It’s that time of year when my friend John Bolan joins Women’s Tennis Blog with his Top 10 year-end predictions for the upcoming season. As in five previous years, we’re inviting you to enter the game by sharing your Top 10 WTA year-end ranking forecast for 2016 in the comments and if at the end of the season your standings turn out to be the most accurate, we will award you with an autograph of one of your favorite WTA players. Let’s give the word to John!
Ok, are you ready to make your Top 10 picks for 2016? Name the Top 10 players in order at the end of the year. We all have favorites, but I try to use a little logic in the picks.
What were the rankings of the players in 2015? Which top players have been injured for months in 2015? Are there any young players ready for inclusion in the Top 10? Any personal favorites who you just must include? What players seem to be rising or sinking in the rankings? Those are the questions. Here are my answers, the Top 10 prediction for 2016:
- Serena Williams
- Maria Sharapova
- Garbine Muguruza
- Simona Halep
- Agnieszka Radwanska
- Belinda Bencic
- Petra Kvitova
- Karolina Pliskova
- Ana Ivanovic
- Victoria Azarenka
My pick for number 1. How can anyone not go with Serena Williams? She has just been named Sports Illustrated sportsperson of the year for 2015. Does anyone think Serena won’t be number one in 2016? This is the year she and Venus have been waiting to arrive. To win Olympic gold medals is their goal.
Number 2 is Maria Sharapova, clearly the class act of women’s tennis. Out four months of 2015, but she still managed to finish fourth. She looks healthy in her off-season matches these past weeks.
Garbine Muguruza, my number 3 pick, will not be the youngest player in the 2016 Top 10 as she was in 2015. But she will be the best of the field after the Top 2.
2016 will be the first year Simona Halep drops in ranking since she first made the Top 10. Not far. Just to number 4. With a healthy Sharapova and new super star, Muguruza, fourth is still great for Simona.
Number 5 will be Miss Steady Eddy – Agnieszka Radwanska. Never count her out of a match. Coming off a tremendous end to her 2015 campaign, she will keep her winning ways in 2016.
Belinda Bencic will slide into the Top 10 as the youngest player at age 18. I saw her play in person at the Rogers Cup in Toronto and at the US Open in 2015. If she plays like she did in Toronto, she will be number one. My pick for Belinda is a conservative number 6. Having Hingis and her mother helping her is a big plus.
Number 7 will be the big hitter, Petra Kvitova. Her power game will keep her in Top 10 for another year.
Karolina Pliskova is the real deal and is not about to remain outside the Top 10. My pick for her is number 8. She cannot wait for the new year to begin.
Number 9 will be Ana Ivanovic, the former number one and winner of the French Open. Ana is far from finished being a top WTA star.
Victoria Azarenka has been injured and played in only 14 tournaments in 2015. She still managed to finish the year ranked twenty two. Those ranked higher played in as many as 26 tournaments. I like her chances to finish in the Top 10 at number 10.
Do you all agree with my picks? No, really you don’t? Ok, make your picks in the comment section at the end of this article. If your picks are better than mine and the other fans who make picks, I will send you an autographed picture of one of your favorite players. Best of luck!
Comments received by January 1st, 2016 will be eligible for the prize. In the email field, please leave your correct email address, as I will use it to contact you if you turn out to be the winner.
1. Serena Williams
2. Garbine Muguruza
3. Simona Halep
4. Petra Kvitova
5. Maria Sharapova
6.Victoria Azarenka
7. Ana Ivanovic
8. Venus Williams
9. Madison Keys
10 Lydia Ko
Jim, you’re fast. Thank you for entering so quickly. But why golfer Lydia Ko? :/
Back at it again! Maybe I’ll be able to defend my title! 2016 is going to be one wacky season I predict!
1. Sharapova
2. Halep
3. Williams
4. Muguruza
5. Kivitova
6. Bencic
7. Radwanska
8. Kerber
9. Wozniaki
10. Azarenka
1. Serena
2. Muguruza
3. Sharapova
4. Kvitova
5. Radwanska
6. Venus
7. halep
8. Kerber
9.keys
10. Azarenka
1.Serena Williams
2.Maria Sharapova
3.Petra Kvitova
4.Garbine Muguruza
5.Ana Ivanovic
6.Angelique Kerber
7.Agnieszka Radwanska
8.Karolina Pliskova
9.Simona Halep
10.Caroline Wozniacki
1. Serena
2. Petra
3. Masha
4. Garbi
5. Simona
6. Aga
7. Belinda
8. Angie
9. Kajo
10. Lucie
1. Serena Williams
2. Victoria Azarenka
3. Garbine Muguruza
4. Simona Halep
5. Maria Sharapova
6. Karolina Pliskova
7. Belinda Bencic
8. Petra Kvitova
9. Agnieszka Radwanska
10. Venus Williams
1. S Williams
2. Halep
3. Muguruza
4. Sharpova
5. Kerber
6. Kvitova
7. Azarenka
8. Bencic
9. A Radwanska
10. K. Pliskova
1. Maria Sharapova
2. Serena Williams
3. Garbine Muguruza
4. Simona Halep
5. Agniezka Radwanska
6. Petra Kvitova
7. Belinda Bencic
8. Karolina Pliskova
9. Lucie Safarova
10. Madison Keys
1: Serena Williams
2: Maria Sharapova
3: Garbine Muguruza
4: Simona Halep
5: Petra Kvitova
6: Agnieszka Radwanska
7: Caroline Wozniacki
8: Karolina Pliskova
9: Angelique Kerber
10: Victoria Azarenka
I did well in 2014 picks. I came so close. This year, it was very tricky. There are a lot of volatility in women’s game. Here are my predictions for 2016:
1. Serena Williams
2. Maria Sharapova
3. Garbiñe Muguruza
4. Simona Halep
5. Petra Kvitova
6. Agnieszka Radwanska
7. Ana Ivanovic
8. Belinda Bencic
9. Caroline Wozniacki
10. Victoria Azarenka
Good luck to everyone! Hoping I would ace this year!
1. Serena Williams
2. Garbine Muguruza
3. Simona Halep
4. Maria Sharapova
5. Petra Kvitova
6. Viktoria Azarenka
7. Belinda Bencic
8. Venus Williams
9. Angelique Kerber
10. Ana Ivanovic
Calin, I’m so glad you’ve entered again! Good luck with your title defense! 🙂
1 Serena Williams
2 Maria Sharapova
3 Garbine Muguruza
4 Simona Halep
5 Belinda Bencic
6 Agniezska Radwanska
7 Petra Kvitova
8 Angelique Kerber
9 Ana Ivanovic
10 Timea Bacszinsky
1.Serena Williams
2. Maria Sharapova
3. Petra Kvitova
4. Simona Halep
5. Belinda Bencic
6. Gabine Muguruza
7. Agnieszka Radwanska
8. Victoria Azarenka
9. Angelique Kerber
10. Madison Keys
1. Maria Sharapova
2. Petra Kvitova
3. Serena Williams
4. Agnieska Radwanska
5. Caroline Wozniacki
6. Simona Halep
7. Venus Williams
8. Ana Ivanovic
9. Madison Keys
10. Eugenie Bouchard
1. Maria Sharapova
2. Serena Williams
3. Garbiñe Muguruza
4. Petra Kvitova
5. Simona Halep
6. Agnieszka Radwanska
7. Karolina Pliskova
8. Belinda Bencic
9. Venus Williams
10. Victoria Azarenka
I really love Venus, which is why I included her, but I don’t know if she can produce as consistent results as she did in 2015, but I hope she produces better ones! Sharapova is a clear #1 for me. I really don’t think Serena can defend all of her points from this season, and with Sharapova missing tournaments and losing because of injury, she has many to gain. I think Maria will end up number 1 by a comfortable margin
Marija, I always like to throw a curve..so I put down Ko, because she says if she was not playing golf, she would have tried tennis, because she “likes to hit things”. By the way she is an amazing young talent of the LPGA. I follow the womens’ golf second to womens tennis. 🙂
1. Serena Williams
2. Maria Sharapova
3. Victoria Azarenka
4. Garbiñe Muguruza
5. Petra Kvitova
6. Simona Halep
7. Agnieszka Radwanska
8. Caroline Wozniacki
9. Belinda Bencic
10. Angelique Kerber
1. Serena Williams
2. Maria Sharapova
3. Victoria Azarenka
4. Simona Halep
5. Agnieszka Radwanska
6. Petra Kvitova
7. Gabriñe Muguruza
8. Caroline Wozniacki
9. Angelique Kerber
10. Lucie Safarova
1. Maria
2. Garbine
3. Serena
4. Simona
5. Aga
6. Petra
7. Victoria
8. Karolina
9. Angelique
10 Bencic
Masha4lyfe, so far, you and three other people put Masha as No.1, all the others chose Serena. Serena was unbeatable in 2015, but it surely is a big task to defend all those points. Still, she’s almost 4,000 points ahead of the second-ranked Halep, and Maria is almost 5,000 points behind Serena.
Jim, I understand, but in that way you diminish your chances of winning the autograph :/
1. Serena
2. Muguruza
3. Sharapova
4. Radwanska
5. Halep
6. Bacsinszky
7. Bencic
8. Keys
9. Svitolina
1. Serena Williams
2. Garbine Muguruza
3. Maria Sharapova
4. Belinda bencic
5. Petra Kvitova
6. Simona Halep
7. Agnieszka Radwanska
8 Victoria Azarenka
9. Eugenie Bouchard (oops! 😀 )
10. Ana Ivanovic ( hopefully 🙂 )
I love this yearly guessing game – Hoping I don’t jinx my wishes for 2016!
1. Garbine Muguruza (yes, I am an obsessed fan!)
2. Simona Halep
3. Serena Williams (even I can’t believe I just predicted that!)
4. Victoria Azarenka
5. Karolina Pliskova
6. Petra Kvitova
7. Belinda Bencic
8. Maddison Keys
9. Maria Sharapova
10. Agnieszka Radwanska
My dark horses for a Top 10 break through appearance – Sloane Stephens, Kristina Mladenovic, Daria Gavrilova & Elina Svitolina. I’m thinking 2016 is going to be a changing of the guard hence my outrageous predictions which may be a little more “heart than brain”. Bring on season 2016!
I think Ana and Vika has a lot of potential going back to Top 10 considering few points to defend from 2015.
Sru, you’re not the only one, Brian also included Bouchard 🙂
PeteTweet, I see many people love this game and even during the season they mention how they’re awaiting December to see how they fared. You created a refreshing Top 10! Good luck! 🙂
1. Serena
2. Muguruza
3. Halep
4. Sharapova
5. Azarenka
6. Radwanska
7. Kvitova
8. Ivanovic
9. Kerber
10. Bencic
1. Serena (Wimbledon, Summer Olympics & US Open champion)
2. Halep (French Open champion)
3. Azarenka (Strong comeback season, Australian Open champion; defeats Serena along the way)
4. Sharapova (loses to Halep in the final of RG; wins Rome & Madrid).
5. Venus (QF, R16, SF, R16 @ the Grand Slams, 2 premier titles)
6. Kvitova (hit…miss…hit…miss…hit…etc.)
7. Wozniacki (superior to Radwańska)
8. Muguruza (won’t win any titles; will make the QFs and SFs at some big events)
9. Jankovici (a season very similar to the one she had in 2013)
10. Kerber (good enough to be in the top 10, not good enough to win a Premier 5)
1. Serena Williams
2. Garbine Muguruza
3. Agnieszka Radwanska
4. Simona Halep
5. Caroline Wozniacki
6. Maria Sharapova
7. Belinda Bencic
8. Madison Keys
9. Viktoria Azarenka
10. Petra Kvitova
Victor, thank you for these brave detailed predictions!
1. Serena Williams
2. Garbine Muguruza
3. Maria Sharapova
4. Agnieszka Radwanska
5. Petra Kvitova
6. Karolina Pliskova
7. Belinda Bencic
8. Caroline Wozniacki
9. Victoria Azarenka
10. Ana Ivanovic
I really hope players like Wozniacki, Ivanovic and (especially) Azarenka because they are truly great players. I found it difficult to decide this Top 10 and ended up leaving out Simona Halep – after a difficult ending to 2015, I don’t expect her to do so good this year, though I may be wrong.
1. Serena Williams
2. Garbine Muguruza
3. Maria Sharapova
4. Agnieszka Radwanska
5. Petra Kvitova
6. Karolina Pliskova
7. Belinda Bencic
8. Caroline Wozniacki
9. Victoria Azarenka
10. Ana Ivanovic
I really hope players like Wozniacki, Ivanovic – after a relatively poor year from both – and (especially) Azarenka – who had been battling with injuries a lot and had to face Serena a good few times – make strong comebacks this year.
I see the Top 4 on my list win a Grand Slam each, maybe Serena snatching two. I think Muguruza and Sharapova will really push Serena for the No. 1 position this year but Serena successfully defends it.
I left out Simona Halep for the main reason that she had one of the best hard court seasons this year, and after a poor end to 2015, I see her falling quite a bit in the rankings.
1. Maria Sharapova
2. Garbine Muguruza
3. Serena Williams
4. Simona Halep
5. Ana Ivanovic
6. Agnieszka Radwanska
7. Petra Kvitova
8. Karolina Pliskova
9. Caroline Wozniacki
10. Victoria Azarenka
1. Serena Williams
2. Maria Sharapova
3. Agnieszka Radwanska
4. Garbine Muguruza
5. Petra Kvitova
6. Simona Halep
7. Belinda Bencic
8. Victoria Azarenka
9. Caroline Wozniacki
10. Angelique Kerber
Serena
Garbine
Simona
Pliskova
Maria
Kvitova
Bencic
Azarenka
Venus
Keys
1. Serena Williams
2. Victoria azarenka
3. Garbine
4. Simona
5. Kvitova
6. Bencic
7. Caroline
8. Keys
9. Radwanska
10. Kerber
1. Serena
2. Garbine
3. Belinda
4. Maria
5. Vika
6. Petra
7. Aga
8. Angie
9. Kiki
10. Caro Garcia 😛
1 Serena
2 Maria
3 Halep
4 Muguruza
5 Azarenka
6 Kvitova
7 Venus
8 Radwanska
9 Pliskova
10 Keys
1. S Williams
2. Sharapova
3. Radwanska
4. Halep
5. V Williams
6. Kerber
7. Pliskova
8. Muguruza
9. Azarenka
10. Bencic
1. Serena williams
2. Sharapova
3. Bencic
4. Radwanska
5. Azarenka
6. Muguruza
7. Kvitova
8. Halep
9. Wozniacki
10. Kerber
OK so in order for me to have a chance for the autograph, I will replace my number 10 pick Lydia Ko with another “K”, and make it Angelique Kerber. But for grins I will put in my top 10 golfing ladies for 2016, because they need some love as well:
1. Lydia Ko
2. Inbee Park
3. Stacy Lewis
4. Sei Young Kim
5. Lexi Thompson
6. So Yeon Ryu
7. Anna Nordqvist
8. Shanshan Feng
9. Suzanne Petterson
10. Jessica Korda (my tennis connection because her Dad, Petr was a former Australian Open winner!)
Jim, haahah you’re crazy! 😀 Thanks, we can always use some golfing knowledge! 🙂
1 Williams
2 Halep
3 Kivitova
4 Sharapova
5 Muguruza
6 Wozniaki
7 Radwanska
8 Bencic
9 Kerber
10 Safarova
I should mention that is Serena in my top 10, sorry Venus
10 Angie – Much the same, consistent enough at the mid level to make up for not breaking through at the slams.
9 Kaja – Surely will do better at the slams! Still improving, and starting to get a taste for success.
8 Beli – As she gets older and more physically stable, will start to have good runs more consistently. Nothing to defend early in the year.
7 Aga – Probably won’t win a slam, but will go closer than she has in a while. Again, nothing to defend for much of the spring.
6 Vika – a bit of a wild card. If she stays healthy and returns to form, few enough results to defend that she could end top 3. Alternatively, could flop!
5 Petra – Hot and cold as always! Big points to defend in a couple of places, nothing in others. Always tough to predict!
4 Garbi – Will consistently go deep, should make at least 1 GS final, could go all the way depending on how things shake out.
3 Simona – Finished this year at #2 despite a horrible year in many places. Will make a fresh start, continue doing well on hard courts, and do much better on clay again. French Open champion if she can handle the pressure.
2 Serena – Will cut back her schedule to focus on the slams and Olympics. Will win Rio and US open. Maybe Aus too.
1 Maria – Will finally beat Serena in Aus final, but settle for Silver in Rio after finally going all the way again at SW19. 2 slams plus a full season on tour will see her edge the top spot.
1. S Williams
2.Muguruza
3.Sharapova
4.Azarenka
5.Halep
6.Radwanska
7.Kvitova
8.Bencic
9.Ivanovic
10.Kerber
Here we go again…
1. Sharapova
2. Muguruza
3. S.Williams
4. Bencic
5. Kvitova
6. Halep
7. Radwanska
8. Wozniacki
9. Kerber
10. Azarenka
1.Serena-unfortunately there is no doubt in this
2.Maria-She had an awesome but half 2015,what if she has 2016 full
3.Petra-she is always capable of everything
4.Simona- I predict a steady but not remarkable 2016
5.Kaja-I think it will be her year
6.Garbi-I see a steady(as steady as a hard-hitting youngster can have) 2016
7.Angie-If Angie focuses more on the bigger tournaments I predict a great 2016
8.Aga-Even though she had a great 2015 ending I don’t have faith in my faves 2016
9.Caro-I think she is determined to bounce back after a poor 2015
10. Svitolina- she is really stable and with Henin in her team they can do wonders!
Those are mine!
Here are my predictions:
1. Serena Williams
2. Maria Sharapova
3. Simona Halep
4. Caroline Wozniacki
5. Angelique Kerber
6. Garbine Muguruza
7. Belinda Bencic
8. Agnieszka Radwanska
9. Petra Kvitova
10. Madison Keys
1 Williams
2 Azarenka
3 Sharapova
4 Halep
5 Muguruza
6 Bencic
7 Kvitova
8 Kerber
9 Radwanska
10 Timea Bacsinszky
1. Serena Williams
2. Maria Sharapova
3. Garbine Muguruza
4. Simona Halep
5. Petra Kvitova
6. Agnieszka Radwanska
7. Belinda Bencic
8. Victoria Azarenka
9. Angelique Kerber
10. Venus Williams
1. Serena
2. Azerenka
3. Sharapova
4. Halep
5. Muguruza
6. Bencic
7. Kvitova
8. Kerber
9. Radwanska
10. Bacsinszky
1. Serena
2. Sharapova
3. Muguruza
4. Radwanska
5. Halep
6. Kvitova
7. Kerber
8. Venus
9. Bencic
10. Bacsinszky
1. Simona Halep
2. Serena Williams
3. Petra Kvitova
4. Garbine Muguruza
5. Aga Radwanska
6. Maria Sharapova
7. Venus Williams
8. Ana Ivanovic
9.Timea Bacsinszky
10. Carla Suarez Navarro
1. Serena
2. Sharapova
3. Halep
4. Kvitova
5. Muguruza
6. Aga Radwańska
7. Bencic
8. Timea
9. Pliskova
10. Kerber
1. Serena Williams
2. Maria Sharapova
3. Simona Halep
4. Aga Radwanska
5. Garbine Muguruza
6. Petra Kvitova
7. Belinda Bencic
8. Caroline Wozniacki
9. Karolina Pliskova
10. Jelena Jankovic
1. Muguruza
2. Sharapova
3. Bencic
4. Serena Williams
5. Kvitova
6. Azarenka
7. Kerber
8. Pliskova
9. Radwanska
10. Halep
1. Serena Williams
2. Maria Sharapova
3. Simona Halep
4. Victoria Azarenka
5. Garbine Muguruza
6. Petra Kvitova
7. Belinda Bencic
8. Caroline Wozniacki
9. Agnieszka Radwanska
10.Ana Ivanovic
1. Azarenka
2. Kvitova
3. Muguruza
4. S. Williams
5. Halep
6. Sharapova
7. Kerber
8. Radwanska
9. Pliskova
10. Bouchard
1. Serena
2. Sharapova
3. Muguruza
4. Radwanska
5. Halep
6. Kvitowa
7. Bencic
8. Pliskova
9. Azarenka
10. Kerber
1. Muguruza
2. Bencic
3. A. Radwanska
4. Halep
5. Sharapova
6. S Williams
7. Ka Pliskova
8. Wozniacki
9. Ivanovic
10. Kvitova
I should mention that my Williams is Serena