The WTA season in 2018 offers so much promise for so many players. The first really big opportunity to make a splash occurs at the Australian Open, which resets the season after a few weeks of warm-ups in Doha or Australia or New Zealand. In other years or in other contexts, seeing some names presented as “surprise” candidates might not make sense, but in this case, the following four players might catch some people off guard should they do especially well in Melbourne:
Sloane Stephens
The reigning U.S. Open champion should not surprise anyone if she then turns around and wins in Australia as well – not usually. However, it probably would be a huge shock if Stephens is able to win back-to-back major titles. She was dominant in the U.S. Open final and played the tennis of her life in the final three games of the electric semifinal against Venus Williams to advance to her first major final, in which she was loose, confident, and supremely prepared to win. Yet, after that U.S. Open joyride and the avalanche of publicity which went with it, Stephens understandably found it hard to turn the page and move to the next chapter of her career. She had climbed over 900 ranking spots over the summer. Her rise was quick and meteoric, as opposed to a slow build. She had come back from an injury as well as anyone possibly could have done. She blended into the middle of the tennis season as a physically fresh athlete while most of her peers were comparatively tired. When Stephens began to deal with the aftermath of her victory, she was the tired athlete, especially on a mental level. She did virtually nothing in the fall season in Asia, and is now trying to start over at the beginning of 2018. It’s a completely different context for her, so if she does well here in Australia, it would rate as a surprise.
Knowing how remarkably she played this past summer, though, she has the capacity to sneak up on opponents and once again become the story everyone is talking about in two weeks.
Petra Kvitova
The Czech has now had an offseason in which to make more physical adjustments with the hand which she almost lost in the attack which almost ended her life. If Kvitova can discover ways to get more consistency with her racquet grip and how to control her shots, she could be the devastating player she used to be. She also has a chance, with two wins in Australia, to play top-seeded Simona Halep in the third round. She could certainly score the seed-based upset in that match and produce a run in Melbourne, even though history has not generally been kind to her at this event.
Julia Goerges
The German did not play well at the major tournaments last year, but she began to play much steadier and more effective tennis at the more mid-level events on the calendar and built her ranking into the top 16. She can crush the ball and become a very dangerous player from the back of the court. If there is a lurker or floater in the draw for the WTA in Melbourne, she is one of them.
She’s had an excellent start to the 2018 campaign. She’s already won five matches (with no losses). She heads into this event with plenty of momentum.
Angelique Kerber
This could be such a delicious plot twist. Kerber did not handle being World No. 1 well at all last year. The pressure, the publicity, none of it resonated with the German, who looked uncomfortable and stressed the whole season, and never found the groove she developed in 2016. She fell out of the top 20. Now that she is no longer everyone’s target and has had an offseason in which to regroup, she could be a mentally refreshed player who regains her 2016 form, which would make her a top player again. Is this surprise about to happen? It’s possible.
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