5 female tennis players who made their breakthrough in 2022 ft. Elena Rybakina, Alycia Parks
While World No. 1 Iga Swiatek dominated the 2022 tennis season, there were quite a few other players who shook up the tour with some delectable performances. Some are teenagers just starting to chart their own paths, while some finally lived up to their early promise after multiple seasons of struggle.
As we look back on the season gone by, here are five names on the women's side who truly made their breakthrough in 2022:
#1. Elena Rybakina
There has never been any doubt about Elena Rybakina's immense talent. Known for her firepower, the 23-year-old always had the potential to make it big on the tennis circuit.
However, Rybakina's mentality had time and again proved to be fragile under pressure, preventing her from living up to the expectations of fans.
She started the 2022 season in promising fashion with a runner-up finish at Adelaide International 1. However, whatever little hope she had raised with that performance was soon dashed by a series of early defeats and health issues.
The 23-year-old made a brief comeback in Indian Wells, reaching the quarterfinals but promptly faded away. It was finally on the hallowed lawns of Wimbledon that her game came alive and everything clicked together.
Rybakina dropped just one set en route to the final before conceding the first set to Ons Jabeur in the summit clash. However, she bounced back spectacularly soon after with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 win to become Kazakhstan's first tennis Grand Slam champion in singles.
#2. Beatriz Haddad Maia
Brazil's Beatriz Haddad Maia was recently selected as the Most Improved Player of the Year by the WTA and was rightly so. Having started the year ranked 83rd, Haddad Maia finished the season placed at a career-high world ranking of 15.
Her 47-23 win-loss record for the just-concluded tennis season included two title wins.
Haddad Maia's first big run came at Monterrey in February, where she made the semifinals. After a brief struggle, the southpaw went on to win a WTA 125 event in Saint-Malo. She backed it up with yet another final appearance at another WTA 125 tournament in Paris but this time she lost.
Clearly, the wheels were already set in motion by then for what was to be a memorable season for the 26-year-old. Haddad Maia then went on a rampage, winning back-to-back titles at Nottingham and Birmingham, both WTA 250 events. Haddad Maia also reached the last four at Eastbourne the following week.
During the US Open Series, the Brazilian tennis ace made her biggest-ever final at the WTA 1000 National Bank Open. Haddad Maia concluded her best season ever with three more quarterfinal runs.
#3. Alycia Parks
Alycia Parks is the newest name on the horizon for American tennis. The 21-year-old Atlanta native made news last year when she tied compatriot Venus Williams' record for the fastest-ever women's serve at the US Open.
This year, she has built on it to cement herself in the top 100. In an impressive last quarter of the year, Parks first upset former World No. 1 Karolina Pliskova after qualifying for the WTA 500 competition in Ostrava. She then had her maiden top-10 scalp in seventh-ranked Maria Sakkari to reach the quarterfinals, where her campaign was ended by Barbora Krejcikova.
Parks went on to collect the doubles trophy at the same tournament in partnership with Caty McNally.
The American tennis sensation then embarked on a stupendous three-week run that saw her halve her singles world ranking from 150 to 75. At an $80,000 ITF event in Valencia, she first made the last four. Parks then followed it up with consecutive titles at WTA 125 tournaments in Andorra and Angers.
She triumphed in the doubles category in Angers alongside Zhang Shuai, which pushed her doubles ranking to 56.
#4. Linda Fruhvirtova
Rising tennis star Linda Fruhvirtova of Czech Republic had already made her presence felt with a promising junior career, where she peaked at No. 2 in the rankings.
Fruhvirtova had her breakthrough on the senior tennis circuit in 2022 with some consistent showings. She toppled World No. 24 Elise Mertens and World No. 16 Victoria Azarenka to make the last 16 in Miami.
The US Open proved to be a significant milestone for the 17-year-old as she won a main-draw match at a Major for the very first time after qualifying for the tournament.
She went a step further in her very next tournament in Chennai. With five consecutive victories, the teenager lifted her maiden tour title. The win catapulted her into the top 100 of the world rankings, helping her finish the year at 78th.
#5. Qinwen Zheng
Qinwen Zheng of China had been making heads turn for the past couple of years. But in 2022, the 20-year-old truly came into her own. Her 38-18 win-loss record for the tennis season, which included her best personal runs in each of the four Majors, corroborates that.
Zheng first made noise at the Melbourne Summer Set 1 with a semifinal appearance. She then went on to win an ITF $60,000 event in Florida.
At Roland Garros, the young tennis sensation notched up wins over Simona Halep and Alize Cornet before losing to World No. 1 Iga Swiatek in three sets in the Round of 16. After winning the WTA 125 event in Valencia, the Barcelona resident next impressed in Toronto with a run to the last eight.
Qinwen Zheng made a strong finish to her breakthrough season with a runner-up finish and a Round-of-16 appearance at the WTA 500 events in Tokyo and San Diego, respectively.
The World No. 27 was deservedly chosen as the Newcomer of the Year for her exploits.
Honorable mention: Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff
In addition, Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula deserve to be mentioned for their rapid strides this year.
Gauff started the year at No. 22 and finished seventh in singles, with her runner-up finish at the French Open being her biggest highlight. She also reached the pinnacle of the world rankings in doubles in a season that saw her lift three titles alongside Jessica Pegula.
Pegula, meanwhile, ended the 2022 season ranked third in singles after winning the biggest title of her career at the WTA 1000 event in Guadalajara and reaching three Slam quarterfinals.