Is slamless Pliskova a legitimate world No.1?

It can be an awkward conversation – the one with the player who has reached the rankings peak without owning a grand slam singles title. The question is inevitable, though: is it necessary to have won a major to be considered a legitimate world No.1?

Karolina Pliskova is the latest woman to find herself with not just the coveted number (1) beside her name but a notable gap in her trophy cabinet, having nudged Angelique Kerber from the summit despite a second round elimination at Wimbledon last month. The big-serving, free-swinging Czech has so far contested – and lost, to Kerber – one major final, at the 2016 US Open.

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Yet, in the culmination of a points-yielding run that started with her maiden Premier Mandatory crown last August in Cincinnati, and has extended to four titles – Brisbane, Doha and Eastbourne the other three – as well as a quarter-final at Melbourne Park, a semi at Roland Garros and that Flushing Meadows decider in the rolling 52-week rankings period, Pliskova is the 23rd woman to reach what, numerically at least, is the top of the game.

The unassuming 25-year-old joins a club whose other female members are Kim Clijsters (2003), Amelie Mauresmo (2004), Jelena Jankovic (2008), Dinara Safina (2009), and Caroline Wozniacki (2010). Consistency is the main prerequisite, and, to be blunt, the absence of mum-to-be Serena Williams since February has probably helped Pliskova’s cause a little, too.

Yet we should also note that Clijsters and Mauresmo would go on to share six singles majors. And, unlike for the prematurely-retired Safina and declining veteran Jankovic, both Pliskova and Wozniacki – the tenacious Dane and two-time US Open finalist having rebuilt her ranking to No.6 – know there are still plenty of chances to come.

So another question: what matters more? After Pliskova’s ascent became official via Simona Halep’s quarterfinal loss at the All England Club, women’s tennis supremo Steve Simon declared reaching No.1 to be “the ultimate accolade in our sport”.

Is it?

Given the choice, wouldn’t most players prefer a grand slam? In a perfect world, of course, the player the computer calculates to be the “best” would also be winning the biggest tournaments. On that basis, this system is flawed.

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Which is not to blame Pliskova, and the list of active players to have completed the prestigious double is short. In the Toronto main draw this week, Pliskova’s first as world No.1, only Kerber and Venus Williams have managed both achievements, although Svetlana Kuznetsova, Petra Kvitova and Garbine Muguruza (dual slam champions with career-high rankings of No.2) have come close.

Curiously, slamless top dogs have been less frequent on the men’s tour. Ivan Lendl’s whose initial ascent to the ATP peak occurred before he earned the first of his eight singles majors in 1984, while Marcelo Rios remains the only male No.1 in rankings history never to triumph at a slam.

In contrast, Pliskova’s story is far from complete. The US Open starts on August 28. Watch this space.