WTA 2016: Top 5 performers of the year
2016 has been an eventful year for the WTA tour. It started with Maria Sharapova’s shocking meldonium revelation and ended with Ana Ivanovic’s unexpected retirement. However, high octane tennis took centre stage in the midst of it all.
Let us look back at this eventful year of women’s tennis one last time. The year served us with some delicious encounters along with certain unforeseen results. The ladies gave their hearts and souls into making it worth our while.
Here are the top five performances in the WTA singles category:
#5 Karolina Plíšková
Semi Finals – 1
Runner up – 3
Titles – 3
The world No 6 managed to churn out fruitful results all season. Her aggressive game, steep-angled groundstrokes and quick movement helped her beat several tough opponents on court. She won her first title of the year at the Aegon Open and then defeated Kerber in straight sets to clinch the Western & Southern Open, the biggest title of her career.
Pliskova then defeated Serena Williams in the semifinals of the US Open by playing the best tennis of her life. In the final, she led 3-1 in the deciding set, but her nerves and an incredible fightback from Kerber turned the match in the German’s favour.
The Czech has had a consistent career graph. Her game and her rank are both showing a steady but sure escalation. With the help of her powerful backhand and strong stroke play, she managed to break into the top 10 in 2015 and the top 5 in 2016.
Pliskova also qualified for the WTA Finals in Singapore but was knocked out on the basis of a poor head-to-head record in the round robin stage.