WTA Season 2016 : The narrative remains the same but someone different speaks this time!

On Top Of The World: Angelique Kerber with the WTA No.1 trophy

Angelique Kerber banked on consistency and solid tennis from the beginning of the year till the very end. Having started the year at No.10 in the Rankings, the tenacious German made her intent very clear at the outset by doing the impossible.

Kerber beat the defending Champion and World No.1 Serena Williams at the Australian Open 2016 to win her first ever Grand Slam title. Following a glitch at Roland Garros, the German proved that she is not a one Slam wonder by winning the US Open 2016. As a consequence, she was crowned as the new World No.1 ending Williams’ streak of 186 tweeks at the top.

Kerber is indeed a worthy No.1 as she also won a Silver Medal at the Rio Olympics, reached the final at Wimbledon and the recently concluded WTA Finals at Singapore.

So, despite a lot of change how has the narrative of Women’s Tennis remained the same ?

The season ended with Dominika Cibulkova hogging the limelight with a shock win over the reigning No.1 Angelique Kerber. The diminutive Slovak was - resurgent, explosive, gritty, poised, powerful, consistent and dominant - all at the same time.

Pome’ : Dominika Cibulkova made it count when it mattered

Dominika Cibulkova put on a dominant display of tennis in the biggest match of her life. Despite losing to Kerber in the Round Robin stage, Cibulkova turned tables on her German opponent and dictated play from start to finish. While her serve down the middle ensured that Kerber had no angles to work with, her fearsome forehand kept the German scurrying from side to side three feet behind the baseline.

Cibulkova smiled through the missed opportunities on Match Points and seemed to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. She presided over their meeting like a boss by setting the agenda and seeing it through to completion, albeit with a bit of luck at the end. Fortune favored the brave and it seemed like an apt finish to a drama riddled match.

The depth of dominance was definitely nowhere close to what Serena Williams has rendered over the years but Cibulkova did a great job of keeping the narrative around unpredictability intact. And that’s what makes tennis exciting.