We are weeks away from the 2018 Fantasy Tennis season kicking off! And before we look at the best value players this year, just a reminder to create your team at fantasytennisleague team before January 15. As the biggest online fantasy tennis experience in the world, Fantasy Tennis League is a free and fun way to enjoy the tennis season year-round -- and a great opportunity to win Australian Open 2019 men’s final tickets plus great monthly prizes.
And without further ado, let’s present eight of the best value players this year.
Agnieszka Radwanska, $6.3m
Here is Aga’s year-end rank from 2007-17: No.26, No.10, No.10, No.14, No.8, No.4, No.5, No.6, No.5, No.3, No.28. You would be hard-pressed to find a better 10-year stretch than that. So why the down year? Well, the Pole was marred by injuries and illness. She also got hitched in July, which surely would have taken her focus away from tennis. Still only 28-years-old, there is plenty of time for the six-time Australian Open quarterfinalist to get back to her consistent best. Keep an eye on how Radwanska moves and how aggressive she plays at the Sydney International before you make a final call.
Aga opens her 2018 season at the Sydney International starting 7 January.
Belinda Bencic, $2.19m
The Swiss Miss is a former top 10 player and only 20. After battling injuries for the better part of two years, Bencic is fit and firing on all cylinders; she has won four titles in her last seven tournaments and ascended 244 ranking places to world No.74 in almost three months. Lock her in your team and throw away the keys.
Playing the Hopman Cup from December 30-6 January
Juan Martin del Potro, $9.68m
If you don’t want to take my word for it, ask the man who finished runner-up in Fantasy Tennis 2017 and who believes that the Tower of Tandil is “back to his Grand Slam-winning best and with a pre-season this year, can go all the way.” Because of a terrible run of injuries, Del Potro has struggled in Melbourne, but that seems to be behind him. In fact, remarkably (and touch wood), he appears to be one of the only premium players without an injury cloud over his head.
Milos Raonic, $10.29m
Earlier this month Raonic declared he was ‘100%’ healthy but just ‘80%’ match-fit. The powerful Canadian, who has made two quarterfinals and one semifinal in the last three years at the Australian Open, will use the Brisbane International (a tournament he won in 2016) to fine-tune his body. At his price point there is significant upside that cannot be ignored, especially considering the whopping ace numbers he produces.
Caroline Wozniacki, $13.21m
Caroline Wozniacki was the highest scoring FT female player last year with 1,113.9 Fantasy Tennis points. Behind Roger and Rafa, the Dane came third in overall scoring. There have been rumblings that Wozniacki will play fewer tournaments this year - which is a concern - but that’s why we have 72 trades. After winning the year-end WTA Final over Venus Williams, Wozniacki is in the best position of her career to win a Grand Slam and starts her 2018 year in Auckland.
Alexander Zverev, $10.65m
Sascha’s consistency throughout the 2017 season pleasantly surprised everyone in Fantasy Tennis in 2017. He did, however, stumble to the finish line with multiple sub-20 scores. Now that I look at it clearly, that was always going to happen. As freakishly talented as he is, Zverev is still only 20; he’s going to have lapses in concentration, especially in best-of-five contests. The best part about this is that it slightly devalued his price, which means we can get a world No.3 and Masters 1000 champion who is young, fit and willing to play week-in, week-out at a cheaper price than Marin Cilic (sorry Marin, but c’mon).
Sasha is competing for Russia at the Hopman Cup this week.
Elina Svitolina, $13.45m
Mark my words: the Ukrainian will be the top WTA Fantasy Tennis scorer in 2018. For all the buzz Muguruza, Halep and Pliskova got for reaching world No.1, Svitolina had the most consistent year. She was second behind only Wozniacki in overall points for the women, had the best record against women ranked inside the top 10 and won three Premier 5 tournaments. At 23, Svitolina is the perfect age to break out. Considering her 2017 season was already magnificent, that’s a prospect too good to pass up.
Svitolina opens 2018 at the Brisbane International, where she is seeded No.3
Roger Federer, $25.01m
I ummed and ahhed about putting Roger on this list, but the simple fact is this: when he plays, he wins. There’s a beautiful simplicity about that. You don’t have to stare at your team and sift through mountains of data to pick a captain; you just lock in Federer and throw away the keys. The GOAT averaged 100.4 (!) Fantasy Tennis points last year, which is 17 more than the second best and makes him the only player to average a ‘ton’ this year. The catch is obviously the price. He will clog your list, but that’s okay if you’re just planning to have him for the Australian Open, Indian Wells and Miami. Make sure to trade him out when the clay season approaches.
Federer is representing Switzerland at the Hopman Cup this week.