This offseason, Last Word On Tennis will be looking back at the seasons of the top 50 players on each tour. This installment includes the WTA players ranked 36-40.
Two Americans feature on the back end of the WTA singles top 40 as our 2016 WTA year in review, and 2017 look ahead continues.
36: Coco Vandeweghe
25 year old Coco Vandeweghe wrapped up her third year of similar results, as she posted a 24-18 record, and claimed an WTA title on grass in Holland, the second of her career. Vandeweghe had her best results on grass this year, and was one of the top players on the surface. A late season slump prevented her from finishing ranked higher than she did, as at one point she was just inside the WTA top 30 at a career high. Vandeweghe showed potential against the top players in women’s tennis, as she went an amazing 4-1 against the WTA top 10, with wins on both hard and grass courts.
Vandeweghe has the game to be one of the best fast court players in women’s tennis, but she’ll need to improve her consistency on a week to week basis if she’s going to return to the top 30 in 2017.
37: Yaroslava Shvedova
Shvedova finished up a pedestrian year going 17-17 at the WTA level, and 24-23 overall. The veteran made solid runs at Wimbledon and the US Open that boosted her ranking, and she finished the year on a positive note, but her career appears to have flatlined a bit at 29 years of age. Shvedova will need to continue her momentum if she’s going to stay ranked inside the top 40 in 2017.
38: Monica Niculescu
Another 29 year old on this list, Niculescu has some of the wonkiest and most unique strokes in tennis, and she’s always worth watching purely for her junkballing abilities. The Romanian posted a 30-26 in 2016 in what was perhaps her best ever season on the WTA tour. Niculescu added a third WTA title to her trophy case in 2016 and was a solid battler on hard courts, despite struggling on clay. Two wins over Petra Kvitova in 2016 were the best results of her season.
In 2017 Niculescu should continue to entertain fans and trouble players who aren’t used to facing her unorthodox shots. However, the limitations of her game are clear, and that’s why she’s been unable to reach the WTA top 20 up to this point.
39: Alison Riske
26 year old Alison Riske had a career year in 2016. After being on the fringes of the WTA tour level for quite some time, she posted a 23-19 record at the tour level, and went 41-25 overall. Riske made two WTA finals on the season and finished the year strong with her only two top 20 wins coming in October. Riske is without a doubt one of the most improved players on the tour and in 2017 she should improve further in the rankings, perhaps taking her first ever WTA title.
40: Misaki Doi
Misaki Doi posted a pedestrian season on tour, finishing with a losing 25-28 record, that included no wins over top 10 players. Doi started the season strong and took just her second WTA title in Texas, but by the years end she seemed to be worn down. At 25 years of age and just 5 foot 2 in height, it’s unlikely Doi is going to make a big move in 2017.
Main Photo:
