In a year that saw the four grand slams won by different winners, a sense of normality was restored to the WTA at the end of the season with the knowledge that Serena Williams would finish 2014 as the number one. The 33-year-old might not have had her most successful season in terms of grand slam titles, but this year showed that there is still more to come from the recent game’s most successful women’s player.
But the greatest aspect of the majority of 2014 was its unpredictability. From Li Na’s impressive victory in the Australian Open, Maria Sharapova’s second French Open title in three years, Petra Kvitova adding a second Wimbledon crown to her name, and Williams winning a sixth US Open title – whether you were a just a fan or someone taking a punt with the likes of betfair, 2014 was a fascinating season in the WTA.
With the 2015 campaign now the focus, let’s have a look at how the game’s top players fared this year and how they are looking ahead of the new season.
1: Serena Williams
Undoubtedly one of the toughest seasons in Serena’s career, the joint fourth most successful player in the history of the women’s game ended the year at the top of the sport. After a dismal and often worrying few months, Williams ensured she ended the year on a massive high by winning her sixth US Open and then going on to add the WTA Finals title to her collection. While her year ended with seven tournament wins to her name, Williams could have been forgiven for feeling frustrated not to have got closer to that 20 grand slam titles mark.
Overall, Serena has been number one for 97 consecutive weeks, dating all the way back to 18th February 2013, and it was fitting to see her clean up at the WTA end-of-season awards. But problems with fitness and form during much of the year had threatened her place at the top of the rankings. After early exits in the Australian Open, French Open and then Wimbledon, Serena showed the world she’s still the queen of the game by winning her third consecutive US Open crown after beating Caroline Wozniacki in the final at Flushing Meadows.
2: Maria Sharapova
It wasn’t that long ago when people were saying Maria Sharapova would never win a grand slam title again. Yet 10 years after winning her first grand slam title, Sharapova’s triumphant run in the French Open this year saw the Russian add her fifth major crown to her collection. After a couple of years of injury problems, Sharapova returned to the top of the sport in 2012 by winning her maiden French Open title. And it was at Roland Garros where the 27-year-old peaked again this year, seeing off Simona Halep in the final to win her second French Open in another season that showed she is still one of the best in the world.
The French Open was one of four titles Sharapova won in 2014 but the Russian will be looking for a more consistent showing at grand slams in the new season. Aside from her run in Paris, the fourth round was as far as Sharapova reached in the other three grand slam tournaments during the year. The WTA Tour Championships didn’t go as planned either for Sharapova, with the world number two falling at the round-robin stage and ending the year in disappointing fashion, but the signs are definitely positive for the former world number one heading into 2015.
3: Simona Halep
While she might not have won a grand slam title this season, Simona Halep ended 2014 as perhaps the most consistent player on the tour. In a season she reached a career-high number two in the rankings, Halep ended a breakthrough season third in the rankings and one of the best young players in the world. Starting the year with a best finish at a grand slam being the 2013 US Open fourth round, Halep proved she was a player to be respected with an encouraging run to the quarter-finals of the Australian Open.
While her performances in Melbourne were impressive, it was Halep’s displays in the French Open which proved the 23-year-old Romanian is the real deal, beating a string of top-50 players on her way to the final. Defeat in three sets at the hands of Maria Sharapova might have been tough to take but Halep followed her Parisian disappointment by making it to the semi-finals at Wimbledon before an ankle injury played a part in her defeat to Eugenie Bouchard. The US Open might not have been as successful for Halep but the Romanian ended the year by finishing runner-up at the WTA Tour Finals.
4: Petra Kvitova
Since winning Wimbledon in 2011, Petra Kvitova’s career hadn’t really lived up to expectations until this year. With some labelling the Czech Republic star as a one-hit wonder, Kvitova proved her doubters wrong in 2014 when she claimed her second Wimbledon crown and added a second grand slam title to her name. The 24-year-old had started the year with a dismal first-round exit at the Australian Open before an underwhelming run to the third round in the French Open. Kvitova’s season drastically changed at Wimbledon, however, beating Eugenie Bouchard in straight sets to clinch her second title at SW19 and climb up to fourth in the world rankings.
Ending the year with three tournament victories to her name, including the Wimbledon title, Kvitova will still be right to feel a touch frustrated to have not performed better at any of the other three grand slam events. While Serena Williams still reigns supreme at the top of the game, the American is undoubtedly coming to the end of her career. If she could find just a little more consistency throughout the year and not just at her favoured events, Kvitova definitely has all the tools to take Williams’ crown as the world’s best player and 2015 could be a very important year for the two-time grand slam winner.
5: Ana Ivanovic
As has been the case with Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic has had to remind the world that she is a tennis player rather than just a celebrity. After slipping off the map following a number of injury problems, Ivanovic has firmly established herself among the world’s elite after another productive season on the tour. While the 2008 French Open remains Ivanovic’s sole grand slam title, the Serbian star has been one of the most consistent players in the game in 2014, winning four tournaments and climbing back up to fifth in the world rankings.
After a five-year absence, Ivanovic’s form this year saw her earn a return to the WTA Tour Finals. While the 27-year-old couldn’t make it past the round-robin stage, merely making it back into the end-of-season event shows just how far Ivanovic has come over the past 12 months. As with a lot of players in and around the top ten, Ivanovic has every chance of winning a grand slam in 2015. The question now is whether the former world number one can add a second major crown to her collection seven years after winning her one and only grand slam title.
