Women's tennis is starting to get exciting again
Being unpredictable is what makes any sport exciting and interesting to watch. The same goes for tennis as well.
But for a long time, women's tennis had been dominated by the Williams sisters, especially Serena Williams. Even as Serena entered her late 30s, it almost seemed impossible to defeat her - particularly at the Grand Slam events.
From 2000 to 2015, the duo almost won 50% of the Grand Slam titles on offer. Serena almost came close to completing a calendar Grand Slam in 2015 when she won the first 3 Majors of the year, before falling just short at the US Open.
It became a no-brainer in deciding who the winner would be if Serena was competing in a Grand Slam.
But the times are slowly starting to change. We are gradually seeing the rise of young players such as Naomi Osaka, who are able to withstand the pressure and defeat Serena at the business end of Grand Slam tournaments. Also, we have been witnessing multiple first-time Grand Slam winners since 2017, which is a very good sign for women's tennis.
A lot of emerging players are causing upsets. Belinda Bencic, ranked among the top 50, recently defeated 4 of the top 5 seeds and had a winning streak of 12 wins until she lost to Angelique Kerber in the semis of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells.
The unpredictability has become considerably higher than it used to be. No one expected Elina Svitolina to win the the WTA Finals, the prestigious year-end tournament last year. Likewise, Bianca Andreescu, a Canadian teenager, has surprisingly reached the Indian Wells final after defeating several top class opponents.
It is not just the young players though. Even the old warhorses such as Su-wei Hsieh and Petra Kvitova are back in form. Tennis mom and former Grand Slam champion Victoria Azarenka too has made a comeback.
All in all, the level of tennis and the competition have increased considerably in women's tennis, and things are only going to get better.
We can say that Rafael Nadal is the favorite to win the men's singles title at the French Open this year. But who will the women's title? Your guess is as good as mine.
Uncertainty is what makes the game exciting. And the uncertainty in women's tennis right now makes it a good time to follow the sport.