2017 in Review: Women’s tennis was as unpredictable as ever, as the No 1 race showed

The 2017 women’s tennis season was a study in contrast for most part. The first Grand Slam of the year was won, rather dominated, by a pregnant Serena Williams. The last was won by a high-flying Sloane Stephens who became only the fifth unseeded player to win a women’s Slam title. The fourth was also this year, when Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko won the French Open.

Karolina Pliskova and Johanna Konta won the big title in January at Brisbane and Sydney, an indication that maybe this year will see a consistent woman player at the top, the season-ending WTA Finals was lifted by surprise champion Caroline Wozniacki, highlighting that the women’s tour remains as unpredictable as ever.

In between it all, a teenager stormed through to the French Open title, 37-year-old Williams reached two Major finals and five different players held the top rank with Simona Halep, who won just the one trophy this year, finishing as the year-end No 1.

Nine different players lifted the nine biggest titles of the year for the first time since Premier Mandatory tournaments were introduced in 2009. Five different women won the four Slams and WTA Finals for the first time since 2005. In short, women’s tennis in 2017 was as topsy-turvy and competitive as ever.

Musical chairs at No 1

One of the best indicators of the keenly contested the 2017 season was the race, or rather the musical chairs for the WTA No 1 ranking spot. This was the first year that there were three first-time No 1s in a single season and only the second time since computer rankings took over in 1975, that five different players held the top spot over the course of a year. Incidentally, the No 1 in doubles was also occupied with five women.

The year began with Angelique Kerber, who is currently ranked 21 after a poor season, as No 1 after her breakthrough 2016. But Serena Williams soon took over after winning her record-breaking 23rd Slam at the Australian Open. Serena didn’t play a single match this year as she was eight weeks pregnant in Melbourne, but such was Kerber’s inconsistency that the American held on to the top spot till March and once again claimed it in May, before the German took over.

In July, Pliskova then became the first Czech Republic woman to become the 23rd WTA No.1 after Wimbledon while the reigning champion Garbine Muguruza climbed her way up to become the 24th woman to become No 1 after the US Open. But in the end it was Simona Halep who became the 25th player and first Romanian to become the WTA No 1 ranking in October. Roland Garros runner-up Halep held on to her spot becoming 13th player to finish the season at No.1.

Another peculiar characteristic of No 1s this season was the unexpected erratic performance that followed their ascent. Before the US Open, as many as eight players were in with a chance to grab the top spot.

As the graphic shows, no top-player was able to hold on to their lead for long, except Halep by virtue of it being the season end. Kerber’s inconsistency and Serena’s absence made the first half of the season a trade-off of the top spot between the two. But in the second half, the distance at the top was very narrow, which was reflected in the titles the top five have won this year.

None of them were able to win any trophies as the top seed, which explains why they couldn’t hold their spot. Of the four Slam winners, two were unseeded who went on an unexpected rampage. The most titles were won by year-end No 6 Elina Svitolina who lifted five trophies in 2017. The five No.1 players won a total of seven titles between them, with two being Slams.

A look back

Traditionally, the women’s tour was a lot more individually-dominated. As the graphic shows, the likes of Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, Martina Hingis and Serena Williams have held the No 1 spot for weeks at a stretch. But in the last decade, the WTA top-spot has changed hands a lot more frequently.

In 2008, the first time there were five No 1s in a year, there were just two No 1 debuts Ana Ivanovic, who had won the French Open, and Jelena Jankovic, who finished the season as No 1 despite not winning a Major. ( Justine Henin, Maria Sharapova, and Serena were the other three.)

This year, of the three new world No 1 in a year, only Muguruza has won a Major – the French Open in 2017 and Wimbledon this year. After the 2008 season, only Serena has been a dominant force. While Sharapova, Wozniacki and Dinara Safina made inroads, only Sharapova has the Majors to show for it. The only anomaly is Azarenka, who had both the Slams and the No 1 ranking in 2013, but injuries, inconsistency and a maternity break in 2016 and an ongoing custody battle in 2017 derailed her career.

The 2017 season had several other striking storylines as well – the return of Maria Sharapova after her doping ban, the absence of Petra Kvitova after being injured by a burglar, the successes of unlikely players like Konta, Ashleigh Barty, Caroline Garcia.

The unexpected triumphs of Ostapenko and Stephens brought the focus on the younger players on tour. with three out of four Major champions being 24-years-old or younger, for the first time since 2005.

All in all, 2017 was a remarkable year for women’s tennis. In 2018, with Serena set for a return, and the veteran brigade of Sharapova, Kvitova, and Wozniacki to challenge the younger lot, it could be an even more competitive, uncertain and enthralling WTA season.