Non-Grand Slam winners Leading Year-to-Date Rankings

Three non-Slam winners are leading the Race to the Sony Ericsson Championships Singles Standings after 2 Grand Slams, and half-way through the 2010 season. Venus Williams, Jelena Jankovic, and Samantha Stosur are #1, #2, and #3 respectively in the year-to-date rankings as of June 7, 2010. The elder Williams and Jankovic did not even contest a Grand Slam final this year. Serena Williams, the Australian Open champion and Francesca Schiavone, the French Open champion, occupy the 4th and 5th places, respectively.

Venus Williams is at the top of the list due to strong performances in three Premier-level tournaments. She won the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships in February and was runner-up in the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami and the Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open in Madrid. Her rankings points from these 3 tournaments account for more than 60% of her total ranking points for the year. She has under-performed in this season's Grand Slams losing in the quarterfinals in Melbourne and the fourth round in Roland Garros.

Jelena Jankovic is in close second place by virtue of strong performances in 2 Premier-level tournaments and a semifinal finish in the French Open. She won the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells and finished and was runner-up at the Family Circle Cup in Charleston. These 2 tournaments and her semifinal finish combine for more than 75% of her total ranking points for the year.

There is a possibility that a non-Grand Slam title holder will again rise to the world #1 ranking for the year. After the rather un-popular #1 stints of Jelena Jankovic and Dinara Safina, should the WTA add another rule to implement that only a current Grand Slam champion should be #1 in the world? It doesn't matter for those below #1, but the title of top-ranked women's tennis player should come with the proven ability to win (and not just do well) in at least one of tennis' four most prestigious tournaments during the ranking calendar.

The list below is the top-10 ranked players in the year-to-date rankings.

1 Williams, Venus USA = 3585
2 Jankovic, Jelena SRB = 3437
3 Stosur, Samantha AUS = 3422
4 Williams, Serena USA = 3355
5 Schiavone, Francesca ITA = 3192
6 Henin, Justine BEL = 2855
7 Wozniacki, Caroline DEN = 2662
8 Dementieva, Elena RUS = 2602
9 Peer, Shahar ISR = 2280
10 Li, Na CHN = 1927