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The 2023 season saw four different women lift the sport’s biggest prizes, further cementing the depth of the WTA tour.
The emergence of a possible ‘Big 3’ including Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina was also talked about, but there were plenty of other names posting big results, keeping the trio from settling into the top.
Needless to say, there’s plenty of excitement among fans as we prepare for the 2024 season. There are, however, a few names that after impressing this year, will be particularly keen on making an even bigger impact going ahead. And here, we have listed five women's tennis players to watch out for in 2024:
#5 Marketa Vondrousova
Much like Elena Rybakina last year, Marketa Vondrousova finds herself in the spotlight as the reigning Wimbledon champion, one who did not have the best results following her remarkable triumph at All England Club.
For the Czech, 2023 has proven to be a comeback year of sorts. Injuries had kept her from following up the 2019 French Open final run with better results, but that changed as she stayed healthy for most part of the season and posted consistent results — a quarterfinal at the US Open included.
The southpaw, who possesses a varied game rare in today's tennis landscape, now leads an incredible eight Czech players in the top 50. The fact that she was barely inside the top 100 twelve months ago speaks volumes about her potential.
#4 Wang Xinyu
A junior World No. 2, Wang Xinyu finally came into her own in the 2023 season, breaking into the top 50 after strong showings on the American hardcourt.
The Chinese made her first Grand Slam second week at the US Open, but the run was a long time coming. Buoyed by her booming groundstrokes, Xinyu can be a sight to behold on the quick hardcourt. She just needed to get a bit more big match experience.
That came her way via the doubles exploits as she partnered the ever-dynamic Hsieh Su-Wei to a Grand Slam title in Paris. Xinyu has gotten better with each passing week and could make a big splash in 2024.
#3 Mirra Andreeva
Nobody made bigger gains on the WTA rankings ladder in 2023 than the 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva who went from No. 405 to No. 46 in a year.
Having started out the year still playing in the Juniors, Andreeva had her big breakthrough at the Madrid Open by becoming the third-youngest player — at 15 — to win a WTA 1000 main-draw match ever.
What followed was immense scrutiny as the tennis world waited for the teen’s next big run. And in there lay Andreeva’s biggest strength: the ability to shrug off the pressure and go about her business as usual.
The youngster impressed with her run to the second week at Wimbledon. What she lacks in terms of raw power and big shotmaking, she more than makes up for with her nimble footedness, willingness to chase down each ball and a never-say-die attitude that has made champions out of many a player in the past.
#2 Zheng Qinwen
Zheng Qinwen was already a top-30 player coming into the 2022 season. She had impressed in big matches against the likes of Iga Swiatek, but was yet to make that big break that announced her arrival.
And the first half of the 2023 season for a large part worked on the same pattern. With early exits at the season’s first three Slams, the Chinese player was always on the cusp of something big, but didn't quite manage to get over the line.
Then came the title in Palermo and suddenly things began to click for the lanky Chinese. It helped that the quick hardcourts from the American and Asian swings bolstered Zheng’s big-serving, but suddenly she was a two-time Tour champion and a US Open quarterfinalist.
Her late surge saw Zheng book a spot at the WTA Elite Trophy, where she made the best of the home advantage to make the biggest final of her career and reach a career-high of No. 15. The youngster has looked far more comfortable on the big stage in her recent outings and more success may certainly be coming her way in 2024.
#1 Karolina Muchova
It took a few years, but Karolina Muchova finally had a season that does justice to her sublime tennis talent.
The dynamic Czech, who first made waves as a young 22-year-old making the Wimbledon quarterfinals in 2019, has had a troubled past, with injuries striking just as she would be seemingly building up to something big.
Injuries were a part of her 2023 season too as she did not compete regularly up until the clay swing. But she better managed her season this year, with the run to the French Open final — which included stellar wins over the likes of Aryna Sabalenka and Maria Sakkari — being the big highlight.
The run to the semifinal at the US Open, after another brief injury-induced lull in between, was even more special as it showed the world that Muchova was capable of staging deep runs at big events consistently.
The Czech possesses arguably the most well-rounded game from today’s crop of players and has the mental fortitude to dig herself out of difficult situations. Players in the modern physically-demanding era of tennis hardly find their biggest success post-25, but if there’s one player who could change that, it has to be Muchova.
