Last summer in Washington DC, Sloane Stephens finally delivered on her boundless potential, lifting her maiden WTA title - and the monkey from her back. Intent on making up for lost time, the young American's mantelpiece is starting to get rather crowded.
After beating Elena Vesnina in the final of the Volvo Car Open, Stephens now has three titles to her name in 2016 alone. The silverware collected in Auckland, Acapulco and Charleston has taken Stephens to the brink of a return to the Top 20.
The 23-year-old's success in Charleston led to a jump from No.25 to No.21 in the rankings - her highest position since the summer of 2014. And with relatively few points to defend in the build-up to the French Open she has a good opportunity to improve upon her previous best raking of No.11.
If she is rise further still, the next challenge is replicating this Charleston form at the majors. During Stephens' initial breakthrough on tour, she suffered from the opposite problem - in 2014 she reached the fourth round or better at all four Grand Slams, only to flatter to deceive away from the big stage.
Stephens' victim in the final, Vesnina, is no stranger to major success, lifting the French and US Opens in doubles. Despite turning 30 later this year, the Russian has no intention of becoming a doubles specialist, something she proved with wins over Belinda Bencic and Sara Errani this past week.
This run resulted in a rankings jump from No.85 to No.51. Throw in her impressive showings in Doha and Miami, and Vesnina's ranking has improved over 60 places this year.
Vesnina, though, is not the only player on the charge:
Dominika Cibulkova (+15, No.53 to No.38): Dominika Cibulkova has had a number of false dawns since returning from a serious Achilles injury last year. In Katowice, she finally made her big statement. After a first-round scare against Carina Witthoeft, the Slovak improved with each match, outplaying Camila Giorgi in the final to lift her first title since 2014.
Yulia Putintseva (+8 No.61 to No.53): Yulia Putintseva learnt her trade at Moscow's legendary Spartak club, and she now looks ready to follow in the footsteps of her fellow alumni, such as Anna Kournikova, Elena Dementieva and Dinara Safina. Wins over Venus Williams and Sabine Lisicki helped the Kazakhstani to the quarterfinals, the 100 points picked up in Charleston also takes her to a career-high No.53 in the rankings.
Francesca Schiavone (+11, No.101 to No.90): One of Cibulkova's victims, Francesca Schiavone, played some typically imaginative tennis to win a couple of rounds and continue the momentum heading into the clay court season.
Pauline Parmentier (+12, No.113 to No.101): While Parmentier was unable to maintain her electric start to defeat Cibulkova in the Katowice semifinals, victories over Magda Linette, Naomi Broady and defending champion Anna Karolina Schmiedlova ensured the tournament remained a highly encouraging one. She is now within touching distance of the Top 100 for the first time since last May.
