Women’s tennis starts its 2018 campaign with the usual early focus on the Australian Open and a huge question mark over who can fill the yawning gap left by the absence of Serena Williams.
No one was able to get anywhere close last year, not just in terms of consistently winning the biggest tournaments but also when it comes to charisma. Williams left Melbourne a year ago with a 23rd grand slam title under her belt but soon hung up her racket for the remainder of 2017 upon discovering she was eight weeks pregnant at the time of her triumph.
Her forced hiatus will extend past this year’s tournament after she decided last week that she was not fully match-ready, giving the chasing pack more opportunities to stamp their authority on the women’s game.
Boris Becker, who knows a bit about both winning grand slams and star appeal, believes the landscape at the top of the women’s game is just too confused at the moment. “I think there is a real opportunity for the next superstar. It’s not clear cut,” he told Reuters.
“(Simona) Halep is number one at the moment but we have four or five different girls. It’s just that there is no one dominating, but it’s up to them.
“I could mention 10 names who could win the Australian Open, that’s good and that’s bad. I think the sport needs a strong rivalry because that’s good for fans. But the women’s game doesn’t have that at the moment.”
The remaining 2017 majors were shared by three rising stars of the game, with Latvian teen Jelena Ostapenko storming to the French Open title, Garbine Muguruza winning Wimbledon and Sloane Stephens returning from injury to lift the U.S. Open crown. The world rankings saw three new names ascend to the top last season with big-serving Czech Karolina Pliskova’s two-month reign ended by Spain’s Muguruza in September, before Romania’s Halep took over to end the year in pole position.
However, perhaps the most significant indicator of who could shine brightest in 2018 came in October when Caroline Wozniacki battled to a maiden WTA Finals title, displaying a new brand of ruthless tennis that suggested a first grand slam was imminent.
The Dane had lost six straight finals before winning the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo a month earlier and she carried that momentum to Singapore before starting the season with a solid showing in Auckland to move up to second in the world rankings. “For me, the biggest thing was when I lost the first six finals of the year, I didn’t let it really put me down,” the 27-year-old said after her Singapore triumph. “I looked at the positive and said I put myself in contention almost every week and eventually it will have to turn.”
As Williams sits out a fourth straight grand slam, Halep and Pliskova will join Wozniacki in a quest for a major breakthrough in Australia. Halep is probably the best placed to claim the first grand slam of the season, the Romanian cementing her number one status with a Shenzhen Open triumph.
Maria Sharapova, however, is the one player who can match Williams’ intensity and single-minded desire for success, not to mention her status as a drawcard. The Russian is lurking in the shadows as a major contender as she continues to rebuild her career after a 15-month doping ban after she tested positive for meldonium at the 2016 Australian Open.
Despite irking her critics with a tendency to paint herself as a victim, the 30-year-old has been welcomed back with open arms by fans and tournament organisers alike. Injury and illness stalled her initial return to the circuit but a Tianjin Open win in October and run to the Shenzhen Open semi-finals suggests the five-time major winner is nearing her best and the 2008 champion will expect to go deep in Melbourne.
One former champion who will not be at Melbourne Park is Victoria Azarenka, whose protracted custody battle for her young son has prevented the Belarusian from playing since Wimbledon last July.
With Muguruza an injury doubt after withdrawing from her first two events of the year, Ukrainian Elina Svitolina, improving Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia and Julia Goerges of Germany will also attract backing after solid early form. Becker, though, has his eye on another of his compatriots, the 2016 Melbourne Park champion Angelique Kerber. “It’s so tough to predict,” the German said. “Kerber can come back, I think she had a good winter training camp and did well at the Hopman Cup. “She did it two years ago in Melbourne and that will give her belief. You can’t buy that feeling of how to win a slam.”
Serena says motherhood may make her better player
Look out, women’s tennis. Serena Williams isn’t quite back on tour, but she says she wants more Grand Slam titles and may be an even better player after becoming a mother. In an interview with Vogue magazine published Wednesday, Williams also recounts the harrowing medical ordeal she went through after giving birth to her daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr., on September 1. Williams, 36, played an exhibition match in Abu Dhabi in late December but pulled out of this month’s Australian Open, saying she was “super close” but not yet playing at the level needed to compete. She is now eyeing a return to the women’s tour at the Indian Wells tournament in March. Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam champion, told Vogue she is determined to win more major titles and surpass the record of 24 Slams held by Australia’s Margaret Court. “Maybe this goes without saying, but it needs to be said in a powerful way: I absolutely want more Grand Slams,” she said. “I’m well aware of the record books, unfortunately. “It’s not a secret that I have my sights on 25,” said the 36-year-old Williams. Williams, who married Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian at a star-studded wedding in New Orleans in November, said being a mother may boost her quest. “Actually, I think having a baby might help,” she said. “When I’m too anxious, I lose matches, and I feel like a lot of that anxiety disappeared when Olympia was born. “Knowing I’ve got this beautiful baby to go home to makes me feel like I don’t have to play another match,” she said. “I don’t need the money or the titles or the prestige. “I want them, but I don’t need them,” she said. “That’s a different feeling for me.” Williams told Vogue she had an emergency caesarean section after the baby’s heart rate fell dangerously low during contractions.The surgery went well “and then everything went bad,” she said. Williams, who has a history of blood clots, suffered from shortness of breath the day after the birth and told her doctors she needed a CT scan.
Several small blood clots were found in her lungs, and Williams was put on an anticoagulant. “I was like, listen to Dr Williams!” she joked. More complications followed as intense coughing caused her C-section wound to open and a haematoma was found in her abdomen. After returning home, Williams said she was unable to get out of bed for six weeks. In the interview, Williams also discussed her rivalry with her older sister, Venus. “I know that her career might have been different if she had had my health,” Serena said. “I know how hard she works,” she said. “I hate playing her because she gets this look on her face where she just looks sad if she’s losing. Solemn. It breaks my heart. “So when I play her now, I absolutely don’t look at her, because if she gets that look, then I’ll start feeling bad, and the next thing you know I’ll be losing,” she said.
