THERE was no shortage of memorable moments on the WTA Tour, so Rookie Me Central has named a handful of results that stuck out in 2021.

Ons Jabeur becomes first Arab in Top 10

In the first of many remarkable historic moments, Ons Jabeur becoming the first Arab tennis player – male or female – to reach the Top 10 is an outstanding achievement. The Tunisian 27-year-old finished 2020 ranked 31st in the world, which at that stage was a career-high. She went on to become the first Arab to win a WTA Tour title when she triumphed at Birmingham after earlier reaching the Charleston final. From there she went from strength to strength, defeating Garbine Muguruza and Iga Swiatek at Wimbledon, and became one of the few to defeat Anett Kontaveit from August onwards, twice in fact. Jabeur also reached the Chicago Fall Tennis Classic final, and the semi-finals at Indian Wells to move into the Top 10 and settle in at number seven. Jabeur only marginally missed out on a WTA Finals spot.

Maria Sakkari becomes first Greek woman in Top 10

Much like Jabeur, Sakkari has been thereabouts for a while, but finally had a year to remember despite not actually winning a title in 2021. Her sole title came in Rabat in 2019, and was runner-up in Ostrava this season, but just remains competitive in every tournament she plays to often go deep and collect plenty of WTA Tour ranking points. The Greek talent became the first woman from her country to enter the Top 10, after finishing 2020 in 22nd, and having a career-high rank of 20th earlier last year. That all changed in 2021 as she bolted right up to as high as sixth, reaching the semi-finals first in Miami, then both at Roland Garros and the US Open, showcasing her versatility on both clay and hard courts. Though halted by eventual winners – and players who feature on this list – Sakkari could be proud of the inroads she made in 2021, and now it is taking that extra step from semi-finalist to title winner.

Barbora Krejcikova’s Roland Garros stunner to kickstart remarkable rise

Whilst Jabeur and Sakkari both had impressive jumps into the Top 10, none could hold a candle to Barbora Krejcikova in terms of stunning career revivals. Though still only 25-years-old, very few could have seen the world’s best doubles player convert that form into singles, and rise from 65th in the world – yes that is correct, 65th – at the end of 2020, to third overall in the singles rankings. It means that with her number one doubles ranking, Krejcikova is the most dominant tennis player in the world combining both formats, and whilst the WTA Finals did not go to plan, she can be incredibly proud of her season. Her Roland Garros title was by far her most memorable in 2021, becoming a Grand Slam winner, also collecting the doubles Grand Slam title with Katerina Siniakova. It backed up her lead-up win in Strasbourg the week prior, and then one of the most dominant tournaments in Prague where she hardly looked like losing throughout for three titles and a remarkable rise.

Emma Raducanu’s ‘impossible’ US Open triumph

Only in our current world could a player ranked 65th in the world six months earlier winning a Grand Slam title as part of a 12-match winning streak on clay not be the most unbelievable Grand Slam triumph. Just when tennis fans were mind-boggled at Krejcikova’s accomplishment, along came teen sensation Emma Raducanu. After a memorable Wimbledon campaign, Raducanu was predominantly an ITF player, winning a lowly W25 event as her best title coming into the US Open. Entering qualifying, the Brit was nothing short of exceptional, not dropping a set in 10 matches and becoming the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam. She put tennis back on the map in Great Britain and indeed the world, defeating Sakkari and Belinda Bencic on her way to the title, in what was a memorable final against fellow teenager Leylah Fernandez. Whilst not having much luck since – two wins from five matches – the recently turned 19-year-old has plenty of time on her side, and many hope that she can block out the immeasurable hype coming out of Britain.

Anett Kontaveit’s second half of the season

Continuing the trend of unlikely heroes in 2021, Estonian Kontaveit produced one of the greatest turn-arounds of a WTA Tour season you are likely to see for some time. Coming into 2021, Kontaveit had one title to her name and was ranked 23rd. It was her third successive year where she had placed inside the Top 30 at the end of the season, and it looked like she might perennially be stuck there. Her first half of 2021 did nothing to suggest otherwise, stuck in a rut despite making a final and kicking off with a 10-5 record. Despite making the Eastbourne final, Kontaveit was bundled out the next week in the first round of Wimbledon to Marketa Vondrousova in a rough first-up encounter, then copped in-form Sakkari at the Olympics, Jessica Pegula in Montreal and Jabeur in Cincinnati, making four consecutive first round exits which featured a Grand Slam, two WTA 1000 events and the Olympics, raising concerns. A new coach in Dmitry Tursunov turned her form around, with August proving a new dawn for the Estonian. She went beserk, winning four titles in seven events and only dropping two matches – plus a retirement – to earn a spot in the WTA Finals with her Transylvania Open title in a jaw-dropping turnaround from her June-July slump.