Angelique Kerber is the world no. 1 for a while even though her tennis output has been beneath the decency line over the past few months. Now that the clay court swing is over, she can take a deep breath and try to regroup for the upcoming fixtures. The grass season stands ahead and the German could produce some serious damages again. Despite being the world no. 1 in the WTA ranking, her level of expectation when it comes to clay was rather low. She plays better on faster surfaces like grass or hardcourt. After all, she won Australian Open and US Open while at Wimbledon she ended up as a runner-up to Serena Williams.
All these outstanding results were accomplished last year only. That gives a solid background to work on but also add some extra pressure on her shoulder.
The favorite part of the season also casts a heavy burden
Angelique Kerber might consider herself being lucky to not losing the no. 1 seat by now. Both Simona Halep and Karolina Pliskova choked while being one match away from surpassing the current leader. The even trickier part is that all these players will fight for the no. 1 spot over the next months. And to add an extra thrill to the show, all have to defend some significant chunks of points. So, it's not off the table the scenario of having a complete turmoil at the top looming ahead.
The 29-year-old German must deliver some high-quality tennis soon if she wants to keep her head above the water. In a matter of weeks, Wimbledon Championships will pose as the first big test as she must defend last year's result. Those 1300 points weight quite much and they're representing only the tip of the iceberg.
Kerber hasn't won a WTA title since 2016 US Open
It's been nearly nine months since she last won a WTA title. After last year's US Open, her level of intensity has been on a downward ride. She had a short burst at the WTA Finals in Singapore reaching the final of the event but it's not enough for someone who is the world no.
1. Back in 2016, as a warm-up for Wimbledon, she went to Birmingham event, a Premier tournament. She reached the quarterfinals before losing to Carla Suarez Navarro.
Regarding this season only, Kerber made it once into a final but it was at a WTA International event in Monterrey where she surprisingly lost to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. So far, Kerber failed to defend every single major success from the previous year. It'll be interesting to watch whether or not the trend will continue at Wimbledon.
