Top WTA Talents Beyond Serena Williams Still Struggling to Find Consistency

When Serena Williams announced that she was done for the remainder of the season, she left the door open for other WTA Tour talents to cut into her sizable points lead in the tour rankings.

But as has been the case most of this year, would-be challengers faltered. The rest of the tour's top contenders continue to struggle to find consistency. 

With a chance to gain ground, No. 2 Simona Halep and No. 3 Petra Kvitova lost their opening matches at the China Open in Beijing. Halep retired in the first set with a left ankle injury. Kvitova fell to Sara Errani.

It's as if every time players have a chance to make a move forward, they drift back instead. Several top players emerged as serious threats to Williams this year but were unable to sustain momentum.

They would sizzle, then fizzle.

In the spring, Halep won Indian Wells, her first premier tournament title. She followed that win up with a spectacular performance in a three-setter against Williams in Miami. Aha, a rivalry was born—or so we thought.

Then Halep ditched her coach right before Wimbledon and lost in the first round. She regained her form this summer, just in time for the U.S. Open. She took out two-time finalist Victoria Azarenka in the quarterfinals and seemed on her way back.  

But she came out flat in the semifinals against Flavia Pennetta, who went on to win the U.S. Open. Halep lost in the quarterfinals at Guangzhou, a tiny tournament in China. She lost her second match in Wuhan before having to retire in Beijing. 

Remember when Kvitova was the hottest player on the tour? That lasted about two weeks. After Kvitova destroyed Williams in straight sets in the semifinals at Madrid, talk began about the two-time Wimbledon champion being poised to take over the tour. Didn't happen. 

Kvitova lost in the quarterfinals at the French Open and in the third round at Wimbledon. She then lost in the first round in Toronto and Cincinnati. 

Maria Sharapova's title win at Brisbane and strong performance against Williams in the final of the Australian Open made her look like a contender for the top spot. However, Sharapova fell from No. 2 to No. 3. Shockingly, she lost her opening matches in Miami and Stuttgart. She is still recovering from injuries and hasn't completed a match since Wimbledon. 

Andy Wong/Associated Press/Associated Press

Then there are the young challengers like Madison Keys, Garbine Muguruza and Belinda Bencic who dazzle us one minute and fade the next.

Keys reached the semifinals at the Australian Open. But she's been inconsistent too, performing well at the Slams and stumbling in smaller tournaments.

Muguruza went on to lose four of her next six matches after reaching the final at Wimbledon. She rebounded by reaching the final in Wuhan but had to retire against Venus Williams. Bencic, who defeated Williams in Cincinnati, continues to improve but struggles with maintaining intensity from one tournament to the next.

How volatile is life at the top?  

Consider last year's top eight players who participated in the year-end championships in Singapore. Among them, only Serena Williams, Halep and Sharapova have clinched a return. Kvitova, Eugenie Bouchard, Agnieszka Radwanska, Ana Ivanovic and Caroline Wozniacki rounded out the lineup. 

Heading into Beijing, 27 players still had a shot. 

Wozniacki, Radwanska and Ivanovic are on the outside looking in. If the season ended today, none of them would qualify. Bouchard, who was seeded No. 6 at last year's year-end championships, has already been eliminated. Bouchard fell from the top 10 to No. 38. A concussion she suffered in the locker room at the U.S. Open sidetracked a late-season comeback attempt. 

Injuries and illness have played some part in these inconsistencies. Especially this time of year, everyone seems a bit banged up. Sharapova retired in her opening match in Wuhan. Lucie Safarova, the French Open finalist currently ranked No. 6 in the Road to Singapore, contracted an undisclosed infectious disease. Safarova hasn't played since an opening-round loss at the U.S. Open. 

Wozniacki complained about feeling dizzy after a match last week. 

Halep spoke with reporters about how injuries have interfered with her late-season push. "Of course, every tournament is important," she said. "But the most important thing is to be OK, to feel no pain, and then I will see. I hope I can play in Singapore. Was my goal for this year. I will see. I need treatment and I need break, for sure."

It is odd that young players such as Halep, Kvitova and Bouchard are fighting injuries and consistency. Meanwhile, a trio of 30-something women are coming on strong down the stretch. Pennetta, Venus Williams and Roberta Vinci are all still in contention for a spot in the WTA Finals. Ahead of the U.S. Open, none of these three were on the radar for a spot in the finals. 

Wozniacki, 25, is an experienced player sandwiched between the 30-somethings and the up-and-comers. In a press conference at the China Open, a reporter asked Wozniacki why the younger phenoms haven't been able to break through against the growing number of women in their 30s. Wozniacki told reporters how difficult it is:

"

I think obviously the more experienced players have been playing well. When you have a lot of experience, you know your game, you know your body. A lot of those women have been playing really well. I think it's really tough as a young one. It was also when I was young. 

But I was one of the lucky ones that was able to win a lot when I was young. Hopefully I can keep doing that for a few more years. 

"

Indeed, even former No. 1 Victoria Azarenka is struggling to find her form. A two-time Australian Open champion, Azarenka remains ranked outside the top 20. 

In contrast, on the ATP Tour, the top 10 have remained pretty consistent. In fact, if the ATP season ended today, the year-end championships would feature almost the identical lineup from last year. Just swap out Marin Cilic and Milos Raonic for Rafael Nadal, who qualified but withdrew due to injury, and David Ferrer, who ended up playing in last year's finals as an alternate. 

The names atop the ATP rankings have been the same most of the year. It's the usual suspects: Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Tomas Berdych and Nadal. Even the young Kei Nishikori has been consistent enough to stay in the top five most of the year.

There's been a revolving door to the WTA's top 10. Regulars such as Ivanovic, Wozniacki and Radwanska have flown in and out. Meanwhile, players such as Pennetta and Safarova, on the tour for more than 10 years, broke into the top 10 and reached career highs this year.

With 2015 wrapping up, the status of WTA's top-tier players remains influx. The offseason is within sight and, with it, comes time for players to recuperate, regroup and re-establish. All this uncertainty will certainly make 2016 intriguing.