2022 Hologic WTA Tour Season in Review

Relive the 2022 Hologic WTA Tour season through the eyes of our 2023 Charleston Open field. If their 2022 accolades are any indication, we are in for another thrilling week of tennis action in the Lowcountry. From career-high rankings to Grand Slam breakthroughs, our 2023 player field is rich in experience, talent and passion.

Ons Jabeur – World No. 2

Ons Jabeur began her 2022 campaign with a quarterfinals appearance in Sydney before withdrawing from the Australian Open due to a back injury. Following a pair of early-round exits at Indian Wells and Miami, Jabeur started her clay-court season in Charleston. With victories over Anhelina Kalinina and Amanda Anisimova in the quarterfinals and semifinals, Jabeur reached her first final of 2022, eventually falling to Belinda Bencic in three sets.

In May, Jabeur won the Madrid Open, becoming the first Arab and African player to capture a WTA 1000 title. Her strong play followed her to Rome the next week where she reached her second-straight WTA 1000 final before falling to World No. 1 Iga Swiatek in straight sets.

Jabeur was in form to start the grass-court season in Berlin. Seeded No. 1, she captured her second title of the year in a rematch against Bencic. Entering Wimbledon with a career-high world ranking of No. 2, Jabeur continued her winning ways, reaching her first-ever Grand Slam final before falling to Elena Rybakina in three sets.

It didn’t take long for Jabeur to reach her second-career Grand Slam final at the US Open in September. Despite falling to Iga Swiatek, Jabeur broke new ground again as the first Arab and African woman to reach a US Open final.

Jabeur’s remarkable season was capped off with an invitation to her first WTA Finals in Fort Worth. Her year-end ranking of No. 2 is a career-high and marks the third straight year in which her year-end ranking has improved over the previous.

Jessie Pegula – World No. 3

At the Melbourne Summer Set 1, her first event of the year, Jessie Pegula captured the doubles title with Asia Muhammad.

Just two weeks later, Pegula made waves in the singles draw of the Australian Open, advancing to the quarterfinals for a second straight year.

Following another doubles title in Qatar, this time with Coco Gauff, Pegula capped off her early hard-court season with a run to the singles semifinal in Miami.

On the clay in Madrid, Pegula reached her first singles final of the season, falling to Ons Jabeur in three sets. Two weeks later, Pegula arrived in Paris for the French Open. Seeded No. 11 in singles and No. 8 in doubles, she made runs to the quarterfinals and finals, respectively. The doubles final was a Grand Slam career-best for Pegula.

In August, Pegula’s strong doubles play emerged again in Washington DC where she captured a third title of the season – this time with New Zealand’s, Erin Routliff. A second consecutive doubles title came in Toronto and another, her fifth of the year, came in San Diego in October.

With the season winding down and a WTA Finals invite in her sights, Pegula won her second-ever singles title at the WTA 1000 Guadalajara Open.

Pegula’s season ended at the WTA Finals in Fort Worth where she was one of two players invited to compete in both singles and doubles. Her year-end singles ranking of No. 3 and doubles ranking of No. 6 are both career-bests.

Madison Keys – World No. 11

In her second start of the season, Keys captured her first singles title since 2019 at the Adelaide International 2.

At the Australian Open the following week, Keys’ quality play continued.

Unseeded to start the week, she beat three top eleven seeds – Sofia Kenin, Paula Badosa and Barbora Krekcikova – to advance to the semifinals. Despite falling to then World No. 1 and eventual Champion, Ashleigh Barty, Keys’ first Grand Slam semifinal since the 2018 US Open vaulted her back into the world’s top 30.

Following a quarterfinals appearance at Indian Wells and a second-round exit in Miami, Keys began her clay court season in Charleston. Unfortunately, she ran into eventual champion and Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic in the third round.

At the French Open, Keys played well in both the singles and doubles draws. In singles she won three matches, defeating Rybakina before falling to Veronika Kudermetova in the round of 16. In the doubles draw, Keys and fellow American Taylor Townsend advanced to the semifinals.

Another doubles semifinal came at the Canadian Open. It was Keys’ first WTA 1000 semifinals in doubles.

Keys’ doubles success translated to her singles game at the Cincinnati Open. On her way to the semifinals, Keys took down World No. 1 Iga Swiatek and Wimbledon champion Rybakina in straight sets.

Another quarterfinals appearance came in San Diego for Keys who finished the season ranked No. 11, her best end-of-season ranking since 2016.

Keys’ end-of-season doubles ranking of No. 56 is also a career-best.

Belinda Bencic- World No. 12

After a pair of early-season quarterfinal appearances in Sydney and St. Petersburg, Belinda Bencic entered the 2022 Credit One Charleston Open on a high note thanks to her first-ever Miami Open semifinal. Seeded No. 10 in Charleston, she defeated Wang Xiyu, Linda Fruhvirtová and Keys to reach the quarterfinals before beating then World No. 3 Badosa to advance to the semifinals. After a victory over Ekaterina Alexandrova, Bencic met Jabeur in the finals. Bencic prevailed in three sets to capture her first WTA clay court and sixth singles title overall.

Bencic’s grass-court season was highlighted by a finals appearance in Berlin where she, unfortunately, had to retire in a rematch against Jabeur. Bencic finished her 2022 campaign strong, leading Switzerland to its first-ever Billie Jean King Cup title. The defending Charleston Open Champion and Olympic Gold Medalist ended the week without dropping a set.

Bencic’s end-of-year World No. 12 ranking tied for the second-best finish of her career.

Paula Badosa – World No. 13

After achieving a career-best, end-of-season ranking (No. 8) in 2021, Paula Badosa picked up right where she left off in 2022, capturing her third career singles title at the Sydney Tennis Classic in January.

To close out the early hard-court season, Badosa reached the semifinals at Indian Wells and the quarterfinals in Miami.

Badosa’s early-season results elevated her to a new career-high ranking of No. 3 heading into the clay-court season. After a quarterfinal showing in Charleston and a run to the semifinals in Stuttgart, Badosa’s ranking improved again, this time to World No. 2.

At Wimbledon, Badosa won three matches before falling to Simona Halep in the round of 16. A semifinal run in San Jose and a quarterfinal appearance in San Diego highlighted her late summer and fall.

In November, after representing Spain in the Billie Jean King Cup, Badosa announced that she would be ending her season earlier than originally planned.

Despite a difficult second half of the season, Badosa finished inside the top 15 of the world rankings for a second straight year.

Sloane Stephens – World No. 37

In February, 2017 US Open Champion Stephens captured her first WTA singles title since 2018 at the Abierto Zapopan in Guadalajara, Mexico. The win improved her world ranking from 57 to 38, putting her back inside the top 50 for the first time in nearly a year.

At Roland Garros, Stephens won four matches before falling to Gauff in the quarterfinals. It was her first French Open quarterfinal since 2018.

Starting the week ranked No. 50, Stephens had a good showing at the Guadalajara Open – the final tournament of her season. After wins over top-10 seeds, Bencic and Caroline Garcia, Stephens faced fellow American and eventual champion, Pegula in the quarterfinals. Despite falling in straight sets, her show was enough to move her to No. 37 in the WTA world rankings.

Stephens’ end-of-year world ranking is her best since 2019 when she finished No. 25.

Looking ahead

Where to watch the current Charleston Open field before they arrive in the Lowcountry in April:

United Cup, WTA 500, December 29 – January 8, 2023

Jessie Pegula, Belinda Bencic, Paula Badosa and Madison Keys will all compete in the inaugural United Cup. The event brings together the best ATP Tour and Hologic WTA Tour players in an 18-country teams’ event played across three Australian cities: Brisbane, Perth and Sydney.

Australian Open, Grand Slam, January 16 – 29, 2023

Expect to see all six current Charleston Open commits at the first Grand Slam of the season.

Dubai Tennis Championships, WTA 1000, February 19 – 25, 2023

The first WTA 100 event of the 2023 season will take place in Dubai. Ons Jabeur advanced to the quarterfinals in 2022

Indian Wells, WTA 1000, March 8 – 19, 2023

The first U.S.-based WTA 100 event of 2023 will again be held at Indian Wells. Paula Badosa won the tournament in 2021 and advanced to the semifinals in 2022.

Miami Open, WTA 1000, March 21 – April 2, 2023

The Hologic WTA Tour will visit Miami to conclude the early hard-court season. Jessie Pegula and Belinda Bencic advanced to the semifinals in 2022. Sloane Stephens won the Miami Open in 2018.

Charleston Open, WTA 500, April 1 – 9, 2023

The clay-court season begins in Charleston. North America’s largest women’s-only tennis tournament will feature a singles draw of 56 players, a qualifying draw of 32 players and a doubles draw of 16 players. More than 90,000 spectators will enjoy world-class tennis at state-of-the-art Credit One Stadium in Charleston, SC.