Tag: Rankings

Midseason Women’s Division One ITA Rankings

horvath Leave a comment

The January 5th ITA rankings provided a rough guide about which D1 women’s teams would be ranked at midseason. When comparing the January 5th and April 5th ITA rankings it can be seen that only 3 of the top 10 teams in January improved their rankings while 7 teams had lower rankings. In fact 5 of the original top ten teams had fallen out of the top 10. The most notable was USC which was no longer ranked.

January 5th Ranking School Conference April 5th Ranking
1 Vanderbilt SEC 5
2 USC PAC-12 NR
3 Florida SEC 6
4 North Carolina ACC 2
5 Georgia SEC 4
6 California PAC-12 1
7 Virginia ACC 15
8 Stanford PAC-12 18
9 UCLA PAC-12 23
10 Texas A&M SEC 18

The newcomers to the April 5th top 10 were Ohio State, Miami, Duke, Pepperdine, and South Carolina.

The April 5th rankings featured 4 SEC teams, 3 ACC teams, and 1 team from the WCC, Big 10, and PAC-12

April 5th Ranking School Conference January 5th Ranking
1 California PAC-12 6
2 North Carolina ACC 2
3 Ohio State University Big 10 18
4 University of Georgia SEC 4T
5 Vanderbilt University SEC 1
6 University of Florida SEC 3
7 University of Miami (Florida) ACC 13
8 Duke University ACC 16
9 Pepperdine WCC 19
10 University of South Carolina SEC 28

A similar drop off can be seen when comparing the January 5th and April 5th top 10 singles rankings. Two players dropped out of the top 10.

Only 3 of the athletes improved their rankings, 6 had lower rankings, and 1 athlete had the same ranking as in January.

January 5 2016 Ranking Player School April 5 2016 Ranking
1 Joana Eidukonyte Clemson 24
2 Francesca Di Lorenzo Ohio State 4
3 Belinda Woolcock Florida 9
4 Danielle Collins Virginia 3
5 Maegan Manasse California 10
6 Hayley Carter North Carolina 1
7 Sinead Lohan Miami (FL) 7
8 Julia Elbaba Virginia 17
9 Stephanie Wagner Miami (FL) 5
10 Klara Fabikova California 12

The newcomers to the April 5th top 10 ITA rankings were Luisa Stefani, Pepperdine; Ellen Perez, Georgia; and Brooke Austin, Florida.

April 5 2016 Ranking Player School January 5 2016 Ranking
1 Hayley Carter North Carolina 6
2 Luisa Stefani Pepperdine 14
3 Danielle Collins University of Virginia 4
4 Francesca Di Lorenzo Ohio State University 2
5 Stephanie Wagner University of Miami (Florida) 9
6 Ellen Perez University of Georgia 12
7 Sinead Lohan University of Miami (Florida) 7
8 Brooke Austin University of Florida 11
9 Belinda Woolcock University of Florida 3
10 Maegan Manasse California 5

Stay tuned, we’ll see what the top 10 looks like at the end of the season.

 

USTA Player Development Not Producing Elite Players

horvath Leave a comment

The USTA Player Development program has never been effective, but in 2014 it continues to reach new lows. Prior to the U.S. Open there are only two men ranked in the top 50  and 6 men ranked in the top 100.

Going into the 2014 U.S. Open there are 27 countries with men ranked in the top 50 according to the ATP rankings. There are three countries with more than two ranked men:

  • Spain – 10 players
  • France – 6 players
  • Czechoslovakia 3 players.

The following countries each have two players ranked in the top 50:

  • Switzerland – 3rd and 4th
  • Argentina – 13th and 26th
  • Canada – 6th and 46th
  • Croatia – 27th and 30th
  • Germany – 25th and 35th
  • USA – 15th and 47th
  • Italy – 17th and 49th

John Isner and Donald Young are the top ranked Americans.

The following countries each have one player ranked in the top 50:

  • Serbia – 1st
  • Bulgaria – 8th
  • Great Britain – 9th
  • Japan – 11th
  • Latvia – 12th
  • Rhodesia/South Africa – 20th
  • Ukraine – 22nd
  • Russia – 23rd
  • Columbia – 32nd
  • Taipei/Taiwan – 34th
  • Portugal – 38th
  • Uruguay – 40th
  • Australia – 41st
  • Poland – 43rd
  • Uzbekistan 44th
  • Austria – 45th
  • Kazakhstan – 50th

Only six American men are ranked in the top 100. In addition to Isner and Querrey, the other top 100 Americans are:

  • Steve Johnson – 51st
  • Jack Sock – 55th
  • Sam Querrey – 57th
  • Tim Smyzcek – 90th

Thanks to the USTA Player Development Program, the state of American professional tennis has never been worse.

Is it Fair to Bash the USTA for their Men’s Player Development Program?

horvath Leave a comment

Is the USTA Player Development Program getting the job done?

A quick look at the January 6 ATP rankings shows that 32 countries have players ranked in the top 100. They are:

  • Spain 14 players
  • France 11 players
  • Germany 8 players
  • USA 8 players
  • Argentina 6 players
  • Russia 5 players
  • Australia 4 players
  • Czechoslovakia 4 players
  • Columbia 3 players
  • Croatia 3 players
  • Italy 3 players
  • Kazakhstan 3 players
  • The Netherlands 3 players
  • Poland 3 players
  • Serbia 3 players
  • Canada 2 players
  • Switzerland 2 players
  • 15 countries have 1 player

Tennis is an international sport, but the combined total of ranked players from Croatia, Kazakhstan, and Serbia is greater than the U.S. total.

A closer look at the men’s rankings shows the following for the American men:

  • 14 John Isner
  • 46 Sam Querrey
  • 89 Tim Smyczek
  • 91 Michael Russell
  • 95 Bradley Klahn
  • 96 Donald Young
  • 99 Ryan Harrison
  • 100 Jack Sock.

If you asked 1,000 people to name the top American male tennis players in the U.S., they most likely couldn’t name one of these individuals. In fairness to the USTA, part of the problem is the popularity of tennis in many foreign countries. Some in tennis also feel that the best American athletes play sports other than tennis.  Still others will say that American youth lack the work ethic to be world class tennis players.

These factors play a part in the lack of dominant American tennis players; however, the major source of the problem is USTA Player Development. Pancho Gonzalez, Jack Kramer, and Arthur Ashe have to be rolling over in their graves at the state of American men’s tennis.

 

What’s Coming Down the Pipeline for American Women’s Tennis?

horvath Leave a comment

For the past couple of years the American women have had respectable showings in the Grand Slam events, in large part due to the dominance of Serena Williams. What lies ahead for American women’s tennis when Serena retires? Is the USTA Player Development Program getting the job done?

On a positive note, there are more American players in the top 100 than any other country. Unfortunately, a closer look at the January 6, 2014 rankings shows that most of the American women are not in the upper echelon, i.e. only two are ranked in the top 25. Right or wrong, this creates the perception that the focus of the USTA Player Development program is on quantity rather than quality.

The American women, their age, and their ranking in the top 100 follow:

  • 1  Serena Williams, 32
  • 13  Sloane Stephens, 20
  • 28  Jamie Hampton, 24
  • 36  Madison Keys, 18
  • 38  Venus Williams, 33
  • 48  Bethanie Mattek-Sands, 28
  • 52  Varvara Lepchenko, 27
  • 55  Alison Riske, 23
  • 65  Christina McHale, 21
  • 67  Lauren Davis, 20
  • 71  Vania King, 20.

The average age of the players in the top 100 is slightly over 25 years old. Four of the American women are older than 25 and 7 are younger. The average age of the American players in the top 100 is 24 years old.

From a practical standpoint, an argument can be made that the younger players will become difference makers as the older players retire or their level of play drops off. If that argument holds, then the 7 American women below the mean are likely to move up and those above the mean will move on.

This viewpoint is supported by the data. Statistically there is a slightly negative correlation between the ranking of the top 100 women players and their age. In other words, the higher ranked players are older and the lower ranked players are younger (see chart below).

Thirty of the top 100 players are 27 years old or older and 9 are in the top 25. Of the 4 Americans in this age group, Serena Williams is the only one in the top 25.

Twenty of the top 100 players are either 25 or 26 and 7 are in the top 25. No Americans are in this age category.

In other words, there are good players at all levels, but 16 of the players are at least 25 years old. For the younger players, the good news is that most will move on in the next 5 years.

The remaining 50 players in the top 100 are less than 25 years old. Nine of them are currently in the top 25. Their rank and age are listed below:

  • 2 Victoria Azarenka, 24.5
  • 5 Agnieszka Radwanska, 24.9
  • 6 Petra Kvitova, 23.8
  • 10 Caroline Wozniacki, 23.5
  • 11 Simona Halep, 22.3
  • 13  Sloane Stephens, 20.8
  • 15 Sabine Lisicki, 24.3
  • 21 Dominka Cibulkova, 24.7
  • 22 Sirana Cirstea, 23.8

Stephens is the only American in that top group of players. Keys and Hampton are in the top 50.

Currently the top American women under age 25 (Stephens, Hampton, Keys, Riske, McHale, Davis, and King) will face tough competition if they are to become elite players. In addition to the above mentioned names, they will be challenged by Alize Cornet, France; Mona Barthel, Germany; Urszula Radwanska, Poland; Laura Robson, United Kingdom; Annika Beck, Germany; and Eugenie Bouchard, Canada. Spain, Germany, Eastern Europe, and Russia have excellent junior development programs and the popularity of Li Na is expected to create increased competition from China and other parts of Asia.

It is interesting and entertaining to speculate about who the next great American women players will be. Some of the young Americans will win Grand Slam events, but most will be top-ranked players.

Age of ranking WTA players - Is the USTA player development program getting the job done?
Age of Ranking WTA Players.

Time will tell!

 

 

USTA Women’s Player Development – Quantity or Quality?

horvath Leave a comment

After dominating the women’s circuit in 2013, it was no surprise to see Serena Williams’ name at the top of the WTA January 6, 2014 rankings. Given the global appeal of the sport it was also no surprise that players from 10 countries filled out the top 10 slots.

  1. Serena Williams  United States
  2. Victoria Azarenka  Belarus
  3. Maria Sharapova  Russia
  4. Na Li  China
  5. Agnieszka Radwanska  Poland
  6. Petra Kvitova  Czech Republic
  7. Sara Errani  Italy
  8. Jelena Jankovic  Serbia
  9. Angelique Kerber  Germany
  10. Caroline Wozniacki  Denmark.

Only two Americans earned spots in the top 25. In addition to Serena Williams, Sloane Stephens was ranked 13th. The top 25 included players from 16 countries. The following six countries had multiple players in the top 25:

  • 5 Russia
  • 2 Germany
  • 2 Italy
  • 2 Romania
  • 2 Serbia
  • 2 United States.

Players from 37 countries were ranked in the top 100. The following 21 countries had multiple players in the top 100:

  • 11 United States
  • 7 Germany
  • 6 Italy
  • 6 Russia
  • 6 Spain
  • 5 Czech Republic
  • 5 Slovakia
  • 4 China
  • 4 France
  • 4 Japan
  • 4 Romania
  • 3 Serbia
  • 3 Ukraine
  • 2 Austria
  • 2 Belarus
  • 2 Belgium
  • 2 Croatia
  • 2 Israel
  • 2 Kazakhstan
  • 2 Poland
  • 2 Switzerland

A closer look at the rankings shows that most of the Americans women are not in the upper echelon.  The American women and their ranking in the top 100 follow:

  • 1  Serena Williams
  • 13  Sloane Stephens
  • 28  Jamie Hampton
  • 36  Madison Keys
  • 38  Venus Williams
  • 48  Bethanie Mattek-Sands
  • 52  Varvara Lepchenko
  • 55  Alison Riske
  • 65  Christina McHale
  • 67  Lauren Davis
  • 71  Vania King

On a positive note, there are more American players in the top 100 than any other country. On the downside, Serena Williams and Sloane Stephens are the only impact players.

Clearly, the focus of the USTA Player Development is quantity rather than quality. Time will tell whether Stephens and her younger counterparts will follow in the footsteps of the Williams sisters and someday become difference-makers.

 

Denver Makes Top 10 Sports List (The Wrong Top 10)

horvath Leave a comment

Denver loves its sports teams and is the proud home to professional football, baseball, basketball, hockey, lacrosse, and soccer teams. Locals are quite vociferous when cheering for the home town team to win and they are not bashful about cussing them when they lose.

Residents have painted their houses blue and orange and sported only a barrel to lead cheers for the home team.  In the past, state leaders made exorbitant bets with other state leaders when their home town teams faced off in the playoffs.  Much to the chagrin of local leaders, they usually lost.

You couldn’t ask for a better sports town than Denver.  What else can you want?

The answer is simple, “A world championship!”

CU Football Ranked

It was with great disdain that Coloradans learned on July 31, that Forbes had ranked Denver as one of America’s most wretched sports cities (“America’s Most Miserable Sports Cities” by Tom Van Riper).

The common theme among teams on the list is their inability to win the big one.

Denver was on a roll between 1996 and 2001. In the bookend years, the Avalanche won two Stanley Cups. The Broncos won back-to-back Super Bowls in 1998 and 1999; however, they lost four Super Bowls prior to that.  The Rockies and Nuggets have been 0-for-their existence. The minor sports don’t matter.

The list of most miserable sports cities includes:

  1. Seattle
  2. Atlanta
  3. Phoenix
  4. Buffalo
  5. San Diego
  6. Cleveland
  7. Kansas City
  8. Houston
  9. Washington, D.C.
  10. Denver.

There is always next year!  Hopefully Denver won’t be on the list in July 2014.