What's Next? WTA No. 4, Agnieszka Radwanska

Our What's Next? series looks at every player who finished in the ATP or WTA Top 10 this season, and considers their future in three different ways.

It was a season of career years for the women, and that included No. 4 Radwanska. She won her biggest title, and recorded just her second win over Maria Sharapova, in the Key Biscayne final. She reached her first Grand Slam final, at Wimbledon, and took a set from Serena Williams while she was there. And she very nearly elevated herself to No. 1. All of that activity seemed to take it toll on the busy Radwanska, as she suffered a minor mid-season case of burnout.

Can the clever but underpowered Pole, she of the lollipop second serve, climb any higher amid the trees that surround her? It won’t be easy. She has earned the enmity of Victoria Azarenka, who beat her six straight times in 2012 with the loss of one set, and she’s 2-10 lifetime against Serena and Sharapova. Aga would likely need to make a major improvement to improve her ranking in 2013.  

Best Case Scenario: Radwanska, known for years as a brilliant lightweight, especially at the majors, has already climbed higher than most of us would have thought possible. If she can find a way to fend off Azarenka and take charge of more points against the top players, she may go farther. In some ways, she’s too good, from an overall tennis perspective, not to snag a significant title along the way.

Worst Case Scenario: Aga didn’t respond all that well to prosperity after her Wimbledon run. She went out in the first round of the Olympics and was sluggish in a fourth-round defeat at the U.S. Open. Radwanska plays a lot of tennis each year; will of it catch up to her, physically or mentally—or both—at some point? There are more powerful players, like Petra Kvitova and Li Na, lurking just below her.

Australian Open Outlook: The off-season rest should do Radwanska sone good, and she has reached the quarterfinals in Melbourne the last two seasons. But with Serena, Vika, and Sharapova all having won Down Under in the past, and ready to do so again, it’s hard to see Aga making this her break through major.

More What's Next?

**- ATP No. 10, Richard Gasquet

- WTA No. 10, Caroline Wozniacki<em>*  

- ATP No. 9, Janko Tipsarevic
- WTA No. 9, Sam Stosur
*- ATP No. 8, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

- WTA No. 8, Petra Kvitova<em>*  

- ATP No. 7, Juan Martin del Potro
- WTA No. 7, Li Na
- ATP No. 6, Tomas Berdych
- WTA No. 6, Sara Errani
- ATP No. 5, David Ferrer
- WTA No. 5, Angelique Kerber
*- ATP No. 4, Rafael Nadal

- WTA No. 4, Agnieszka Radwanska**