Top 5 women's tennis players of 2018

The 2018 women's tennis season came to a conclusion at the end of October, with Elina Svitolina defeating Sloane Stephens in the final of the year-ending Championship in Singapore.

The year was filled with some power-packed performances from the players and saw some intense matches take place in all the tournaments played. There were some unexpected results along the way and a few newcomers who made it big this year.

While Caroline Wozniacki won her first Grand Slam at the Australian Open, Simona Halep too won her first Grand Slam at the French. Meanwhile, Angelique Kerber won the Wimbledon title and Japan's Naomi Osaka made history as she won the US Open.

Halep missed the last couple of months of the season due to an injury but despite that, remained the world no. 1 female tennis player at the end of the year.

In this article, we take a look at the top 5 women's players of the year:

Honourable mention

Petra Kvitova: She won a total of 5 titles this year - the most by any player on this list. However, she had an extremely poor outing at the Grand Slams. She was knocked out in the first round of the Australian Open and Wimbledon while she managed to reach only the third round at the other 2 Slams.

#5 Elina Svitolina

The 24-year-old Ukranian had the best season of her life so far. She won a total of four titles, including the year-ending championship held in Singapore.

The three other titles she won were at Brisbane, Dubai, and Rome. She performed quite well in the Australian Open and US Open, reaching the quarterfinals and Round of 16 respectively. She reached the third round in the French Open but failed to make an impact at Wimbledon, where she was knocked out in the very first round.

She was quite inconsistent towards the latter part of the year but then came back strong at the end of the season, winning all her matches at the WTA Finals.

She ended the year as the world no. 4 and will go into 2019 seeking her first Grand Slam title.

#4 Caroline Wozniacki

2018 Australian Open - Day 13

The 28-year-old Dane began the year in the best possible way, winning her first ever Grand Slam title in Australia, defeating Simona Halep in the final of the tournament in three tight sets. By doing so, she was back at the world no. 1 spot for the first time since 2012. However, she lost that spot soon to Halep.

Apart from the Australian Open, she won titles at Eastbourne and China. She ended the year as the world no. 3.

#3 Naomi Osaka

2018 US Open - Day 13

The 21-year-old from Japan had a breakthrough year in 2018 and has surely made a name for herself. She began the year as the world no. 68 but consistent results throughout the year saw her rise up the rankings really quickly.

She won her first title at Indian Wells, defeating Daria Kasatkina in the final. However, the biggest title of her career came when she won the US Open, defeating her idol Serena Williams in the final which was marred by controversy.

She suffered from a few injuries towards the end of the season and was forced to retire in her final match of the WTA Finals against Kiki Bertens.

#2 Angelique Kerber

Day Twelve: The Championships - Wimbledon 2018

Angelique Kerber continued her good run of form and had another great season this time around.

She won the third Grand Slam of the year at Wimbledon, defeating Serena Williams once again in the final. She performed well at the Australian Open and US Open too, reaching the semis and quarters respectively.

Apart from this, she won just one other title, in Sydney at the beginning of the year. However, it was her consistent performances which have put her at no. 2 on this list and no. 2 in the world as well.

#1 Simona Halep

2018 French Open - Day Fourteen

Simona Halep was constantly criticised for not being able to close out a final, having reached three Grand Slam finals, including the final of the Australian Open as well at the beginning of the year.

However, she finally broke the jinx when she won her first Grand Slam in Paris, defeating Sloane Stephens in the final of the French Open.

She also became the world no. 1 and did not lose that spot for the entire year. She won two other titles apart from the French Open - Shenzen Open and Canadian Open and reached a total of 6 finals this year.

She suffered from a disk hernia towards the end of the year due to which she could not take part in the WTA Finals. Despite that, she ended as the world no.1.