Spectacular ‘Top Guns of Women’s Tennis’
If you want to see effective skills, great performing mindsets and physical ability, the art of winning and rare persevering attitudes, then the Women’s WTA Finals in Singapore is the event to watch. In any event, it is not easy to be pitched against a Top 10 player and survive. The WTA Finals is for the Top 8 in the world and there was no such thing as an ‘easy match’ in Singapore. Current world’s No.1, Germany’s Angelique Kerber looked the most solid.
In a last minute evaluation, WTA gave Russia’s Kuznetsova the 8th berth, displacing much speculated inclusion of Britain’s Konta. Her title win in Moscow late Saturday afternoon, secured her this slot. The immediate 10-hour flight to Singapore bothered her in the 1st Set of the first match. In a very professional feat Kuznetsova Ranked 9, beat Poland’s Radwanska Ranked 3, in the opening match. The game plan of these players differs only very marginally. Kuznetsova has a 12 to 5 record in her favour against Radwanska.
The other qualifiers are Czech Republic’s Pliskova, Spain’s Muguruza, Romania’s Halep, USA’s Keys who is also the youngest in the field, and Slovenia’s just married Cibulkova.
Their weaponry
These 8 players are undoubtedly the ‘best movers’ in the Women’s game today, and the most noticeable feature in all is their court coverage ability. The eye-feet coordination which is the mechanics to cover court, is a severe challenge, and having to play the ball before the second bounce, gives players only a fraction of a second to reach the ball. Doing it repeatedly is physically taxing.
Subtracting opponent’s targets and finding a free court to select a target is a myth in competitive Tennis. Players such as Serena Williams, Kerber and Halep will take away most of the targets available, purely with their ability to reposition effectively and to cover court with great ease. It restricts opponent’s tactical play, as they are forced to go for risky targets or play safe shots repeatedly.
Extreme reaction speed – Body reaction speed, mostly referred to as eye-arm coordination, is near perfect in all of them. This is what gives the effective contact to the fast moving ball. The difference between the best and the rest in this aspect among the 8 will be in a split second. For a shot to be effective and safe, a player must execute 8o% of the stroke movements. When the ball comes at speeds around 100 mph, only players with the best reaction speed can cope. Kerber, Pliskova, Radwanska, and to a good extend Muguruza, excel in this aspect.
Tactical play – Tennis tactics have the biggest impact in winning. It has the capability to reduce the opponent’s efficiency, however good they may be. Watch a match of Serena Williams at her peak and you will know what is said here. She uses speed and court positioning. These are difficult components to use, as it could generate unforced errors. Serena used them repeatedly and won most of the matches in the shortest time possible. On fast surfaces like Wimbledon grass, most players could not survive her challenge due to this. The hard-court of Singapore is a fast surface. Players change their tactics according to the opponents. Kerber seems the best in doing it.
Mental focus- Originally, Tennis matches were played in pin-drop silence. This has changed and a great deal of emphasis goes to the entertainment aspect. This is something new and players don’t seem to have a choice but to be deaf or, cope with it. Tennis is a one-man show and there is no ‘guardian angel’ to support, and a carnival atmosphere is not the best for mental focus in tight situations. The ‘Singapore 8’ have survived the year with their powerful mental focus. In Singapore, there were matches where the advantage swung like a pendulum and the best mind won.
Fire power – The ability to hit outright winners among the Top 10 is exceptional. Pliskova has made nearing 500 service aces this year alone. Her return of service is much feared. The second player with such ‘fire power’ is Kerber. Overall, it could be said that, every player in the ‘Top 8’ have a lethal specialty of their own, that has put them into the top bracket.
Singapore Tennis carnival
Singapore took the franchise to stage the WTA Finals in 2014, and will not stage it again till 2018. The WTA Finals started in Florida in 1972. Looking at the past venues, it has attracted 11 major cities of the world. This is the 45th year and its sponsors are from the corporate world. The prize money this year of US$ 7 million, talks of the magnitude of the event. Singapore is not a big Tennis nation but, the attraction to popularize the city is what has taken the WTA Finals there. Their ability to provide good event logistics and support for the global media coverage is among the best in the world. Angelique Kerber and Pliskova are the players to watch.
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George Paldano, Former intl. player; Accredited Coach of Germany; National, Davis-Cup, Federation Cup captain/coach– georgepaldano@yahoo.com