Women's Tennis: 7 Players Who Could Be the Next Petra Kvitova

As Petra Kvitová served a thundering ace against Maria Sharapova at Championship Point last Saturday, a new champion was born at the All-England Club.

The 21-year-old left-handed player from the Czech republic had impressed throughout the tournament with her big and accurate serve, a powerful forehand and backhand and a temperament that in no way reflected her young age.

Kvitová became the second woman to become a first-time Grand Slam champion this year after Na Li picked up the French Open trophy about a month ago. 

In the sporadic world of women's tennis, this trend seems to be growing. 

The injuries of the Williams sisters and Kim Clijsters did make things a tad easy for the new kids on the block, but that's not to say they did not earn and deserve their triumphs.

The months surrounding the French Open and Wimbledon have produced quite a few breakout performances by women who, earlier, just filled up the numbers.

As we move into the second half of the season, we could expect to see a lot more and a lot better from these chicas.

So here's a list of seven potential candidates who could be the next femme fatale in women's tennis.

7. Yanina Wickmayer

Belgian Yanina Wickmayer was first noticed after she reached the semifinals of the 2009 U.S. Open, where she dispatched higher-ranked players such as Virginie Razzano, Shuai Peng and Petra Kvitová.

After winning the first tournament of the year in Auckland, Wickmayer endured a horrid start to the 2010 season in which she was accused of going AWOL during the World Anti-Doping Agency's annual drug tests. 

After being cleared, the Belgian fought back by reaching a career-high No. 12 ranking that year.

Wickmayer returned to Auckland to defend her title in January this year but lost in the final to Gréta Arn.

She was then knocked out in the second and third rounds of the Australian Open and the French Open, respectively.

Wickmayer has also lost to Kvitová twice this year—at the 2011 Open GDF Suez and Wimbledon.

Wickmayer enjoys ping-pong tennis from the baseline and loves to go for her shots. She is rather fearless when it comes to taking chances on the big points.

But the Belgian has never quite reproduced her form of the U.S. Open a couple of years ago and has to improve her level of tennis in order to be regarded as a serious contender.

6. Tamira Paszek

Tamira Paszek first broke out in 2007 when she reached the fourth rounds of Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.

The Austrian national played two marathon matches in 2008. The first was in the Australian Open against Jelena Janković, which she lost 2-6, 6-2, 12-10. The second was at Wimbledon, where she lost to Italian Francesca Schiavone 6-3, 5-7, 10-8.

The loss against Schiavone was part of Paszek's six-match losing streak going through the French Open and Wimbledon.

After ending her losing streak against Aiko Nakamura, Paszek followed it up by beating the then world No. 1 Ana Ivanović.

Paszek endured a couple of mediocre seasons in 2009 and 2010 where she failed to get past the second round of a major.

Beginning the 2011 season ranked 89th in the world, her rotten form and luck persisted as she failed to make an impact at the Australian and French Opens.

However, the 20-year-old Austrian seemed to miraculously get her form back at Wimbledon as she gained revenge against Schiavone in a third-round thriller.

With the scores tied after the first two sets, Paszek took the third set 11-9, ending a three-hour, 42-minute match in which she hit 40 winners and 36 unforced errors.

However, she lost in the quarterfinals to fourth-seed Victoria Azarenka.

Paszek's quarterfinal appearance at Wimbledon is her best performance at a major yet and could be the turning point in the young Austrian's career.

5. Tsvetana Pironkova

Tsvetana Pironkova is the Bulgarian No. 1 on the women's tour, but she is best known for her peculiar dominance over the elder of the Williams sisters.

Pironkova seems to have made Venus Williams her bunny over the last few years.

Their first meeting was at the 2006 Australian Open, when then 94th-ranked Pironkova beat Williams by a scoreline of 2-6, 6-0, 9-7 in the first round.

The pair met four years later in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon, where Pironkova prevailed 6-2, 6-3,  becoming the first Bulgarian in 18 years to reach the semifinals of a Grand Slam. However, she fell in the next round to Vera Zvonareva.

In this year's Championships, Pironkova exacted revenge on Zvonareva in the third round of Wimbledon. The win set up a third career meeting with Williams, and the Bulgarian prevailed with the same score line as last year.

Pironkova lost in the quarterfinals to Petra Kvitová.

Other than the quarterfinal and semifinal appearance at the Championships in the last two years, Pironkova has never gotten past the second round of a Grand Slam.

The Bulgarian is pretty nimble on her feet, and her movement is one of the best seen on the tour. But she needs to improve on the other aspects of her game in order to, perhaps, meet Williams in a Grand Slam final some day.

4. Andrea Petković

Andrea Petković rose to popularity during the 2010 U.S. Open, where she first performed the now world-famous Petko dance following her first- and second-round triumphs over Nadia Petrova and Bethanie Mattek-Sands.

After losing the Brisbane International final this January to Petra Kvitová, Petković improved on her best performance in a Grand Slam by reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, beating Maria Sharapova on the way. Petković was to lose to eventual finalist Na Li in the round of eight.

Petković then recorded the biggest win of her career at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, beating world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki 7-5, 3-6, 6-3.

At Strasbourg, Petković won her second WTA title after defeating players Maria Kirilenko, Daniela Hantuchová and Marion Bartoli.

She then carried forward her form on clay into the French Open, where she reached the quarters.

But the unforced errors caught up with her in the third round of Wimbledon, and she lost to Ksenia Pervak.

Petković is a very aggressive player and relies on her serve. However, after a cruciate ligament injury on her knee last year, the German's movement has been restricted and leaves room for improvement.

Ranked 11th in the world, Petković is the highest-ranked German player on the tour. 

She has the potential to beat anyone in the world but can also as easily lose to anyone. She has to work on her consistency if she wishes to win a Grand Slam some day.

3. Dominika Cibulková

Other than being the shortest woman (5'3") in the top 50, Dominika Cibulková is also one of the highest-ranked players (20th) to have never won a WTA title.

However, the 22-year-old Slovak plays unusually well in Grand Slams.

A fourth-round loss at the 2009 Australian Open was followed by a first-time semifinal appearance at the French Open.

In the quarterfinal at Roland Garros, Cibulková was a match point away from defeating Maria Sharapova (who stood almost a foot taller,) 6-0, 6-0. The Slovak eventually won 6-0, 6-2.

After a substandard 2010, Cibulková reached the quarterfinals at Brisbane, where she lost to Petra Kvitová 6-0, 6-4.

Later, at the Sydney WTA event, Cibulková pulled off the biggest upset of her career by defeating Caroline Wozniacki 6-3, 6-3.

Cibulková repeated her performance at Wimbledon, beating Wozniacki in the fourth round in three sets.

Prior to this match, Cibulková had ended the campaign of 16th seed Julia Goerges 6-4, 1-6, 6-3.

However, the Slovak was to come up against a determined Sharapova in the quarterfinals and lost 6-1, 6-1 in an hour.

But Cibulková's performance at Wimbledon has given her a lot of hope going forward.

Despite her miniature frame, Cibulková generates a lot of pace off of both wings. She moves well and looks to use her speed to get to the ball early.

If the Slovak improves on her game, she definitely has the potential of winning a Slam some day.

2. Sabine Lisicki

After reaching a career-high ranking of 22nd in Aug. 2009, Sabine Lisicki's game was hampered by an ankle injury which kept her out for the majority of the 2010 season.

The 21-year-old had a mediocre start to the 2011 season when she failed to qualify for the Australian Open.

At the French Open, Lisicki reached the second round, where she came up against third-seed Vera Zvonareva.

The German had a match point at 5-2 in the third set, but ended up losing 4–6, 7–5, 7–5. A resurgence of her injury during the match led her to being carried off the court in a stretcher, sobbing.

Lisicki, however, refused to give in and, impressively enough, won the second WTA title of her career at the pre-Wimbledon AEGON classic.

That performance earned her a wild card entry into the Championships.

Lisicki wasn't going to throw away such an opportunity so easily and went on to defeat French Open champion Na Li and 2007 Wimbledon finalist Marion Bartoli at the All-England Club.

Doing so, Lisicki became the first German player since Steffi Graf to reach the semifinals of Wimbledon.

However, Lisicki's fairy tale came to an end in the semifinals, where she was beaten in straight sets by Maria Sharapova.

After a horrid spell in her career dogged by injury, the 21-year-old's results at Wimbledon offer hope for the future. She is young and can only get better.

1. Marion Bartoli

Marion Bartoli turned pro in 2000 but never burst onto the scene in the early years of her professional career. 

She beat her first top-10 player, Vera Zvonareva, in 2006 but failed to get past the third round of a Grand Slam.

Bartoli made her first Grand Slam fourth-round appearance at the 2007 French Open. There, she was knocked out by fourth-seed Jelena Janković.

Taking her progress into her stride, Bartoli entered Wimbledon with a strong resolve to perform well. 

The Frenchwoman then recorded one of the most stunning upsets in the tournament's history, beating world No. 1 Justine Henin 1-6, 7-5, 6-1.

After a few substandard seasons, Bartoli had a second coming in 2011. Her form ideally resuscitated at her home Grand Slam.  

Seeded 11th, Bartoli delighted the French crowd by defeating 2009 winner Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarterfinals on her way to becoming the first Frenchwoman in six years to reach the semis.

Her dream run came to an end soon, as she was disposed of by Francesca Schiavone.

The 26-year-old carried her form into the All-England Club.

At her hyperactive best, Bartoli bounced her way past Serena Williams in the fourth round before falling in the quarterfinals to Sabine Lisicki.

Bartoli's dynamic style of play has attracted a lot of crowds recently, and she is always entertaining to watch.

She has a powerful serve and also returns quite well. Her two-handed forehand and backhand pack a lot of punch, and she can destroy any opponent on her day.

Fitness is one area the Frenchwoman will have to work on in the future. At 26, she isn't the youngest candidate on this list, but her desire to succeed is sure to win her a coveted Slam some day.