5 Worst #1 Players in Women's Tennis
>> Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Now that the reign (of terror) by former-no-1-and-now-aptly-ranked-no-4 Caroline Wozniacki is over, 99% of tennis fans are celebrating the return of a Grand Slam champion to the top ranking in women’s tennis. Victoria Azarenka, thank you. Thank you for reaching the top ranking in a dignified manner, by actually winning a Grand Slam title. Thank you for reaching the semifinals of Wimbledon, for placing runner-up at the highly respected WTA Championships where the best annual performers play, and thank you for winning the Sydney title to put yourself in a position that if you won the first Slam of the year, you would have the opportunity to gain the #1 ranking. Thank you Azarenka for being glory back to the #1 ranking.
Now, I’ve digressed a bit so let’s get back to the main topic of this post. In fairness to Wozniacki and her Great Danish Retrieve-ing capabilities, she wasn’t the first one to reach the #1 ranking by not winning a Grand Slam. Prior to Azarenka winning Australian Open 2012, the last 3 first timers in the #1 spot all reached the top ranking by NOT winning a title in the four grandest and biggest, and major stages in tennis. Those 3 are Jelana Jankovic, Dinara Safina, and Wozniacki. But it was Wozniacki’s long stay at the top that really polarized tennis fans. Well, not really polarizing since 99% were against her being #1, and 1% didn’t care. She was more like the Sarah Palin of women’s tennis. Not in terms of appeal, mind you, as Palin is certainly more attractive; I analogize in terms of the ability of Wozniacki to attract controversy with her ranking.
Consider this; Wozniacki spent a total of 67 weeks as women’s tennis #1. Kim Clijsters, Venus Williams, Maria Sharapova, and Jennifer Capriati spent a TOTAL of (gasp, be ready for this!) 65 weeks at the top of the rankings. If there’s injustice, this certainly is one. While Wozniacki won ZERO Grand Slam titles, the four other ladies combined for 17 Grand Slam titles between them! Sure, other fans would argue that it’s not Wozniacki’s fault that she’s been ranked #1. It’s the overall achievement of a player relative to others in a given 12-month period. It’s not a good enough reason. The WTA as a product is hurt if the quality of the top ranking is lowered. Being #1 means being the best amongst your peers. If you can’t win in the biggest stage of tennis, you don’t deserve to be #1. Alright, enough Wozniacki bashing for now, and let’s move on to the 5 worst players ever to be ranked as women’s tennis world #1. Let’s save more bashing at the end.
Worst Top Ranked Player #5. KIM CLIJSTERS in 2003 – First Belgian to be ranked #1. She reached the top spot on August 2003 behind solid performances in the previous 3 Grand Slams – she reached the semifinals of both Wimbledon and Australian Open and finished runner-up at the French Open. Clijsters became #1 despite Serena Williams being the defending champion at Wimbledon, French Open and US Open.
Worst Top Ranked Player #4. AMELIE MAURESMO in 2004 – First Frenchwoman to be ranked #1. She reached the top ranking on September 2004, and it was on the strength of reaching one Wimbledon semifinal, reaching all 3 quarterfinals in the 3 other majors, and winning 3 Tier 1 titles in Rome, Berlin and Montreal. She also won the silver medal at the Athens 2004 Olympics.
Worst Top Ranked Player #3. DINARA SAFINA in 2009 – Became #1 in April 2009, the second Russian behind Sharapova to reach the top spot. She reached the finals of the French Open and the Australian Open prior to gaining the top ranking. I put her below Amelie Mauresmo as she has yet to win a Grand Slam – at least Maureso won two majors.
Worst Top Ranked Player #2. JELENA JANKOVIC in 2008 – Second Serbian player to become #1 after Ana Ivanovic. She reached the top ranking in August 2008. She reached the quarterfinals at the US Open 2007, the semifinals of the Australian Open and French Open, and lost in the fourth round at Wimbledon. She is the first player to be ranked at the top despite not having reached a Grand Slam final in her career. At least, Wozniacki did reach the final of the US Open in 2009. Still, Jankovic is less worse as a number one player because she at least reached two Grand Slam semifinals and one quarterfinal in the 12 months prior to becoming #1.
Last, and the least – the Worst Top Ranked Player EVER. CAROLINE WOZNIACKI in 2010 – First Danish player to become #1 in October 2010. She reached the top ranking DESPITE being eliminated in the fourth round of the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon. Reaching the semifinals of the US Open was the highlight of her year! One SEMIFINAL – the standard for #1 has been lowered so badly. She became #1 despite Serena winning the 2010 Australian Open and Wimbledon titles.
Now that I write about it, I’m thinking it is Serena’s fault for having Clijsters and Wozniacki in this list!
Do you agree or not agree with my list of 5 worst top ranked players in women’s tennis? Either way, please leave a comment.
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11 comments:
Try to be objective next time
this is ridiculous what point are you trying to make here? Dinara Safina should be at the top and clijsters shouldnt even be on this list.
I appreciate the commentary. Seems like the gap between the ladies that never won a slam (Jelena, Caro, Dinara) and those that did is a wide one, in terms of egregiousness. I.e., I don't think it's an embarrassment that Kim and Amelie were #1. Maybe because there was a time when Kim (and possibly Amelie) really were considered dominant forces by their peers. It just doesn't seem like Jelena, Caro, or Dinara were ever feared. I'd put Ana at #4.
You really have a great site which I just came across today. Great job!
2003 requires context: Serena did not play the US Open. So she could not defend her points. That's when she had knee surgery, the results which troubled her for a number of years. Plus it was in Sept of 2003 that her sister was killed, so Serena played a reduced schedule after that. Otherwise, I agree with your other choices. Caroline is definitely the worst of the bunch far and away.
Rodrigo/Colombia
Wozniacki isn't overrated, it's just that there really wasn't any1 else who could contend as well as she could in 2010 on a consistent basis. Especially with Serena out. What she needs to do is talk to Lebron James (won 3 MVPs and innumerable all defensive teams before winning his first ring) for the mental aspect. what she needs is a weapon she could exploit. anyone remember his loss to Tamira Pazsek in the first round of Wimbledon? She forced Pazsek to beat her, but the Austrian, having built her game around power, could. what the Danish superstar could do better is add much more power to her backhand, utilize the topspin-slice serve out wide in the deuce and the kick in the ad court, and not give Sharapova any pace to feed off of. while she has wins over Sharapova and many other top players she was repeatedly schooled by Serena, Clijsters, and Justine Henin.
adding on to my previous comment, instead of playing her home tournament she should play in Eastbourne, or maybe shorten her schedule. but she's very consistent, so she can afford to hit harder. especially off the backhand and first serve.
You cannot fault these players AT ALL. The ranking system is the ranking system, and no one cheated the system. If the top players choose to play a much-reduced schedule, the WTA cannot, and should not, change the way the rankings work to accommodate those who choose to play less.
In disagree completely, wozniacki is much better looking than Palin!
The very thought of including Kim Clijsters on this list is ridiculous. In lifetime match-ups, she finished (narrowly) ahead of Venus, Henin, and Sharapova. At least one ranking has Clijsters 10th all time.
http://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/top-10-greatest-women_s-tennis-player_s-of-all-time
Another I've seen has her 20th. At any rate, she is an absolute shoe-in for the Hall of Fame. The word "worst" does not belong in any discussion of this great player.
The silly inclusion of Kim Clijsters on this list reeks of the incomprehensible resentment that some Serena fans seem to have toward her. Clearly, Kim was not the equal of Serena (only two wins against her), but who was? Certainly not Sharapova, Henin or Venus -- against all of whom Kim came out ahead in career match-ups (by one match in each case). Serena, unlike some of her fans, had no resentment toward Kim, only admiration and respect. Serena, Venus, Henin, Sharapova, and Clijsters -- these great players will one day all be together in the Hall of Fame. The word "worst" does not belong in a discussion of any of them.
Wozniacki has earned in excess of $14,000,000.00 and has a net worth of $20,000,000.00. If your dentist was only the 5th best in the world, would you seek out a better dentist?
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