The new tennis season began with the Shenzen Open in Shenzen, China. Unlike the warm-up events for the Australian Open which take place in Australia or New Zealand, this one took place in Shenzen, China, meaning that the players who played in this event will not play in any warm-up events this week due to the limitations placed by travel (unless they lost very early and had a reasonable amount of time in which to go down to Australia to prepare). Agnieszka Radwanska was the shining star at this tournament as she ended up taking home the crown. She has played excellent tennis dating back to last season and has now won all but four of her last 26 matches. Here’s our recap of the Shenzen event:
Tournament Recap
Agnieszka Radwanska won the 2015 season ending WTA Finals, taking advantage of an injury-riddled field (including the absence of Serena Williams) to score the biggest and most prestigious win of her career. Radwanska didn’t storm through that event, but she did manage to get through round-robin group play and then win her semifinal and championship matches. If she wanted to prove to herself and everyone else that she is for real and is capable of going to the next level in her career, she sure sent a message to the rest of the WTA Tour in China. She beat Alison Riske, 6-3, 6-2, to win a championship at the start of the season and create the idea that she will be a factor, a main contender, at the upcoming Australian Open. Radwanska beat Anna Lena Friedsam in the semifinals while Riske defeated Timea Babos. Critics will say that Radwanska faced a weak field, but Radwanska tore through her final two matches, winning them in straight sets and doing exactly what she is supposed to do. That’s the kind of thing which has eluded Radwanska over the years. This could be a real paradigm shift for her and her career.
Biggest Surprise
Riske has not been able to get past the first weeks of major tournaments with any consistency, so making the finals of a lower-level event should rate as a significant accomplishment for her. Beating Timea Babos in the semis is a great performance. Riske was part of an excellent showing by the Americans this weekend as Sloane Stephens won the other WTA event of the weekend at the ASB Classic. Riske’s effort was a little more impressive in many ways, though, as she ended up falling to a woman who is ranked 92 spots ahead of her.
Anna Lena Friedsam made the semifinals, lurking in the lower tiers of the rankings. She pushed Serena Williams last year in the second round of the French Open, but she needed to show that she can play well on an everyday basis. This tournament marked a good step forward for her. As for Babos, who also deserves to be mentioned on a list of surprises, she beat Eugenie Bouchard, 4 and 4, in the quarterfinals. That’s a huge win for her, even though Bouchard is coming back from a concussion suffered off the court at the U.S. Open last September. Babos took full advantage of her opportunity and now has a lot more to look forward to in 2016.
Biggest Disappointment
Yaroslava Shvedova was once thought to be a player who could make a regular home in the top 10. She lost to Anett Kontaveit, 6-4, 7-6 (5). Petra Kvitova had to retire in her opening match against Saisai Zheng. That’s a disappointment, but based on health more than on her tennis. Joanna Konta beat Garbine Muguruza in the U.S. Open last September, so losing in the first round to Qiang Wang is a big letdown for her.
Updated WTA Rankings
- Serena Williams
- Simona Halep
- Garbine Mugurza
- Agnieska Radwanska
- Maria Sharapova
- Petra Kvitova
- Angelique Kerber
- Flavia Penetta
- Lucie Safarova
- Venus Williams
- Karolina Pliskova
- Carla Suárez Navarro
- Timea Bacsinszky
- Belinda Bencic
- Roberta Vinci
- Victoria Azarenka
- Madison Keys
- Caroline Wozniacki
- Sara Errani
- Elina Svitolina
