IF you are only going to win one tournament in a year, then a Grand Slam would be top of the list. For Romanian world number four Simona Halep, that was exactly how her year panned out.

Rank: #4
Wins: 43
Losses: 17
Titles: 1
Prize Money: $6,962,442

The 28-year-old Romanian has won more titles in previous years – in fact she has even reached the pinnacle of the world rankings – but her 2019 season showed she still had what it takes to match it with the best by saluting at Wimbledon. She claimed that title following her previous Grand Slam win at Roland Garros (2018) and runners-up twice in France and once at the Australian Open. She was unable to back up that form during the North American hard court season, losing to 91st ranked Marie Bouzkova (Rogers Cup) and 116th ranked Taylor Townsend (US Open) following Wimbledon and those tournaments were either side of a Round of 16 exit to Madison Keys in Cincinnati.

Her performance at Wimbledon was something to behold, completely obliterating Serena Williams, 6-2 6-2 and ending the fairytale run of Coco Gauff earlier in the tournament. It was the shining light of an otherwise disappointing Grand Slam year for the Grand Slam winner, though she still remained inside the top five by year’s end. Realistically, Halep could have added a few more titles to her name, losing to Elise Mertens and Kiki Bertens in Qatar and Madrid. Ending the year at world number four after back-to-back world number one finishes, it is a testament to Halep’s consistency that she finished inside the top five for the sixth consecutive year. Now she will be keen to make the most of her chances in 2020 to capitalise on a few more titles.