Outlook 2016: Anna Karolina Schmiedlova

Another player many tennis fans including me praise to have a good 2016 is Schmiedlova. The Slovak had her best season in 2015 and as she has been a great junior her time to shine in the WTA tour must be near. This is my thoughts on her 2015 and my predictions for her 2016.

2015:A star is born.

2015 was definitely Anna's best season.The year were she made herself known to the tennis world. Even though the start was not ideal and she had some bad loses,she had a generally consistent year winning her first 2 WTA Titles in 3 finals and making her first 2 premier level 5 QFs. Also,another good factor is that she got to play more top players like Aga Radwanska,Sara Errani,Caroline Wozniacki and Petra Kvitova,beating some of them as well. She did beat Aga Radwanska in Cincinatti in a great match by her with everything working and in general a really good tournament. Also,she gave immense fight against Caro in Wuhan to make an UNBELIEVABLE come back and beat one of the top seeds in another steady tournament from her. I really appreciate steady seasons and Im passionate supporter of the opinion that stability is always rewarded in the end.Also,for me winning titles is something really important for a young player.They show that you can win multiple matches against lower ranked players and higher ranked. They are the proof you are not just a giant-killer.About,Ana's season you can see more in my Zhuhai preview articles as well,where she made it as an alternate and a player a match beating easily Roberta Vinci.

2016:But will the star shine?

As we all know WTA is fond off naming players Rising Stars and "predicting " that they have a brand future. Though,not everyone is one of them. In my opinion,Anna-Karolina must be watched as one and I believe that she can have a good 2016 as she has in general some great characteristics and something that lacks in the modern WTA youngsters,stability.About her game I have to say that her stable baseline game can trouble the WTA world in 2016 especially on clay. Also,her groundstrokes can take crazy angles and be really demanding to exploit. However,everyone has their disadvantages. While Anna's groundstrokes are aggressive-minded she does not have a killing shot,rarely will you see her having an uncatchable one(even though they will always put you on defensive position),so I think that she must work on her variety and net play. I will emphasise on net play as Anna had not had any good results on grass this year so it will be good for her improvement in that surface. Moreover,she is 1.76m tall so she can work on her serve technique and why not in her return as well.  Anyway, I think everything depends on hard work. The talent is there but the player must always work to get improved and have the results. I think Anna is in the right direction and I believe that she is a hard-working girl in search of accomplishing her goals. I predict that she will have a great 2016. The most important for her now is to get to play more at the big stages,to get accustomed to them. This year,as she will be seeded at the slams(she is in the AO at least) there is no doubt we will see her more in the big stages and against the top seeds. For me, Anna can end the 2016 season inside the top 15. Im maybe too optimistic but I see future in the face of this girl..Probably,because I like her character as well,I mean that she is not like the other wanna be stars of the game(p.ex. Bouchard).I may be wrong. Hopefully,the time to see has come close.




I WISH YOU ALL A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! THANKS FOR READING MY ARTICLES!  I would love to hear your opinion in the comments!!!

Outlook 2016:Garbine Muguruza

Garbine was definitely one of the stories of 2015. From just an aspiring youngster she became part of the game's top players in 12 months time and she is considered to be one of the favourites for the 4 slams and the Olympics next year. So,what is Garbi's potential for the 2015 season? This is my opinion.


2015:The bomb that exploded
Garbine has been considered as one of the main WTA rising talents so far. Especially,after her win over Serena Williams in the 2nd round of the French Open last year her name started to be heard again and again in the tennis fan circles. The only thing that Garbi needed for her fearless game to shine on court was a healthy and fit year and that year was 2015. 2015 was just incredible for the young Spaniard. She won many top 10 players many of them multiple times,as Agniezska Radwanska and Angelique Kerber while she made the second week in 3 of the 4 Grand Slams including the Wimbledon Final and the Roland Garros Quarter Finals.
In the rest tournaments she was not as astonishing especially in the US swing,where she was dealing for her new ranking as a top player. However, she had an unbelievable Asian Swing reaching the QF in Tokyo,the Final in Wuhan and the tip of the iceberg she won her first Premier Title,actually a Premier Mandatory title in Beijing,securing a place in the Singapore Elite 8. In Singapore she went 3-0 in her group,losing only one set to Petra Kvitova but she lost to Aga Radwanska in the Semifinals. Also, she made the Final in Doubles. These were unbelievable results for Garbine who managed to end the year as world number 3 exposing for the first time her fearless game that gave her nicknames such as "The Bomb" and "Muguruthless".



2016:Is Muguruza the new Bouchard?

Many are the tennis fans who have compared Garbine to Genie. Genie had an amazing 2014 as Garbine this year but her 2015 as we know was something more than devastating. However,we are not here to talk about Genie. Garbi is a different person and even though the 2 seasons had many similarities(finals on quick surfaces etc.) I'm strongly against that comparison for the following reasons. First of all Garbi is older and more mature on court. I mean that Garbi has a more grown up play style and mental mindset. Muguruza has proved that she is more mature inside the tennis court and she has for sure a better behaviour than the Canadian and I thing that one of the main reasons Genie has not succeeded after 2014 is the fact that she needed to become more mature and play as a favourite. Garbi proved that she can play as a favourite in Beijing and in Singapore this year where her results were living up to her seeding.
Moreover, Garbine's game has more options than Genie's. Genie's routine is just to play the ball as quick as she can without many other pros. In the meantime Garbi has a big serve and return as well as really good volleys due to her doubles career. Furthermore,her Asian swing shows us that Garbi can have consistent results while Genie's had many up and downs. Finally,Muguruza has had a great a record over many of the elite players which means that she has read their game perfectly well. In general, I predict that Garbine will continue the good results in 2016 and she will remain in top 10,but I feel it is too early for her to win a slam or an Olympic medal,but who knows...anything can happen!






Thanks for reading! Hope you will have great holidays! Please, comment me your opinion!


P.S.: All the photos are from Getty!

Aga Radwanska: It doesn't matter how you start, it matters how you finish (Part 2)

This week,I started the review of Aga's 2015. A year that didn't start good but it ended unbelievably well! This quote of Aga after winning the WTA Finals in Singapore can pretty much describe all the 2015. This is the 2nd part of the article,Aga's second part of the year-after the grass court season!

The US summer,mediocre appearances continue...

Aga was supposed to return in a good fashion during the US Open series,something that never happened. Aga failing to defend the Rogers Cup points lost her top 10 ranking once again,while she still remained without a title in 2015. However, she had little unexpected losses(1st round in Cincinnati,3rd in the US Open) and her loses came to top players each time. That was a progress. Aga's game was starting to work better which was evident in her match against Angie Kerber in Stanford,one of the best matches of the year quality wise. Mentally there wasn't that much progress. Aga lost after bageling Simona Halep in the 1st set in the Toronto QFs (a golden chance to win a title there) while her match against Schmiedlova in the 1st round of Cincinnati was not a good example as well. I was not happy for Aga's US swing! So many opportunities wasted,so much vulturing getting useless. She would have to give it all in the Asian Swing for the two prerequisites for a season for me,a title and a place in the WTA Finals.


Asia:This is my home!

Aga had an unbelievable Asian swing,winning 2 WTA Titles and finding herself in the end in Singapore,where a very pleasant surprise came to give different air to this bad season. She began her Asian campaign in Tokyo,one of her favourite tournaments where after an amazing week,full of emotions, she lifted her first title of 2015. This was Aga's best tennis in 2015 so far. Flawless with perfect balance between defence and offence she would beat Coco Vandewedge,Elina Svitolina,Karolina Pliskova,Dominica Cibulkova and Belinda Bencic without losing a set en route to her 2nd title in the country of the rising sun.This meant that my first goal for her season had been accomplished,to win a WTA title. She went then to lose early in Wuhan,victim of her bad draw(against eventual champion Venus Williams) and her fatigue(played one day after returning from Tokyo). Then,she had a good week in the SFs of Beijing which however was not followed by her best play,even though she snatched her first top 10 match win against Kerber in the QFs. The SF match against Garbine was really painful to watch for a fan. Aga won the first set,but she did not keep up the good work in the 2nd while she started the 3rd as bad as usually.Aga then would find the inspiration she had in the first set to bounce back and return the set to 4-5 on her serve. Unfortunately,she was not able to hold,even though she had a game point. This match was really bad in the mental part. Aga did not have her head clear throughout the match and she did not exploit Garbine's weaknesses which were evident throughout all the match. Aga had been confirmed then for Tianjin and Moscow. If she would win in Tianjin she'd qualify for the WTA Finals. The field in Tianjin was really weak especially after Bencic's withdrawal and Pennetta's 1st round exit. The only players who could probably challenge her where Kiki Mladenovic and Karolina Pliskova. The road was open. Personally,I would have been really unhappy if she had lost a match that week,but fortunately she did not and with really good tennis on display she would go on to win her 2nd title of 2015. I remember me this week being afraid to watch her matches because I would jinx her,though with the help of my twitter friends I took the courage to watch her SF and Final matches and it was really rewarding as Aga played amazing. So, after securing her spot in the Elite 8,Aga would omit Moscow,logically assumed, to prepare for Singapore.

The Singapore tale

I still can not believe what happened in Singapore. I was sure that Aga will go there to get trashed in all her round robin matches but she ended up LIFTING the Billie Jean King Trophy to bring joy to every Aga fan around the world.Aga began her Singapore campaign in the red group against Maria,Simona and Flavia. Her first match was against Maria Sharapova. Maria had to play a full match since Wimbledon and had been struggling with injuries lately so this was an open chance. However,Aga could not take advantage of it. Their match was a lot alike the Beijing SF,Aga played a perfect 1st set then she run out of steam to lose the second and get back in the 3rd,with a late revival not being enough. Two days later,Aga would lose to US Open champion Flavia Pennetta in straight sets to put her in the last place of the Red Group. There was only one mathematical scenario Aga could qualify. She would have to win Simona in 2 and Maria to win Flavia in 2.And this happened...Aga found herself two points away from getting eliminated by the competition but she turned back in the first set tie-break against Simona to seal the win! Maria's win over Flavia later would send her to the semis(THANK YOU MARIA!!!). Aga will then have to play against Garbine Muguruza, a player that have gone 3-0 in her group and had already caused a LOT of trouble to Aga in 2015. Aga had met Garbi 4 times in 2015 and had lost all of them failing to read the Spaniards powerful game. However,this time was Aga's chance. Garbine had one day less to rest while she has been playing doubles all week. The Pole played an amazing match while her opponent had moments of brilliance but in general was rusty. She eventually scored one of the best and most emotional wins of the year with 6-7 6-3 7-5 to reach her first WTA Finals Final!

In the Final she got to face Petra Kvitova. Aga was playing sailing in the start not giving away ANYTHING while Petra had probably not realised the importance of the match yet. After getting down 2-6 0-2 Petra woke up. Despite the fact that Aga did not make a single Unforced Error in the whole second set Petra managed to win it 6-4 and to lead 2-0 in the 3rd . That's a hint of how great is Peak Petra.From then, Aga started playing more like the first set putting on some risk,while Petra slowed down. In the end, the Czech would gift Aga the WTA Finals title with a powerful forehand of hers hitting the net. Aga's reaction and all of her fandoms twitter reaction was something more than touching. Others, including Aga were crying,others including me were souting like crazy. It was incredible. Aga was the WTA Finals Champion. Aga lifted the Billie Jean King Trophy. WHO WOULD HAVE IMAGINED THAT AFTER SUCH A YEAR AGA WOULD WIN HER BIGGEST TITLE EVER?NONE! I was so glad to be an Aga fan after this win,especially after what I felt in spring.The French Open I have lost hope but this brought it back to me! I finally had something to make me happy when Aga would retire! A photo that I would watch and take courage! Thank you Aga,my beloved queen!

My insta message after Aga's Singapore win:

"17th WTA Title-the WTA Finals!!!!🙌🙌🙌🙌💪💪💪 Your 1st Major Title(GS,YEC)!!!! Im so proud for being a fan of this girl the last 3 years and 2 months. After the 2013 Wimbledon and that SF loss I thought that you will never win something big,I gave up every hope but this brought me back.After your 1r loss in the French I sat in my bed and almost burst into tears,I thought everything was over.In the next couple of months I saw you returning back to the good old form.You made it to Singapore.I quarrelled with numerous tennis fans on twitter about you.On Tuesday you went 0-2 in the RR.There was only 1 mathematical scenario that you could get in the semis,beating Simona in 2 and Masha to beat Flavia in 2.And this happened and after two amazing wins over Muguruza and Kvitova you are here,holding the Billie Jean King trophy.Shutting up all the haters mouths and bringing life to all of us your numberous fans. Thank you so much for all the amazing emotion my queen!!Lets hope 2016 will be that great!!! I will miss you on court for the next 2 months but I will be watching this photo to take courage. Thanks again...💜💜💜"

Thanks everyone for reading this article. I wish you Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Edit of @gpatricia1748 my photo editing guru! :p
Make sure to follow her on twitter!

Aga Radwanska: It doesn't matter how you start, it matters how you finish (Part 1)

The title of the article, quote of Aga's press conference after winning the WTA Finals, can pretty much describe Aga's 2015 season! Im really happy in general with Aga's year however there is still a lot of room of improvement in 2016 and there are still many problems which need immediate solution if she wants to be more competitive especially at the slams.

Early HC season:first disappointing results and game changes.
Aga had surprised us all after hiring Navratilova as her coach during the off-season and everyone was waiting to see the outcome of this unexpected partnership.From her first tournaments n 2016,Aga had shown a little transition in her game.She was hitting her shots more flat and she would come more often to the net. I think that this was a step in the right direction and I was sure that would help Aga in the future. However, for the time being things were not working well. Aga still had not a killer shot and she would eventually struggle ending points in which she was having the advantage. Also, she was struggling ending the points in the net. Moreover,there were some mental problems as well. Aga after a mediocre 1st set she usually peaked in the second to level the match but she would constantly running out of steam in the 3rd...Aga had some pretty bad results in this early hard court season and we can say that there were signs that the partnership with Martina was not working out well.While having lost precious ground in the first months and with her worst surface coming up the things seemed a lot darker.Aga had made the SFs in the AO Open,the Final in Indian Wells and the Quarter Finals in Miami in 2014 and she fell short in defending these results,so in consequence her ranking dropped...

Clay court season:The downfall

Aga had a really bad clay court season,with the problems stated before being even more evident in her least favourite surface. The Pole didn't make a single clay court Quarter Final,while she dropped out of the top 10 breaking her streak,which was the 2nd best among active players.However, the worst of all was that she lost only for 3rd time in her career,and 1st since 2009 in the 1st round of a Grand Slam in the French Open.Especially that loss in the French Open was really painful for every fan. I was so angry and sad after this I almost cried that night. The problems were still there-not able to end points with ease(especially in the high-bounce clay courts) while she seemed lost in the court as well. She didn't know how to play.Also,the partnership with Martina ended before Madrid started.I don't know still if it was good that she left Martina as soon as she noticed the problem.and how she could have eventually helped.Personally,I was really sad of Aga's current situation .Even though it was evident that playing a little more aggressive was a good step it wasn't working on court.She may play really good matches but still getting trashed by top opponents. I didn't know what Aga should do to bounce back,probably getting some more confidence and playing some more little events,,or even getting a break could have helped. The only thing that could give me hope was that many players who had tried the transition to the most aggressive game needed a matter of time to adjust and eventually for the good results to return back again!In the photo is my message to Aga after her 1st round loss in the Roland Garros...

Grass court season:The turning point
If there was a hope for a turn-around we could only rely it on the grass court season. Aga has always been playing her best game on grass and ,as she has said, she feels like she was born to play in grass. Her game, even though its not powerful is really effective on the quick surface as the opponents get easily confused due to the tricky bounce, while as the surface is fast they have not much time to think! Also,her aggressive shots,which in other surfaces are usually too soft and slow to cause serious trouble, in the fast courts can get dangerous. Aga,ending her clay court season in deep lows, was searching for a new start in the English grass courts. Entering in Nottingham was characterised as a desperate move while I think she did the correct decision. She was the big favourite for winning the title and that would be a confidence booster whilst it would be a good tournament to get used to grass before the other top antagonism got to.However,the result in Nottingham was poor. Aga lost in the Semis to Monica Niculescu after getting bageled in the 3rd set as well. The game still had problems while mentally she completely gave up in that match. I was really unhappy after this result and in general her game that week did not amuse me. Though,I kept hoping that it was just the adjustment to grass and Monica's weird style.

Next tournament was Eastbourne. This was a key tournament for Aga in 2015. Her game finally worked really well and with a clear mind she made it through to her first WTA Final in 2015,in a premier event as well! However,the mental problems seemed to be there as well. The final against Belinda was a really good match and to be fair Aga with the chances she had she should have won it in 2. Instead,she dropped the first set and after winning the second she had another tragic 3rd set.This problem had been the story of her year so far and it did not seem to let go even in her favourite surface nor when she played well. In the 3rd Grand Slam of the year and her favourite tournament,Wimbledon, Aga continued her good grass court form that she had started in Eastbourne and made the Semis. It was Aga's smoothest game so far especially in the 4th round against Jelena Jankovic which was a really good match.Wanting a good run to gain her confidence back again, she found herself in her first GS QF since last years Australian Open where she beat the 20 year-old Madison Keys in 3 sets after a lets say mediocre match to set a semifinal clash against the newborn superstar Garbine Muguruza. A logical fan would see that Aga could not threat Garbine. Not only the Spaniard had beat her in both of their previous 2015 meetings,but also she seemed unstoppable n the English courts so far.Even in that case,the prospect of Aga making the final after that season she had was charming for every Aga fan. In the end of the day,it was another 3rd set defeat for Aga who could not withstand Garbi's bombs. After a mistook challenge from Aga Garbi was on match point and she ended it with another great serve and volley. The Pole would leave London with the head down as she didn't got to lift her 2nd Runner-Up trophy(She wouldn't beat Serena in the Final in any chance),but still satisfied with her good result.Anyway,we should take the positive things out of Aga's grass court season, as she regained:

• Confidence
• Her top 10 spot
• Her spot near the Singapore top 8
• Her good play

Shortly,this would have been the best recipe to succeed in the rest of the year if she had solved the mental problem...

PART 2 COMING UP

MY WTA AWARDS (Part 2)

This will be the 2nd part of my WTA Awards for 2015!!It will feature the awards that the part 1 didn't include:WTA Newcomer of the year,Sportsmanship award,Diamond Aces Award and Fan Favourite!Hope you enjoy it and don't forget to vote for the #WTAOscars on twitter this week!! ;)

WTA NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
This year has been full of arrivals of new WTA Stars.We saw surprise young players winning titles and upsetting the seeds!! Some names are Daria Gavrilova,Nao Hibino and Margarita Gasparyan. However,i think one of them deserves this award a lot more!
WTA NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR:Daria Gavrilova

I selected Dasha not only because she is the highest ranked,but also she is the one who had the bigger wins and has been playing in WTA tournaments for all the year. Dasha's season was really incredible!! She started with a bang beating Angelique Kerber and winning 2 consecutive ITF 50k titles. In spring,she beat Maria Sharapova in Miami while she had a fairytale run in the SFs in Rome after beating Ana Ivanovic in her way. Those victories helped her stick out from the other Newcomers and be the favourite for this award. Also,most of the other plays were playing on the ITF Circuit for a big part of 2015,whilst Dasha played only 3 high ranked iTFs in the start of the year. Dasha is surely a very capable player with a very entertaining game style and I honestly look forward to seeing her in 2016!

SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD
The sportsmanship award is undoubtably one of the toughest award categories. Every WTA player leaves a little shade or causes a little drama during the year! However,there are still players who are sportsmanship idols,like Petra Kvitova and Venus Williams. Petra have been dominating this award the past years,while Venus's come back has made her a favourite as well.I will pick:
WTA Sportsmanship Award:Venus Williams

Venus has always been a class act on and off the court. She is always smiley,calm and 'polite' in her actions and her manners. The exact opposite of her sister. Also,you will never see Venus producing unnecessary drama and as I say "crying over spilt milk". Venus,experienced as she is seems to know how to completely focus to her game letting all the other factors out of her mind and that is really important. We can say the same about Petra. I just picked Venus over her because she has had already many of these awards and Venus's comeback this year is something really inspiring. Anyway,either Petra wins in or Venus I will not be surprised. They both deserve it.


DIAMOND ACES AWARD 
I actually haven't completely understood this award. From what I have read in the WTA website it awards the players who have been advocates of the sport throughout the season and promote it on the large scale. There are many players who have been true advocates of the women's tennis and the women's sport in 2015 but I can't imagine someone else getting this award.
WTA Diamond Aces Award:Flavia Pennetta

I thing Flavia's US Open triumph and the bombshell of her retirement became a story in 2015. Flavia had a great career winning 1 Premier Mandatory Title and being a top 10 player but winning a slam and taking part to the WTA Finals was the tip of the iceberg to the Italian.Also, Flavia has been world no1 in doubles and has won the Australian Open with Dulko!! Closing, Flavs has had a great career and she will be missed to all of us and especially to her Italian(not only) fans. Personally,I will miss that shot of pure class,her Backhand down the line.



FAN FAVOURITE AWARD
This is actually my favourite WTA Award!! Aga,my fav,have been the story of it the past years and me(and all the other members of the #Agafam) are really proud of it!! I honestly hope that Aga can win this one as well and I will do my best to help her win it!However,they are as well many other players who are loved by their fans so I project it to be a derby! My pick is the following!
FAN FAVOURITE AWARD:Simona Halep

Honestly now has there been a match of this girl this year where there wasn't a team of Romanian fans shouting SI-MO-NA, SI-MO-NA. The support that this girl takes from her co-patriots is immense and it is unbelievable how she has been the most popular WTA player twice in a row. I remember reading the Power To Inspire this year and I was like "OMG This support...She will certainly be flag-bearer in the Olympics!" People in Romania really live for Simona and I believe that even if she does not have the same support in world-wide scale I think that the passion of this fans is enough for her to overcome the big names of the award-Maria Sharapova and Aga Radwanska.

P.S. Photos are from Getty

MY WTA AWARDS 2015

As the WTA Awards kicked off once again,I decided to write down and post here my own opinion about WTA Awards. In this article I will have the match of the year,the player of the year,the comeback player of the year and the most improved one. Next post will be about the sportsmanship award,the Diamond Aces and the Fan Favourite.

1.MATCH OF THE YEAR

This year,we can say it was full of amazing matches on the WTA tour. In this helped many things. Angie Kerber peaking,taking part in many great matches. Fierce antagonism after Serena and in general many old player bringing off their best and many young ones playing great.
For me match of the year is:SERENA VS VINCI US OPEN SF
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_haB1NHIC
HL from Tennis Stuff on Youtube

Quality wise this wasn't the best WTA match of 2015 for sure. However, I pick it because it will be a historical match,remember as probably the biggest upset in the history of the modern women's sport at least. It will be a match that will be remembered for years and Im so glad to have watched it live on my Tv.
Serena was 2 wins away from the Calendar Slam,to be the next after Steffi to achieve it.Serena had gave everything,every inch of her body and soul, to win the other 3 slams in thrilling matches. The next 2 matches seemed as easy as ABC for her. Roberta Vinci in the semis and Flavia Pennetta in the final. Two players ranked outside of the top 25 at the time. I remember I was sooo disappointed after the 1st semi. For the quality of the match,for the fact that Simona lost and for the lack of drama. I WANTED TO WATCH DRAMA.Everyone was saying that Serena would outlast Vinci with braces.I really wanted this match to be a thriller. I still have a screenshot in my phone(at least I hope) that Im saying Roberta peak I wanna see a huge match. And Roberta heard me... Robi's game had bursted out of heaven that day. She was incredible! Serena didn't play bad but not peak. She tried whatever she could in the end but the pressure and Vinci's inspired game wont help her. Roberta would reach her 1st Grand Slam Singles Final.To be honest before the US Open started I was saying to myself imagine if Serena collapses in the Final or the Semifinal from pressure and I was right in the end.Anyway,I should say again that ok I may dislike Serena as many of you know,but this is unbiased to its very best. I should say again that Im selecting this match because it was written in history,there were at least 5 better matches in terms of quality.

2.PLAYER OF THE YEAR
For many out there this is obvious. Serena is the player of the year because she won the 3 GS and she was so near to the Calendar Slam.I have a different opinion. Not only for who should take the award and about the philosophy of the award.
Player of the year:ANGELIQUE KERBER 

Many of you now you are like "Is he drunk"? Obviously,I am not drunk or anything else. Serena won the 3 Grand Slams,finished number 1 with loads of points ahead,but achievements in the season aren't the measurement for me. In this award,I will rate the entertainment and the level of game the athletes brought in this year. Serena may have won all these but she had some really bad matches in her road to the 3 titles,especially in the French Open. Her level wasn't supreme and she didn't in fact really amaze me game-wise. Her mental strength was out of this world,but in the game she was mediocre and lets say she didn't entertain me,and I think not only me but other tennis fans as well. From the other side, I think Angie pushed herself to her limits in some matches this year. Her level of play in many of them was just out of this world. She took part in many of the highest quality matches of the year and she had us,tennis fans, in the edge of our seats.From this year,I would like the term #Kerberclassic. I know my pic may have surprised you and you may say that Im a hater and my opinion is biased,but I don't think that Serena played that good and that entertaining this year! In 2013 her level of play was 5 times better from the others and she didn't in fact flop in early rounds or being constantly under the weather. In 2013,none could deny her the award,but this year I must say again she wasn't that good quality-wise.

3.COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Another tough decision is this of the comeback player of the year. There are many interesting and great stories for the players but I liked this one.
So,Comeback player of the year for me is TIMEA BACSINSZKY

Timea's year was amazing. She won 2 WTA titles,had a 15 match winning streak,her first GS QF and SF in Wimbledon and Roland Garros as well as her first Premier Mandatory Final in Beijing. Timea was once a great player of the top 40 back in 2008-2009 but a leg injury had left her out of tennis for really long. Timi had been almost completely out of tennis working in a hotel in Switzerland.Her story however is even more amazing at the start. Timi has remarked that her father was putting her pressure and that he ruined her life after he discovered the talent in her. His way of training was really bad and harsh according to her in a level that Timi tried to convince her mother to divorce him.From the story we can infer that Timi's father surely wasn't the best father.He was looking more for the money and for the fame than what made his daughter happy. In her first professional years Timi was a good player but as she said she never felt as an athlete, as she was always in a bad physical situation and despite her accomplishments she never felt happy and enthusiastic about tennis. This year,Timi not only was physically ready for first time after many years,but she was mentally ready as well. She was for first time happy into the court and she was full with passion to try and fight for the best. And she did reach the top 10 of the world! I was really touched by Timi's story and I thing she wholeheartedly deserves this award as she was able to bounce back not only physically but mentally as well.

4.MOST IMPROVED PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Also,this award needs a lot of thought as there were in fact many players that improved a lot not only in the rankings but in their level of play as well. For this award,I will pick a player that made a bang in 2015.
WTA Most Improved Player of the Year: GARBINE MUGURUZA

As I said,many were the players that improved dramatically in 2015,but Garbi reached the top of the mountains by ending the year as the World no 3,having reached her first WTA Finals,won her first Premier Mandatory Title and made it to her first slam Final. Garbine started the year ranked 24 in the world as one of the most promising Rising stars of the 2015 season. Until the grass court season she had in fact really good results and many great wins but nothing as tremendously big as what would happen next.Grass was known to not be the Spaniards cup of tea but her game which is quite suitable to the fast courts shone in the England slam. Her big serve,her great net skills and her big groundstrokes but most of all her fierce fighting spirit led her to her first Grand Slam Final after taking out a bunch o big names such as Angie Kerber,Aga Radwanska and Caroline Woznacki. In the US Open series she seemed to have hard time to get used to her new identity of a top player,in which she seemed to have fit well after some tough summer time in Asia. In the most populated continent of the planet she was truly dominant reaching the QF in Tokyo,the Final in Wuhan,winning her first Premier Mandatory title in Beijing and finally qualifying for the WTA Finals in both singles and doubles. In the Finals she went 3-0 in her group but lost a thriller match against Aga Radwanska in the Semi-final mainly due to her lack of rest day and the doubles she played all the week. Also,she made the Final in the doubles championship. Garbine finished in the world no3,jumping in fact 21 seats in the rankings. Garbi brought her tennis play to a completely other level and she let her bombing shots finally take over the elite of the WTA. Also,during the US series she had the time to grow more mentally that resulted in making Garbi a complete player.I think that Garbi turned from just an aspiring rising star to an elite player of the WTA this year in many ways so she deserves this award.

2016 Outlook:Belinda Bencic

The article series will feature today one of the most promising Rising Stars of the WTA,Belinda Bencic. The 18-year old has had an unbelievable year,reaching 4 WTA Finals and winning 2 WTA Premier Titles. Due to an injury that seems to be bothering her after Tokyo she pulled out of the WTA Elite Trophy to end her season. 2016 seems to be a really important year for the youngster who will "carry the burden" of her brilliant 2015 results.


2015:A Cinderella story

Belinda after beating Wozniacki in the Tokyo SFs

Belinda has been known as a promising player since the beginnings of 2014,however none would ever imagine that she would evolve that quickly considering our tennis era.Even though she hadnt the perfect start in 2015,neither had a good clay court season,losing in the 1st round of the Australian Open and in the 2nd of the French Open,she played really good tennis in the US series(both in summer and in March) and in the grass court season. Among her very good results are the Hertogenbosch Final,the R16 in Indian Wells,Miami and Wimbledon and the Tokyo Final. However, the most important moments of her season that really took the tennis world by storm were winning in Eastbourne and Toronto, both Premier tournaments(Premier 470 and Premier 5). After these triumphs she gained more fans, more self confidence and rose up the rankings very fast.

Belinda with her Eastbourne trophy

In Eastbourne she beat Genie Bouchard and Agnieszka Radwanska in a great final and we can pretty much say that it was the one little sample of what would come next in the land of Canada. After failing in the R16 of the Wimbledon Championships she played in Washington DC,where while as the 3rd seed she pretty much was a favourite.However,she lost to Anastasia Pavlychenkova. However,next week the miracle would happen.Belinda would beat 6(!!) former Grand Slam Finalists in a row to win her 2nd WTA Title,1st Premier Level 5. I remember when the SFs were to took place it was my name day and I would lose them,I didnt learn anything about them till the next morning. I woke up and I saw that Belinda had beaten Serena. I was like WOW! Quickly I tuned in youtube to watch the match. Serena was indeed mediocre,but to be honest she didn't play that match. Belinda from the other side however was the star!
Her steady baseline,constructive and clever game was in full sync and with many classy net points she was able to lead Serena to a 3 sets defeat which was in fact a lot more straightforward than the scoreline implies,as especially in the final set Belinda left Serena no space at all to lead 5-1 but she nearly choked to close it 5-4. This chokes were present all the week and wii be a topic to discuss in the 2016 preview.Then,she will go on to beat Halep 7-6 6-7 3-1(ret.) to become the 1st teenager to win the Rogers Cup in a lot of time(think since Ana Ivanovic back in 2006). In terms of her game,I can say it is really good,nearly perfect.Her shots can be aggressive,while we can say she is a really good athlete and has a great defensive play. Her game is really clever,proven after her victories over opponents with better athleticism like Caroline Wozniacki. In my opinion,her game is in a superior level in every domain of the sport of tennis,attack,defence,tactic! Surely, there is rome of improvement probably in the serve and the return but for her age her game is almost perfect. For mr,she is the definition of the all-around player.

2016:Α year question mark

Belinda with her Rogers Cup trophy

2016 should be an important year for the 18 year-old. Rising Stars tend to fail to live up to fans expectations after a good year just like Genie Bouchard in 2015. I believe that it would be a year that Belinda will get to meet the mental aspect of the game more. For me her game has very little imperfections but she needs to work a little in the psychological part. What I want to say is that Belinda won't be always the underdog. As soon as the next year starts she would be highly seeded at the first slam and it is evident that she will be a favourite to make at least the second week,so pressure starts accumulating. Even though she is young she needs to learn how to handle pressure early if she wants to be a champion like Maria and Serena in the future. This is a year to dedicate herself to her mental education. Some will probably say where is the problem with Belinda in this aspect and she is so mature etc. In the slams for example this year she had really tough matches in the US Open and Wimbledon before making the expected from her 3rd and 4rth round,for me there were resutls of pressure. Also,she has failed to be successful in smaller tournaments as well,for example in Prague and Washington DC, Moreover,in her Toronto run in many matches she choked leadings probably because she hadn't the courage to close it out the correct time,for example in the matches against Serena and Halep. Now, that she has even beat Serena she must understand that she can win any match if she believes in herself and to deal with the pressure,either the pressure of making the upset or the one of accomplishing the expected. Closing,I want to say that if you had asked me 2 weeks ago I would tell you that Belinda Bencic would be the 2016 Wimbledon champion but now I have changed my mind. I understand the needs of Belinda for mental education and that now is the right time in her career to do so. I expect from her to remain in the top 30 but not to do something really big as many would have thought after her 2015 year.

Zhuhai Previews:Day 1

As the WTA Finals came to an end ,with triumph of my fav,Aga Radwanska,I decided to post my daily previews for the WTA Elite Trophy. The draw is the following:

The matches are really good and tough to predict especially the ones of the Group B,in which literally all the players are out of form.The day 1 matches are Venus Williams vs Madison Keys,Sara Errani vs Jelena Jankovic and Elina Svitolina vs Andrea Petkovic.

VENUS WILLIAMS VS MADISON KEYS:
THE OLD VS THE NEW

Venus Williams and Madison Keys will kick off the action in the WTA Elite trophy on Tuesday,7 a.m. UK time. It will be their 2nd meeting this year after the Australian Open QF,where Keys prevailed in 3 sets to reach her maiden Grand Slam Semi-Final. Madison's play style is quite similar to the one of Venus. Both players have a big serve and hit the ball powerful and flat. Venus however has some more old-school variety to her game,such as some slices and a very good net play that Keys,following the modern game style, lacks. So, its evident that it will be a hard-hitting match with many firing winners but many easy errors as well.I will move on breaking down their season and their current form.

Venus Williams after winning her biggest title in 8 years at Wuhan

Madison had probably the best season in her career reaching the Aus Open SF,the Charleston Final and the Wimbledon QF. These was the highlights of Madison's season and probably her career so far. After the US Open Madison pulled out of the tournament in Quebec city due to a wrist injury. She seemed to have problems in Wuhan as well,while she was forced to retire in the second set of her R16 match in Beijing against Aga Radwanska. Also,she pulled out of Luxembourg as well.From the other side Venus had a really good season as well reaching the QFs in the US Open and the Australian Open and winning her biggest title in many years in Wuhan. Venus current form implies that she is playing her best since a while,but there is a little question mark due to a leg injury that she picked up in the Wuhan SF.That injury seemed to bother her both in Beijing and Hong Kong but it must have not been that serious.

Madison after her run in the Australian Open Semi-Finals

To the match now. I think that Keys is one of the few players that in fact can overpower Venus in a way. She has one of the best serves in tennis but she still needs work in many other aspects of the game,especially her movement.In the other part,Venus is a legend and there is no way I will criticise her game. However,I don't know how ready she will be physically due to the injury and her age as well. I think that it will be an interesting match but Im giving the edge to Venus as not only Keys is a question mark due to her injuries but she has a less mature game than Venus of course. Their H2H is 1-1,with Venus winning their first meeting in the Charleston 2013 QFs and Madison avenging that loss in this years Australian Open.
Prediction:Venus to defeat Madison in 3 sets

Guest Blogging:The Fantastic Eight:Part D

This is the final part of Nora's article series about the WTA Finals,including no7 and no8 seeds Flavia Pennetta and Lucie Safarova. Please tell your opinion in comment!!

THE FANTASTIC EIGHT

A detailed preview of Singapore a few weeks before its start. Players' profiles,key statistics and all the things you should know about the most important rendez-vous of the WTA for this season


X-RAY



Part D





7.Flavia Pennetta:Nickname:The unexpected NY queen

Flavia reached the QFs in Indian Wells
to secure 215 points

Flavia after the NY fairytale,securing
2000 points.

Profile:The competitive Italian made it to Singapore,too. Many people got to know her when she conquered 2015 US Open but Flavia's triumph in the US was just the most spectacular highlight of a long and remarkable career. In her interview just after her victory against Vinci in the US Open Final, she said that by the end of the season she will retire, reminding us of Bartoli's similar decision after she won Wimbledon. However, the difference is that Marion didn't play at all at a professional level after that title, while Pennetta will end her career playing in Singapore. According to Mats Wilander, Flavia has always been a nice tennis player but success came only after she took the decision to give up crazy tennis and start acting more logically in the court. Regarding the other Majors, she was defeated in the 1st round of the Australian Open and Wimbledon and in RG she made the 4th round. If she desires to combine her last tournament before retirement with one more triumph she will have to replicate the form she had in September.


8.Lucie Safarova:Nickname:The warrior

Lucie after winning Doha securing
470 points

Lucie after reaching her maiden GS final
in the FO,securing 1300 points.

Profile:One more Czech. One more talented player. That's all. If you wanna search for some extra similarities between her and her compatriot,Petra,you must rack your brains for quite a lot of time. By this I mean, that Lucie's temperament has nothing to do with Petra's. The one is probably one of the most passionate players I have ever seen and the other one of the coolest. Apparently,brain games are not Lucie's cup of tea, but her dynamic style has led her to Singapore. This year was admittedly the best of her career. She may have dropped openers in the Australian Open and the US Open,but reaching the Finals in Roland Garros should have been the best moment of her career. Also,she reached the round of 16 in Wimbledon. Since the US Open she is struggling with a bacteria infection and an abdominal injury,so being healthy will be the most important thing for her in Singapore.

Guest Blogging:The Fantastic Eight:Part C

Hey guys!!Nora will be hosted again today so that she continues her article series about the WTA Finals. Today,in the part C,Nora analyses the 5th and the 6th seed,Aga Radwanska and Angie Kerber. Please read and comment your opinion!!!

THE FANTASTIC EIGHT

A detailed preview of Singapore a few weeks before its start. Players' profiles,key statistics and all the things you should know about the most important rendez-vous of the WTA for this season



X-RAY




PART C


5.Agnieszka Radwanska: Nickname: The best of the rest
   

Aga after her run in the Wimbledon SF.
She secured 780 points

Aga after winning her 1st title this season
in Tokyo,securing 470 points

Profile: Aga was also through this year's world championship. The player who admittedly deserves a Grand Slam but she hasn't been really lucky so far hopes to take advantage of Williams' withdrawal and Sharapova's seeming inability to win two quality athletes in a row. She has always been a true fighter in court but she never seemed capable of maintaining herself in the first three of the WTA World Ranking . Lastly, she had problems with her play identity, as her co-operation with the timeless legend, Martina Navratilova, didn't prove effective. Her best result regarding the Majors was the Wimbledon SF in which she lost to Spain's Muguruza, while the worst one was in RG where she was defeated by Annika Beck in the 1st round. In the Australian Open she reached the 4th round and in the US Open she lost in the 3rd round. In case she wanna do well on Asian ground, she will need to find the balance between defence and offence for sure.



6.Angelique Kerber:Nickname:The killer with the angelic face

Angie after winning Birmingham,one of her 4 titles this year.
She secured 470 points

Angie after winning Stuttgart,the most important moment
of her season, securing 470 points

Profile:The talented German has fulfilled her ambition to be one of the Fantastic Eight. When it comes to her case, I'd advise you to bear in mind the following clues. Firstly, Angie has a particularly positive Head-to-Head with Maria Sharapova(especially if we take their latest matches into account). Secondly, she is a player of big matches, which means that provided she feels well in court she can literally win anybody. If Serena hadn't withdrawn, I'd have probably said that Kerber could potentially challenge her. Of course that's the same with Masha and Simona(who will thankfully play in Singapore). This year she was knocked out in the 1st round of the Australian Open and made it to the 3rd round in the rest Grand Slams. Although that doesn't sound extremely impressive from a statistic view, I support that if Angelique is in good shape she can certainly go far in the WTA Finals.

2016 Outlook:Carla Suarez Navarro

As the tennis season is coming to an ending,I decided to publish a series of articles with a review of the 2015 season of some players and a preview of the 2016 one. Today,Im writing about Carla Suarez Navarro.

2015: From the peaks of the mountains to the deeps of the ocean.

Carla in Beijing this year.

The Spaniard had probably the best season of her career-or should I say the best half season. Carla found her self with an inspired form during the first half of the season,as she made the QFs or better in 12 of her 14 1st tournaments of the season,all Premiers. Also,she made her 1st Premier Mandatory Final in Miami losing to Serena Williams and her first Premier level 5 one losing to Maria Sharapova in Rome. Her game was in full sync during the first half allowing her to win many big opponents(10 top 10 wins). Her win over Simona Halep in the Semi-Finals of Rome was the tip of the iceberg for the 27 year-old.However, as every good has an end,the downfall started after the grass court season. We all know that grass isn't Carla's cp of tea and this was proved on court especially after getting bageled and breadsticked by 18 year-old Jelena Ostapenko in the 1st round of the All-England Club. I think that the grass court season and the summer break played an important role to her downfall. CSN seemed to have lost her inspiration in the second half. She lost in the opening round of 7 consecutive tournaments including the Japan Women's Open in Osaka where she had more than 20 ranking places difference with the 2nd seed. The problem with Carla was that the quick courts of the US didn't suit her game that much so that she could get her early year inspiration back. Also,something I have to admit about Suarez is that she hasn't a fan club,or a fan base. I have never seen someone who is a big fan of Carla neither on twitter,nor on insta,so she lacks the fan support. In the Asian Swing, Carla wasn't as disappointing as in the summer,but nowhere near to the start of the season. She played well enough to beat the easy opponents but failed to challenge the better ones.In Moscow she had the Singapore ticket in her hands but she lost in a really rough way to Daria Kasatkina. She has qualified to the WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai where she will probably be the 1st seed,hoping for a strong ending in the season.

Eyes on 2016

Carla in Miami where she made the final this year.

As the 2015 tennis season is coming to an end, Carla will have to thing through many things during the off season.She must take the goods from the start,but to see what went wrong after Birmingham. I think that the first weeks of the 2016 will be crucial for her,as she needs some confidence so that she can defend all these points which are coming off. Also,I believe that she should keep playing doubles even without Garbine because they have helped her game the past 2 years,especially in the net. I believe that net play is important for Carla as she can help her in the quicker surfaces,but also it is needed so that she can win easy points. Moreover,in my opinion,her game needs some acceleration and speed. Her angles are beautiful but with some work I think we can see fireworks from her! About her ranking,I suppose that she can stay in the top 30 of course,but I doubt if she will maintain herself in the top 15 like now. With the points coming off and the competition brewing I think that it will be tough for her. Closing, I want to say that I like Carla's game and when she is on, she is a breath of fresh air in the top 20. I hope she can be in top 20 in 2016 as well and that she can have a sort of #TeamCarlita by her side next year,because she deserves it.

P.S.:Photos are from getty