#3 Svetlana Kuznetsova
The two-time Grand Slam champion had been struggling with her form and fitness since 2010 and in 2012, Kuznetsova dropped out of the top 50. She slowly began to show signs of resurgence through a couple of decent performances in 2013, 2014 and 2015 which brought her back into the top 30.
She did not have the best of starts to her year as she was beaten in the second round of the ASB Classic by two-time Wimbledon quarter-finalist Tamira Paszek. However, she followed this with a victory at the Apia International in Sydney after stunning top-seeded Simona Halep in the semis before triumphing over Puerto Rican Monica Puig in the final.
After a disappointing second round outing at the Australian Open, Kuznetsova then flopped in her next three tournaments that followed; exiting in the first round of the Dubai Tennis Championships before being ousted in the second round of the Qatar Total Open and the BNP Paribas Masters. Kuznetsova then bounced back with a brilliant showing at the Miami Open where she reached the final before losing to Victoria Azarenka in straight sets.
Following this, Kuznetsova reached the quarter-finals of the Italian Open where she was beaten by Serena Williams. Kuznetsova reached the fourth round of the French Open which marked the first time she reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam since the 2014 French Open.
She later reached the fourth round of the Wimbledon too which helped her reach the Top 10 for the first time in six years. She then reached the quarter-finals of both the Rogers Cup and Cincinnati Masters before being knocked out in the second round of the US Open by eventual semi-finalist Caroline Wozniacki.
As of now, Kuznetsova is ranked 10th in the world and provided she produces a string of good performances in the remainder of the year then she may even be ranked higher by the end of the year.
