6.28.10
Call them the newbies, young guns, or simply, up-and-comers. As women’s tennis looks to the next generation, a group of talented young players have emerged from semi-obscurity with the potential to dominate the top 10 rankings, and give the veterans a run for their money.
Victoria Azarenka
Age: 20
Current Ranking: No. 11
She’s only been on the WTA Tour for three years, yet Victoria Azarenka has already made a name for herself. The Belarusian had her breakout year in 2009, winning three singles titles (first in Brisbane), and made it to three Grand Slam quarterfinals (including Wimbledon). She also reached a career high ranking of No. 6 in 2009. Her game has been a bit erratic since the start of 2010. She slipped back in the rankings, has battled a myriad of injuries, and has spent a good part of this year trying to find her form. Azarenka has shown recent improvement after making it to the final this year at Eastbourne, where she took out Kim Clijsters in the quarterfinal. As the 14th seed at Wimbledon this year, Azarenka had two comfortable, straight set wins in the first and second rounds, with both opponents ranked outside the top 100. She was ousted in the third round by No. 62, Petra Kvitova. Bottom line: Azarenka needs to become more level-headed if she wants to take her game up a notch.
Weapons: Baseline power hitter, dangerous backhand, solid net game.
Weakness: Serve, movement, a bit of a hot head.
Maria Kirilenko
Age: 23
Current Ranking: No. 28
Russia may have lost its strong hold on the WTA’s top-10, but with 15 players in the top 100, Russia’s next wave could change that. Maria Kirilenko is one of those players riding that wave. Kirilenko turned pro in 2001 – a veteran by some standards, but at 23, she’s just getting started. In case you forgot, she’s that player who took out fellow Russian Maria Sharapova in the first round of the Australian Open this year. Since then, she’s been slowly climbing up the ranking ladder, jumping 35 spots since the start of 2010. Prior to this year, Kirilenko’s best result at Wimbledon hasn’t been stellar—only making it to the second round. She advanced to the third round at Wimbledon this year, only to lose to Kim Clijsters on Friday. Just prior to Wimbledon, Kirilenko had to retire from her second round match at the UNICEF Open as a result of an abdominal injury, but seemed to be match-ready at the start of Wimbledon. It seems that grass seems to be a bit out of Kirilenko’s comfort zone (with five career titles on everything but grass), but she has the right weapons to develop a better grass-court game.
Weapons: Speed, serve and slice. Solid net game. Known for her volleys.
Weakness: Power
Aravane Rezai
Age: 21
Current Ranking: No. 20
It’s safe to say that 2010 has been Aravane Rezai’s breakout year. She started the year at No. 44, but since then has reached a career high ranking of No. 16 just one month ago. Rezai has upset many top-level players, including Venus Williams, Justine Henin, Jelena Jankovic, Maria Sharapova, and Dinara Safina. During the European clay court season, she came out of nowhere to defeat Venus Williams in the Madrid final, and took out Justine Henin along the way. Since then, Rezai has been on everyone’s radar. In terms of her grass court skills, Rezai’s best result at Wimbledon was the third round, back in 2007. She made it to the semis at Birmingham this year, but suffered a right wrist injury at Eastbourne in the second round. She wasn’t able to transfer her clay court success to grass, losing in the second round at Wimbledon just a few days ago. If she can improve her serve, she can become a contender on grass.
Weapons: Aggressive game, powerful ground strokes from both forehand and backhand.
Weakness: Serve
Agnieszka Radwanska
Age: 21
Current Ranking: No. 9
Part of another sister-act on the WTA tour, Agnieszka Radwanska is one of those players in the top 10 who always seems to fall under the radar, but is someone who has the skills to do some damage on just about any surface. She has had relatively quick success on the Tour, and been a top-10 presence since 2008, and is one of the few players under age 25 in the top 10. Her grass court skills are better than most. She won Wimbledon as a junior back in 2005. As a Tour player, she won Eastbourne in 2008 and made it to the quarterfinals at Wimbledon in 2008 and 2009. Coming into Wimbledon this year as the No. 7 seed, Radwanska advanced to the fourth round, only to lose to the No. 9 seed, Na Li in straight sets. Not her best result, but a solid performance. Look for Agnieszka Radwanska to be a force on grass in the coming years.
Weapons: Forehand
Weakness: Power
Yanina Wickmayer
Age: 20
Current Ranking: No. 18
Part of the Belgian trio (along with veterans Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters), Yanina Wickmayer burst onto the tennis scene in 2009, making it to the semifinals at the US Open. Since then, the six-foot-tall Belgian has climbed as high as No. 12 in the rankings, and has three career titles under her belt. Wickmayer has shown a promising grass court game, reaching the quarterfinals at Birmingham and was a runner up at the UNICEF Open (formerly the Ordina Open) in 2009. In her second Wimbledon appearance, Wickmayer has achieved her best singles performance to date, making it to the third round, only to be taken out by Vera Zvonareva. In time and with practice, Wickmayer should fare well on grass.
Weapons: Powerful serve, quick feet, ground strokes, solid net game
Weakness: Consistency, managing nerves.
Melanie Oudin
Age: 18
Current Ranking: No. 35
Melanie Oudin is the newest of the “newbies”. She has only been on the Tour since 2008, but was thrust into the spotlight in 2009 as a result of her success at Wimbledon and the US Open. She has been touted as the next great American player on the women’s tour, but has struggled to maintain consistency in her game since 2009. She came into Wimbledon this year being seeded for the first time, with the added pressure of defending her fourth round points from last year. She wasn’t able to recapture her success from 2009—ousted in round two by Australian Jarmila Groth in straight sets. Oudin admits that her favorite surface is hard courts, but is warming up to grass. Give this girl a few more years to develop her game—she’ll be completely warmed up by then.
Weapons: Speed, footwork, forehand
Weakness: Serve, consistency
Shahar Peer
Age: 23
Current Ranking: No. 15
It’s been a good year for Shahar Peer. She’s climbed back into the top 20 after falling back into the mid 30s between 2008-2009. In terms of her grass court skills, Peer may have a better game for hard courts and clay. Peer has even admitted that grass is not her favorite surface. She suffered a first round loss at Eastbourne this year. She reached her best result at Wimbledon in 2008, reaching the fourth round. With her right thigh wrapped, Peer was stunned in the second round at Wimbledon this year, losing to No. 54 Angelique Kerber of Germany. Future success on grass doesn’t seem likely for Peer, but never say never.
Weapons: Backhand, great return game.
Weakness: Consistency
