The 2017 WTA season was not the Hunger Games in Chrissie Evert’s eyes.
Evert says she’s disappointed that “one hungry player” did not emerge for a sustained stretch in Serena Williams’ absence this season. But the 18-time Grand Slam champion believes the scheduled returns of Serena and Victoria Azarenka could make 2018 one of the most competitive WTA seasons ever.
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Serena supplanted Angelique Kerber as world No. 1 after her Australian Open victory.
After the 23-time Grand Slam champion stepped off the pro circuit to give birth to her first child, three different women—Karolina Pliskova, Garbiñe Muguruza and Simona Halep—held the top spot with Halep finishing as year-end No. 1 despite the fact she has yet to win a Grand Slam title.
Evert says the women's game has depth, but lacks a bit of hunger.
"It's a little disappointing that nobody's stepped it up... I thought maybe somebody would now that Serena (Williams) was out of the game,” Evert told Nicole Chia of The Straits Times. "Maybe it's the field and maybe it's (the fact that) the women are so close at the top, that anyone on a hot day can beat anyone else, the depth is there but I didn't see that one hungry player emerge."
Four different women—Serena Williams, Jelena Ostapenko, Muguruza and Sloane Stephens—won the four Grand Slam titles this season.
Evert asserts the infusion of youthful champions like the 20-year-old Ostapenko and 24-year-old Stephens as well as the US Open final run of 22-year-old Madison Keys and breakout season for 21-year-old Ashleigh Barty combined with potential return to form of Maria Sharapova and Petra Kvitova could make 2018 “one of the best years ever.”
"I think more people will be engaged in and excited about women's tennis, and it's not only the game—it's also the personalities of these women, the leadership roles that they take and how strong they are as women,” Evert told The Straits Times. "If we get them back... and playing well and healthy and we have this crop, it could be a great year."