The decade of 2010s brought lot of new stars to WTA circuit. Also the old stars extended their glory and set more records. In all this was one of the best decades in the history of Women’s tennis where new heights were conquered and many historical matches were played. In this article we look back at the 5 best players of Women’s tennis in the last 10 years. These players are incidentally the most successful female players of the decade.
5. Maria Sharapova
The decade of 2010s has been a mixture of agonies and ecstasies for this glamorous Russian starlet. Sharapova had one of the best moments of her career in 2012 when she won the elusive French Open title and completed the Career Grand Slam. She then added another Grand Slam to her tally at Roland Garros 2014. In 2012 London Olympics the hard hitting Russian won the silver medal for her home nation going down in the final to her arch rival Serena Williams.
However the 2nd half of this decade turned forgettable for Sharapova. After a positive meldonium dope test in 2016, she was handed a 24 month ban from tennis which was later reduced to 15 months. This absence affected her career as since coming back to tennis the Russian is yet to reach a Grand Slam final. She finished the year 2019 ranking 87 in the world. However she has been the 5th best player in women’s tennis in this decade. Maria has won 16 titles in the last decade among whom are 2 Grand Slam titles. She has managed to win the on court prize money of 35 million US dollars.
4. Simona Halep
The Romanian player finished this decade as one of the best player in the WTA circuit. Halep has been a regular feature of the top 10 ranked players in the world since her breakthrough year in 2014s. She also finished 2017 and 2018 as the Number 1 female singles player in the World. Halep also tasted Grand Slam success in the decade winning the French Open in 2018 and Wimbledon Championship in 2019. She also managed to finish a finalist in 3 Grand Slams.
In the last decade Simona managed to win 19 singles titles which include 2 Grand Slams and 7 premier titles. All this translated into the on court prize money of 35 million US dollars. The Romanian still has many years to go in her career and could certainly add more professional records in the next decade.
In India: Politics & Entertainment
3. Petra Kvitová
In spite of suffering some serious injuries due to a knife attack during burglary on her house in 2016 and consequent several months of break from tennis, the Czech star showed the heart of a champion by emerging as one of the best WTA players in the decade. Kvitova won 2 Grand Slams during the past decade both of which came at the lawns of Wimbledon in 2011 and 2014. Kvitova also won the WTA 2011 year end finals and the Bronze medal in the Rio 2016 Olympics.
The Czech superstar was a top 10 player for most years in the last decade and also rose to the career highest ranking of World Number 2. In total Kvitova won 26 singles titles in the last 10 years and prize money of 31 million US dollars. She really inspired many upcoming tennis players showing a champion’s will and resolve as she made it to the Australian Open 2019 finals after being sidelined from tennis following the burglary injury.
2. Angelique Kerber
Kerber is the 2nd most successful Women’s tennis player of the last decade. The German who is known for her baseline counterpunching game style was placed outside the top 100 in the year 2010. She climbed the ranks slowly to a career high ranking of World Number 1 in 2016. Kerber has won 3 Grand Slams in the last decade. The 1st two of her 3 slams came in 2016 on the hard courts of Australian Open and US Open respectively. Kerber won her 3rd singles slam at the Grass Courts of Wimbledon in 2018.
Kerber was one of the few players on the WTA tour to challenge the great Serena Williams. The German defeated Serena in the Australian Open and Wimbledon finals and also lost once to Serena in the 2016 Wimbledon final. Kerber also made her country proud by winning the Silver medal at the Rio Summer Olympics of 2016. In the last 10 years Angie won 12 titles among whom were 3 Grand Slams. She received the on court prize money of 29 million US dollars and was beyond doubt the 2nd best WTA player in last 10 years.
1. Serena Williams
There was no female player in tennis nearly as dominant as Serena Williams in the last decade. Serena won 12 Singles Grand Slams, an Olympic Gold medal each in singles and doubles as well as 3 WTA year end championships among 37 singles titles in the past 10 years. Serena also won 368 matches, the most by a female player in the last decade.
In 2015 Serena held all 4 slams 2nd time in her career, famously dubbed as the Serena Slam. She came within a striking distance of winning a calendar Grand Slam only to lose in the US Open 2015 semi-final. In the last decade Serena was World Number 1 for 236 years bringing her total tally of Number 1 weeks to 319. Serena also became the oldest female Grand Slam winner as well as the oldest female World Number 1 during the last decade. It was truly a decade of dominance for the arguable GOAT of women’s tennis in which she won a whopping 64 million US dollars as her on court prize money.