MKRob Sports

By Brandon Taylor

To the average tennis fan, this year’s WTA Tour Championships may be one of the weakest in recent years based on the lack of name brand star players. Obviously, you first notice that 2 of the WTA’s main attractions; Venus and Serena Williams are absent due to injury.

Maria Sharapova, still struggling at times with a shoulder injurydidn’t make the field. Justine Henin, who had a nice start to her comeback year and probably would have made it to the championships, injured herself during Wimbledon, taking her out for the rest of the year.

Two other players, Dinara Safina and Ana Ivanovic, both World #1’s recently, have seen their rankings plummet. If not for Kim Clijsters, the average tennis fan may be hard pressed to name any other players playing in the tournament. However the eight women that made it didn’t ask for the injuries to happen, so you can’t take anything away from them. They deserve to be there.

Caroline Wozniacki is the number 1 ranked player in the world. While many argue that Wozniacki does not deserve the number 1 ranking, Wozniacki is letting her play do the talking. Wozniacki did not win a slam this year, but has been dominant in the other events. She should be the favorite to win the Championships. Even though Wozniacki will finish the year ranked number 1, the best player in the world is a healthy Serena Williams.

The number 2 seed is Vera Zvonareva, who had a career year this season, making the finals of Wimbledon and the US Open. She beat Wozniacki in the semis of the US Open, so don’t count her out. Kim Clijsters is the number 3 seed and the best hard court player in the world at the moment. The US Open champion hasn’t played since the Open, and while she could be rusty, I doubt it.

If Clijsters’s groundstrokes are consistent, she’s going to dominate. The number 4 seed is Francesca Schiavone, who could get overwhelmed by some of the bigger hitters. Her all-court game is very fun to watch, and she could produce some highlight-reel shots. The number 5 seed is Sam Stosur who has the best serve in women’s tennis outside of Serena Williams. Stosur’s serve and heavy forehand make her a threat. The number 6 seed is Jelena Jankovic, who never seems healthy and is always complaining. I don’t expect much from her. The number 7 seed is Elena Dementieva, who seems destined to never get over the hump and win a grand slam.

The X-factor is number 8 seed Victoria Azarenka. She has the talent to blow anyone off the court, but you never know what you are going to get from her mentally.