One of the most surprising things about the WTA Tour has been the disappointing form of Agnieszka Radwanska, who sits at 31st on the Race To Singapore after a very poor 2017.

Agnieszka Radwanska during the French Open (Getty/Adam Pretty)
Agnieszka Radwanska during the French Open (Getty/Adam Pretty)

The Pole, a former Wimbledon finalist and world number two, has been one of the most consistent players over the past few seasons, though has struggled with injuries and inconsistency throughout the year, and faces an uphill task to resurrect her season.

Season Positives

There have been very few positive moments for Radwanska this season, with the Pole winning just 14 matches and losing 11, though there have been a couple of high points.

Agnieszka Radwanska in action in Sydney (Getty/Brendon Thorne)
Agnieszka Radwanska in action in Sydney (Getty/Brendon Thorne)

In her second tournament of the year, Radwanska reached the final in Sydney, beating the likes of Christina McHale and Barbora Strycova before falling to Johanna Konta in the final. The Pole also made the second week at Wimbledon for the seventh consecutive year, beating Jelena Jankovic, Christina McHale, and Timea Bacsinszky before falling to Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Season Negatives

There were signs early on the season following a surprise loss to Alison Riske in Shenzhen that the Pole would struggle this year, and that has proved to be correct.

Aside from Wimbledon, Radwanska has struggled at the Grand Slam tournaments, losing to Mirjana Lucic-Baroni in the second round at the Australian Open, and in the third round of the French Open to Alize Cornet. Radwanska has also lost in her opening match at three tournaments this year; in Doha to Caroline Wozniacki, in Stuttgart to Ekaterina Makarova, and in Eastbourne to Lauren Davis.

Agnieszka Radwanska during her Australian Open second round loss (Getty/Mark Kolbe)
Agnieszka Radwanska during her Australian Open second round loss (Getty/Mark Kolbe)

Furthermore, the Pole lost in the third round in Dubai to Catherine Bellis, and lost at the same stage in Indian Wells and Miami, to Shuai Peng and Lucic-Baroni respectively. The Pole has also struggled with injury this season, withdrawing from clay court tournaments in Madrid and Rome with a foot injury, and in general has had a below-par season.

Looking Ahead

After her disappointing year to date, Radwanska’s ranking has already fallen to tenth in the rankings after starting the year as the world number three, and she could fall down even further as she has several points to defend. 

Agnieszka Radwanska after winning the title in Beijing last year (Getty/Emmanuel Wong)
Agnieszka Radwanska after winning the title in Beijing last year (Getty/Emmanuel Wong)

The Pole has two titles defend, in New Haven and at the Premier Mandatory event in Beijing, as well as fourth round points at the US Open and semifinal points at the WTA Finals. There is no doubt that Radwanska will need to start playing a lot better if she wants to turn her season around, and make the WTA Finals for the seventh consecutive year.

Midseason Grade: D

By Radwanska’s high standards from the past few years, this has been a surprisingly disappointing season for the Pole. There have been very few positive moments for Radwanska to look back, and it will be interesting to see if she can respond over the next few months.

 

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About the author
Oliver Dickson Jefford
20. English Literature student at the University of Southampton. Aspiring sports journalist from Hertfordshire.