Which WTA player is the 2023 season most critical for?

The countdown to the 2023 season is underway. As we close in on the start of the new, dual-gender United Cup (December 29), TENNIS.com's writers will debate the 10 biggest questions heading into the new tennis year.

Which WTA player is the 2023 season most critical for?

Ed McGrogan: Madison Keys. It’s not as if the American hasn’t put herself in positions to win big. She’s reached the quarterfinal round or better eight times at the majors—at least once at all four—and has been a Top 15 mainstay since 2015. Yet it’s Keys’ shortcomings at the Slams that we remember most, and she’s made just two WTA finals (relatively minor ones at that) since 2020. Beyond Iga Swiatek, there are no clear-cut titans on tour. By this time next year, we should know whether Keys has the mettle to truly win big.

David Kane: The 2021 US Open final promised to be a look at an exciting future: an intriguing contrast between Emma Raducanu and Leylah Fernandez. Polish vs. scrappy, introvert vs. extrovert, the first all-teen US Open final since Serena Williams and Martina Hingis in 1999—it looked to have something for everyone. The year since proved to be a brutal sophomore slump for Fernandez and Raducanu, who ended 2022 ranked No. 40 and No. 75, respectively.

Both women endured injury lay-offs, but more worryingly, neither looked up to the task of playing elite tennis on a week-in, week-out basis. Should things persist for another 12 months, what looked like foreshadowing may end up being a strange aberration on the WTA tapestry.

WATCH: Emma Raducanu's press conference from Cincinnati

Joel Drucker: Daria Kasatkina first cracked the Top 10 in 2018. There followed several rough years, and Kasatina’s ranking dropped to No. 66 by the end of 2020. But she rebounded sharply in 2022, attaining a career-high ranking of No. 8 in October. Kasatakina’s resurgence was highlighted by two tournament titles and a semifinal run at Roland Garros. Her playing style is compelling, an eclectic array of speeds, spins and tactical nuance that could make Kasatkina a fan favorite, similar to such savvy strategists as Hingis and Agnieszka Radwanska. So now that Kasatkina has returned to the Top 10, can she stay there and keep herself in the thick of things week after week?

Matt Fitzgerald: How about Ons Jabeur? She’s cleared every hurdle on both the Grand Slam and ranking fronts, except the final one. After reaching the Wimbledon and US Open finals and heading into the new year as the world No. 2, Jabeur’s 2023 success is arguably going to be measured by whether or not she brings home a piece of major hardware. The 28-year-old missed out on this year's edition of the Australian Open due to a back injury. A triumphant return to the Happy Slam would be fitting as ever for our resident Minister of Happiness.