The new tennis season means that players, after two months off, will return to the court in pursuit of big goals. What are the New Year’s resolutions several big WTA names must make in order to get to their goals?
Serena Williams
New Year’s Resolution: Move Those Feet
The woman who came within two match victories of the Grand Slam, nearly becoming the first person to win the slam since Steffi Graf in 1988, has established herself as one of the very best female tennis players of all time. What’s left to accomplish? Serena is trying to catch Graf and then Margaret Court for the most major singles titles of all time. Graf has 22, Court has 24, and Serena is there at 21. The New Year’s resolution is to move the feet on returns of serve. Serena can get flat-footed at times, so she needs to reminder herself to move her feet on every shot. Moving on the serve is important because the point starts with a player standing in place. Moving for groundstrokes is easier because there’s an established flow in a point. Moving on serve is where Serena needs to be stronger.
Maria Sharapova
New Year’s Resolution: Second Serve
The New Year’s resolution Sharapova has to make is to find a smooth and consistent kick serve for her second serve. Sharapova’s second serve has been prone to double faults and or fierce returns. This gives away far too many critical points in close, hard-fought matches. Sharapova has to be able to avoid those bad patches on the court when her second serve puts her in trouble. If she can make that less of an issue this season, she could improve her results from week to week and tournament to tournament. It might be the thing which enables her to win back the French Open title after Serena won it last year. Every little edge can make a difference and that’s especially important for an elite player that has come so close in so many grand slams recently. She’s been to the fourth round or further in eight of the last nine grand slams.
Victoria Azarenka
New Year’s Resolution: Be Consistent
The New Year’s resolution Azarenka has to make is that she can’t let down her guard. Specifically, she has a tendency of doing this in matches against a lower-ranked player, right after winning a big match. It’s a very simple concept: the letdown affect.
Too many times last season, Azarenka would let down her guard in matches. She’d look like the favorite to reach the final in a tournament or perhaps even win the tournament, but she’d then lose to a struggling player or someone who was not in top form. Azarenka’s best tennis came and went in 2015. It would appear for a little bit and then disappear just as quickly. When Azarenka comes to a tournament, she has to be able to keep her frame of mind for the whole week instead of using it in bursts but then losing it shortly thereafter. One of the greatest challenges on the women’s tour is consistency and while we’ve seen Azarenka flash incredible potential, she still hasn’t found that level of consistency needed to succeed as one of the top players.
Simona Halep
New Year’s Resolution: Loosen Up
The New Year’s resolution Halep has to make is that she needs to enjoy being on the court. Halep looks burdened by pressure so many times when the plays. You can’t move as well if you’re feeling nervous and Halep has shown time and time again that her tightness comes back to haunt her. Halep is good at fighting hard, but she sometimes thinks about her situation so much that she gets distracted and forgets to fight. Competition has been difficult for Halep to fully understand. Being able to grow in that understanding could serve Halep well for the season to come. Her resolution needs to be have fun on the court, play a little bit looser and enjoy the moments.
