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Simona Halep, Caroline Wozniacki, or someone else at No. 1 in 2018?

By Harry Floyd

KEY BISCAYNE, FL - MARCH 24: Simona Halep of Romania returns a shot to Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland during the Miami Open Presented by Itau at Crandon Park Tennis Center on March 24, 2018 in Key Biscayne, Florida. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
KEY BISCAYNE, FL - MARCH 24: Simona Halep of Romania returns a shot to Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland during the Miami Open Presented by Itau at Crandon Park Tennis Center on March 24, 2018 in Key Biscayne, Florida. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /
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Who will be the world No. 1 at the end of the 2018 WTA Tour? Will it be Simona Halep, Caroline Wozniacki, or another in women’s singles?

Simona Halep is the current world No. 1 in women’s singles tennis. Her more than one thousand point lead over Caroline Wozniacki comes as a bit of a shock so far. After all, it was Wozniacki who defeated the Romanian tennis star to earn her first career Grand Slam singles title at the 2018 Australian Open. Wozniacki carried her success from winning the 2017 WTA Finals right into this year’s WTA Tour by winning the title at Melbourne Park.

Both she and Halep, however, have been relentless. They have alternated at No. 1 and Wozniacki currently leads in the Race to Singapore. Just behind them in the singles race is former world No. 1 Angelique Kerber. The Race to Singapore is heating up right alongside the overall women’s singles rankings. While Kerber may be further out in the overall rankings, she is already making headlines on the 2018 WTA Tour. It could be a bounce back year for the German tennis star.

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Halep has one singles title on the year so far. Her runner-up finish to Wozniacki at the Australian Open was yet another close call for a Grand Slam singles title. Last year, she also reached the finals at the French Open yet again, only to finish second to Jelena Ostapenko in the finals. Halep is on the verge of her first career Grand Slam singles win. Look for her to continue to be a favorite throughout the entirety of the 2018 WTA Tour.

It will be Simona Halep and Caroline Wozniacki in front in 2018. Several other top players, however, are major contenders in any tournament.

Next: 2018 French Open Favorites

The WTA Top 10 features some former world No. 1’s and several rising stars in women’s singles. Tournaments will not get any easier moving forward on tour. While Simona Halep and Wozniacki remain at the top in terms of who will be favored, others such as Garbine Muguruza, Karolina Pliskova, Elina Svitolina, Caroline Garcia, Venus Williams, Petra Kvitova, and Sloane Stephens can all play a role. And that’s just to name some of the top players right now. There is loads of talent on the WTA Tour and the year is sure to be a thrilling one.

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