Konta, Stephens, Mladenovic made strides outside the spotlight in 2015

What remains of the 2015 WTA season is being contested this week at the WTA Finals in Singapore, and next week at the WTA Elite Trophy, a new season-ending championship for the second tier. But outside of the Top 25 is a trio of players whose seasons are over but shouldn’t be forgotten. They made noticeable strides this year, and could make bigger gains in 2016. These three ladies deserve credit for their play in 2015, even if it wasn’t enough to make the cut in either post-season tournament.

There’s a new female British No. 1, and she has come seemingly out of nowhere. Johanna Konta entered the Top 100 for the first time in 2015 and now finds herself at a career-high No. 47, overtaking talented compatriot Heather Watson. The 24-year-old took off this summer, winning back-to-back ITF Pro Circuit events in Granby and Vancouver before a surprising fourth-round run at the U.S. Open.

The Australian-turned-Brit qualified for the hard-court major and then took out Garbine Muguruza and Andrea Petkovic to run her winning streak to an astounding 16 matches. The highlight came against Muguruza, who Konta had beaten just weeks earlier in Eastbourne: Konta grinded out the longest match in U.S. Open history—three hours and 23 minutes—to topple the No. 9 seed, 7-6 (4), 6-7 (4), 6-2. Before exiting to Petra Kvitova in the second week, the humble Brit surprised herself with both her performance and the larger press contingent that awaited her after each victory.

Konta showed plenty of stamina and patience this season, and has ample power behind her shots. She also deserves credit for not resting on her laurels after the Open. Konta played just one tournament, but it was a big one, across the globe in Wuhan. There, she upset Petkovic, Victoria Azarenka, and world No. 2 Simona Halep on her way to the quarterfinals—showing she’s no one hit wonder by any means.

A lot of Americans may be tired of hearing about Sloane Stephens and her untapped potential, but 2015 was a turn in the right direction. While she still hasn’t rediscovered the spark that propelled her to the Australian Open semifinals back in 2013, Stephens’ results took a noticeable upturn this year, and it can be tied to a change in her traveling team. The 22-year-old brought on Nick Saviano, a coach she worked with throughout most of her junior career at his academy in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. but had yet to travel with in the pros. Saviano was just coming off a remarkable 2014 campaign alongside Eugenie Bouchard, but the two spilt during the off-season.

Bouchard’s loss was Stephens’ gain. The season saw Stephens win her first WTA title (in Washington), and, more importantly, show the fire necessary to win at the game’s top level. She reached the round of 16 in Indian Wells and followed that with a quarterfinal run in Miami. At the French Open, she stormed her way into the fourth round, falling respectably to Serena Williams in three sets. It’s possible that having a competitive push from other rising Americans also helped Stephens. She lost her stranglehold on the highest-American-not-named-Williams title to Madison Keys, and is also being chased closely by CoCo Vandeweghe and Madison Brengle. That’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Many chide Stephens for her decidedly mellow attitude, but just because she’s not a fiery competitor on the outside doesn’t mean she’s not harboring some serious motivation on the inside. She channeled both her power and determination in 2015, and her current ranking of No. 30 is commendable. Her long-awaited title proved that she can be more than just potential.

Another player we shouldn’t overlook is Kristina Mladenovic. The 22-year-old Frenchwoman’s quarterfinal run at the U.S. Open was overshadowed by the tournament’s bigger headlines, but it was the latest example of her ability to rise on the game’s biggest stages. Last year Mladenovic famously upset Li Na in the first round of the French Open. It’s always challenging to perform well at home, and especially at a home Slam, but Mladenovic handled the pressure admirably. This year in Paris, she upset a then-No. 6 ranked Eugenie Bouchard on her way to the third round.

The world No. 29 has swift feet, even swifter hands, and owns a graceful and efficient game. One of her strongest weapons, her serve, is augmented by her 6-foot height. Mladenovic is better known for her doubles success (12 doubles titles and two Grand Slam mixed doubles titles), but 2015 proved to be a milestone for her singles career. She broke into the Top 30 for the first time and reached the semifinals in Birmingham and final in Strasbourg. The best is likely to come.