Next month, the WTA circuit will be deepened into the European clay swing having a lot of action with big tournaments in Madrid, Rome, Stuttgart and of course the french open. The current state at the top of the ranking is quite different compared to the last seasons. With Serena Williams focusing only on Grand Slams events, a wise decision in full compliance with her age and the injury scare that's been around lately, Angelique Kerber and Karolina Pliskova seem to have left the main stars of the WTA Tour. Even so, their overall output is way below a top-ranked player should produce.
Kerber is again on the highest summit, mostly because Serena decided not to chase rankings this year.
Sharapova could revive the scene
Having the Russian player in the main draw of a WTA event is like having a pair of aces to rely on. Firstly she is a brand that draws in a huge audience. Secondly, she used to be tough to beat as an opponent on any given surface. Winner of 5 Grand Slams in singles, she and Serena are the only active female players having won at least one Grand Slam title on each surface: clay, grass and hard. It's fair to say that the 29-year-old Russian has a special relation with the clay court as she won the French Open twice. And now, she will resume her career on this particular surface.
She was given wild-card entries in Stuttgart, Rome and Madrid, 3 WTA stops prior to the French Open. With a lucky draw, she might advance into the higher stages thus improving her ranking. Her banning from tennis due to a doping scandal also dissolved her rank into pieces.
Sharapova could be top 50 in no time
Her ascent to the top might be faster than expected.
For example, Misaki Doi, the 50th place occupant, has 1050 points.It might sound like a good number but it's just about the amount the winner of Madrid clay event will receive as a reward. Another example is Rome, a Premier 5 event which gives to the winner a 900 points prize. For a title in Stuttgart, the winner will receive 470 points.
And those are the event where Maria Sharapova already received access. The upcoming months could bring some interesting outcomes. Unlike the ATP Tour, where the overall performances are rather solid, the WTA Tour has been showing a lack of consistency of its top competitors. In this climate, Sharapova could easily find room for growth and further success.
