WTA Finals 2016: 5 players who could win the tournament

By Neelabhra Roy
Modified Oct 24, 2016 02:00 GMT
SINGAPORE - OCTOBER 23: Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia plays a forehand in her singles match against Angelique Kerber of Germany during day 1 of the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore at Singapore Sports Hub on October 23, 2016 in Singapore. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images for WTA)
The Slovak has had the most consistent year of her career so far

#4. Karolina Pliskova

SINGAPORE - OCTOBER 22: Karolina Pliskova of Czech Republic practices prior to the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore at Singapore Sports Hub on October 22, 2016 in Singapore. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Pliskova will be looking to make a significant on her first ever WTA Finals

After a string of promising performances in 2014 and making her Top 10 debut in 2015, big things were expected from the Czech in 2016. However, Pliskova began the year bluntly, falling in the third round of the Australian Open which were followed by first round exits at the Dubai Tennis Championships and the Qatar Open.

She bounced back by reaching the semi-finals of the Indian Wells Masters but was back to her patchy form as she suffered first round exits at Miami and Madrid and was knocked out of Roland Garros in the first hurdle. Pliskova gradually began to find her form during the grass-court season, winning the Aegon Open and reaching the final of the Eastbourne International where she was beaten by Dominika Cibulkova.

This was followed by a second round exit at the Wimbledon at the hands of Japanese Misaki Doi.After reaching the third round of the Rogers Cup, Pliskova pulled out of the Rio Olympics and the sacrifice paid off as she won the Cincinnati Masters, beating Angelique Kerber in the final and delaying her wait to be World No.1. Pliskova finally had a brilliant outing at a Grand Slam as she reached the final of the US Open, beating both the Williams sisters- Venus in the fourth round and Serena in the semi-finals which enabled Angelique Kerber to attain the No.1 ranking.

Pliskova eventually lost to Kerber in straight sets in the final. However, her performances at the US Open propelled her ranking to a career-best 6th. However, she couldn’t replicate her US Open performances in the tournaments that followed, falling in the second round of the Pan Pacific Open which was followed by consecutive third round exits at the Wuhan and China Opens but was able to comfortably qualify for the WTA Finals.Pliskova has been drawn in a relatively easy group alongside reigning champion Aga Radwanska, an inconsistent Garbine Muguruza, and Svetlana Kuznetsova. Pliskova arrives in Singapore well-rested and full of confidence and will be one of the favorites to at least reach the semi-finals of her maiden WTA Finals.