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When Serena retires, who is the next superstar of women's tennis?

Serena Williams is an icon. (AFP / Jewel Samad)
Roar Guru
4th January, 2016
6

With the great career of Serena Williams coming to an end at some stage soon, we take a look at who could take over the mantle of the best women’s tennis player in the world once Serena decides to hand over the keys.

Not for one minute am I suggesting Serena will end her glittering career anytime soon, but at 34 years old and with what she has achieved in the game you would have to think the end will come over the next year or two.

Serena is still the best player in women’s tennis right now and her form suggests that won’t change for awhile, but let’s take a look into the crystal ball to look for the next generation of players that could take over from the most dominant female tennis player of her generation.

For me the first port of call is the 21-year-old from Canada, Eugenie Bouchard who burst onto the scene in 2014 by reaching her highest rank of fifth in the world reaching the semis at the Australian and French Open, before losing the final at Wimbledon to Petra Kvitova. While her current ranking has slipped to 49th in the world, she is attempting to comeback after a freak fall in the locker room at the US Open on September 4.

Bouchard’s aggressive playing style and ability to hit the ball early, often rushing her opponent into making mistakes has been proven to be effective. She plays a unconventional style of play and can rip winners from anywhere on the court.

Still at a young age, she has time to improve on her already impressive game. Turning pro in 2009 Bouchard, is about to show the tennis world what she can do.

At just 18 years of age Belinda Bencic was another who made huge strides in 2014-15, reaching her first grand slam quarter-final in the US Open, along the way accounting for Angelique Kerber and Jelena Jankovic with impressive performances.

Turning pro in 2012, Bencic started 2014 ranked 184 in the world and by the time the Australian Open in 2015 come around she had made it to 32.

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Bencic has won two WTA titles and two ITF titles and in August 2015 reached her highest rank of 12 in the world, she enters the 2016 Australian Open ranked 14th and looks set for a big start to 2016. The Slovak teen has been dubbed the next Martina Hingis, and was named Switzerland’s sporting newcomer of the year in 2013.

With her unique playing style and ability to hit both the forehand and backhand, Bencic is a great talent, and if she stays injury free, look out.

22-year-old number three in the world Garbine Muguruza has impressed everyone since turning pro in 2012, the Spaniard right-hander has won 232 matches and lost 115 at 66.86% so far over her short career. Reaching the quarter-finals of the French Open in 2014 she was able to go one step further at Wimbledon reaching the final in 2015.

Blessed with an aggressive style of play she puts the server under a lot of pressure by hitting the ball hard and trying to control the court early in points, with an intense approach on the court and a swagger that she can mix it with the best, there is an air of confidence about her that makes you think that she will make it to number 1 and hold it for a very long time.

She respects Serena but believes in her ability to replicate her game on her idol.

“It’s very difficult, because since I was a child when I turn on the TV, I see her play. Everything, when I’m practicing, Okay, how Serena serves, how she plays a backhand. I saw like 100 videos of her. But it was really difficult to be able to, okay, be calm, and say, ‘It’s another player.’ But I think I did it, and that was the reason I could play like this.” Said Muguruza .

Muguruza has been talked about as the successor to Serena’s crown by several leading commentators and players, and has the game to serve it up to Serena in 2016.

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Madison Keys from the United States is another youngster that has the ability to take over the number one world ranking in the future. The 20-year-old from Rock island Illinois reached her highest rank in 2015 of 16 in the world and starts 2016 at 18. Keys has powerful ground strokes and has a dominant serve, though it can be a little inconsistent.

Keys loves to take control from the back of the court and use her power off both wings to leave her opponent feeling helpless.

She has worked on her mobility around the court and now has the ability to defend the court and not be all out attack, if she can be more consistent with her serve she will rise into the top ten very quickly.

The future looks bright post-Serena Williams with lots of players capable of putting their hand up to take the mantle, though they will still have to wait there turn until the most dominant female player ever decides to call time on her great career.

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