2018 featured four different women’s singles champions at the Grand Slam events for the second straight year, three of whom were first-time Major champions. It was a year that saw multi-time former finalists in Simona Halep and Caroline Wozniacki finally realize Grand Slam glory. It was a year that saw young new stars born, like Naomi Osaka and Aryna Sabalenka. And it was a year that saw the return of the GOAT, Serena Williams, who was an inspiration in reaching two Major finals, but ended her year as a part of 2018’s most controversial incident. Here’s a look at the best performers of 2018, listed in order of their year-end ranking.
Simona Halep
- 6.921 points
- 46-11 match record (.807 winning percentage)
- 3 titles, including her first Major at Roland Garros, the Premier 5 event in Montreal, and Shenzen in the first week of the year.
- 48 weeks ranked No.1, including the end of the year.
Recap: The year started with more Major heartache for Halep in Melbourne. Despite dramatic victories over Lauren Davis and Angelique Kerber, Simona fell just short in the final to Caroline Wozniacki. But Halep’s perseverance paid off at the next Major, when Simona finally prevailed in her fourth Grand Slam final at Roland Garros. Her summer was highlighted by her defeat of Sloane Stephens in a stellar final to win the Rogers Cup. Halep went out early at both Wimbledon and the US Open, and missed the last few tournaments of 2018 due to a back injury, yet had more than enough points from earlier in the year to secure the year-end No.1 ranking for the second straight year. With little match play to end the year, and the departure of her coach, Darren Cahill, 2019 will present new challenges for the world No.1.
Angelique Kerber
- 5,875 points
- 46-19 match record (.708 winning percentage)
- 2 titles, including her third Major at Wimbledon, and Sydney at the beginning of the year.
- Ended the year ranked No.2, 19 spots higher than 2017.
Recap: Kerber quickly put her disappointing 2017 behind her by winning her first 10 matches of the year, landing her in the Australian Open semifinals. Despite losing prolonged affairs to World No.1 Simona Halep at both the Australian and Roland Garros, Kerber won what she described at the biggest title of her career at Wimbledon. She defeated Serena Williams in the final to do so, becoming only the second woman to have two victories over Serena in Major finals. Following her Wimbledon triumph, Kerber went just 7-7 to finish out the year, and parted ways with her coach, Wim Fisette, right before the WTA Finals. Angelique will need to start from scratch in 2019 as far as building some momentum.
Caroline Wozniacki
- 5,586 points
- 41-17 match record (.707 winning percentage)
- 3 titles, including for her first Major at the Australian Open, Eastbourne, and Beijing.
- Spent four weeks as the world No.1 following her victory in Melbourne.
Recap: Of course the highlight of Wozniacki’s 2018 took place in January, where she finally proved the naysayers wrong and won a Major title. That alone made this year a successful one for Caroline. She had a bit of letdown in the coming months, and battled injuries throughout the summer. But she ended the year positively by winning the title in Beijing, and qualifying for the WTA Finals for the sixth time.
