Why is the ranked experience so bad?

I played 1 season of overwatch ranked and got to gold.Getting there wasn't so easy since people LITERALLY just leave the game in ranked, sometimes even when our team is winning.
Do you think the penalty for leaving a ranked match should be more strict?

It is hard to play solo especially in lower ranks unless you literally carry the whole team. Your best option is to find other people to play with. You also get to make a better strategies this way since you will know which heroes your teammates can play.