Jelena Jankovic’s loss to Marion Bartoli cost her more than a big check at the end of the Australian Open.
The Serbian star will now lose the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour No. 1 ranking to one of three other top players on Monday.
Jankovic had an outside chance of holding onto the top spot after her fourth round defeat, but because Dinara Safina reached the semifinals, Jelena will be ousted after seventeen consecutive weeks.
An Australian Open singles title would guarantee former world number one Serena Williams or newcomers Dinara Safina and Elena Dementieva the number one ranking. However, each of the trio still has a chance to claim the top spot without winning the Grand Slam.
Elena Dementieva
The Russian could become the 19th player since the inception of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Computer Ranking System (second Russian, along with Maria Sharapova) was introduced on November 3, 1975.
Dementieva needs to:
- Win the singles title
- Reach the finals if Safina does not also reach the finals
Dinara Safina
Like Dementieva, the Russian could become the 19th player since the inception of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Computer Ranking System (second Russian, along with Maria Sharapova) was introduced on November 3, 1975.
Safina needs to:
- Win the singles title
- Reach at least SF and neither Dementieva nor S.Williams advance to the finals
Serena Williams
The American is aiming to return to the World No.1 ranking for the third time in her career. S.Williams has held the World No.1 ranking for 61 weeks (57 weeks: 7/8/02 to 8/10/03 and 4 weeks: 9/8/08 to 10/5/08).
Williams needs to:
- Win the singles title
- Reach the finals if Safina does not also reach the finals
Aarees,
Been a while. Anyway, there’s something about the given scenarios that I’d like to understand. Since S.Williams currently has more ranking points than Safina, why wouldn’t she make #1 if she reaches at least SF and neither of the other two contenders make the finals?
POV, I presume the reasonsing is that Dinara is only defending a first round loss last year while Serena is defending quarterfinal points.
No 1…there doesn’t seem to be much difference between trying to get there and trying to stay there.
Is having a long-term No. 1 player really good for the game? Or, is more excitement generated by having a revolving door at the top?
Hi Pov, it’s great hearing from you again. Hope you are well.
Yes, Kurt is correct about the ranking points.
Here is what the Top Four headed into Melbourne defending:
Paula, that’s a tough call. I think the answer might be yes to both questions, but personally, I do prefer a clear-cut No. 1 player.
I like knowing that the No. 1 player in the world is the best player in the world. The hot potato toss around last season did bother me. In a free-for-all, there is no standard of greatness to measure up to, like a Federer, Sampras, Graf, or more recently, Henin.
Tennis does better during periods of dominance and intense rivalries.
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Aaress,
I’m well – thanks for the thought. On the points, I’m still not seeing how that works out since at this stage the 3 players being discussed have all earned more than they racked up at last year’s AO. I might have to go do the math to see.
On the #1 thing, I think it’s going to be a while before one can conclusively say that #1 is the best player – both in the WTA and the ATP.