ranked player. If one did a like-for-like comparison to the ATP Tour not an exact science mind you, but still a good indication of performance Kerber is equivalent to players like Nishikori and Raonic. Good players, but not the best in the world. The absence of Williams is a major blow for the WTA, but there are other factors that are making people lament the poor state of the Tour. Sharapova’s ban for doping robbed the circuit of one of its biggest stars, further deepening the talent crisis. If that wasn’t bad enough,
Victoria Azarenka fell pregnant in the middle of the year, forcing her to forgo the rest of the season. A wonderful blessing for her, to be sure, but a big loss for the WTA. None of this would have mattered, of course, if other players stepped up to fill the shoes of these absent stars. Unfortunately, however, that has not been the case. Players who would best be able to take advantage of the absence of Serena and Sharapova were not able to do so. Petra Kvitova, for example, struggled mightily with injuries of her own in
2016, and though she ended the year strong winning 16 of her last 18 matches it proved too little too late to rescue the Tour from a lack of stars. In terms of youngsters, well, there simply are none. No wunderkinds took to the stage in 2016 to wow the world, and there are none on the immediate horizon who could inject some energy back into the Tour. Potential saviors of recent years, such as Eugenie Bouchard, Heather Watson and Sloane Stephens have all regressed in a big way, fading back to the middle of the pack with no resurgence in sight. It is unclear what 2017 holds in store for the WTA Tour. One hopes that Williams is healthy and that Sharapova can recapture some of her former magic, because if these two don’t manage to come back strong, next season may prove to be even worse than 2016.