Another WTA season is quickly drawing to a close, but that does not mean that the players are taking their feet off of the gas.  Every woman is keen to use these remaining weeks to end her season on a high note as she looks forward to 2015.  However, only a few competitors will be able to achieve such a finish, and it is more imperative for some than others that they are among that short list of players to end 2014 with a bang.

One such player arguably in need of a big finish is Agnieszka Radwanska.  To some extent, that statement probably seems ludicrous.  She is, after all, presently ranked No. 6 in the world, and with the retirement of Na Li, she is the de facto world No. 5.  She has also strung together some nice runs this season, including semifinal showings at the Australian Open and Madrid, a finalist appearance in Indian Wells, and winning the Premier Five title in Montréal.  Clearly, Radwanska has put in a number of respectable results that many of her fellow peers would be envious of.

For all of her successes this year, however, there have been plenty of puzzling losses.  Radwanska is having her worst season at the majors since 2011, which includes getting bounced out of the third and second rounds of Roland Garros and the US Open, respectively.  She has also endured an unusual amount of early defeats to players ranked well below her.  After making a chain of quick exits that stretched from the US Open through to this week’s event in Beijing, this appears to be an increasingly frustrating trend for the Pole.  Radwanska is not known as a player who beats herself, which is why these past few weeks are all the more troubling.

One factor that may explain her recent streak of lackluster results could stem from feeling extra pressure.  Many commentators have spoken about how topsy-turvy things have been on the WTA this season, and it may have been that Radwanska felt an overwhelming need to capitalize on her opportunities when big guns like Serena Williams or Maria Sharapova were knocked out of tournaments early.  In addition to that, players like Eugenie Bouchard, Caroline Wozniacki, and Ana Ivanovic have all worked their way back into the conversation, and the Pole might feel them breathing down her neck.  Along those lines, as any professional will admit, it is harder to stay at the top of a sport than it is to get there.  Radwanska has been among the hunted rather than the hunter for a few years now, and it may simply be that she is wilting under the pressure of trying to defend her place in the upper echelons of the game.

Defending her place in the game is all the more difficult when considering that Radwanska lacks the big weapons and firepower of so many of the other top players.  She cannot really intimidate the bulk of the competition, because most of her opponents walk out of the locker room knowing that the Pole is not going to blow them off of the court.  Additionally, many among the opposition have gradually gotten used to her variety of shots and are more comfortable with how to counter Radwanska’s tactics.  As others have grown in ease playing her, she seems to have become more indecisive about her own game.  Radwanska is a smart player and undoubtedly knows she needs to add more power to her groundstrokes, but she does not yet appear to be totally committed to that cause.  She is still searching for the right balance between offense and defense and most recently has been guilty of allowing her frustration at not being able to tap into the balance get the better of her. 

Radwanska may well remain committed to making the necessary adjustments to her game while still maintaining the flair that has made her a fan favorite over the last few years.  There are always going to be some players who can take the match out of her hands, but there is still room in the sport for a competitor who employs her playing style.  She just needs time to make the adjustments, and more importantly, she needs to get back some of the confidence that has surely taken a hit with these last few surprising losses.  She can take a step towards doing just that by putting together a strong finish to 2014 and sending a warning shot to the rest of the field going into 2015.