The prevailing narrative, not inaccurately, for the last half-decade in tennis has been chaos on the WTA, consolidated dominance on the ATP.
Looking at the list of recent Slam champs, it's easy to nod and acknowledge the continued trends on each tour, regardless of whether you prefer the aforementioned unpredictability or repetition (or if you find neither to be wrong overall, just too extreme in degree).
In a landscape without some combination of Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka, the WTA has seen Marion Bartoli and Flavia Pennetta lift trophies, while also rarely going a Slam without crowning a first-time semifinalist. Kirsten Flipkens, Elena Vesnina, Magdalena Rybarikova and Julia Goerges at Wimbledon. Peng Shuai and Ekaterina Makarova at the same US Open. Even earlier this year, Danielle Collins busted brackets at the Australian Open.
First-time semifinalists in particular have become abundant on the WTA in recent years, and that absolutely continued in Paris this year, with a trio of first-time participants in the final four.
However, much as the ATP has seen a subtle shift with more Marco Cecchinatos and Sam Querreys of the world sneaking their way into the major semifinals before inevitability strikes on Sundays, the just-completed women's French Open showed an opposite, but similarly subtle shift, in that I believe all three of the new semifinalists in Paris will win multiple majors.
At first glance, the WTA becoming flooded with the next wave of elite players would seem most relevant to players of that caliber who haven't seized that career-changing run, like Wang Qiang, Hsieh Su-Wei, or to a lesser extent, someone like Maria Sakkari, who won't turn 24 until after Wimbledon.
Ultimately though, this development may prove to be most impactful to that group of women who were expected to win majors and just haven't quite gotten there.
Karolina Pliskova has proven to be a little too good for this distinction, but other very-good-but-not-elite contenders in their mid 20s like Elina Svitolina (underrated historically, but has not reached a semifinal), Caroline Garcia (one quarterfinal, currently resides outside the top 25), and Madison Keys (sneaky great at majors, but has been passed by other power players) might have all missed their window despite possibly not even peaking yet, all due to the changing landscape around them.
Naomi Osaka and Ash Barty are top talents in their early 20s, each with Slams already under their belt.
Still just 22, Belinda Bencic is finally healthy.
Amanda Anisimova and Marketa Vondrousova have arrived, as has Bianca Andreescu if her shoulder injury can survive being mismanaged.
Serena is back, at least in some capacity, and even Vika might getting closer.
Another major from Petra Kvitova and/or Sloane Stephens would surprise no one.
As for Simona Halep, the longest tenured member of the top 10 is still a pillar at the top, yet it also wouldn't be shocking if history looks back on 2018 as the year that Caroline Wozniacki wasn't the only one who managed to sneak in that elusive major before her window closed.
Though the future is bright, and unpredictability will remain, it's about to be closing time on an era of the WTA, and as the proverb from the song goes, "Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end."