When Karolina Pliskova beat Serena Williams in the US Open semi-final in September, the Czech ended William’s campaign for a 23rd Major, and more remarkably, her 187th consecutive week as World Number One.
Angelique Kerber went on to win the US Open and become the top ranked women’s player – the first woman to surpass Williams in more than 3 years.
Kerber’s rise to number one signals an exciting new era for the sport, and one that will be on show come the 2017 Brisbane International presented by Suncorp.
The tournament’s top ranked player will be Kerber, who made the final of 3 Majors this year, winning 2 of them.
However there are 4 more top 10 players who will be out to win the title, including 2016 WTA Final winner Dominika Cibulkova, 2016 French Open winner Garbine Muguruza, two-time Grand Slam Champion Svetlana Kusnetsova, and US Open finalist Karolina Pliskova.
Tournament Director Geoff Quinlan says it’s an exciting time for the women’s game, and one the Brisbane crowd is going to love come January.
“It’s fantastic to see a new generation of women coming through. For so long, Serena William’s has dominated the game, and rightly so, but it’s great to see other players matching her in strength and consistency.”
“We have the strongest women’s line-up we’ve ever seen, with 5 of the top 10 players – and the title is anyone’s to win.”
For Kerber, this year’s Brisbane tournament marked the start of a remarkable season – the 28-year-old went on to win the Australian Open, the US Open and make the Wimbledon final.
“It was always a dream to be number one and to win grand slams I was always dreaming, and after my first grand slam title in Australia I got so much confidence and I’m getting used to everything that’s happening around me,” said Kerber after her US Open win.
“I think I can handle [being world number one] at 28 a bit better, and I’m really happy that right now is my time because my year was up and down, right now I’m playing my best tennis, I’ve learnt a lot on the mental side so everything came together.”
The full women’s field for the 2017 Brisbane International presented by Suncorp is:
Women – includes world rankings
Angelique Kerber (GER) – No.1
Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) – No.5
Karolina Pliskova (CZE) – No.6
Garbine Muguruza (ESP) – No.7
Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) – No.9
Carla Suarez Navarro (ESP) – No.12
Elina Svitolina (UKR) – No. 14
Elena Vesnina (RUS) – No. 16
Roberta Vinci (ITA) – No.18
Samantha Stosur (AUS) – No.21
Shuai Zhang (CHN) – No.23
Daria Kasatkina (RUS) – No.26
Irina-Camelia Begu (ROU) – No.29
Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) – No.30
Laura Siegemund (GER) – No.31
Monica Puig (PUR) – No.32
Yulia Putintseva (KAZ) – No.33
Misaki Doi (JPN) – No.40
Alize Cornet (FRA) – No.41
Christina McHale (USA) – No.45
Eugenie Bouchard (CAN) – No.46
Sara Errani (ITA) – No.49