A deeper look into the state of women’s tennis as the clay court seasons commences
THOMAS CLUCK SHARES HIS VIEWS TO 10SBALLS ABOUT THE LADIES TENNIS WTA CLAY COURT SEASON
Written by: Staff on 4th April 2017
A deeper look into the state of women’s tennis as the clay court seasons commences
From the power and precision of the hard courts of Melbourne, Indian Wells, and Miami, to the grit and sliding of the clay of Charleston, Stuttgart, Madrid, Rome, and Paris, the WTA tour moves to the clay court season as action begins on the green clay of the Volvo Car Open.
In a time of much turmoil, turnover, and speculation, many question marks do surround the state of women’s tennis heading into the clay. With Serena Williams mostly absent from tour events, Angelique Kerber an inconsistent number one at best, Maria Sharapova serving a doping suspension, Victoria Azarenka enjoying motherhood with newborn son Leo, and Petra Kvitova still recovering from a knife attack, who will step up for the women as the tour turns to dirt?
1. Maria Sharapova
With much of the perennial upper echelon of women’s tennis absent these days for one reason or another and Sharapova returning to the tour from a 15-month doping suspension, it seems poised for the five-time major winner and former number one to make a triumphant comeback on the clay.
Sharapova, a two-time French Open champion, returns to the tour April 26th at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart and with many of her top competitors absent, the stage is set for the Russian’s comeback. Sharapova has been training hard for many months now, working on her fitness and evolving her game, something that should come in handy for the Russian as she comes back on her best surface.
Much like what Roger Federer has proved on the men’s side coming back from seven months off to win the Australian Open, Indian Wells, and Miami, it’s not out of the realm of possibility for Sharapova to come storming back with titles in Stuttgart, Madrid, and Rome ahead of the French Open, where she’s already one of the oddsmakers favorites even without confirmation of a wildcard or not.
It will be a thrilling and intriguing come back for Sharapova, and if the Russian can come back strong and rejuvenated like many expect, the rest of the women’s field best watch out.
2. Elina Svitolina
After having enjoyed a stellar start to 2017 capped with the biggest title of her career in Dubai, Elina Svitolina, who reached the quarterfinals at Roland Garros in 2015, is another player who should capitalize on the tour’s movement to the clay court season, arguably the 22-year old’s best surface. Svitolina, who broke into the top 10 with her triumph in Dubai, currently sits at sixth in the Road to Singapore, but with Karolina Pliskova, Johanna Konta, Caroline Wozniacki, Serena Williams, and Venus Williams, all who are currently above the Ukrainian in the Road to Singapore, not the most comfortable on clay, it’s a time of opportunity for Svitolina.
If Svitolina can display the solid clay-court tennis that helped her reach last year’s French Open round of 16, expect the 22-year-old to keep on rising up the Road to Singapore throughout the clay court season.
3. Svetlana Kuznetsova
Similar to Svitolina, Kuznetsova has also enjoyed a very solid start to 2017, reaching the fourth round at the Australian Open and Miami and finishing runner-up in Indian Wells to start her season, The Russian sits at eighth in the Road to Singapore, and with the world number seven’s stellar clay court accolades throughout her career, it’s hard to look past the veteran to have another impressive run on the dirt this season.
Kuznetsova, a former finalist in Stuttgart, Madrid, and Rome and the 2009 French Open champion, has been one of the most consistent players on clay throughout the past five years, going deep in many major clay tournaments. Expect Kuznetsova to keep her consistent run of form going with some strong showings this clay court season.
4. Simona Halep
Despite having suffered a poor first quarter of the season, currently sitting at 36 in the Road to Singapore, world number five Halep has been rather consistent on clay the past five seasons and is certainly a contender at the French Open, where she finished runner-up in 2014 to Maria Sharapova.
Halep is beginning to turn her season around, reaching the quarterfinals in Miami after fighting off a match point against Samantha Stosur in the fourth round before falling to eventual champion Konta in the last eight. Halep’s game translates nicely to clay, with her defensive skills being rewarded more on the dirt, helping her to have reached semifinals in Stuttgart and Rome, as well as a finals appearance at Roland Garros and a title last year in Madrid.
If Halep can keep improving throughout the clay court season and remain healthy, the Romanian should be one of the favorites to go deep throughout the Spring.
5. Garbiñe Muguruza
The defending French Open champion has suffered a rough run the past twelve months since her triumph in Paris last May, yet expectations are high for Muguruza going into the clay court season. The Spaniard sits 12th in the Road to Singapore after an average start to the season, but Muguruza is definitely improving week by week this season. The world number six reached the quarterfinals in the Australian Open and in Indian Wells and with clay around the corner, the Spaniard should keep that ascent going.
Muguruza has some impressive results on clay under her belt so far, reaching the semifinals last year in Rome as well as reaching the quarterfinals or better for three straight years at the French Open, including last year when the Spaniard took home her maiden Grand Slam title at Roland Garros.
If 23-year-old Muguruza can handle the mental pressure of defending her first Grand Slam title and playing in her home country for the first time since her French Open triumph, than the Spaniard should be poised for a good run this season on clay. But it’ll be a tall task to withstand that mental pressure, and if things start trending downwards for Muguruza early on this clay court season, it could be a bad sign of the pressure continuing to get to the world number six.
Other players to keep an eye on this clay court season:
Lucie Safarova: 2015 French Open runner-up, former Charleston finalist, Madrid semifinalist
Samantha Stosur: 2010 French Open runner-up, two-time semifinalist, 2010 Charleston champion, 2016 Madrid semifinalist, 2011 Rome finalist
Irina-Camelia Begu: 2016 Rome semifinalist, Madrid & Charleston quarterfinalist, French Open 4th round
Yulia Putintseva: 2016 French Open, Charleston quarterfinalist
Daria Kasatkina: 2016 Charleston quarterfinalist, 2014 French Open junior champion
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