Tag: WTA Rankings

WTA Rankings Point to Solid Grand Slam Season for Americans

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The release of the March 7th WTA rankings portends reasonable success for the American women in the remaining 3 Grand Slams this year.

Serena Williams is the only American woman in the top 10. Without a doubt she will be the player to beat if she remains healthy. Nine countries have players ranked in the top 10. Spain is represented by Muguruza and Suárez Navarro. The average age of the top 10 players is 26.4 years.

Top Ten WTA Through March 7th 2016

Ranking Player Country Age Points
1 Serena Williams United States 34 9,245
2 Angelique Kerber Germany 28 5,700
3 Agnieszka Radwanska Poland 27 5,450
4 Garbiñe Muguruza Spain 22 4,831
5 Simona Halep Romania 24 4,745
6 Carla Suárez Navarro Spain 28 4,015
7 Maria Sharapova Russia 29 3,562
8 Belinda Bencic Switzerland 19 3,505
9 Petra Kvitova Czech Republic 26 3,483
10 Roberta Vinci Italy 33 3,455

There are 13 Americans ranked in the top 100. With the exception of Serena they are excellent players who will occasionally have some great wins, but their lack of points demonstrates they are not capable of consistently competing with the top 10 players. The average age of the American women ranked in the top 100 is 26.7 years. The Williams sisters and Mattek-Sands are the only players over 30.

American Women Ranked in the Top 100

Ranking,Player, Country Age, Points

Ranking Player Age Points
1 Serena Williams 34 9,245
12 Venus Williams 36 3,082
22 Sloane Stephens 23 2,215
24 Madison Keys 21 2,060
38 Coco Vandeweghe 24 1,271
52 Varvara Lepchenko 30 1,057
58 Madison Brengle 26 1,005
62 Christina McHale 24 990
80 Irina Falconi 26 800
88 Bethanie Mattek-Sands 31 744
91 Alison Riske 26 733
95 Nicole Gibbs 23 714
99 Lauren Davis 22 678

Looking ahead to the remaining Grand Slams, Venus, Bethanie Mattek-Sands, and Varvara Lepchenko are expected to play solid tennis. They may have some upset victories; however, given their age, it is unlikely they will win any tournaments.

Several years ago some coaches felt that Sloane Stephens would follow in the footsteps of the Williams sisters. To date she has been less successful in the Grand Slam events than others. Fortunately, she has time on her side.

Unlike Stephens, Madison Keys has demonstrated that she is the real deal. Her best showing was in 2015 when she reached the semifinals at the Australian Open.

The remaining players have shown flashes of brilliance at times, but have not excelled in the Grand Slams. They are young and this may be their breakout year.

Next Stop, the French Open on May 16th.

USTA Player Development Program – Quantity not Quality

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As the U.S. Open approaches, the USTA press corps will be out in force to brag about the great crop of young American women produced by the USTA Player Development program.

Unfortunately for the Americans and the USTA, other countries are producing players who can actually win in the Grand Slams. To date, the USTA Player Development program has produced a contingency of players who will be eliminated by the third round. Quantity will be the mantra for the young American women in the 2014 U.S. Open, not quality.

The August 18th WTA rankings show the USA is at the top of the leader board for the greatest number of players in the top 50. There are 22 countries with players ranked in the top 50:

  • USA – 8
  • Czech Republic – 5
  • Italy – 4
  • Russia – 4
  • China – 3
  • Germany – 3
  • Serbia -3

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

  • Australia
  • France
  • Kazakhstan
  • Slovakia
  • Spain

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

  • Belgium
  • Canada
  • Denmark
  • Estonia
  • Japan
  • Kazakhstan
  • Poland
  • Romania
  • Ukraine
  • United Kingdom

A closer look at the rankings shows that Serena Williams is at the top of the list. Her sister Venus is ranked 20th. Sloane Stephens is ranked 22nd and Madison Keys is 28th.

The remaining four American women are far from being world-beaters. They are ranked between 39th and 48th and include Coco Vandeweghe, Christina McHale, Alison Riske, and Lauren Davis.

The Americans other than the Williams sisters are 19 to 24 years old. Contemporaries of this group include Halep, Kvitova, Bouchard, Wozniacki, Krunic, Cornet, and Bencic. Elite players who are slightly older include Radwanska, Cibulkova, and Azarenka. None of the young Americans have demonstrated the ability to compete against these players with success.

Most of the top 50 American women are young. Time will tell if they will mature and improve or if they continue to be cannon fodder for the world’s elite players.