The Big Splash... and Then?
Several female tennis players have had career-defining success recently, e.g. Francesca Schiavone won the French Open title, Samantha Stosur reached the final at Roland Garros, Vera Zvonareva reached the Wimbledon final and Petra Kvitova reached the
Wimbledon semis. However, since their big shining moments on the “main stage”, each of these women has struggled.
Schiavone has been upset in an early round in each the four tournaments she’s entered since the French Open. Stosur on the other hand, has reached a couple semis since Roland Garros, but she has lost to lower-ranked players in each of the four tournaments she’s entered. In addition, Stosur is now on the sidelines because of an arm injury which has been causing her pain the past few weeks. Zvonareva has only played two tournaments since Wimbledon, but she has been upset in early rounds in both events. Petra Kvitova, who impressed many with her strong play at Wimbledon, has lost in the first round in her next three tournaments. As in the music world where there have been many “one-hit wonders”, it is also sometimes quite difficult to maintain the same form and focus in sports after a big win or strong result. Nonetheless, each of these players, Schiavone, Stosur, Zvonareva and Kvitova, is at a different stage in her career and these summer stumbles will have more or less significance depending on the results the rest of this year and beyond.
Schiavone has been upset in an early round in each the four tournaments she’s entered since the French Open. Stosur on the other hand, has reached a couple semis since Roland Garros, but she has lost to lower-ranked players in each of the four tournaments she’s entered. In addition, Stosur is now on the sidelines because of an arm injury which has been causing her pain the past few weeks. Zvonareva has only played two tournaments since Wimbledon, but she has been upset in early rounds in both events. Petra Kvitova, who impressed many with her strong play at Wimbledon, has lost in the first round in her next three tournaments. As in the music world where there have been many “one-hit wonders”, it is also sometimes quite difficult to maintain the same form and focus in sports after a big win or strong result. Nonetheless, each of these players, Schiavone, Stosur, Zvonareva and Kvitova, is at a different stage in her career and these summer stumbles will have more or less significance depending on the results the rest of this year and beyond.
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