2021 was a memorable year for women’s tennis.

Emma Raducanu became the first qualifier to ever win a Grand Slam title, Ashleigh Barty battled injury to win Wimbledon and Barbora Krejcikova claimed victory at the French Open in both singles and doubles.

But with the new year fast approaching and the first major of 2022 a matter of weeks away, who are some of the stars to keep an eye on?

We’ve ranked five players who could contend for Grand Slam glory next season:

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Anett Kontaveit

Anett Kontaveit’s remarkable end to the 2021 season saw her win back-to-back tournaments at the Kremlin Cup and Transylvania Open.

This propelled the Estonian into the top 10 of the world rankings and saw her land an automatic qualifying spot for the WTA Finals in Guadalajara.

The 26-year-old reached the final in Mexico but lost out to eventual winner Garbine Muguruza.

While Kontaveit ended the year on a high, she failed to reach beyond the third round in any of the four majors.

This year, the world number seven will be keen to go deep in the Grand Slams and is arguably one of the favourites for the upcoming Australian Open, given her recent performances on hard courts.

Kontaveit

Coco Gauff

Since her breakthrough at Wimbledon in 2019, Coco Gauff has been one of tennis’ most talked-about young prospects.

Gauff is still only 17 and is ranked 21st in the world currently. Last season, she reached the quarter-finals of the French Open and won her second WTA title at the Emilia-Romagna Open.

But despite her consistency on tour, the teenager was somewhat overshadowed by the emergence of Raducanu.

That being said, Gauff is still almost two years younger than the British star and has far more experience on the tour circuit.

A deep-run in a major tournament has been coming for some time now and 2022 could prove to be Gauff’s year.

Veronika Kudermertova

Veronika Kudermertova won her maiden WTA title at the Charleston Open in April and her performances on the clay surface impressed many at the time.

The 24-year-old failed to build on this win, however and suffered a second-round defeat at the French Open.

Nonetheless, the Russian is seemingly improving year by year and it seems only a matter of time until she strings together a run at a major tournament.

Kudermetova

Iga Swiatek

Despite winning two WTA titles and reaching at least the fourth round of every Grand Slam, Swiatek’s impressive year has gone somewhat underappreciated.

The world number nine had a breakout season when she won the French Open without dropping a set in 2020.

Still only 20, Swiatek is widely considered the best clay-court player in the world and will likely be the favourite to win a second Roland-Garros title in 2022.

Leylah Fernandez

It was Raducanu who stole the headlines at the US Open but Leylah Fernandez also enjoyed an incredible run at Flushing Meadows in September, despite finishing runner-up.

The Canadian beat former world number one’s Naomi Osaka and Angelique Kerber, as well as Aryna Sabalenka and Elina Svitolina en-route to the final.

Fernandez also won her first WTA title at the Monterrey Open in March and is ranked 24th in the world.

If the 19-year-old can build on her US Open performance and continue to beat the best players in the world, there is no reason she can’t contend for a major again next year.

Fernandez