Garbine Muguruza was announced as the WTA Player of the Year, but the WTA inexplicably holds voting for that honor weeks before the season ends. So who is the true WTA Player of the Year? With no clear pick in sight, let’s analyze the top players’ resumes and see who is most deserving of the title.
Simona Halep
- 6,145 points
- 45-17 match record
- 4 weeks ranked #1 (as of today)
- 1 title (Premier Mandatory in Madrid)
- Roland Garros Finalist
Analysis: Halep’s 2017 was the most dramatic of any top player, with many highs and lows. After losing several matches where a victory would have given her the number one ranking, she finally achieved that career milestone with her run to the final in Beijing. She deserves praise for her perseverance, and for ending the year ranked number one, but her struggles were also pronounced. She lost in the first round at two of the four majors, though notably one of those first round losses was to Maria Sharapova. Additionally, she still has no majors to her name. Halep only won one title in 2017, while losing in four finals. The amount of losses Halep suffered in big matches this year is a big argument against her.
Garbine Muguruza
- 5,950 points
- 47-21 match record
- 4 weeks ranked #1
- 2 titles (Wimbledon, Premier 5 in Cincinnati
Analysis: Muguruza is the only player to win a major as well as a Premier-level title in 2017. However, the rest of her 2017 was lackluster. Her two titles are from the only two tournament finals she reached. It’s hard to consider Muguruza the best player of the year based on what amounts to only 3 weeks of great play.
Caroline Wozniacki
- 5,915 points
- 60-21 match record
- 2 titles (WTA Finals, Premier in Tokyo)
Analysis: After losing the first six tournament finals she reached in 2017, Wozniacki ended her year strongly. She won her first title of the year in Tokyo, and then the biggest title of her career at the WTA Finals in Singapore. She finished 2017 with the most wins of any player on tour. Wozniacki will carry a lot of momentum into 2018. Her title in Singapore and tour-leading match wins put her in the conversation, but her lack of big wins throughout the rest of 2017 make it difficult to call her the best. So does her inability to advance further than the quarterfinals at any major.
Karolina Pliskova
- 5,630 points
- 53-18 match record
- 7 weeks ranked #1
- 3 titles (Premiers in Brisbane, Doha, Eastbourne
- Roland Garros Semifinalist
Analysis: Pliskova’s consistent play brought her to number one in July, but she failed to win a title thereafter. While she won three titles in 2017, none of them were at Grand Slam, Premier Mandatory, or Premier 5 events.
Venus Williams
- 5,597 points
- 38-14 match record
- Finalist at the Australian Open, Wimbledon, and WTA Finals
- US Open Semifinalist
Analysis: Venus was the best player of the year at the majors, with a 20-4 record at Grand Slam events. However, she went just 18-10 outside the majors, and did not win any titles in 2017. Does her success at the big events nullify her lack of results elsewhere? Regardless, it’s challenging to consider her the best without any titles to her name.
Elina Svitolina
- 5,445 points
- 53-14 match record
- 5 titles (Premier 5’s in Dubai, Rome, Toronto, plus International-level tournaments in Taipei City, Istanbul)
Analysis: Svitolina led the tour with five titles in 2017, but failed to breakthrough at the Grand Slam or Premier Mandatory levels. This is another case where the lack of wins at bigger tournaments holds her resume back.
2017 Honorable Mentions
Jelena Ostapenko shocked the tennis world by winning Roland Garros, and followed it up impressively with consistent results that qualified her for Singapore. Caroline Garcia finished off a career-best year by winning back-to-back titles in Wuhan and Beijing, qualifying her for the WTA titles where she advanced to the semifinals. Sloane Stephens lit up the summer hard courts, going 15-2 over a five-week period and winning her first major at the US Open. CoCo Vandeweghe reached her first two major semifinals. Serena Williams won the Australian Open and then called it a year, giving birth to her first child.
My Pick for WTA Player of the Year: Simona Halep
In a year where no one woman stood out above the rest, my vote defaults to the player who accumulated the most ranking points for the year. While she was on the losing end of many big matches, no other players consistently won big matches either. There are too many arguments against the other top players to rationalize passing Halep over for the title of WTA Player of the Year.
2018 Scouting Report
Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Victoria Azarenka, and Petra Kvitova are all expected to be playing full-time in 2018. Combine that with the fresh faces that rose to the occasion in 2017, and you have the makings of the most compelling year on the WTA tour in quite some time.
