Erratic form of Serena Williams, Agnieszka Radwanska and rest of top 10 shows the only certainty in women’s tennis is uncertainty

With the Australian Open just days away, Karolina Pliskova kept the flag flying for the underachieving top-10 club by winning the Brisbane International, writes Ahmed Rizvi.

Serena Williams of the United States drinks during a practice session ahead of the 2017 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 8, 2017 in Melbourne, Australia. Scott Barbour / Getty Images

Unpredictability, thy name is women’s tennis.

What else can we say after the opening week of the season? World No 1 Angelique Kerber, after claiming she is “confident” and “ready” for the challenges ahead, crashed out of Brisbane after a solitary win, over world No 271 Ashleigh Barty, losing to No 14 Elina Svitolina in her second match.

World No 2 Serena Williams, returning to action for the first time since her loss to Karolina Pliskova in the semi-final of the US Open in September, could also win only one match in Auckland before losing to No 72 Madison Brengle. Then, she went on a graceless rant against the blustery conditions, saying it was “the least favourite conditions I’ve ever played in”.

“At least I can get out of these conditions so I can get somewhere better, and warmer weather too,” she added, angering most tennis fans and pundits in New Zealand.

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Agnieszka Radwanska, the world No 3, fared slightly better in Shenzhen, defeating No 103 Ying-Ying Duan and No 78 Sorana Cirstea before losing to No 30 Alison Riske.

The other members of the top 10, save No 5 Pliskova, did not do much better. Simona Halep, the No 4, lost to No 52 Katerina Siniakova in the second round in Shenzhen; No 6 Dominika Cibulkova lost to No 41 Alize Cornet in her second match in Brisbane; No 7 Garbine Muguruza, down 4-1 in the first set, retired against Cornet in the Brisbane semis after knocking out No 9 Svetlana Kuznetsova in the earlier round, while No 10 Johanna Konta lost to eventual champion Siniakova in the Shenzhen semis.

With Madison Keys delaying the start of her season because of wrist surgery and missing the Australian Open, Pliskova, the 2016 US Open runner-up, kept the flag flying for the top 10, dropping only one set on her way to the title in Brisbane. The other eight of the top 10 were 14-8 combined for the week.

Pliskova’s performance, then, has certainly established her as one of the favourites for the Australian Open, but, as the opening week of the season has once again shown, the only certainty in women’s tennis is uncertainty.

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