Original piece by AGF for UbiTennis.com
This beginning of the 2016 season on the women’s side has been highlighted with uncertainty and surprising results. Not many thought Angelique Kerber could win the Australian Open in Melbourne, or that Serena Williams would finish the month of March with no titles under her belt. After Miami we can surely say that Victoria Azarenka is in poll position to dominate the hard court season later this year, considering the level she showcased both in Indian Wells and Miami. That said, winning a Grand Slam title is another story, something the Belarusian has already managed to achieve twice. In the past years there have been majors with surprise winners, the most famous not-predicted winners being Samantha Stosur (Us Open 2011), Marion Bartoli (Wimbledon 2013) and Flavia Pennetta (Us Open 2015).
In this flow of uncertainty only one thing seems recurrent: Players born in the 90s can’t win a major title, with the only exception to the rule being Petra Kvitova, who with her 2 Wimbledon titles (2011 and 2014) is to date the only player born after December 31 1989 who has managed to win a Grand Slam.
When Petra won her firs title at the Championships in London beating Sharapova 6-3 6-4 in the final, almost no one predicted that in the following 5 years no player aged like Petra or younger would end up not winning a major title. No player with less than 26 years of age now can count a Grand Slam title in their palmares. It doesn’t really make sense then to talk about the absence of ”young” winners, as also players in their middle age can’t seem able to win a major title .
Here is a table to show the 55 players born in the 90s currently ranked in the top 100. The doesn’t follow the place these players occupy in the rankings, but on their date of birth. For each player we have indicated the best result achieved in a major tournament:
Players Born in 1990
A part from Petra Kvitova the other star player born in 1990 is Caroline Wozniacki. She was the first player of her generation to reach a Grand Slam final, in 2009 at the US Open. The Dane was only 19 years old back then, and she managed to tie that result 5 years after, losing to Serena Williams in the final in New York in 2014. In both major finals Caroline lost in straight sets. The absence of major titles won haunted Wozniacki when she was World No.1, for 67 weeks between 2010 and 2012.
Even though the final was reached just over a year ago, the strong second half of 2014 from Caroline has been so far the only highlight from the Dane. Wozniacki has entered a downfall which today has brought her outside the top 20. Aged like Petra and Caroline are also Cornet and Barthel, who have done well on the WTA tour, but never went too far in a Grand Slam tournament.
Players born in 1991
Simona Halep is the player born in 1991 who has gotten closer to a major title, when she lost in three sets to Maria Sharapova in the final of the 2014 French Open, won by the Russian with the final score of 6-4, 6-7, 6-4. After that result Simona has reached 2 major semi-finals, at Wimbledon (2014) and the US Open (2015).
Recently a player that has grabbed the spotlight has been the Brit Johanna Konta. Johanna has reached the semi-finals recently at the Australian Open this year, thanks to a good consistency and ability to be proactive in the points. Konta’s rise took eyes off Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova who has reached her best Grand Slam result in 2011, with the quarter-finals reached both at Roland Garros and the US Open, before starting her decline. Better than the Russian in the Slams has recently been Coco Vandeweghe, who has reached the last 8 at Wimbledon last year, losing to Sharapova.
Other failed promises in the major events are Camila Giorgi and Bojana Jovanovski, who have both reached the 4th round as their best result in a major.
Players born in 1992
Only 5 players born in 1992 feature in the top 100 of the WTA rankings. That is half the number of representatives compared to the year before and after. Only one player is ranked in the top 50, and none able to win more than 2 consecutive matches in a major event.
That is quite a negative stat, especially for Karolina Pliskova, capable of entering the top 10, but who has never gone too far in a Grand Slam.
Players born in 1993
Compared to 1992, the year 1993 seems better off. Some of these players have already been able to go far in the main draw of a major event. Garbine Muguruza has finished Runner-up at Wimbledon 2015, Sloane Stephens was a semi-finalist in 2013 at the Australian Open. Other players seem able to further improve and feature in the latter stages of a Grand Slam tournament, such as Kristina Mladenovic and Caroline Garcia. Also Monica Puig has looked able to improve her tennis to climb the rankings.
Currently the Spaniard is atop of the pack, but the other players could still tie Garbine’s results or even do better, considering their potential.
Players born in 1994
Players born in 1994 are the most numerous in the top 100 of players born in the 90s, with a total of 12 representatives. Eugenie Bouchard is clearly the first player that comes to mind speaking of success in major events. The Canadian has reached the final at Wimbledon in 2014 and the semis in the same year in Melbourne and Paris. But after her crisis in 2015, she is now behind Svitolina, Schmiedlova, Gavrilova, Gasparyan, Beck.
Maybe here there is not the amount of talent we can witness in players born in 1993, but this is the year that produces the most top 50 players of all. As many of these players seem able to further improve and climb the rankings, it is possible and quite likely that other players in this year will go far in the majors.
Players born in 1995
Starting with the year 1995 we have to consider the precocity factor. Talented players are yet to showcase what they can really do, but the potential could be there. There are only 4 players born in 1994 that feature in the top 100, but there could be more coming in soon.
Surely, Madison Keys is atop of the pack here, with the semi-finals reached in 2015 at the Australian Open and the potential to win major titles with her aggressive and powerful tennis.
Players born in 1996
It seems too early to consider the players born in 1996, who will turn 20 this year and will have a chance to show what they are made of later on.
Players born in 1997
Despite what said for 1995 and 1996, the year 1997 doesn’t seem to need extra time to show what its girls are made of. There are already three players ranked in the top 100 and with high average rankings. Belinda Bencic is World No.8 and has already reached the quarters in a major, then there is Jelena Ostapenko (39) and Daria Kasatkina (36). All these players, also including Ana Konjhu, have managed to win at least one match in a Grand Slam tournament.
Who are the best candidates to win a Grand Slam?
To get the monkey off the back a player born in the 90s will have to win a major title, to join Petra Kvitova and break the jinx.
It is not easy to pick one player who above the others should sooner rather than later grasp a major trophy in her hands. The best pics come from even years. Simona Halep (1991) could be the top pic, followed by Garbine Muguruza (1993), Madison Keys (1995) and Belinda Bencic (1997). Other options could be Johanna Konta (1991), Sloane Stephens and maybe later Mladenovic and Garcia (all 1993).
We can’t forget how Eugenie Bouchard (1994) has gotten shy of just one match of winning a Slam. Genie has to find her way back and she probably will, in time not to have her talent wasted. Finally, there is hope for Karolina Pliskova (1992) to pass her fear of majors.
Even though Petra Kvitova has won her firs title 5 years go, it doesn’t really mean that players in the 90s should win a major very soon indeed. Chances are that Petra will probably not be alone for ever, but players from the 80s are all but gone or ready to leave the top of the game. After all, this seems to be Azarenka’s year, and she was born in 1989…
