Examining the performances of the most notable players from the second three months of the season, as well as their prospects heading into Q3.
Jelena Ostapenko
The 20-year-old Latvian came out of nowhere to shock the tennis world and win the French Open. A letdown following such a life-changing event seems inevitable. Since Roland Garros, Ostapenko is 1-1, but the loss was not a bad one as she was defeated in three tight sets by the higher-ranked Johanna Konta on the grass of Birmingham. Ostapenko has shown before that she can play on the grass: she won the junior title at Wimbledon in 2014. We’ve seen so many first-time WTA major winners struggle to follow-up on their success in recent years. It will be interesting to see how Ostapenko reacts to her newfound fame over the coming months, as it could be telling of her future career trajectory.
Simona Halep
Will Halep be able to look at her second run to the final at Roland Garros as a positive, or will she be overwhelmed with disappointment by not taking the title in a major final where she was heavily favored? It’s hard to imagine it won’t be the latter, at least in the near future. Simona can’t be too disheartened by her performance in Eastbourne, where she pulled out two three-set victories before losing to an in-form Caroline Wozniacki. The last time Halep made the French Open final, she followed it up with a semifinal appearance at Wimbledon. She also made the quarters last year at the All England Club, so she has some good results on the grass to build upon. She’s also made the quarters and a semifinal at the U.S. Open. With no clear top player in the WTA, this summer is a great opportunity for the current world number two to ascend to number one if she can remain positive and aggressive on the court.
Karolina Pliskova
Following her major breakthrough at last year’s U.S. Open, which was her first time making the second week of a major, Pliskova has followed it up by making the quarters in Melbourne and the semis in Paris. The French semifinal appearance was most impressive considering clay is the Czech’s weakest surface. Just this weekend, she won her second grass court title in Eastbourne, a win which moved her to number one in the year-to-date rankings. The grass courts are excellent for Pliskova’s big serve and groundstrokes, so there’s no reason to believe she won’t make a deep run at Wimbledon. The world number three is less than 200 points from the top spot, and she’s only defending second round points from last year’s Wimbledon. Pliskova could easily be the new number one in the world in two weeks’ time. And she’ll have some nice memories when returning to the U.S. hard courts, where she not only made the final in New York but won the title in Cincinnati.
Elina Svitolina
Outside of the majors, Svitolina has been the best player on tour this year, winning four titles thus far in 2017. But the Ukrainian suffered a heartbreaking loss to Halep in the quarterfinals of the French, a match where she led 6-3, 5-1 and held a match point. She was then upset by qualifier Camila Giorgi in Birmingham, and after the match she speculated if she would even play at Wimbledon due to a foot injury. Elina holds a career 2-4 record at Wimbledon, having never advanced past the second round. With all this in mind, Svitolina’s chances at Wimbledon appear bleak. Her U.S. Open results aren’t much stronger, so Q3 may be a struggle for Svitolina.
Caroline Wozniacki
Wozniacki has rather quietly returned to the top of the women’s game. Her quarterfinal appearance at Roland Garros matched her best career result in Paris. She’s now appeared in four tournament finals in 2017, including the final in Eastbourne this weekend which moved her up to number four in the year-to-date rankings. However, Wozniacki is yet to take home a winner’s trophy this season, as she lost all four of those finals. Caroline has rediscovered the consistency that brought her to number one many years ago, but can she ever get over that final hurdle and win a major title? Her defensive game makes it very challenging. Wimbledon has been her worst major, as she’s never been farther than the fourth round. Her best opportunity may be in New York, where she’s a two-time finalist and also made the semis on three other occasions.
Kristina Mladenovic
The French number one had a great second quarter of 2017, which saw her make the finals in Stuttgart and Madrid. She then went on a thrilling run to the quarterfinals at her home major in Paris. Mladenovic played all three weeks of lead-up tournaments on the grass, but did not advance past the quarterfinals in any of those appearances. She’s a career 2-5 at Wimbledon, so she should not be expected to be a factor at SW19. New York may be kinder to her, as she reached the U.S. Open quarterfinals in 2015.
