Maria Sharapova (Photo : Getty Images)
Angelique Kerber will end the year as WTA's world No. 1, while Maria Sharapova has not been considered a ranking position in the Tour's leaderboard after not competing in enough tournaments this year.
Kerber will end the best season of her career, securing the 2016 WTA Year-End World No. 1 Singles Ranking. The 28-year-old Kerber, who took over the ranking after winning the US Open this year, snapping Serena Williams' 186 consecutive weeks at the top, joins compatriot Steffi Graf as the only other German to finish the year at No. 1.
"It is a great honor and achievement to finish the year as the No.1 player in the world," Kerber said, reports the WTA's official website. "This is one of the things I've always been dreaming of - to become No.1. I have worked extremely hard to become the best player I can be and this is a reflection of that effort and the wonderful year I have had."
On the other hand, Williams will surely end the year as the world No. 2 after only competing at eight tournaments this year because elbow and shoulder injuries. It was the 22-Grand Slam winner's fewest outing in a season since 2011, raising concerns whether the 35-year-old American could still get excited about playing tennis again.
"Her body is starting to have a few tweaks and break down a bit, but my question is, can she get excited about playing again? She can't get away with playing 70 percent anymore and winning titles," former world No. 1 Chris Evert told the New York Times.
"She has to be at 90 percent. The players are more confident now. She doesn't have that aura of invincibility about her that she had before."
Agnieszka Radwanska currently sits at the third spot in the world rankings, while Simona Halep dwells at No. 4. Karolina Pliskova is at No. 5 followed by Garbine Muguruza and Madison Keys at Nos. 6 and 7, respectively. The eighth spot belongs to Dominika Cibulkova, while Svetlana Kuznetsova and Johanna Konta are at the bottom of the top-10.
Meanwhile, Sharapova, who has been suspended for testing positive on meldonium, has been excluded from the WTA world rankings for not competing enough events this season. Sharapova, whose suspension started after the Australian Open earlier this year, was originally banned by the International Tennis Federation for two-year, but has been reduced to 15 months after her team appealed to the Court of Arbitration of Sports.
Since getting her suspension reduced, Sharapova enjoyed her time off the Tour, participating in events and exhibition matches. Sharapova is set to face Muguruza on a half clay-half grass court exhibition in Madrid on Dec. 2, but has been moved due to the latter recovering from a lingering left foot injury.
"I had several injuries during my career and I had to go through surgery once, so when I had this issue I got worried and I thought it was something serious," Muguruza said. "I tried to continue because the place for Singapore was in play but I could not take risks."
