{"id":908,"date":"2016-12-23T10:00:57","date_gmt":"2016-12-23T15:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordontennis.com\/?p=908"},"modified":"2016-12-23T02:29:59","modified_gmt":"2016-12-23T07:29:59","slug":"wta-2016-year-review-21-25","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2016\/12\/23\/wta-2016-year-review-21-25\/","title":{"rendered":"WTA 2016 Year in Review: Rank 21-25"},"content":{"rendered":"

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 2016 players ranked 21-25.<\/em>
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WTA 2016 Year in Review: Rank 21-25<\/h2>\n

21. Samantha Stosur<\/strong><\/p>\n

The 2011 Us Open<\/strong> champion reached a semifinal in a Grand Slam tournament after four\u00a0years, in Paris<\/strong>, though frequent early losses denied her a Top 20 ranking at the end of the year.<\/p>\n

High points<\/strong><\/p>\n

As mentioned in the introduction, the semifinal reached at the French Open<\/strong>\u00a0is an outstanding result for the Australian. She performed well in the entire clay season, advancing to the semis in Madrid<\/strong> and to the final in Prague<\/strong>, where she lost against local Lucie Safarova<\/strong>.
\nIn Paris, though, she beat Misaki Doi<\/strong> and Shuai Zhang<\/strong>, before taking her revenge to Safarova in the third round. Wins against Simona Halep<\/strong> and Roland Garros\u2019 biggest surprise Tsvetana Pironkova<\/strong> gifted her the semis, where she lost to eventual champion Garbine Muguruza<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Low points<\/strong><\/p>\n

As usual, Sam Stosur showed poor performances in the Australian swing, where she always falls under the pressure of being the local talent, eventually losing to Krystina Pliskova<\/strong>–Karolina\u2019s twin–in the first round of the Australian Open.<\/p>\n

Moreover, second round both at Wimbledon<\/strong> and US Open<\/strong> are disappointing, especially the second one, considered how she performed there in the past.<\/p>\n

Outlook for 2017<\/strong><\/p>\n

Stosur has never been a consistent player, so nobody expects her to be solid during the following season. A masterclass performance in a big tournament–a Slam or a Premier 5–would be enough for the Aussie girl.<\/p>\n

22. Kiki Bertens<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Dutch girl started the season ranked #101. She ended it ranked #22, with a WTA title in singles, four in doubles and a Grand Slam semifinal. Not bad at all.<\/p>\n

High points<\/strong><\/p>\n

In what can be considered an overwhelming season, the clay swing has certainly been the highest part. Bertens, in fact, won the title in Nurnberg<\/strong>, and according to a legend that claims that the ones who win Nurnberg, the following week reach the semis in Paris–ask Eugenie Bouchard<\/strong> or Simona Halep–she reached that indeed!
\nAfter shocking Australian Open<\/strong> champion Angelique Kerber<\/strong> in the first round, the Dutch continued her impressive run defeating talented players such as Camila Giorgi<\/strong>, Daria Kasatkina<\/strong> (in a thrilling three setter), Madison Keys<\/strong>, and 2015 semifinalist Timea Bacsinszky<\/strong>, surrendering only to Serena Williams<\/strong> in an absurd match. Bertens, half-injured, managed to have several set points in the first set, but couldn\u2019t convert them.
\nA final in Gstaad<\/strong> is worth mentioning, too.<\/p>\n

Low points<\/strong><\/p>\n

Given her outstanding season, I\u2019d say her low point is the terrible serve shown at the IPTL<\/strong> against Kirsten Flipkens<\/strong> when she was match point down. The video became viral, and everybody \u2013 the Dutch player included \u2013 laughed.<\/p>\n

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Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n