Women’s Tennis Eagerly Waits On a Leader to Emerge From The Pack

... Because after Serena Willams, who?

There is nothing remarkable about Jana Cepelova. She hasn’t won a tournament yet on the circuit. She is ranked 124 in the world. Since she first featured in the main draw of a WTA event in 2011, Cepelova has been in just one final – in Charleston in 2014. Hers is an underwhelming CV - one that belongs to a player somehow scraping together a professional career in tennis.

On Thursday though, Cepelova constructed an emphatic victory against the World number two Garbine Muguruza in the second round at Wimbledon. The 23-year old won in less than an hour, conceding a mere five games. It was the biggest upset of the tournament thus far. Less that a month ago Muguruza had captivated the world en route to the French Open title, decimating Serena Williams with precision in straight sets in the final.

And it wasn’t as if Muguruza doesn’t like the grass. Last year, she reached the final at Wimbledon as a 21-year old blessed with sparkling skill and a ready smile. Her poise, grace and powerful shot making earmarking her in the eyes of many astute observers as one for the future. Yet, on this day against the virtually unknown Slovakian, Muguruza simply didn’t show up. She made as many as 22 unforced errors, 10 more than her opponent, and hit just 9 winners, 5 fewer than her opponent.

I’m just dealing with it, honestly. I think it’s hard. I’m doing my way, trying to prepare every match, trying to be focused every practice. One day it’s going to go my way, another day no. Hopefully my consistency will improve and I’ll be able to be deep in all the tournaments.

Garbine Muguruza

While defeat to a lower ranked opponent is commonplace in tennis, Muguruza’s predicament is a snapshot of the challenge confronting the women’s tennis circuit. Serena Williams, the reigning queen of the game will be 35 soon and almost certainly will begin to contemplate life beyond the rigours of the circuit. Maria Sharapova is fighting a two-year ban for a doping violation and her future remains uncertain. Beyond their colossal presence, the women’s game appears to be in a desperate hunt to discover a player or two to take over the reigns and keep the sport vibrant. For the moment at least, that search seems to be yielding underwhelming results.

Besides her victory in Paris, Muguruza, widely identified as the leader of the new generation, hasn’t won a single tournament of the 11 she has played this year. In fact, she hasn’t even been in another final. Germany’s Angelique Kerber, who baffled the world by scorching to victory at the Australian Open, has won just one of the 9 tournaments she has played since.

Simply put, there isn’t an obvious heir apparent to Williams. At the moment, the women’s game is littered with middling performers, unable to break clear. None appear able to put together a consistently high level of performance, the hallmark of an elite athlete.

Twice Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka continues to be dogged by injury concerns and inconsistent form. Twice Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova is besieged by a frail mental make-up that results in wildly contrasting results. While maintaining a regular place in the top five, Simona Halep has been unable to make a credible run for a slam yet.

The visibly gifted Agnieszka Radwanska retains her place among the top players on the rankings chart but her trophy cabinet too doesn’t have a major crown yet despite a decade on the circuit. Others such as the sublime Eugenie Bouchard have faded spectacularly after their early promise and is now barely clutching on as a top-50 player.

Women’s tennis could do with a dominant player and a fierce rivalry, not just to convince its followers to stay invested but also attract the next generation of fans. Think back on the last few decades. Martina Navratilova had Chris Evert forever to hold off. Steffi Graf faced stern resistance from Monica Seles and the likes of Arantxa Sanchez Vicario and Gabriela Sabatini. Over the last few years, while Serena Williams has been the game’s foremost force, others such as Martina Hingis, Sharapova and her sister Venus have been combative rivals who crafted strong careers of their own.

It is not a crisis, far from it. But the wait for a sparkling talent to fill the void at the top of women’s tennis is ongoing.