2018 WTA Rivalries to look forward to: No. 5

As much as Serena Williams has been missed on the WTA tour, her absence has produced some intriguing plot lines and scintillating rivalries that could continue into next season. Baseline will countdown the favorite rivalries of 2017—and here’s hoping we see more chapters in 2018.

5

Head-to-head record: Konta leads 3-1

Every time these two met in 2017, the results were fireworks. The first encounter came at the Miami Open, where Simona Halep surrendered—in more ways than one—a big lead that led Halep and her coach to question her competitiveness.

Then there was the strange interlude at Fed Cup, with Romania hosting Britain. Verbal abuse from tennis legend Ille Nastase and the Romanian crowd left Johanna Konta in tears, with Halep trying to placate her fellow countrymen. Halep would go on to beat Konta the next day, helping Romania secure the 3-2 win.

The tables turned on Halep when she met Konta in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. In what was possibly the WTA match of the year, Konta prevailed in three dramatic sets, helped in part by a buoyant British crowd eager to see a compatriot advance to the semifinals for the first time since Virginia Wade in 1978.

It wasn’t just the circumstances of their matches that made for such fascinating tennis—it was the contrast in styles, too. At her best, Konta plays with a controlled aggression that doesn’t make her as vulnerable to the errors some of the game’s biggest hitters tend to suffer when playing Haelp. Halelp’s all-around tenacity and defense makes for long, mesmerizing rallies. Here’s to hoping for more tense encounters between the two.

Check back for No. 4.