Ranking the Top 10 Women's Players Ahead of the 2017 Australian Open
There's been a significant shake-up of the order at the top of the WTA Tour since last year's Australian Open. Going into the 2017 Australian Open, four players ranked in the top 10 last year are no longer there, and a few key players won't even be competing.
One thing remains the same: Serena Williams is the player to beat and the one with perhaps the most on the line. But where does Williams stand among the top-ranked women heading into the Australian Open?
She'll be seeded No. 2, behind No. 1 Angelique Kerber, who began her climb to the top spot with an upset victory over Williams at last year's Aussie Open.
Those two are clearly the best, but what about the rest? So much uncertainty surrounds the top players in women's tennis this year.
Last year's quarterfinalist Maria Sharapova is out. One-time finalist Ana Ivanovic retired. Madison Keys, the No. 7 player and a quarterfinalist last year, is out with an injury. Carla Suarez Navarro is ranked No. 10 but has withdrawn from two tournaments this year with a wrist injury. It's unclear how healthy she is.
Two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka gave birth to her first child and will therefore be absent, and two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova will miss the tournament after being attacked by a knife-wielding robber.
This power ranking does not include players who will not compete, regardless of their WTA ranking. Where players rank on this list is determined by current WTA rankings, previous success at the Australian Open and recent performances.
The following are the top 10 women going into the Australian Open.
Honorable Mentions: Venus Williams and Barbora Strycova
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For all her success, seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams has never won the Australian Open and was only a finalist once.
Still, she's one of the best hard-court players on the tour. Her ranking has suffered because of her slight playing schedule. However, Venus comes into the tournament without any major injuries.
Barbora Strycova reached the semifinals in Sydney and could climb to a career-high No. 16. Strycova turns 31 in March, and the hard-hitting Czech is having a late-career surge.
She defeated Caroline Wozniacki in the Apia International quarterfinals in Sydney earlier in January, so she has form going into the Aussie Open.
She'll be seeded No. 16 and opens the tournament against a qualifier.
10. Elina Svitolina
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Elina Svitolina upset Kerber to reach the semifinals in Brisbane, where she lost to Karolina Pliskova. Over the past year, Svitolina, 22, has become a mainstay in the top 20 and already has upset wins over Serena and Kerber.
Svitolina plays an aggressive brand of tennis. However, her serve needs work. She has more double-faults (16) than aces (15) so far in 2017.
Still, she's crafty and has sneaky power, and she's not easily intimidated.
9. Svetlana Kuznetsova
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Ranked No. 9 on the WTA tour, often-injured-veteran Svetlana Kuznetsova comes in at the same spot on this list.
The two-time Grand Slam champion is still hanging around the top 10 because she has the game, the talent and technique to compete with anybody.
However, unlike Svitolina, who rarely lets a moment get too big for her, Kuznetsova still falls prey to nerves and choking.
At 31, she's battered and tattered, even more so than the Williams sisters. Yet few players on tour possess her well-honed all-around game.
8. Dominika Cibulkova
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Dominika Cibulkova was the surprise winner of the 2016 WTA Tour Finals. After her win over Kerber, Cibulkova reached a career-high No. 5, up from No. 36 at the start of the season.
Known as the Pocket Rocket, Cibulkova packs plenty of power for someone 5'3". Her fearless, aggressive style is ideal for the fast conditions at the Australian Open, where she reached the final in 2014 and lost to Li Na.
Last year, she lost in the first round.
She just lost a second-round match in Sydney to Eugenie Bouchard, so she'll need to bounce back quickly.
7. Johanna Konta
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Johanna Konta is on a tear right now. She dismissed Bouchard, 6-2, 6-2 in just over an hour to reach the final in Sydney.
The ease with which she hit winners past Bouchard was downright scary. The victory saw Konta reach a WTA Tour final for the third time.
The Australian-born Brit reached the semifinals in Melbourne last year. She'll have plenty of points to defend in the Australian Open, but she should have the support of her native nation.
6. Garbine Muguruza
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Garbine Muguruza has quietly faded out of the limelight while remaining in the top 10. Despite having reached two Grand Slam finals and winning the 2016 French Open, the Spaniard receives far less fanfare than contemporaries Bouchard and Simona Halep.
Still, her big serve and powerful groundstrokes make her a serious threat at any Grand Slam. Her talent says top five, but her inconsistency brings her in at No. 6. She'll be seeded No. 7 at the Australian Open.
5. Simona Halep
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Halep is one of those who "woulda, coulda, shoulda" won a Grand Slam by now. After she reached the final at the 2014 French Open at age 22, expectations went up, along with her ranking.
She's No. 4 on the WTA rankings but comes in at No. 5 here because Melbourne has not been kind to the Romanian. Despite having reached the quarterfinals in 2014 and 2015, Halep has lost in the first round at the Australian Open in 2012, 2013 and last year.
She opens her quest for her first Slam against big-hitting American Shelby Rogers.
4. Karolina Pliskova
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The season is quite young, and already Pliskova has hardware to show off. She overpowered Alize Cornet 6-0, 6-3 to win the Brisbane International, her seventh WTA title.
After the match, Pliskova gave an honest assessment of her in-the-zone performance.
"I was just expecting it was not going to be that easy like it was in the first. I didn't miss almost whole set in the first set. Yeah, I was feeling pretty good today," she told reporters.
Last year, Pliskova upset Serena Williams in the semifinals of the U.S. Open to reach her first Grand Slam final. The Czech will be looking to capitalize on her return to the top five and place among the game's elite.
3. Agnieszka Radwanska
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Although all eyes are on the race between Kerber and Serena for No. 1, Agnieszka Radwanska rolls into Melbourne with a shot at moving from No. 3 to No. 2.
Last year, she reached the semifinals of the Australian Open, where she lost to Serena. Since her first appearance in the main draw of the tournament (2007), Radwanska has reached the quarterfinals or better six times.
Ranked No. 3, Radwanska has yet to win a Grand Slam, but she usually finds a way to play into the later rounds. She has a tough first-round match against Tsvetana Pironkova to negotiate first, though.
2. Serena Williams
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So many questions surround Serena as she enters the Australian Open. At 35, has age finally caught up to her? Has she recovered from her shoulder injury? How will being engaged impact her tennis?
One thing is for sure, she's still the player to beat, no matter what her ranking. She's won this tournament six times and seeks to win a seventh, which would be her 23rd Grand Slam title.
But it won't be easy. Serena faces former top-20 player Belinda Bencic in the first round and could face 2015 French Open finalist Lucie Safarova in the second round.
1. Angelique Kerber
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Serena might be the player to beat, but Kerber takes the top spot in these rankings because not only is she ranked No. 1, but she's also the winner of the final Grand Slam of 2016.
She has a significant but not insurmountable points lead over Serena. Although Kerber got off to a rocky start this year, losing in the second round in Sydney, beating Serena in Melbourne last year and going toe-to-toe with the legend at Wimbledon has to give the German confidence.
She has what most players on tour wish for against the 22-time Grand Slam champion: true belief.
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