As Serena Williams makes last-minute preparations ahead of the birth of her first child, her opponents on the tour are aiming to hit back at critics with the power of their tennis.
With the absence of the 35-year-old American, 2017 has been a roller coaster encounter on the WTA Tour. Angelique Kerber returned to world No.1 between May-July and only managed to reach one quarter-final during that time. Unseeded Jelena Ostapenko stunned everybody by claiming her first ever title at the French Open. Meanwhile, Simona Halep keeps falling short at overtaking Karolina Pliskova at the top of the rankings.
With no clear leader, the women’s tour has been left facing stern scrutiny. Some more fair than others. The latest came from Chris Evert, an 18-time grand slam champion. Evert has stated that there is ‘no rivalries’ in the women’s game that is similar to the likes of Federer against Nadal.
“There’s no rivalry whatsoever right now,” she told the New York time.
“Great rivalries bring in more people, more fans and more interest, even for people not interested in sports,” Evert added. “Martina and I were like night and day. It transcended tennis. Nadal and Federer now are the same; you’ve got such a contrast.”
The current state of the WTA Tour may be far from perfect, but does it really deserved so much negativity?
Williams’ hiatus from the tour is without a doubt a huge blow. According to Sports Media Watch, the Wimbledon final between Garbine Muguruza and Venus Williams was the lowest watched final on ESPN since 2014. Just one example of her important to the sport.
Still, it is hard to blame the pitfalls of an entire sport on the absence of one person. It isn’t only near impossible, it is disrespectful to the many others players fighting for glory every week. Consistency has been the achilles heel of the women’s best this year. Current US Open champion Kerber is currently ranked 6th in the world, but is yet to defeat a top 20 player in 2017. Kerber’s struggles are one others share. So far this season 16 premier tournaments have taken place and none of them have been won by the top seed in the draw.
The US Open trophy hunt
Without one person clearly dominating, next week’s US Open draw promises to be a open field. This itself has drawn criticism, but other players are relishing the challenge. Including two-time finalist Caroline Wozniacki.
“I think everyone is tough. There are a lot of great players out there. I’m just going to keep my head down, believe in myself and hope for the best that I can do good. I believe if you are well prepared and you feel good, everything is going to fall into place and work out.” Wozniacki told wwd.com.
It isn’t just the seeded players that pose a threat. Maria Sharapova will play in her first grand slam draw since returning from a 15-month doping ban. Despite a forearm injury troubling her in recent weeks, she is eager to return back to the top of the game.
“Though these last two years have been tougher -— so much tougher -— than I ever could have anticipated… my passion for the game has never wavered. If anything, it has only grown stronger.” She recently wrote for The Players Tribune.
The past two major tournaments, the French Open and Wimbledon, only saw three of the top eight seeds progress to the quarter-final stage. Prior to that, January’s Australian Open only saw two progress to that stage.
The future
As a result of the roller coaster season, a total of eight women have a chance of rising to world No.1 after the US Open. Critics continue to argue that the scenario reflects the inconsistency of the women’s tour. Although, two-time grand slam champion Muguruza believes it actually enhances the appeal of the game.
“I think it’s quite interesting. I feel like every week it’s changing. Every week it depends on who wins the tournament. I think it’s fun. I think for the fans and the tour it makes it interesting to have the diversity. I think coming up to the US Open and the Asian swing it going to be a real battle.” Said Muguruza.
guess what? 8 players will run for the WTA #1 at US Open.
Pliskova has to reach the F to have a chance to be #1 on Monday 11th September. pic.twitter.com/nW5qaTKB6P— Diego Barbiani (@Diego_Barbiani) 20 August 2017
Women’s tennis appears to be at a crossroads, but waiting for the return of Williams is not the answer. The landscape of the tour is not what it use to be, but this isn’t the end of the world. Instead of focusing on what things have been like, attention must now be put on the present. It is time to move on and accept the current state of women’s tennis. Only then will the sport get the appreciation it truly deserves.
