Friends, Women’s tennis has been graced by some extraordinary players, right from 24 time Grand Slam champion Margaret Court to Steffi Graff, Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, Billie Jean King, and modern-day legend Sareena Williams. But the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) tour has its full share of players who never reached their full potential for one reason or the other.
In the following list of women tennis players, the players who have never won any Grand Slam tournament have been considered. It would be unfair to refer to anyone who even won one Grand Slam, as a player who failed to fulfill their potential. Here are five women’s players who did not achieve as much as success as they initially promised.
#5 Eugenie Bouchard
She burst onto the tennis scene in 2012, winning the Wimbledon girl’s single title. She won the WTA Newcomer of the tear award the very next year, and reached a career–high ranking of World No. 5 a year later in 2014. The 2014 season marked the highest point in the Canadian’s playing career, reaching the semifinals at the Australian Open and French Open. She then went on to reach the final at Wimbledon(the first Canadian to do so), followed by fourth- round finish at the US Open. She also won her first, and only, WTA title that year at the Numberger.
Starting 2005, she went on a steady decline as a result of some unfortunate injuries and dire run of form. Since the Australian Open 2015, she has reached the fourth round only once in Grand Slam and lost in the first round on eight occasions. She reached seven other WTA singles finals but lost all. While she is still active her ranking has tanked down to sub-1200.
#4 Dominka Cibulkova
She reached a career- high WTA ranking of World No. 4 but a Grand Slam title proved elusive. The Slovak player came very close when she lost to Li Na in the 2014 Australian Open. She has managed to reach the quarterfinals of all four Majors. But she progressed beyond that stage only once (other than as mentioned above), in the semifinals at the 2009 French Open.
Despite the disappointing run, she won the year-end Championships in remarkable fashion on her tournament debut after losing two matches in round- robin stage. It was her biggest win on the WTA Tour in a career boasting of eight singles titles overall. She retired in 2019 after her ranking plummeted way down to 315.
#3 Vera Zvonareva
She reached a career- high ranking of World No. 2, but could never get her hands on a Grand Slam trophy. The closest she came was in 2010, when she reached the final at Wimbledon and US Open. She reached the semifinals at the Australian Open the following year, followed by a quarterfinal run at US Open. But then, injuries took hold of her and she never reached her full potential. Of the 18 Grand Slams she has appeared in since 2012, she has never gone past the third round.
She has been much better in doubles, winning three Majors and 11 titles in total. In singles, she has won 12 titles on the WTA tour.
#2 Jelena Jankovic
She became the top-ranked women’s tennis player in 2008, on the back of semi-final appearances at the Australian Open and French Open. Next year she lost French Open to Serena Williams. She only managed a semifinal and quarter-final appearance in next40 Majors, never reaching the heights she promised due to continued struggles with form and injury.
Overall she won 15 titles on the WTA Tour, and stayed at the top for a period of 18 weeks. She did win a Grand Slam in mixed doubles at the 2007 Wimbledon. She retired from professional tennis in 2017.
#1Dinara Safina
She rose to World No. 1 in 2009 without winning a Grand Slam. She never got her hands on tennis’ ultimate prize before her eventual retirement in 2014. She came close multiple times, reaching three Major finals and two semifinals- in 2008 and 2009. Other than this 2 year stretch, Safina only reached two Grand Slam quarterfinals, but won the Olympic Silver medal in 2008. In doubles, however, she managed to win a Grand Slam at the 2007 US Open.
A persistent back injury robbed the tennis world of Safina’s full potential and forced her to announce premature retirement. Overall, she managed to win 12 titles on the WTA tour and remained No. 1 for a period of 28 weeks.
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Anil Malik
Mumbai, India
8th April 2022