[vc_empty_space height="5px"]
By Giri Nathan
[vc_empty_space height="15px"]“I have no idea what’s going on,” said Anett Kontaveit, not long after beating Simona Halep in the final of the Transylvanian Open earlier this month. That sentiment was probably shared by plenty of tennis fans. While the end of the calendar often sees many players rest their tired bones and carefully pick their last few events, it has been Kontaveit’s time to ascend. Her defeat of Halep extended an outrageous late-season surge that’s won her four titles in seven tournaments. She did not exactly offer any indication this summer of what was to come this fall: Consecutive first-round losses in Eastbourne, Wimbledon, the Tokyo Olympics, Montreal, and Cincinnati made for the worst losing streak in her pro career. Rare is the athlete who can flip an 0–5 run right into a 26–2 one, but here’s Anett, now a career-high No. 8 in the world, just barely sneaking past her friend Ons Jabeur to claim the last spot in the WTA Finals this week in Guadalajara. What is going on?