is the most skilled player on tour. When she is on, she can beat anybody…including Serena Williams. Check out last year in Madrid. And even in this match, during the second set, there was a stretch when she looked to be climbing back into it, hitting shots for which Kerber had no answer. Angie was even getting visibly frustrated at one point. However, the inconsistency crept back into Kvitova’s game eventually. I have said over the years that when Petra puts it all together she will be world #1. But it’s been year after year of me saying that…I wonder if time is starting to turn against her. Maybe it will never happen. I worry that Madison Keys might be the next Petra Kvitova; all the talent to be the best player in the world but all of the inconsistency to prevent it from happening. Thomas Hogstedt is a great coach. It seems Maddie’s natural inclination is to avoid long rallies. He has to get her trained to play 20, 25 even 30 shots in a row. She will rarely ever play that many shots in a rally, but the training will help her deal with players who just get the ball back into play and wait for Keys to make the error. That’s really all Alison Riske and Naomi Osaka were doing. That is going to be everybody’s playbook against her. She has to take that option away from opponents. If she can do that, I have no doubt the rest of her game is good enough to be a future world #1.



2 ANGELIQUE KERBER d. 14 Petra Kvitova, 6-3 7-5


ANASTASIJA SEVASTOVA d. 13 Johanna Konta, 6-4 7-5


7 ROBERTA VINCI d. Lesia Tsurenko, 7-6 (5) 6-2


CAROLINE WOZNIACKI d. 8 Madison Keys, 6-3 6-4

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more pics and video on my blog: 2016 US Open Day 8: Ana Konjuh, Karolina Pliskova Advance With Upsets Of Agnieszka Radwanska and Venus Williams

Ana Konjuh


As much as I’ve touted potential future #1s in Garbine Muguruza, Simona Halep and Madison Keys, there are other up and coming players who could join them…or even beat them there. Two of them scored impressive wins on day 8 of the 2016 US Open. Croatia’s Ana Konjuh, an 18-year old who won the US Open junior title when she was 15, showed she is ready for the big time with a 6-4 6-4 win over #4 seed Agnieszka Radwanska. Although 4 and 4 isn’t a blowout, it was clear who the better player was on this night. She served big, hit scorching winners and actually pushed Aga around at times, which is extremely difficult to do given the Polish star’s defensive wizardry. There is a maturity to Konjuh’s game that suggests she might have the consistency that some other young guns still need to find.

Karolina Pliskova


One of those young guns that can be erratic at times is Karolina Pliskova. However, a recent title at Cincinnati (where she beat world #2 Angelique Kerber) might just be the turnaround that gets her moving back into the top 10. She is now the highest ranked player from the Czech Republic, overtaking 2-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova. Pliskova will meet Ana Konjuh in the quarterfinals after a thrilling come from behind win over future Hall of Famer Venus Williams, 4-6 6-4 7-6 (3). While the women’s top half draw quarter everybody will focus on (justifiably) is the Serena Williams versus Simona Halep showdown, I think the Pliskova versus Konjuh match could have major fireworks. For sure, these two big hitters will unload some explosive serves and sizzling groundstrokes. So yes, by all means watch Williams and Halep…but take a peek at Pliskova and Konjuh, too.





10 KAROLINA PLISKOVA d. 6 Venus Williams, 4-6 6-4 7-6 (3)




1 SERENA WILLIAMS d. Yaroslava Shvedova, 6-2 6-3




5 SIMONA HALEP d. 11 Carla Suarez Navarro, 6-2 7-5




ANA KONJUH d. 4 Agnieszka Radwanska, 6-4 6-4

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more pics on my blog: 2016 US Open Day 9: Caroline Wozniacki, Angelique Kerber First To Advance To Women’s Semifinals

Caroline Wozniacki


Angelique Kerber making it to the semifinals of the 2016 US Open…okay, that I could see coming. But Caroline Wozniacki, the former world #1 who has slipped to world #74, being there to meet Kerber in the finals? That is quite the surprise. Perhaps it shouldn’t have been. This is the Major that has seen Sunshine have her best results, reaching the final in 2009 and 2014. Although she lost those finals to Kim Clijsters and Serena Williams respectively (no shame in losing to those two), she clearly comes alive in NYC. Now, to be fair she didn’t get much of a challenge in the quaters from Anastasija Sevastova, blowing out the error prone Latvian, 6-0 6-2. This is one match after taking out an error prone Madison Keys in the fourth round. I’m just getting around to forgiving Caro for beating my favorite player Maddie. But seriously, it’s highly unlikely that Wozniacki will get 30 or more unforced errors from Kerber, who beat last year’s US Open runner-up Roberta Vinci, 7-5 6-0. So just waiting for Angie to beat herself won’t work in the semis. Can Caro find that extra gear to go for her shots against the current world #2? She will have to or Angie will make her third Major singles final of the year (to go along with the Gold Medal match at the Olympics).



2 ANGELIQUE KERBER d. 7 Roberta Vinci, 7-5 6-0






CAROLINE WOZNIACKI d. Anastasija Sevastova, 6-0 6-2

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more pics on my blog: Karolina Pliskova, Serena Williams Advance To 2016 US Open Semis

Karolina Pliskova


Ok, Karolina Pliskova. Your turn. After Simona Halep tried…and failed…to take out the world’s best tennis player, Serena Williams, in the 2016 US Open quarterfinals, it is now time for the streaking Pliskova, who came into Flushing Meadow off a big title in Cincinnati, to get her chance to unseat The Queen. Despite blowing through Ana Konjuh 6-2 6-2 in the quarterfinals, the task of taking on Serena will be a very steep climb. Karolina does not move around the court as well as Simona Halep, who to her credit at least pushed Williams to a third set before Serena put her away, 6-2 4-6 6-3. But Pliskova does have a huge serve and big forehand. I don’t know if that will be enough against the world #1. That said, it was enough in Cincinnati against world #2 Angelique Kerber. Karolina is coming into her own as a player, fulfilling the promise many see in her. But I’ll have to see her beat Serena for me to believe she can really do it.



1 SERENA WILLIAMS d. 5 Simona Halep, 6-2 4-6 6-3




10 KAROLINA PLISKOVA d. Ana Konjuh, 6-2 6-2

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more pics on my blog: Karolina Pliskova Advances To 2016 US Open Final With Dominant Win Over Serena Williams, Will Face New World #1 Angelique Kerber

Karolina Pliskova


America probably hates me because I beat Venus and Serena – Karolina Pliskova

Well, I can’t speak for all Americans, but I sure don’t hate Karolina Pliskova. Then again, I’ve always had a soft spot for Czech players dating back to Ivan Lendl and Hana Mandlikova. Only Madison Keys ranks above Petra Kvitova among active players in my fandom. My current favorite doubles pair is Team Bucie, American Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Czech player Lucie Safarova. So I’ve had my eye on Karolina Pliskova long before her run to the final at the 2016 US Open. Her 6-2 7-6 (5) win over world #1 Serena Williams is a surprise. Any straight set win over Serena would be, no matter who is on the other side of the net. The point is, to hardcore women’s tennis fans…like myself…Pliskova did not come out of nowhere. She has always been known as a huge server. On this night, she actually outserved Williams, who is often said to possess the best serve ever in the women’s game. But if you saw Karolina blow through Garbine Muguruza and world #2 Angelique Kerber a few weeks ago in Cincinnati, you saw a player who has come into her own.

Serena Williams


I called Serena the world #1. While at the moment I write this it is still true, it will no longer be so once the rankings are updated on Monday. Angelique Kerber, the Australian Open champion, Wimbledon runner-up and Olympic Silver Medalist will be the new world #1. With Angie’s 6-4 6-3 win over Caroline Wozniacki in the other US Open womens’s singles semifinal, she will do no worse than runner-up at the US Open and could add the title to her impressive 2016 resume. However, Pliskova handled Kerber easily in Cincinnati. Of course, there wasn’t the pressure of winning a Major in that final. Angie has dealt with and overcome the weight of a Major final. Karolina Pliskova seems like a laid back, chill kind of young woman. Still, we’ll see if she keeps her composure as well as she did against Serena.

10 KAROLINA PLISKOVA d. 1 Serena Williams, 6-2 7-6 (5)

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more pics on my blog: Angelique Kerber Wins 2016 US Open

Angelique Kerber


Angelique Kerber put an exclamation point on her rise to the world #1 ranking with a 6-3 4-6 6-4 victory over Karolina Pliskova to win the 2016 US Open. The 28-year old German star adds to a career best year with her second Major title, following her Australian Open win at the beginning of the season. The title at the US Open earns Kerber the first place prize of $3.5 million USD. In addition to Angie’s breakthrough in Melbourne and her rise to #1 in Flushing Meadow, she added a Silver Medal at the Olympics along with runners-up at Wimbledon, Brisbane and Cincinnati. It all adds up to Kerber joining her idol, Steffi Graf, as a world #1 from Germany. Angie is also the first German to win the US Open since Steffi Graf’s 1996 crown. She also joins Martina Navratilova and Monica Seles as the only left-handers to top the WTA singles rankings.

Angelique Kerber


Karolina Pliskova gave a great effort, pushing the championship match to 3 sets after dropping the opening set. But in the end, the steady, relentless defense from Angie just would not crumble on this day. It was probably a mistake for Pliskova to choose to serve first after winning the coin toss. It was a very nervous first game in her maiden Major final. The rising Czech star also missed some easy putaways. However, maybe that’s because playing a master of defense like Angie, who gets shot after shot after shot back, makes opponents rush their strokes. The bottom line is that there was no doubt who the best player on the court was on this day. On Monday, when the WTA rankings are updated, there will be no doubt who the new Queen of Tennis is…at least for now. We’ll see how Serena Williams responds to losing her #1 ranking. We’ll soon find out if Maria Sharapova comes back in January of 2017 or has to sit out longer. What form will Victoria Azarenka be in when she returns from giving birth? Don’t forget that Vika beat Angie in the final at Brisbane and Serena in the final of Indian Wells…not to mention winning the Indian Wells/Miami double. I take nothing away from Kerber, but a healthy Sharapova and Azarenka does shift the balance of power in the women’s game. That’s something to ponder for next year. There is no more dispute about who the best player of 2016 is. Even if she doesn’t win another match the rest of the year, that title goes to Angelique Kerber.



2 ANGELIQUE KERBER d. 10 Karolina Pliskova, 6-3 4-6 6-4

[bangkokbobby]

more pics and video on my blog: WTA Top 5 Rankings 9.12.2016; Angelique Kerber 2016 US Open Champion’s Photocall

Angelique Kerber


All Hail The New Queen! With the release of the new WTA rankings following the 2016 US Open, Angelique Kerber is officially the new world #1 in single. She also takes over the top spot on the money list as well. It’s been an unpredictable year in women’s tennis. Back in January, I could never have envisioned Victoria Azarenka out of the game, expecting her first child, Maria Sharapova on suspension for a substance I had never heard of before but apparently is all the rage in certain countries or Serena losing her #1 ranking to Angelique Kerber. But all of that has happened. And there is still a fall season leading into the Tour Championships still to be played. Who knows what else is in store? I can’t wait to see.







PRIZE MONEY (includes singles, doubles and mixed)

1. Angelique Kerber, $8,565,772

2. Serena Williams, $7,675,030

3. Karolina Pliskova, $3,281,028

4. Simona Halep, $3,146,587

5. Garbine Muguruza, $2,894,412



SINGLES RANKINGS

1. Angelique Kerber, 8730

2. Serena Williams, 7050

3. Garbine Muguruza, 5830

4. Agnieszka Radwanska, 5815

5. Simona Halep, 4801



ROAD TO SINGAPORE – SINGLES

1. Angelique Kerber, 7801

2. Serena Williams, 7050

3. Simona Halep, 4259

4. Karolina Pliskova, 3877

5. Agnieszka Radwanska, 3701

Sania Mirza


DOUBLES

1. Sania Mirza, 9730

2. Martina Hingis, 9725

3. Kristina Mladenovic, 7105

4. Caroline Garcia, 7080

5. Elena Vesnina, 5780

ANGELIQUE KERBER, Champions Photocall and Media Tour








with Stan Wawrinka

[bangkokbobby]

more pics and video on my blog: Caroline Wozniacki Wins 2016 Toray Pan Pacific Open

Caroline Wozniacki


Building on her improved play over the summer, Caroline Wozniacki won her first tournament of the season at the 2016 Toray Pan Pacific Open. The former world #1, a semifinalist at the US Open earlier this month, took out Japan’s Naomi Osaka in the Tokyo final, 7-5 6-3. After being down 5-7 0-5, Osaka rallied to 3-5 in the final set but couldn’t quite pull even. Still, Caro was full of praise for the up and coming Japanese/Haitian player, who will turn 19 next month. Wozniacki, only 26 herself despite feeling like she has been around forever, had a strong run to the title, defeating Belinda Bencic, Carla Suarez Navarro and #2 seed Agnieszka Radwanska. Although it wasn’t too long ago that some were writing Sunshine off as past her glory days, with the tour in a state of flux at the moment, if Wozniacki can continue to play as she has this summer and into the fall, the Danish star could still be a Major threat moving forward.







CAROLINE WOZNIACKI d. Naomi Osaka, 7-5 6-3

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more pics and video on my blog: Petra Kvitova Wins 2016 Wuhan Open; Team Bucie Takes Doubles Title

Petra Kvitova


Every time I think I’m ready to give up on the potential of Petra Kvitova, she has a week like this where not only does she win, she dispatches top competition like the #1 player I have long thought she could be. En route to her 2nd Wuhan Open title, she had a showdown with new world #1 Angelique Kerber, taking her out 6-4 in the third set of a instant classic. Once Petra is feeling confident, watch out. She went on to mow through Simona Halep (6-1, 6-2) and Dominika Cibulkova (6-1, 6-1) for her 18th career WTA singles title. And there’s the rub for me.

Petra Kvitova


At 26 years old, Petra Kvitova will be entering the 2nd half of her career next year. 18 titles is a lot, but I look at two of my other all-time favorites, Kim Clijsters and Maria Sharapova. Masha has 35 titles (including 5 Majors) at 29, and that includes missing huge parts of several seasons with injury…not to mention her current suspension. Kim Clijsters won 41 titles (including 4 Majors) despite retiring early, having a child, coming back and then retiring young again (Kim is only 33 now having retired a few seasons ago, younger than Serena Williams). Both Clijsters and Sharapova were world #1s. As much as it hurts me to say this, because I’m such a big Kimmie and Masha fan, Petra Kvitova is more talented than both of them. But unless she plays like she did this week in Wuhan on a more consistent basis, she won’t come close to matching their achievements. Why does that matter? It doesn’t. She can keep on as she has. It’s just as a fan of tennis, when you see somebody with this kind of special ability, it’s only natural to want to see it fulfilled. Think of it this way, at 26 and healthy, Kvitova was seeded 14th in Wuhan. 14th! She was seeded lower than Cibulkova. At this point in her career, there is no reason for Petra to be seeded or ranked (16th) that low.

Team Bucie


Don’t get me wrong, I am thrilled to see Petra win again. I’m always thrilled to see her succeed, just as I am always thrilled to see my current favorite doubles team, Lucie Safarova and Bethanie Mattek-Sands, win another championship together. Seeded 5th, Team Bucie took out the 3rd seeds, Sania Mirza and Barbora Strycova, 6-1 6-4 in the final. Fresh off their US Open title (their 3rd Major doubles title together), Safarova and Mattek-Sands will be heading to Singapore for the WTA finals, despite only playing seven events together this season.





5 LUCIE SAFAROVA/BETHANIE MATTEK-SANDS d. 3 Sania Mirza/Barbora Strycova, 6-1 6-4








14 PETRA KVITOVA d. 10 Dominika Cibulkova, 6-1 6-1

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more pics and video on my blog: WTA Players Step Out At 2016 China Open Players Party

Garbine Muguruza


I don’t know if Garbine Muguruza will successfully defend her title at the 2016 China Open, but she was certainly a winner on the red carpet, as all the ladies of the WTA were. Play has already started at this event, with Venus Williams, Carla Suarez Navarro and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova all being first round seeded upset victims. As always, while I love all the players, I am pulling for big things from Madison Keys, Petra Kvitova and Simona Halep.





Louisa Chirico (USA)


Team Bucie/Lucie Safarova (Czech Republic) and Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA)


Martina Hingis (Switzerland)


Misaki Doi (Japan)


CHAN Haoching (Taiwan)


Shelby Rogers


Caroline Wozniacki

[bangkokbobby]

from my blog: Maria Sharapova Suspension Reduced To 15 Months, Eligible To Return April 26th, 2017

Maria Sharapova


The Court of Arbitration for Sports handed 5-time Major winner Maria Sharapova one of her biggest career victories by lowering her 2-year meldonium suspension to 15 months. Keep in mind that the ITF was said to have originally wanted to deal Masha a 4-year suspension, effectively a career death sentence in singles at her age, but came down to 2 years. 15 months, as opposed to 18 months (a year and a half), means Sharapova will be back in time for Roland Garros, the year’s second Major, which she has won twice. She can return to the tour on April 26th, 2017.



2014 Roland Garros Champion's Photoshoot


The CAS found Masha to bear no “significant fault”…but some fault, which is why the suspension was not completely voided. They were of the opinion that Sharapova was open about her use of mildronate (a brand name for meldonium) and did not try to cheat. However, she failed to have her team check if mildronate was a brand name of any of the substances on the list. Keep in mind that for the years that she took this substance, it was legal…until January 2016. She claims to have not been aware of the new status of mildronate. Basically, the CAS believed her but still upheld part of the ban since it was still her responsibility to know.



2014 Stuttgart Champion


WTA CEO Steve Simon says that while Masha will have to rebuild her ranking, she will be eligible to receive an unlimited number of wildcards into events. I can’t imagine any tournament director will want to make a moral statement by denying her entry into their event. Other players, however, could be a different case. Will there be any quickie handshakes at the net…or maybe even somebody refusing to shake her hand? I had no problem with people being cross with Masha as it related to using a banned substance, whether it was inadvertent or not. What bothered me as a Sharapova fan was some people going beyond the court to talk about her personality and kick her while she was down. There was an inordinate amount of schadenfreude coming from lower ranked players that couldn’t carry her racquet bag. If Masha is even 75% of what she was before the suspension when she gets back, those lower ranked players will learn she didn’t need any help to beat them.



2012 Roland Garros Champion


As so the fourth player on my current Mt. Rushmore of favorites will be coming back sooner than I hoped. Of those four, Masha, Petra Kvitova, Simona Halep and top fave Madison Keys, Sharapova is the oldest. I am happy to see her have the opportunity to come back, as the clock is running out on her time as a top player. After being gone for 15-months, she probably will lose some matches out of the gate that she normally would not. Hopefully she can start hitting her stride by the summer American hard court US Open series. Welcome back, Masha!

Not quite back in 5 minutes, but good enough!

[bangkokbobby]

Masha had been three highest paid female athlete in the world for about a decade until her suspension. While some sponsors distanced themselves, others stood by Sharapova... such as Evian and Head. That's why she was at the Evian Championship hanging out with Lydia Ko. She even sent Lydia some Sugarpova candies (which I can attest are pretty good).

[bangkokbobby]

more pics and video on my blog: Agnieszka Radwanska Wins 2016 China Open; Team Bucie On A Roll In Doubles

Agnieszka Radwanska


Agnieszka Radwanska was her usually precise and controlled self in winning the 2016 China Open. Keeping her unforced errors to a minimum, the Polish star defeated Johanna Konta, 6-4 6-2. For Aga, it marked her 2nd China Open title and 20th career singles title. She didn’t drop a set in winning the championship in Beijing and early on looked like she was going to easily dismiss Konta as she went out to a 5-2 first set lead. But you have to give Johanna credit for fighting back to 5-4 before Radwanska finally closed out the opening set. From there, the outcome was never in doubt. Aga will go on to the WTA Finals in Singapore, an event she won last year, while Konta moves into the last qualifying spot for the moment. There are still some possible changes in the next week that could affect whether Johanna is in Singapore as a main draw player or an alternate.

Team Bucie


Scheduling might prevent them from playing together as much as we fans would like, but when Team Bucie takes the court, winning usually follows. Lucie Safarova and Bethanie Mattek-Sands beat top seeds Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic, 6-4 6-4, to capture the 2016 China Open doubles title. This is Team Bucie’s third straight championship, following wins at the US Open and Wuhan. Seeded 5th in Beijing, Safarova and Mattek-Sands will not be the top seed at the WTA Finals in Singapore, but they are clearly the hottest team going into the tournament.





5 LUCIE SAFAROVA/BETHANIE MATTEK-SANDS d. 1 Caroline Garcia/Kristina Mladenovic, 6-4 6-4






3 AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA d. 11 Johanna Konta, 6-4 6-2

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more pics on my blog: Maria Sharapova Joins Other Legends Of Tennis At WTT Smash Hits Charity Event

Maria Sharapova


On a night when legendary tennis players Billie Jean King, John McEnroe and Martina Navratilova were on the court, along with stars Andy Roddick and Mark Philippoussis, all eyes were on Maria Sharapova at the 2016 World Team Tennis Smash Hits Charity Event in Las Vegas. Still banned from WTA events due to her ITF suspension, this is as close to seeing Masha in any sort of on-court competition as fans will get until she returns to the tour in April 2017. No matter, it was just fun to see Sharapova out there, and playing mixed doubles with John McEnroe against a team of Andy Roddick and Martina Navratilova. Masha looked good. She had a terrific time laughing with her tennis peers. I can’t wait until she is back on a regular basis.





Mark Philippoussis, Maria Sharapova, Billie Jean King, John McEnroe and Taylor Johnson

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more pics and video on my blog: 2016 WTA Finals Preview

Madison Keys, Karolina Pliskova, Agnieszka Radwanska, Angelique Kerber, Simona Halep and Dominika Cibulkova


Ah, my love/hate relationship with the WTA Finals. On the one hand, it’s probably my favorite event outside of the Olympics and US Open. But it also means the end of the year is near. And what a year it has been. I would never have guessed back on January 1st that Angelique Kerber would end the season as the world #1, Player of the Year and reach 3 Major finals, winning 2. Yet that’s exactly what happened. Even if Serena Williams had chosen to play the 2016 WTA Finals in Singapore, Angie would still have been the top seed. Let me take a quick look at a few of the qualifiers for Singapore and assess their chances.

Madison Keys


With Angie being the top seed, I guess I should start with her, right? Haha! This must be your first time reading one of my tennis posts. Of course I am starting off with my two favorite players in the draw, Madison Keys and Simona Halep. Maddie’s problem is that she is in the Red Group with two players that have a style that frustrates her, Kerber and Halep. I would favor her to get out of the White Group and into the semifinals, but in the Red Group she will need to bring her A game to Singapore to get out of the round robin stage.

Simona Halep with 2016 Diamond ACES Award, given due to her off-court and charitable
activities promoting the game


Simona Halep once gave Serena Williams her worst ever loss at the WTA Finals. I don’t know if Simona will need that level of effort when she faces Angelique Kerber in the round robin of Red Group play, but it wouldn’t hurt. While fans still await Halep’s breakthrough to win a Major, a title at the WTA Finals would be nice until then…much like what Agnieszka Radwanska did in Singapore last year.

Garbine Muguruza


Garbine Muguruza is my new Petra Kvitova. The reigning Roland Garros champion can be brilliant, as she was in Paris, or go on walkabouts, as she does from time to time. Of all the players in Singapore this year, I have to admit, Madison Keys fan that I am, Garbine Muguruza is the most talented player in the draw. The problem is, like Petra, Garbi doesn’t always show it. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Mugu win this or lose all 3 of her initial White Group round robin matches.

Karolina Pliskova


The woman who aced Serena out of the 2016 US Open, Karolina Pliskova, has the biggest single weapon at this year’s WTA Finals, her serve. She led the tour in aces this year. Her court coverage and movement has improved, but it is still a weakness. She is a future Major winner, in my opinion. I just don’t think this is the year she wins the WTA Finals.

Johanna Konta with 2016 Most Improved Player trophy


Johanna Konta, the 2016 Most Improved Player winner, might be new to the party…but don’t for a second think she can’t win this. Jo isn’t my top betting pick to take the title…that would be Angie or Simona, but I would call her my top darkhorse. She was completely worthy of Most Improved Player…and there is still room to grow. A title here in Singapore would make me wonder if next year she could duplicate what Angie did this year.

Angelique Kerber with 2016 Player of the Year award


What else is there to say about what Angelique Kerber, the 2016 WTA Player of the Year, did this season? I almost feel like she could have won both Player of the Year and Most Improved. She was already a top 10 player, sure…but it was amazing to see where she was and where she went to in her game this year. I would say Singapore is hers to win or lose, except that she did show some signs of vulnerability in recent weeks. It’s one thing to chase #1 and get there. It’s another to stay there and defend your ranking.

Agnieszka Radwanska


The 2015 Singapore champion is back. Then again, why wouldn’t Agnieszka Radwanska be back. She just keeps going and going. She has yet to capture that elusive Major title, but she did win her biggest title here last year. I didn’t think she would take the title last. I will not make the mistake of underestimating the little Tennis Ninja again. It’s so wide open this year with no Serena, no Sharapova, no Azarenka and no Kvitova. I will not say anybody is incapable of winning.