Finally, Venus will take the number one spot for the first time.


[quote]LONDON (Reuters) -- Venus Williams will become world number one for the first time next Monday, a Women's Tennis Association (WTA) spokesman has confirmed.

The 21-year-old American, top seed at the Dubai Open this week, trails current rankings leader Jennifer Capriati by 137 points.

But with Capriati not playing this week, the Australian Open champion loses the 141 points she gained 12 months ago for reaching the final of the WTA tournament in Oklahoma City.

The new rankings will be issued in seven days' time, when Venus's long-awaited coronation will be rubber-stamped.

"It's my dream to be number one," she had told the Dubai Open website.

"I don't want to stick around at number two or go back to number five. I always like moving forward."

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Climbing to the top

It's about bloody time.

Venus has risen. Sorry, but it had to be said.

Barring injury, she shouldn't have much trouble staying there through Wimbledon. Jen will need to play well just to protect her points, since she had a great clay-court season last year. With Davenport, Clijsters & Serena all out, Seles has a good shot at #4, since Monica missed a lot of time early last year. I suspect Hingis will hold the #3 spot down. I thought she was in danger of plummeting, but she had another very strong January, so she didn't take the tumble I thought she might. Hingis could move up to #2, if she continues to play well and Capriati can't match last spring's results.

Hingis is back to 4 at the moment.

A most sincere and hearty note of congratulations to Venus Williams, a remarkable woman who has achieved remarkable things - and is not done yet. As my tribute to her, I am officially picking her to win this week's Dubai Open (not really a great gift, since I picked her to lose at both Antwerp and Paris).

Remember this: there have only been TEN women to achieve the #1 ranking at any point in their careers, since the advent of the Open Era. It would not be far-fetched to say these are the ten best women players over that period of time. Simply achieving that ranking, even for one week, is amazing. (Okay, putting Capriati on that list may be pushing it ... but she has won three grand slams, an Olympic gold medal, and has a comeback story rivaling any in any sport ever.)

Here are the women on the list:

Steffi Graf (GER) 378 weeks
Martina Navratilova (USA) 331
Chris Evert (USA) 262
Martina Hingis (SUI) 209
Monica Seles (USA) 178
Lindsay Davenport (USA) 37
Tracy Austin (USA) 22
Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario (ESP) 11
Jennifer Capriati (USA) 9 – Current #1
Venus Williams (USA) 1 – Impending #1

The most unbelievable thing about the times we're living in, tennis-wise, is that four of those women have been #1 in the past few months! That's just not supposed to happen. But it's fun.

Here's my question: Who will be the next new name on that list? Someone who's in the Top 10 now (Clijsters, Serena, Dokic)? A young up & comer who few have heard of (Myskina, Mikaelian, Sharapova)? Or will Venus (with a little Hingis thrown in, just in case Venus cuts back again) have the wherewithal to make sure the next "new" #1 is now some eight year old girl who hasn't even MET Nick Bollettieri yet?

I'm anxious to hear others' thoughts - then I'll give my pick.

It all depends, I think, on Venus. If she's healthy and plays tournaments, her only competition is really Serena, who's a head case when it comes to playing Big Sis.

If Venus decides to say "See, I can do it if I want" and cuts back (which is always a possibility with her) then it will be the same top 5 fighting for the spot, with the sports writer all writing about the "The Real #1".

I think the WTA is relieved because now their system is not going to be under fire for a bit.

It depends a lot on Venus--of course she may retire young. I have my doubts about Serena as #1--she seems to be so fragile, and she's not nearly as tough mentally as Venus or Capriati.

If Venus doesn't retire young, suffer lots of injuries, or cut back to fifty matches a year again, my suspicion is the next #1 may be someone who is 14 or 15 year old now.

I'll agree--a lot depends on Venus, but she has the capability of keeping the issue moot for a long time. A positive for her is that she can pick up a lot of points in Roland Garros after last year's 1st round exit. The negative is that she has a lot of points to defend in the second half of the season. Regardless, she can do it. The fact that she is #1 now before the French can only help her situation.

I saw it again and again, Venus has the potential to be to this era what Steffi Graf was to hers. She's is one of the purest, most natural atheletes women's tennis has ever seen.

I am not a fan of the williams family and much of their antics (mostly due to their father) therefore Venus and Serena are not two of my favourites. However, I do have to applaud and appreciate that Venus, despite playing so few tourneys (compared to other top pros) has now reached No1.

Congratulations to her. Venus is here to stay.
However, I'm still burning a candle for Monica to get in shape and get back to number 1.

Congrats to Venus!!!

She is my favorite player on the tour. Plus she has also won "Most Gracious Player on the Tour" award this year. (not a real award but if there was one...)

As many of us may recall, the Williams sisters used to get a lot of flack for not thanking their competitors and not socializing in locker rooms. But boy - what a difference sending Papa Williams packing can do.

Just this year - Venus has complimented the Belgian tennis players. Praised Mauresmo as a tough player who's destined to Win Slams. Even Mama Williams cheered Monica Seles' play as she defeated Venus the Aussie Open.

Also can someone explain the ranking system to me? Do you have to play the same tourneys year after year to keep points. I thought there was some magic number of tourneys (17?) that your ranking is based on?

I ask because Venus has played and won 3 new tourneys this year but is not playing again until Miami. Will she lose points for not playing Indian Wells (even though she only made it the SF's there)?

The WTA ranking system is sort of simple once you get the hang of it.

A player can play as many tourney's as she likes, but only her top 18 results count. Whatever points she wins at the top 18 tourneys are added together over a 52 week time period. Now, when it comes time for a tourney that a player played last year, after it is completed in the current year, the points from last year are erased from her total amount. So, making the finals one year might yield 250 points, but not playing the next year means you have to subtract 250 points from your current total.

Let's look at Monica for an example. Currently (that is as of this past Sunday), she has played 16 tournaments during the past 52 weeks, and her total points for those 16 tournaments adds up to 3076. (Note: She just added 163 for winning Qatar last week).

Now, last year at this time, she played the IGA Thrift Classic in Oklahoma City and won, giving her 216 points. When Sunday rolls around, we have to take 216 points from her. BUT, she is playing Dubai this week, so however many points she picks up there will be added after the subtraction. So, she can cancel out the 216 points she is losing by doing well in Dubai.

And so it goes, each tourney has a point system based on their tier ranking....the Slams, tier I, II, III, & IV. Some are worth more than others.

Hope that helps some.

Good point, hanknyc!

Many folks don't know that Moms Williams actively sought out Monica Seles in the lockeroom after her upset win over Venus at the Australian to earnestly congratulate her on playing so well in the match.

Somehow I doubt that Venus will have an uninterrupted reign at #1 this year: Both JenCap and Hingis are close enough in points to make that very difficult. The Belgiums certainly aren't going downward though their grand slam results from last year won't be easy to match. Seles, Serena, and Amelie have the most points to gain in the next couple of months. Keeping a hold on #1 is going to be very challenging for anyone during 2002..

As far as the #1 list goes, I ask you all, who are the five women who aren't on that list, who are then next best since 1975?

Both Capriati and Venus have to be saluted for winning multiple grand slams during an extremely competitive time for women's tennis. I'd say Hingis is the one who had the easiest streak at #1 when she first got there: Most of the big babes weren't in full babe mode yet, Seles was ailing and distracted, Sanchez-Vicario was never a real threat...It's still remarkable to me that Hingis held on for all those extra weeks..

Hey Bryan,

The top 5 to never hit #1?

Definitely Sabatini, Novotna, and Mandlikova. Not sure about the other late 70s/early 80s players. Maybe Mary Pierce, maybe Gooloagong?

I'll go with those 5.

Definitely Goolagong. I'd also have to consider Conchita Martinez and Virginia Wade.

I'd say Sabatini is the best to not attain the No. 1 ranking. She came as close as one match away. At the German Open in 1991, Sabatini would have been No. 1 on the computer had she beaten up-and-comer Anke Huber in the quarterfinals. The match fell on the day after her 21st birthday and she was by far the hottest player on the tour at that time, so perhaps she celebrated her success and legal drinking age one night too soon. A tired-looking Sabatini lost to Huber. While she did approach several tournaments that year, including the French Open and Wimbledon, within reach of the top spot, she would never come closer than she did at the 91 German Open. Sigh. Interestingly enough, so close were Sabatini, Graf, and Seles at the time that Gaby never was ranked higher than No. 3 on the computer in her career, despite being a match away from No. 1.

Others to round out our top five? I'd say Mandlikova, Wade, Goolagong, and Shriver. They were more prolonged factors in the game than Martinez or Novotna.

[ February 20, 2002: Message edited by: Gaga4Gaby ]

[quote]Originally posted by The B Man:
Many folks don't know that Moms Williams actively sought out Monica Seles in the lockeroom after her upset win over Venus at the Australian to earnestly congratulate her on playing so well in the match.

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Jon Wertheim has pointed out several times that Oracene Williams gets too little credit for her daughters turning out the way they have. With so much media focus in the past (thank God it's in the past) on Richard, it's understandable to "forget" that Venus and Serena's other parent was probably just as strong an an influence. By the way, Oracene got it right. Perhaps Venus's hamstring was bothering her, but her mobility was still great. Monica just played better that day.

Since you've all been on pins & needles wondering who I believe the next new #1 in the world will be ... the answer is ... gosh I'm so nervous ...

SERENA WILLIAMS

It won't be any time this year, but by next year I think she'll have a chance at it. She's too much of a competitor to let her legacy rest with only one grand slam championship ... and if she can do well at the US Open again this year, and win Australia in 2002, then around this time next year I wouldn't be surprised if she were challenging her sister for the honor. The Williams family is nothing if not prescient. And early in her career, before anyone had even heard of her sister Serena, Venus predicted the two would be #1 and #2 in the world. I thought that was a bit silly then. Now I think it's inevitable.

For her sake and the sake of all tennis fans, I hope SW stays healthy and makes it happen. Go Serena!!!

I'll have to agree: Gabby (a victim of the Graf/Seles war) Goolagong, Hana M. Virginia Wade (she won a ton of titles) and...actually it's tough to choose between Pierce, Novotna, and Martinez...

Oracene Williams seems very gracious to me...and the fact is, Monica played phenomenally during that match, she really hung in there mentally and stuck to her strategy. I rewatched the tape of the match last week just to remind myself of what effect the injury had on Venus: they were tied at 4-4 when it happened, the match was already very tough. Venus was bombing aces the entire match even after Monica got on top of her during the second set. It was easily one of Seles' absolute best matches in years...Not quite as good as her demolition of Hingis and Capriati last summer, but smarter mentally, and physically very impressive...In 2002, you have to be able to win a big match like this and then somehow rest up enough to come back and do it again...there are simply too many big babes!

I agree with BJake, Serena Williams will be the next Number #1. It won't be this year but sometime early next year. I think Venus has even conceded this for her sister by stating that she plans to take the fall off. Serena seems to peak around that time. But the State Farm tourney should let us all know

You guys have to remember that even if Venus only plays through the US Open as she did in 2001 - she won't lose any points after that if she doesn't play since she has none to defend...So she can pretty take the fall off if she wants without any decline....

I find it hard to believe that Serena will be the next #1 - I find her too inconsistent, too often injured, and mentally shaky...I think she can get back into the top five if she plays a lot of tennis this year but even that won't be easy...the top ten is incredibly solid - it's going to be an amazing year...and as I said earlier - the girls with few points to defend like Seles, Amelie, and Dokic are really going to benefit..if they're playing well of course...

I would pick Mandlikova as the best player never to be #1. Very similar circumstances to Sabatini--she also spent her career in the shadow of two of the greatest players of all time. But Mandlikova still came through for four majors, and I still recall her U.S. open semi-final and final wins in 1985 as some of the most extraordinary tennis I've ever seen.

My picks 1. Mandlikova 2. Goolagong 3. Sabatini

I wouldn't be particularly surprised if Serena Williams winds up on that list.

It's official, Venus is #1. I didn't realize that Hingis was going to fall to #5! Clijsters climbed ahead to #4......

Martina will almost certainly climb back to #3 (thanks to Lindsay's and Clijster's injuries) after this tournament.

What's sad is that Monica is about to move down to #9 - actually it's not a huge deal because she's got tons of points to bolster her ranking through the rest of the year ... I think by the time the French Open is over with she could easily be #4 (she has basically no points to defend at Indian Wells, Miami, or Roland Garros).

Another interesting note: thanks to her win over Stevenson (who may stand in the way of Jennifer reclaiming the #1 reanking), Lisa Raymond jumped over Tammy Tanasugarn, taking the Thai back out of the Top 20. It's kind of not fair, given that the retired Tauziat is still at #16, but Tammy should be okay - she'll have decent seeds at both Indian Wells and Miami ... the trick will be matching or improving on her successes from last year (3rd and 4th rounds, respectively).

Isn't Kim Clijsters coming back soon?

And Hingis at 5. That's a major shocker. She hasn't been this low in 5 years. Pity the poor top 4 player who would meet her in the quarters.

I think Hingis at #5 is an indication that the ranking system isn't really as bad as people have been saying--it's just that it reflects what players have done over a whole year, rather than what they're doing now. It does underrate players with fewer appearances, of course, like any cumulative points system. But Hingis stayed #1 late into 2001, partly because of injuries to other players, but partly because she had a very strong fall 2000 & winter 2001, winning the Chase, going to the final of the Australian and winning several minor tournaments including Dubai. Those points have rolled off now, and we're seeing the effects of her lousy year from March on. I do think that with Davenport out she'll climb back up to #3, unless Clijsters puts on a big push, because she looks to be playing solidly again. Of course, with Davenport out, she won't be lower than a #4 seed, anyway.

Doesn't Davenport have a protected ranking though? I think she does. Can someone explain what exactly that is.

I've always wondered what that "protected ranking" was about and why some players got it, and some didn't. Why not give Mary Pierce or Anna Kournikova a protected ranking? Somebody who knows, please explain. Is Clijsters ranking protected?

In any event, as long as Davenport's not playing, Hingis can't be seeded below #4 though.

To my knowledge, Davenport has no protected ranking. The only time I ever heard of that was when Monica was stabbed. Anyone else heard of any other case?

Doing a quick search of the web I found some articles that are relevant. It seems like its something available to any player, but exactly how it works is still not clear to me. Maybe you can enter a certain number of tournaments (up to 8?) with the entry rank and seeding that you had at the time of injury. Presumably, there's some kind of minimum amount of missed time involved.

Steffi Graf did in 1998:
"Made it to the quarterfinals of the Faber Grand Prix -- her first tournament after being out of action for nine months due to knee surgery. Her world ranking slipped to No. 48 in her absense. But upon returning to action, she retained the "protected" No. 3 ranking which was hers at the time of her injury."

Elsewhere on the web: a newsstory from Dec 2001

"Under the Women's Tennis Association's protected ranking system for players who have missed extended periods through injury or illness, direct entry is guaranteed for a maximum of eight tour events each year.

Despite the Australian Open's suggestion that Pierce activate one of those eight entry options at Melbourne Park next month, the 27-year-old Frenchwoman chose the wildcard route instead. McNamee had indicated that, as a former champion, Pierce would be entitled to one wildcard during her career; Pierce indicated she wanted it in 2002."

Venus photo (posing at the new #1) on Yahoo's tennis page:
http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/photo.html

Looks like this link/photo will vanish soon...

Sexy!

I Am back!!! Mandlikoova , Jauger were gr8 players! They could bt anybody! Goolagong had the most talent bar none! I really believe Justine Hennin is the best player in the women's game, Any surface this girl has got game! Check it out! She will win a Grand Slam this year!