February, 2012
The ATP, or Association of Tennis Professionals, released its revised rankings after the 2011 Australian Open just hours after the Women’s Tennis Association [WTA] updated the list of female players.
For most of the Top Ten players, there has been very little change in the ranking spots. However, the number of points gained or lost has increased.
February, 2012
The ATP, or Association of Tennis Professionals, released its revised rankings after the 2011 Australian Open just hours after the Women’s Tennis Association [WTA] updated the list of female players.
For most of the Top Ten players, there has been very little change in the ranking spots. However, the number of points gained or lost has increased.
World Number 1 Rafael Nadal still leads the ATP at the top spot, with 12,390 ranking points. The Spanish player has played two tournaments in 2011, and was unable to win the title for either. He lost the Doha semi-final to Russian tennis pro Nikolay Davydenko, and a busted hamstring in the Australian Open semi-finals kept him from performing at the level required for him to move ahead in the event.
World Number 2 Roger Federer has also retained his spot with 7965 ranking points, though the Swiss player may be in danger of losing out to World Number 3 Novak Djokovic. The Maestro entered the Australian Open after a victory at Doha, where he defeated Davydenko in straight sets. He received 250 points for the victory, and 720 points for his Australian Open run.
However, Nole outdid him completely at Melbourne Park in a straight-sets elimination at the semi-finals of the event. Also, the Serbian is not far behind with 7880 ranking points, and he may be able to catch up to Federer in the next few months. If he continues playing at the same level of tennis and Federer fails to deliver, Djokovic may return to his career-high ranking of World Number 1.
Swede, Robin Soderling, is still World Number 4, with 5955 ranking points. He won the Brisbane International earlier in January, and made it to the Last 16 at the Australian Open.
Andy Murray, Australian Open finalist, is sticking to his spot as World Number 5 with 5760 points. He has not competed in any tournaments except the Australian Open so far this year.
Nadal’s compatriot and ouster David Ferrer has moved up one spot on the rankings, becoming World Number 6 with 4570 points. He won the Auckland event to receive 250 points, and his Australian Open semi-final showing also gave him a total of 720 ranking points.
Ferrer has taken Tomas Berdych’s place on the rankings, as the Czech player falls to World Number 7. He currently has 4270 points, and has played two tournaments without a victory so far in 2010.
American World Number 8 Andy Roddick has stayed put at his position, with 3385 points. He received 150 points at the Australian Open, and 150 points at Brisbane where he lost to Soderling in the final.
World Number 9 Fernando Verdasco is the third Spaniard in the Top Ten, holding on to his spot in the list. He has 3240 ranking points, and has competed in two 2011 tournaments so far.
The last player in the Top Ten is Austrian, Jurgen Melzer, who has also retained last week’s ranking. His only 2011 tournament so far is the Australian Open, where he was ousted by eventual finalist Murray in the fourth round.
ATP World Tour rankings (previous ranking in brackets):
1. (1) Novak Djokovic (Serbia) 13630 points
2. (2) Rafa Nadal (Spain) 10435
3. (3) Roger Federer (Switzerland) 8010
4. (4) Andy Murray (Britain) 6900
5. (5) David Ferrer (Spain) 4565
6. (6) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France) 4425
7. (7) Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) 3700
8. (8) Mardy Fish (U.S.) 2965
9. (9) Janko Tipsarevic (Serbia) 2700
10.(11) Juan Martin Del Potro (Argentina) 2630
WTA or Women's Tennis Association Ranking
Victoria Azarenka's win over Maria Sharapova in the Australian Open final on Saturday elevated her to No. 1 and also forced a shift in the top 10 rankings in women's tennis.
Azarenka moved from No. 3 to No. 1, overhauling Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, who will remain at No. 2 after her semifinal exit in Australia.
The 22-year-old Belarusian is the 21st player to hold the No. 1 spot since computer rankings were introduced in 1975.
The WTA said Saturday that the new rankings, which will take effect Monday, show Sharapova moving up one spot to third and Caroline Wozniacki, who held the No. 1 ranking for nearly 67 weeks before losing in the quarterfinals here to Kim Clijsters, dropping to fourth.
U.S. Open champion Sam Stosur, who lost in the first round at Melbourne Park, moves to fifth from sixth despite the poor result at her home major, while Agnieszka Radwanska is a career-high No. 6.
Marion Bartoli of France, formerly No. 9, moves up to seventh, also a career high, while Vera Zvonareva is No. 8, French Open champion Li Na is No. 9 and Andrea Petkovic, who withdrew from the Australian Open due to a stress fracture in her back, stays at No. 10.
Li dropped four places from fifth after she lost in the fourth round to defending champion Clijsters. The Chinese star had a high number of ranking points to defend as a losing finalist to Clijsters here last year.
Clijsters, who lost in the semifinals to Azarenka this year at Melbourne Park, is projected to drop to about 30th from No. 11.
Serena Williams, who lost in the fourth round, will remain at No. 12.
"I've been loving coming to Australia since I was a junior, and I've had an amazing month and this is a dream come true," Azarenka said
She had a 55-17 win-loss record in 2011, winning three titles and finishing runner-up in two others.
She started 2012 strongly, defeating three top 10 players in a row en route to her ninth career singles title at the Sydney International. She remains undefeated in 2012 with a 12-0 record.
She is the third player to achieve the top ranking directly after claiming a first Grand Slam singles title: Martina Navratilova moved to No. 1 after winning Wimbledon in 1978 and Ana Ivanovic took top spot after winning the 2008 French Open.
WTA rankings released (previous ranking in brackets):
1. (3) Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) 8585 points
2. (2) Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic) 7690
3. (4) Maria Sharapova (Russia) 7560
4. (1) Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) 7085
5. (5) Samantha Stosur (Australia) 5430
6. (8) Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland) 5330
7. (9) Marion Bartoli (France) 4770
8. (7) Vera Zvonareva (Russia) 4695
9. (6) Li Na (China) 4450
10.(10) Andrea Petkovic (Germany) 4000
