{"id":933,"date":"2017-01-01T21:04:45","date_gmt":"2017-01-02T02:04:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordontennis.com\/?p=933"},"modified":"2017-01-08T21:47:37","modified_gmt":"2017-01-09T02:47:37","slug":"wta-2016-year-in-review-rank-46-50","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2017\/01\/01\/wta-2016-year-in-review-rank-46-50\/","title":{"rendered":"WTA 2016 Year In Review: Rank 46-50"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Today, we take a look back at the past year for the players ranked between 46th and 50th.<\/p>\n<h2>WTA 2016 Year In Review: Rank 46-50<\/h2>\n<h3><strong>Eugenie Bouchard<\/strong><\/h3>\n<div class=\"getty embed image\" style=\"background-color: #fff; display: inline-block; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; color: #a7a7a7; font-size: 11px; width: 100%; max-width: 594px;\">\n<div style=\"padding: 0; margin: 0; text-align: left;\"><a style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/594879388\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n<div style=\"overflow: hidden; position: relative; height: 0; padding: 66.666667% 0 0 0; width: 100%;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"display: inline-block; position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; margin: 0;\" src=\"\/\/embed.gettyimages.com\/embed\/594879388?et=Akv_-OJJRBhd1hE4x25iJQ&amp;viewMoreLink=off&amp;sig=pJbu6kOP8-oA6swzXscqhtzgxS8uqzGTyszgLOgwLws=&amp;caption=true\" width=\"594\" height=\"396\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p style=\"margin: 0;\">\n<\/div>\n<p>It was a trying season for the former Wimbledon finalist, but she appears to be headed in the right direction.<\/p>\n<p><strong>High point of the year:\u00a0<\/strong>Bouchard&#8217;s second round 6-3, 1-6, 6-1 win at Wimbledon over\u00a0<strong>Johanna Konta<\/strong>\u00a0on Center Court<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>was particularly impressive considering how well the Brit was and continued to play in 2016.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Low point of the year:\u00a0<\/strong>At the\u00a0<strong>Ricoh Open\u00a0<\/strong>on grass in the Netherlands, the Canadian won just two games against Belgian qualifier\u00a0<strong>Elise Mertens.\u00a0<\/strong>Of all the losses Bouchard has endured since her comeback, this was by far the worst.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Other highlights:\u00a0<\/strong>Bouchard reached the finals of\u00a0<strong>Hobart\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0<strong>Kuala Lumpur,\u00a0<\/strong>but fell short of the title on both occasions, losing to\u00a0<strong>Alize Cornet\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0<strong>Elina Svitolina\u00a0<\/strong>respectively. The loss to Svitolina was particularly painful as the 2014 Wimbledon finalist was up a set.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Outlook for 2017:\u00a0<\/strong>Back with another former coach of hers,\u00a0<strong>Thomas Hogstedt,\u00a0<\/strong>Bouchard made progress in 2016 and if she can continue to stay injury-free and the partnership with Hogstedt works out, there&#8217;s no reason the Canadian can&#8217;t reach the Top 20 by season&#8217;s end.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Ana Konjuh<\/strong><\/h3>\n<div class=\"getty embed image\" style=\"background-color: #fff; display: inline-block; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; color: #a7a7a7; font-size: 11px; width: 100%; max-width: 594px;\">\n<div style=\"padding: 0; margin: 0; text-align: left;\"><a style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/609939444\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n<div style=\"overflow: hidden; position: relative; height: 0; padding: 66.666667% 0 0 0; width: 100%;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"display: inline-block; position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; margin: 0;\" src=\"\/\/embed.gettyimages.com\/embed\/609939444?et=Bb2iO1NKR-5I6lV0ht6ouQ&amp;viewMoreLink=off&amp;sig=IYzHamRNWVPEW0j5nzfxEgObbliI1R9rU2sm6K-Yvdo=&amp;caption=true\" width=\"594\" height=\"396\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p style=\"margin: 0;\">\n<\/div>\n<p>The Croatian had done very little of note until the final major of the year when she showed why people touted her as a future star.<\/p>\n<p><strong>High point of the year:\u00a0<\/strong>Konjuh advanced to the\u00a0<strong>U.S. Open\u00a0<\/strong>quarterfinals with wins over\u00a0<strong>Kiki Bertens, Kurumi Nara, Varvara Lepchenko\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0<strong>Agnieszka Radwanska.\u00a0<\/strong>The win over Radwanska, which made the now 19-year-old the first Croatian woman to reach the Open quarterfinals, was particularly impressive as she blasted 38 winners as compared to just 9 for Radwanska.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Low point of the year:\u00a0<\/strong>It could be argued Konjuh would&#8217;ve upset Radwanska one major earlier, but while trying to retrieve a drop shot from the Pole, the Croatian stepped on the ball, twisting her ankle and not winning another point after. She lost the third set 9-7 after having numerous match points.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Other highlights:\u00a0<\/strong>Konjuh reached the semifinals in\u00a0<strong>Bol.\u00a0<\/strong>Outside of that, her run to the final eight in New York was her farthest progression at any tournament in 2016.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Outlook for 2017:\u00a0<\/strong>Provided she can stay injury-free, the Croat, who has a new coach in the form of\u00a0<strong>Goran Prpic,\u00a0<\/strong>should continue to rise in the rankings. Her showing at the U.S. Open was no fluke and she&#8217;ll prove that in 2017.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Naomi Osaka<\/strong><\/h3>\n<div class=\"getty embed image\" style=\"background-color: #fff; display: inline-block; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; color: #a7a7a7; font-size: 11px; width: 100%; max-width: 594px;\">\n<div style=\"padding: 0; margin: 0; text-align: left;\"><a style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/610278100\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n<div style=\"overflow: hidden; position: relative; height: 0; padding: 66.666667% 0 0 0; width: 100%;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"display: inline-block; position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; margin: 0;\" src=\"\/\/embed.gettyimages.com\/embed\/610278100?et=j8WKme7bTmNokHO8e2FqmA&amp;viewMoreLink=off&amp;sig=w-KaDdVpP1VAl6CWQGkm3q19cDxaol36BNgdFweitWY=&amp;caption=true\" width=\"594\" height=\"396\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p style=\"margin: 0;\">\n<\/div>\n<p>The Japanese teenager made a splash late in 2016 to rise into the Top 50 in the world.<\/p>\n<p><strong>High point of the year:\u00a0<\/strong>Osaka reached the finals of the\u00a0<strong>Toray Pan Pacific Open\u00a0<\/strong>where she beat, among others,\u00a0<strong>Dominika Cibulkova\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0<strong>Elina Svitolina\u00a0<\/strong>before losing to\u00a0<strong>Caroline Wozniacki.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Low point of the year:\u00a0<\/strong>The Japanese led her third round match at the\u00a0<strong>U.S. Open\u00a0<\/strong>5-1 against\u00a0<strong>Madison Keys\u00a0<\/strong>before losing in a final set tiebreak. Osaka served for the match twice before Keys prevailed 7-5, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Other highlights:\u00a0<\/strong>There were no other notable results for Osaka either good or bad.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Outlook for 2017:\u00a0<\/strong>Osaka is a tall player with a tremendous amount of power and with another year of experience on tour, she has no place to go but up.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Sara Errani<\/strong><\/h3>\n<div class=\"getty embed image\" style=\"background-color: #fff; display: inline-block; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; color: #a7a7a7; font-size: 11px; width: 100%; max-width: 594px;\">\n<div style=\"padding: 0; margin: 0; text-align: left;\"><a style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/610497262\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n<div style=\"overflow: hidden; position: relative; height: 0; padding: 75.084175% 0 0 0; width: 100%;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"display: inline-block; position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; margin: 0;\" src=\"\/\/embed.gettyimages.com\/embed\/610497262?et=RbqbWPEDS4JMZXydsN42rQ&amp;viewMoreLink=off&amp;sig=wqKDaK-pgGjOcdjodYmj9v7Z14g0V_Ds_dPxDH9B36U=&amp;caption=true\" width=\"594\" height=\"446\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p style=\"margin: 0;\">\n<\/div>\n<p>The Italian suffered a substantial decline in 2016, but she managed to stay in the Top 50 thanks to one result.<\/p>\n<p><strong>High point of the year:\u00a0<\/strong>Errani, never known for her hard-court prowess, was the surprise winner in\u00a0<strong>Dubai,\u00a0<\/strong>blowing out\u00a0<strong>Barbora Strycova\u00a0<\/strong>6-0, 6-2 in the final to cap by far her best week of 2016.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Low point of the year:\u00a0<\/strong>Errani&#8217;s favorite and best surface is clay, so her 6-3, 6-2 loss to\u00a0<strong>Tsvetana Pironkova\u00a0<\/strong>in the first round of the\u00a0<strong>French Open\u00a0<\/strong>perhaps should have been a warning sign of what was to come.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Other highlights:\u00a0<\/strong>Nothing.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Outlook for 2017:\u00a0<\/strong>At almost 30 years old and with her grinding style of play based on consistency and movement, it&#8217;s hard to see how the Italian stays anywhere close to the Top 50. Her win in Dubai only postponed the inevitable and while she&#8217;s a credit to the game for her work ethic and tenacity, it&#8217;s going to be an even worse 2017 than 2016 for Errani.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Johanna Larsson<\/strong><\/h3>\n<div class=\"getty embed image\" style=\"background-color: #fff; display: inline-block; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; color: #a7a7a7; font-size: 11px; width: 100%; max-width: 594px;\">\n<div style=\"padding: 0; margin: 0; text-align: left;\"><a style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/598506972\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n<div style=\"overflow: hidden; position: relative; height: 0; padding: 66.666667% 0 0 0; width: 100%;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"display: inline-block; position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; margin: 0;\" src=\"\/\/embed.gettyimages.com\/embed\/598506972?et=uP_wma7pQ4VssrY9Nc2FqQ&amp;viewMoreLink=off&amp;sig=2e24ZH0hEvrp7LhCJ8JWXj41fGyo3i4904UMhd7h8f4=&amp;caption=true\" width=\"594\" height=\"396\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p style=\"margin: 0;\">\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>High point of the year: <\/strong>Larsson went a career\u00a0best 34-27 at all levels of play in 2016. The Swede was good across surfaces and her best result of the season was a run to the semifinals in New Haven as a\u00a0lucky loser. Larsson defeated Timea Bacsinszky, Shelby Rogers, and Roberta Vinci in straight sets before falling in the semifinals.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Low point of the year: <\/strong>Larsson failed to register a win on grass in 2016 and had five other first round exits in her season.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Other highlights:\u00a0<\/strong>Larsson reached WTA semifinals in Hobart and on home soil in Bastad in 2016.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Outlook for 2017:\u00a0<\/strong>With steady improvement across clay and hard courts in 2016, Larsson should remain a WTA caliber player if she can string together consistent wins and play at her highest level.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Other WTA Year in Review Articles<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordontennis.com\/2016\/12\/12\/2016-player-review-top-5\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">1-5<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordontennis.com\/2016\/12\/14\/wta-rank-6-10-year-review\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">6-10<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordontennis.com\/2016\/12\/18\/wta-2016-review-11-15\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">11-15<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordontennis.com\/2016\/12\/22\/wta-2016-year-review-16-20\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">16-20<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordontennis.com\/2016\/12\/23\/wta-2016-year-review-21-25\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">21-25<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordontennis.com\/2016\/12\/26\/wta-2016-year-review-rank-26-30\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">26-30<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordontennis.com\/2016\/12\/30\/wta-season-review-31-35\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">31-36<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordontennis.com\/2016\/12\/30\/wta-2016-review-36-40\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">36-40<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordontennis.com\/2017\/01\/01\/wta-2016-year-review-rank-41-45\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">41-45<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Main Photo:<\/p>\n<div class=\"getty embed image\" style=\"background-color: #fff; display: inline-block; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; color: #a7a7a7; font-size: 11px; width: 100%; max-width: 594px;\">\n<div style=\"padding: 0; margin: 0; text-align: left;\"><a style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/630745998\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n<div style=\"overflow: hidden; position: relative; height: 0; padding: 66.666667% 0 0 0; width: 100%;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"display: inline-block; position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; margin: 0;\" src=\"\/\/embed.gettyimages.com\/embed\/630745998?et=7aQ_wGfzRCBOkkLR-pLn4w&amp;viewMoreLink=off&amp;sig=xV2gW9TMz3re2VTRh9KcL04219KPM21vKBcZaF092HA=&amp;caption=true\" width=\"594\" height=\"396\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p style=\"margin: 0;\">\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Today, we take a look back at the past year for the players ranked between 46th and 50th. WTA 2016 Year In Review: Rank 46-50 Eugenie Bouchard Embed from Getty Images It was a trying season for the former Wimbledon finalist, but she appears to be headed in the right direction. High point of the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":755,"featured_media":1035,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,2],"tags":[140,291,474,476,475,15],"class_list":["post-933","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wta","category-featured","tag-ana-konjuh","tag-eugenie-bouchard","tag-johanna-larsson","tag-naomi-osaka","tag-sara-errani","tag-wta"],"modified_by":"Ben Kerr","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/933","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/755"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=933"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/933\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1035"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=933"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=933"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=933"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}