Depth of women’s game reflected in rankings

Published by Matt Trollope

Garbine Muguruza is one of five former world No.1s currently ranked outside the WTA top 10 (Getty Images)
There are currently 20 former top-10 players inside the WTA top 100, meaning that every week, tough match-ups are a given from the very first round in prestigious tournaments.

Depth is a word frequently used when describing the state of the women’s game.

It’s why eight of the last nine Grand Slam tournaments have been won by different players, and why the WTA No.1 ranking has changed hands as regularly as it has.

While nobody dominates, there is a solid pack of arguably 20 – or perhaps more – players, who, when playing well, have the capacity to win the game’s biggest titles.

Draw sheets and the rankings list demonstrates this depth; there are 20 former top-10 players currently inside the WTA’s top 100 this week, while there are just 13 top-100 ranked men who classify as former top-10 players.

At Indian Wells this week, former world No.1s Victoria Azarenka and Venus Williams are unseeded. Their second-round opponents are Serena Williams and Petra Kvitova respectively.

NEWS: Venus wins, Kvitova next at Indian Wells

That such star power can popular both ends of the court in the second round is a testament to how thrilling this depth makes the early rounds of big tournaments in the women’s game.

WOMEN

Rank Player Career-high
13 Caroline Wozniacki No.1
14 Daria Kasatkina No.10
15 Julia Goerges No.9
17 Madison Keys No.7
19 Caroline Garcia No.4
20 Garbine Muguruza No.1
22 Jelena Ostapenko No.5
23 Belinda Bencic No.7
24 Carla Suarez Navarro No.6
29 Maria Sharapova No.1
35 Dominika Cibulkova No.4
36 Venus Williams No.1
45 Johanna Konta No.4
48 Victoria Azarenka No.1
65 Kristina Mladenovic No.10
68 Andrea Petkovic No.9
73 Eugenie Bouchard No.5
77 Ekaterina Makarova No.8
78 Samantha Stosur No.4
80 Vera Zvonareva No.2

MEN

Rank Player Career-high
11 Marin Cilic No.3
14 Milos Raonic No.3
19 Gael Monfils No.6
20 Pablo Carreno Busta No.10
21 David Goffin No.7
27 Richard Gasquet No.7
28 Grigor Dimitrov No.3
29 Gilles Simon No.6
30 Lucas Pouille No.10
36 Fernando Verdasco No.7
40 Stan Wawrinka No.3
79 Ernests Gulbis No.10
81 Tomas Berdych No.4
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