The WTA Finals—the season-ending championship of women's tennis—begins on Monday, October 20 in Singapore. Throughout the next eight days, we'll take a closer look at the seasons put forth so far by the eight singles competitors.
Agnieszka Radwanska has had a turbulent year marked by numerous ups and downs. She definitely seems to have dropped a level from the two previous years. Radwanska has won just one title, but it was a good one: Montreal, where she defeated Venus Williams in the final.
Radwanska started the season strong, with a semifinal showing at the Australian Open (losing to Dominika Cibulkova). She then reached the final at Indian Wells, but despite her vastly superior ranking (No. 3) she was upset by then-No. 21 Flavia Pennetta.
That loss seemed to throw off her gyroscope. She was consistent, but she lost to players she was expected to beat—players like Alize Cornet (in Katowice, Poland, Radwanska’s home event), Ajla Tomljanovic (at the French Open), Ekaterina Makarova (at Wimbledon), and Peng Shuai (at the U.S. Open). The malaise continued to plague Radwanska on the Asian circuit, where she took early losses at Wuhan and Beijing.
Radwanska’s lone tournament win in Montreal was a welcome, if temporary, relief during her struggles.
In a year full of them, the horrific fourth round, 6-3, 6-0 pasting Makarova gave her at Wimbledon stands out.
Radwanska is one of four players in the draw for whom a win in Singapore would signal a career highlight. It certainly would end a puzzling year on a high note. Granted, Radwanska may have committed the cardinal sin of taking lower ranked players too lightly—only she knows if that’s true. Whatever the case, she needs to hit the reset button.
WTA Finals Previews
Sunday, October 12: Agnieszka Radwanska
Monday, October 13: Ana Ivanovic
Tuesday, October 14: Caroline Wozniacki
Wednesday, October 15: Eugenie Bouchard
Thursday, October 16: Maria Sharapova
Friday, October 17: Petra Kvitova
Saturday, October 18: Serena Williams
Sunday, October 19: Simona Halep