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.
- Serena Williams United States
- Victoria Azarenka Belarus
- Maria Sharapova Russia
- Na Li China
- Agnieszka Radwanska Poland
- Petra Kvitova Czech Republic
- Sara Errani Italy
- Jelena Jankovic Serbia
- Angelique Kerber Germany
- 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.