2015 BSA's: Rankings Round-Up

Rankings, rankings, rise and fall.
In 2015, one player nearly did win them all.
Wish they may, wish they might
all have the ranking they desire tonight.
Well, except for maybe the OTHER Kiki
...but more on her later.
Yes, it's time for Backspin's annual whole-lotta-love (and numbers) year-end rankings rundown. Of course, I can't promise all these words and numbers will be as inspiring as Garbine Muguruza's tennis future or Aleksandra Krunic's first, long-awaited season-ending Top 100 appearance. But, hey, what can you do, right?


First up, a "Rankings Round-Up" first -- the inaugural Backspin "All-Rankings Team."


Congratulations to the players who pulled off some of the most significant rankings accomplishments during the 2015 season!


Daria Gavrilova, RUS/AUS: Backspin's Official Mascot has got game. Her jump from #233 all the way up to #36 this season is the biggest by any player ranked in the 2015 Top 70. With a quick start in Week 1 of 2016 she might be able to claim her first slam seed in her adopted home nation event in Melbourne.
Daria Kasatkina, RUS: There are no rules on the number of Darias who can appear on this team. A junior slam winner in 2014, the youngest Hordette ranked in the Top 200 made the biggest leap by far of all Top 100 players on tour. After ending her final year in the juniors at #370 on the WTA computer, the 18-year old ends this season 298 spots higher at #72.
Timea Bacsinszky, SUI: A year ago, Bacsinszky reclaimed her career with a Top 50 finish. In 2015, all she did was win two titles ("Queen of Mexico!"), reach a slam semifinal and make an appearance in the Top 10. She ended the season at #12.
Johanna Konta, GBR: The Aussie-turned-Brit rode a remarkable summer and fall into a rankings push that helped raise her ranking over one hundred spots since last year. At #47, she's now the highest-ranked woman from the U.K..
Garbine Muguruza, ESP: Last, but not least, on the 1st team is the highest-ranked player of the bunch -- world #3 Muguruza. And to think she made the tough leap from #21 into the Top 5 while winning just one singles title in 2015 (and playing in the Wimbledon final, of course). With Sam Sumyk by her side this offseason and into '16, one would think her attainable goals will be even greater over the next year. Or should I say more grand?


Teliana Pereira, BRA: The 27-year old had a career year, winning two tour titles and becoming the first South American to finish in the Top 50 (#45) since 2010.
Kristina Mladenovic, FRA: "Kiki #1" had a career year, jumping from #81 to #29, reaching both her first tour singles final and slam singles QF, while ending with her maiden Top 10 year-end doubles (#9) ranking. And even better things sure seem to be on her racket for '16, too.
Madison Brengle, USA: It took BrengleFly a decade before she finally got her first slam MD win last fall. In 2015, she reached her first tour final and slam Round of 16 and followed up her first Top 100 season with her first in the Top 50. At #40, she's the sixth highest-ranked Bannerette (and four of those in front of her have reached at least a slam SF).
Jelena Ostapenko, LAT: Like Kasatkina, Ostapenko is a '14 junior slam winner. Also like the Russian, she stormed into the Top 100 this season from outside the Top 300. Ranked #308 at the end of '14, Ostapenko's 229-spot rise is the biggest by any Top 100 player other than Kasatkina.
Margarita Gasparyan, RUS: The 21-year old Russian was the first maiden tour title-winning Hordette since 2012. Her sweep of both the singles and doubles titles in Baku highlighted a season in which she rose from #217 to #62 in the rankings.
Anna Schmiedlova, SVK: Now the highest-ranked Slovak, Schmiedlova took her (current and future) place as her nation's Fed Cup leader, won her first WTA title and rather quietly has slipped into the shadows of the Top 20. She rose from #73 to #26 over the past twelve months.


**RANKINGS NOTES OF NOTE**
[as of end-of-season ranks on November 9, 2015]
After a period of years in which Top 10 stability has been the norm for the WTA, 2015 was a "Katy-bar-the-door!" sort of season. Nineteen different players drifted in and out of the Top 10 over the course of the 44-week season, a higher number than in any year in more than a decade.

In the end, five of last year's Top 6 maintained their ranking (though it took a near miracle of Radwanskian proportions for one of them), as did last year's #10, Angelique Kerber (who went up and down all year, but finished in the same place she started). Still, the six Top 10 repeaters are the fewest since 2011, after at least seven returned at the end of each of the past three seasons. Serena Williams completed her second straight wire-to-wire #1 campaign, joining Martina Navratilova (1983-84) and Steffi Graf (1988-90) as the only players to accomplish the feat in back-to-back seasons. If Williams can do it again in 2016, and she will begin '16 with a 3885-point lead over #2 Simona Halep, she'll join Graf as the only women to pull off the three-peat.

Just what Serena needs for her legacy... another record.

The only Top 5 player from a year ago to slip out of the new year-end Top 10 was Ana Ivanovic, who gradually slid down the rankings once again, following up a '14 season in which she reached her first slam semifinal since 2008 by getting to a singles final in Week 1, but then never playing in another final all season. She finished up at #16, matching her lowest year-end ranking since 2011. But AnaIvo wasn't the only highly-ranked star to take a tumble. In fact, she didn't even suffer the biggest fall. That "feat" was reserved for Genie Bouchard (#7 in '14), who stumbled all season long, then as soon as she seemed to finally get her footing at the U.S. Open she slipped and fell in the locker room (literally), suffering a concussion that essentially ended her season after she tried and failed to play through symptoms that lingered into the fall. The Canadian nearly fell out of the Top 50, finishing at #48, just thirty-three points ahead of #51 Karin Knapp. Meanwhile, Caroline Wozniacki's resurgent '14 season went into a tactical and injury-related reverse as she dropped from #8 to #17, her worst year-end ranking in eight years.

Other players coming off career-defining years who suffered "year-after" syndrome: Alize Cornet (a year after defeating Serena three times she fell from #20 to #43), Dominika Cibulkova (the '14 AO finalist, who missed time with injury, slipped from #11 to #38) and Alison Riske (she won her first tour title last year, but fell from #45 to nearly out of the Top 100 at #97 in '15).

Victoria Azarenka's quest to climb back up the rankings after an injury-marred '14 saw some progress, as she flashed "the old Vika" at times and spent a few weeks in the Top 20. But her one step forward, two steps back efforts resulted in her season ending a bit early due to injury once again, with her finishing at #22, ten places better than her final standing in 2014.

No nation was hit in the rankings heart harder than China. A year ago, six Chinese women were in the Top 100, with Australian Open champ Li Na at #9 and U.S. Open semifinalist Peng Shuai at #22. Twelve months later, the top four-ranked Chinese women from 2014 are gone. Li has long since retired, Peng's back injury lay-off knocked her down to #136, Zhang Shuai (#62) is even farther back at #186 and Zheng Jie (#91) appears THIS close to a rumored soon-to-come retirement at #949 after playing just one singles match and only a limited season in doubles (with no matches since Wimbledon). Only one Chinese woman is currently ranked in the Top 100, #70 Zheng Saisai (#97 a year ago). Last year's #100-ranked player, Wang Qiang, finished at #114.

On the other side of the ledger, #3 Garbine Muguruza had the biggest jump (18 spots) of any Top 10er, while Lucie Safarova (#9) and Flavia Pennetta (#8) made their year-end Top 10 debuts. The retiring Pennetta's maiden appearance will be her last, but Venus Williams (#7) appears to be catching something of a second wind at age 35. 2015 is her twelfth Top 10 season, but her first since 2010. She's the oldest player to finish in the upper echelon of the rankings since a 38-year old Martina Navratilova in 1994.

.@Venuseswilliams who is a boss, becomes oldest top 10 player in 20 years: https://t.co/9kFfOsglHb pic.twitter.com/zg6jclidP7

— USA TODAY Sports (@USATODAYsports) November 8, 2015

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While six of last year's Top 10 players equaled the standing again in 2015, a few were more equal than others.

Caroline Wozniacki's six-year string of Top 10 seasons ended, but Serena Williams extended her run to four years. Even more impressive is her eight Top 10 years in the last nine, and the now fourteen Top 10 seasons in her career (tying her with Chris Evert for second on the all-time WTA list behind Martina Navratilova's nineteen). But Williams' streak isn't the current longest on the tour. Three players -- Maria Sharapova, Aga Radwanska and Petra Kvitova -- extended their Top 10 runs to five straight years. Sharapova is putting together an unmatched consistency in comparison to the other members of her tennis generation, finishing in the Top 10 ten times in the last twelve years. She's now tied with Lindsay Davenport and Gabriela Sabatini for eighth place on the all-time list, just one behind Arantxa Sanchez's eleven Top 10 seasons. Sharapova has now finished in the Top 5 five consecutive years, bettering her previous career-best, pre-shoulder surgery, run from 2004-07.

Angelique Kerber's four-title season was leveled out with a disappointing slam campaign, but the German has now maintained her Top 10 ranking for four years in a row, with each of the past three coming to an end with her being ranked either #9 or #10. Meanwhile, a year after Simona Halep set a Romanian record with a #3 finish, despite a season that ultimately didn't "feel" better, managed to break her own record with a #2 ranking as the '15 season came to a close.

The WTA's computer ranking system began with the 1975 season, and just recently celebrated its 40th anniversary.
===============================================
As usual, Serena Williams didn't need quite as many chances to do far more than her peers over the course of a full WTA season. Her sixteen events were the fewest of any Top 20 player. #22 Victoria Azarenka needed just fifteen events, the fewest in the Top 50, to achieve her standing. In fact, you have to go all the way down the #131 Petra Cetkovska (with 12) to find a player who played fewer events than Azarenka did in 2015.

So, it would seem that the former #1's desire to remain healthy for an entire season would indeed be the first step in her reclaiming her position near the top of the sport.

On the other hand, practice makes perfect... or at least it gives a player more point totals to choose from when it comes to gathering their best results to be counted toward their ranking. #10 Angelique Kerber's twenty-five events were the most in the Top 10, while #11 Karolina Pliskova and #20 Sara Errani tied for the most tournaments (26) among the Top 20 players in the year-end rankings. #44 Mona Barthel's twenty-nine events were the most in the Top 50. #68 Tatjana Maria and #84 Evgeniya Rodina, both with thirty-one tournaments, played the most in the Top 100.

The busiest player in the WTA over the past year? That'd be #238 Sofia Shapatava. The Georgian played in thirty-five events.

The highest ranked player with the fewest tournaments? #177 Michaela Krajicek. The former Top 30 played mostly doubles all season, but she stepped back onto the singles court in the fall, winning back-to-back ITF titles. Ranked in the #430's as recently as late September, Krajicek raised her ranking over 250 places in less than two months.

Back to back titles ... ????Speechless... #LasVegas !!!!!! pic.twitter.com/m160teaPns

— Michaëlla Emmrich (@MisaKrajicek) October 4, 2015

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It's been an annual ritual to bemoan the state of South American women's tennis in this spot each and every year. Things didn't TOTALLY change this year, making this section unnecessary, but there WAS finally a shining WTA light on the continent. Her name is Teliana Pereira.

From 2009-14, only twice did a player from South America finish in the WTA's singles Top 50, and in both instances that player was the now retired Gisela Dulko (in 2009-10). But in 2015, for the first time in five years, a South American finished in the Top 50 as Brazil's Pereira became the most successful female player from her nation in thirty years, winning a pair of singles titles and finishing at #45 less than a year before the Summer Olympics take place in Rio. Pereira finished in the Top 100 in 2013, but slipped outside to #106 in '14 before jumping sixty-one spots over the past year.

Maybe the carrot of the Olympics has finally given a boost to women's tennis in Brazil, once and still the Land of Bueno (as in Hall of Famer Maria). In 2012, there were no Brazilians in the Top 300, but a year later there were three. The number has been at four the past two seasons, including 19-year old Beatriz Haddad, who climbed from #335 to #298 this year and won a share of her first tour doubles title (w/ fellow Brazilian Paula Cristina Goncalves) at the same WTA event in Bogota at which Pereira took the singles crown.

Recent Top 100 player Paula Ormaechea (ARG) fell all the out way out of the Top 250 this season, but Colombia's Mariana Duque compiled her first career Top 100 campaign, becoming the second South American in the Top 100 by finishing at #75 two years after she'd just missed out at #101 in 2013.
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While players such as Teliana Pereira, Lucie Hradecka, Alexandra Dulgheru, Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Ula Radwanska have all returned to the year-end Top 100 (in all, thirteen former Top 100ers returned in '15 after missing out last year), the proverbial worm turned the other way for many other "name" players, including no-longer-Top-100ers Peng Shuai, Casey Dellacqua, Klara Koukalova, Jana Cepelova, Elena Vesnina, Sorana Cirstea and Francesca Schiavone.

The now 35-year old Schiavone, in particular, has been on the wrong end of the ranking stick for some time now. Since winning Roland Garros and finishing at #7 in 2010, the Italian has posted five consecutive season-ending ranking declines. After dropping from #42 to #82 in 2014, she fell to #121 over the past year and is in serious danger of falling one event short of matching Ai Sugiyama's WTA record of sixty-two consecutive main draw appearances in grand slam events. Schiavone has currently played in sixty-one straight (losing in the 1st Round in eleven of the past thirteen, but that's beside the point), but it looks like she's unlikely to earn an automatic MD berth at the next slam and may need to do some work (she's playing her final '15 event this week in the $125K Series Limoges, so it might have to come in the first week of '16 or by fighting her way through slam qualifying) if she's going to tie the mark in January in Melbourne.

A photo posted by francesca schiavone (@francescaschiav1) on Oct 31, 2015 at 1:28pm PDT

Hmmm, hopefully, that's not a bad sign for Francesca.
===============================================
For the second straight year, the youngest player ranked in the Top 100 (and 200) is Ana Konjuh. The Croat won her first tour singles title in Nottingham this season. After being ranked #90 to conclude 2014, the 17-year old is currently #80. She won't turn 18 until December 27. A former two-time girl slam champ, Konjuh is one of the slew of ex-junior stars who have successfully -- and swiftly -- made the leap to the WTA.

18-year old world #14 Belinda Bencic, also a two-time girls slam winner, is the youngest player ranked in the Top 50, while five teenagers rank in the Top 100 for the second straight season, including recent junior slam winners Daria Kasatkina (18) and Jelena Ostapenko (18). There are fourteen more ranked between #101-200, with the ranks including former slam champ Elizaveta Kulichikova (19).

And the "next" NextGen is already working its way up the rankings, as well. 15-year old American Claire Liu, the first player born in the 2000's to be ranked on the WTA computer, is the youngest player ranked in the Top 600 at #566, while Bianca Andreescu comes in at #633. The Canadian is actually three weeks YOUNGER than Liu. She's the youngest player in the Top 1100. In all, there are five girls ranked in the Top 1000 who were born after January 1, 2000.

*PLAYERS BORN IN THE 2000's RANKED IN TOP 1000*
#566 - Claire Liu, USA (May 25, 2000)
#633 - Bianca Andreescu, CAN (June 16, 2000)
#636 - Katarina Zavatska, UKR (February 5, 2000)
#674 - Destanee Aiava, AUS (May 10, 2000)
#990 - Isabelle Boulais, CAN (April 12, 2000)
[highest-ranked born in 2001]
#1173 - Lulu Radovcic, SUI (April 14, 2001)

Russian Sofya Zhuk, this year's junior Wimbledon champ, isn't far off from adding her name to the "youngest" list. The 15-year old -- born December 1, 1999 -- has yet to earn a WTA ranking, but by this time next year she'll likely have joined her fellow 2015 girls slam winners (and finalists) who already appear on the WTA computer.

#220 Paula Badosa, ESP (RG champ)
#313 Dalma Galfi, HUN (US champ)
#514 Katie Swan, GBR (AO finalist)
#554 Tereza Mihalikova, SVK (AO champ)
#620 Sonya Kenin, USA (US finalist)
#681 Anna Kalinskaya, RUS (RG finalist)
#826 Anna Blinkova, RUS (WI finalist)

As for their higher-ranked "big sisters"...

*YOUNGEST PLAYER - end of '15 season*
[Top 100]
17...Ana Konjuh, CRO (born December 27, 1997)
18...Jelena Ostapenko, LAT (born June 8, 1997)
18...Daria Kasatkina, RUS (born May 7, 1997)
18...Belinda Bencic, SUI (born March 10, 1997)
19...Anett Kontaveit, EST (born December 24, 1995)
20...Madison Keys, USA (born February 17, 1995)
20...Carina Witthoeft, GER (born February 16, 1995)
20...Yulia Putintseva, KAZ (born January 7, 1995)
20...Nao Hibino, JPN (born November 28, 1994)
20...Danka Kovinic, MNE (born November 18, 1994)
[#101-200]
18...Katerina Stewart, USA (born July 17, 1997)
18...Anhelina Kalinina, UKR (born February 7, 1997)
19...Oceane Dodin, FRA (born October 24, 1996)
19...Sara Torribes Tormo, ESP (born October 8, 1996)
19...Donna Vekic, CRO (born June 28, 1996)
19...Beatriz Haddad, BRA (born May 30, 1996)
19...Louisa Chirico, USA (born May 16, 1996)
19...Katerina Siniakova, CZE (born May 10, 1996)
19...Ipek Soylu, TUR (born April 15, 1996)
19...Elizaveta Kulichkova, RUS (born April 12, 1996)
19...Mayo Hibi, JPN (born April 3, 1996)
19...Barbora Krejcikova, CZE (born December 18, 1995)
19...Liu Fangzhou, CHN (born December 12, 1995)
19...Elise Mertens, BEL (born November 17, 1995)
20...Rebecca Peterson, SWE (born August 6, 1995)
20...Maria Sakkari, GRE (born July 25, 1995)
20...Sachia Vickery, USA (born May 11, 1995)
20...Samantha Crawford, USA (born February 18, 1995)
20...Yang Zhaoxuan, CHN (born February 11, 1995)
20...Miyu Kato, JPN (born November 21, 1994)

On the other end of the age spectrum, Kimiko Date-Krumm has spent the last few seasons slipping in and out of the Top 100. In 2011, she was in at age 41. At 42, she was out. A 43-year old KDK was nearly in the Top 50 in '13 (#54), but fell back out of the Top 100 (#116) at age 44 last season. KDK slipped to #141 this year at age 45, but she's still, easily, the oldest woman ranked in the, well... she's the oldest woman ranked. Period. Venus Williams, 35, is the most senior player in the Top 10 in two decades, and in the entire Top 100 today (beating out #98-ranked Lourdes Dominguez-Lino, 34, by over nine months). Little sister Serena, now 34, is the third-oldest player in the Top 100, six months younger than LDL.

*OLDEST PLAYER - end of '15 season*
[Top 100]
35...Venus Williams, USA (born June 17, 1980)
34...Lourdes Dominguez-Lino, ESP (born March 31, 1981)
34...Serena Williams, USA (born September 8, 1981)
33...Flavia Pennetta, ITA (born February 25, 1982)
33...Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, CRO (born March 9, 1982)
32...Roberta Vinci, ITA (born February 18, 1983)
32...Daniela Hantuchova, SVK (born April 23, 1983)
31...Samantha Stosur, AUS (born March 30, 1984)
30...Jelena Jankovic, SRB (born February 28, 1985)
30...Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA (born March 23, 1985)
30...Lucie Hradecka, CZE (born May 21, 1985)
30...Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS (born June 27, 1985)
29...Kirsten Flipkens, BEL (born January 1, 1986)
29...Barbora Strycova, CZE (born March 28, 1986)
29...Varvara Lepchenko, USA (born April 21, 1986)
29...Kateryna Bondarenko, UKR (born August 8, 1986)
[#101-200]
45...Kimiko Date-Krumm, JPN (born September 28, 1970)
35...Francesca Schiavone, ITA (born June 23, 1980)
34...Stephanie Foretz, FRA (born May 3, 1981)
33...Klara Koukalova, CZE (born February 24, 1982)
32...Virginie Razzano, FRA (born May 12, 1983)
32...Yuliya Beygelzimer, UKR (born October 20, 1983)
31...Vera Zvonareva, RUS (born September 7, 1984)
31...Laura Pous-Tio, ESP (born October 1, 1984)
30...Petra Cetkovska, CZE (born February 8, 1985)
30...Casey Dellacqua, AUS (born February 11, 1985)
30...Mathilde Johansson, FRA (born April 28, 1985)
30...Kaia Kanepi, EST (born June 10, 1985)
30...Mandy Minella, LUX (born November 22, 1985)
29...Hsieh Su-Wei, TPE (born January 4, 1986)
29...Peng Shuai, CHN (born January 8, 1986)
29...Pauline Parmentier, FRA (born January 31, 1986)
29...Romina Oprandi, SUI (born March 29, 1986)
29...Elena Vesnina, RUS (born August 1, 1986)
29...Andrea Hlavackvoa, CZE (born August 10, 1986)

===============================================
Sometimes the Tennis Gods like to mess with people...

Samantha Stosur: the Aussie improved upon her '14 season, winning two singles titles for just the second time in her career. Her season-ending ranking still from #27 to #23.

Jelena Jankovic: after going title-less last season, JJ won two tour titles (for the first time since '09), a WTA $125K Series event and reached her biggest final in two years in Indian Wells. Her ranking fell from #16 to #21.

pic.twitter.com/WLRCEakTd4

— Jelena Jankovic (@jelena_jankovic) October 19, 2015

Daniela Hantuchova: the Slovak, opening the season with new coach Carlos Rodriguez, won a Week 5 singles title, her first in two years. But by the end of the season, her ranking had slipped from #64 to #81.

Camila Giorgi: in 2014, the Italian twice reached match point in finals but failed to garner her maiden tour title. This year, she finally stepped into the winner's circle for the first time. But the Rankings Division of the Tennis Gods organization didn't care. A year after finishing up at #34, Giorgi ended at #35 this season.

And sometimes players like to mess with the Tennis Gods...

Aga Radwanska: for most of the '15 season, Aga was the Rapidly Sinking Pole. In the spring, her wanting results dropped her out of the Top 10 for the first time in 187 weeks, a run which had been the second-longest streak on tour (behind Maria Sharapova). But after finally rediscovering her game during the grass season, Radwanska caught fire in the fall, winning three titles on the Asian circuit. Twenty-one weeks after she dropped out of the Top 10, she returned. In fact, after finishing her season with a remarkable championship run at the WTA Finals she ended 2015 at #5, her third Top 5 season in the last four years. Where there's a Radwanska there's a way.


While her Top 10 streak is now relatively small, Radwanska's current run in the Top 20 is unparalleled. Ending the season with her 403rd straight week in the Top 20, she holds a 127-week (nearly two and a half year) advantage over the player with the second-longest streak (#17 Wozniacki, whose own standing could be in jeopardy early in '16).
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Meanwhile, Russian tennis is in a bit of a transitionary stage.

While Maria Sharapova maintained her place at the top of the sport's hiearchy, Ekaterina Makarova reached her second straight slam semifinal (AO) and climbed into the Top 10 for the first time, Margarita Gasparyan was a maiden tour titlist and Svetlana Kuznetsova became the first thirtysomething Hordette to win a tour singles crown, the overall collective numbers for the Russians dipped again in 2015.

The five singles titles won by Russians were the fewest since they won none in 2001, three years before the Russian Tennis Revolution firmly took hold of the tour. For the third straight season, the number of Russian singles finalists (9) were the fewest since that same 2001 season. Six Hordettes finished in the Top 20 in 2009, five did in 2010, then four each did in 2011 and 2012. The last two years, it was two. This season, after injuries slowed the back-half of Makarova's season, only Sharapova finished in the Top 20. It's the first time only a single Russian was present since 2001 (again), when Elena Dementieva was the only Top 20-ranked Hordette.

But all the news isn't of the diminishing variety.

Eight Russians finished in the Top 100 (counting Daria Gavrilova, though she's essentially an Aussie now). While it's fewer than the number of Americans (13) and Germans (10) in the group, it's more than the six that have appeared there in each of the last two seasons. The difference is the presence of newcomers Gasparyan and Daria Kasatkina, with Elizaveta Kulichkova just missing out on joining them at #104.

And thus comes the time of transition.

While the Original Revolutionary Hordettes are on their way out (or will be soon, excluding Sharapova), the NextGen Russians are finally beginning to pop up. Kasatkina and Kulichkova won junior slam crowns in 2014, while 15-year old Sofya Zhuk picked up a major title this year. Two other Russians -- Anna Kalinskaya and Anna Blinkova -- reached girls slams finals.


So, they ARE coming. Again. They're just not all the way here. Not yet, anyway.
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While "imported" players have long formed the backbone of the Kazakhstan tennis establishment, non-Aussie born players are beginning to fill the same role for Australia.

Of course, this is nothing new for a nation that once experienced great success in the form of Yugoslav-born Jelena Dokic. But, unlike Kazakhstan, of course, Australia has a long and great tennis tradition. Home-grown women's stars, Sam Stosur and Casey Dellacqua excluded, have been few and far between in recent generations. The latest seeming-star-in-the-making, Ashleigh Barty, walked away from the sport at age 18 last year. Recently, rather than pick up her racket again, Barty signed on to play in a women's cricket league for the Brisbane Heat.

Not that there aren't some home-grown Aussie youngsters of note. The likes of Priscilla Hon, Kimberly Birrell, Sara Tomic and Olivia Tjandramulia are surely worth keeping an eye on.

Ah, but the true cavalry has arrived, as well.

Russian Anastasia Rodionova arrived years ago, and now her sister Arina is finally playing under the Australian flag, as well. Slovak Jarmila Gajdosova became an Aussie by marriage, but stuck around even after her divorce. While not yet representing Australia on the regular tour, but able to do so during slam events, Russian-born Daria Gavrilova (#36) and Croatian-born Ajla Tomljanovic (#66) would be the second and third-ranked Aussies on tour behind Stosur (still #27) if things were official.

Techically, Gavrilova is still the fifth-best Russian on tour, while Tomljanovic is the top-ranked Croat.
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With Ula Radwanska's return to the Top 100, there are two full sets of sisters in the 2015 Top 100. In all, seven players with tennis playing siblings are present. Kristyna Pliskova, who actually outlasted sister Karolina in the Wimbledon draw this year, makes it three sets in the Top 200. The Sisters Top 10:

#1 Serena Williams, USA
#5 Aga Radwanska, POL
#7 Venus Williams, USA
#11 Karolina Pliskova, CZE
#26 Anna Schmiedlova, SVK
#88 Kateryna Bondarenko, UKR
#95 Ula Radwanska, POL
#107 Hsieh Su-Wei, TPE
#113 Kristyna Pliskova, CZE
#147 Kristina Kucova, SVK

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The tour-best thirteen Bannerettes in the Top 100 -- an increase of one for the second straight year -- is the continuation of a trend, as American numbers have nearly doubled in recent seasons.

The number of nations with players in the Top 100 seems to have found its limit. After a three season-ending ranking run that saw players from thirty-seven (2011) and then thirty-six (2012 and '13) different nations finish in the Top 100, the number dropped to thirty-four last season and is down to thirty-three in 2015. After back-to-back years in which twenty-three countries were included in the Top 50, the number is down to twenty this season.

After three straight seasons of seeing the Top 11 made up of women from eleven different nations, multiple U.S. and Czech players cut the number of nations represented to eight in 2015. After seasons in which the Top 20 included representatives from 14, 15 and 14 different countries, respectively, the numbers shrunk there, as well. Only twelve nations are represented in the Top 20 this year, with the U.S. (3), Czech Republic (3), Italy (3), Spain (2) and Switzerland (2) all with multiple entries.

Speaking of Italy, 2015's rankings serve as (nearly) a final goodbye to the Italian Quartet. For the first time since 2006, all four of Italy's greatest players -- Pennetta, Errani, Schiavone & Vinci -- aren't in the year-end Top 100. Schiavone has slipped outside the lines, while Top 10er Pennetta's career ended with her loss in the WTA Finals. U.S. Open finalist Vinci recently announced that 2016 will likely be her final season on tour, as well. By this time next year, Errani may be the final remaining piece of the puzzle that was the greatest stretch in Italian tennis history. The likes of Camila Giorgi and Karin Knapp will continue to provide Italy with depth, and Giorgi could soon rise to the top spot in her nation's rankings. But there's little doubt that from her forward things will never be the same. It's the end of an era.
===============================================
At the end of both the 2010 and '11 seasons, six players rose into the Top 50 after having finished the previous year ranked outside the Top 100. That number has increased to eight at the conclusion of both of the last two WTA campaigns. In 2015, the number is down to three: #36 Daria Gavrilova, #45 Teliana Pereira and #47 Johanna Konta.
===============================================
Of course, there's always SOMEONE with her nose pressed up against the Top 100 glass, finishing #101. In 2015, it's the "Other Kiki" -- Dutch player Kiki Bertens, who finished in the Top 100 the past three seasons.

Last year, #101 was a familiar Backspin face: Aleksandra Krunic, who came up just five ranking points shy of the Top 100 in 2014. The Bracelet fulfilled her role as the Serbian Good Luck Charm in Fed Cup play in 2015, but she also followed up her 2014 U.S. Open success with some of her best singles results, as well. She won a mid-December $50K ITF event to enter 2015 running, then opened the season with a qualifier-to-quarterfinalist result in Shenzhen in Week 1. She climbed as high as #62 during the season, but long slumps in the spring and on North American hard courts (separated by a good 6-3 grass season) put her in jeopardy of finishing outside the Top 100 yet again... and even possible ending up at #101 once more. A late QF result in Linz (once again coming out of the Q-rounds) helped her cause, though, and she managed to end 2015 at a career season-ending best of #96, just 41 points out of the #101 spot. Whew.


Oh, and way to go, Bracelet!

2011: Stephanie Foretz-Gacon, FRA
2012: Stephanie Foretz-Gacon, FRA
2013: Mariana Duque, COL
2014: Aleksandra Krunic, SRB
2015: Kiki Bertens, NED



[based on November 9 end-of-season WTA rankings]

*TOP 20 BY AGE*
35...Venus Williams
34...Serena Williams
33...Flavia Pennetta
32...Roberta Vinci
28...Lucie Safarova
28...Maria Sharapova
28...Sara Errani
28...Ana Ivanovic
27...Angelique Kerber
27...Carla Suarez-Navarro
26...Agnieszka Radwanska
26...Timea Bacsinszky
25...Caroline Wozniacki
25...Petra Kvitova
24...Simona Halep
23...Karolina Pliskova
22...Garbine Muguruza
21...Elina Svitolina
20...Madison Keys
18...Belinda Bencic

*TOP 20 BY NATION*
3...CZE (Kvitova, Pliskova, Safarova)
3...ITA (Errani, Pennetta, Vinci)
3...USA (Keys, S.Williams, V.Williams)
2...ESP (Muguruza, Suarez-Navarro)
2...SUI (Bacsinszky, Bencic)
1...DEN (Wozniacki)
1...GER (Kerber)
1...POL (A.Radwanska)
1...ROU (Halep)
1...RUS (Sharapova)
1...SRB (Ivanovic)
1...UKR (Svitolina)

*TOP 20 BY CAREER TITLES*
69...Serena Williams
48...Venus Williams
35...Maria Sharapova
23...Caroline Wozniacki
17...Agnieszka Radwanska
17...Petra Kvitova
15...Ana Ivanovic
11...Simona Halep
11...Flavia Pennetta
9...Roberta Vinci
8...Sara Errani
7...Angelique Kerber
6...Lucie Safarova
4...Karolina Pliskova
3...Timea Bacsinszky
3...Elina Svitolina
2...Belinda Bencic
2...Garbine Muguruza
1...Madison Keys
1...Carla Suarez-Navarro

*TOP 100 FACTS*
=HIGHEST-RANKED PLAYER WITHOUT A CAREER WTA SINGLES TITLE=
2007 Victoria Azarenka, BLR * (2009)
2008 Victoria Azarenka, BLR * (2009)
2009 Alla Kudryavtseva, RUS * (2010)
2010 Dominika Cibulkova, SVK * (2011)
2011 Peng Shuai, CHN
2012 Varvara Lepchenko, USA
2013 Sloane Stephens, USA * (2015)
2014 Peng Shuai, CHN
2015 Kristina Mladenovic, FRA
-
* - has since won first title
-----------------------------
*TOP 50 PLAYERS WITHOUT WTA TITLES*
#29 Kristina Mladenovic, FRA
#36 Daria Gavrilova, RUS/AUS
#40 Madison Brengle, USA
#42 Alison Van Uytvanck, BEL
#46 Varvara Lepchenko, USA
#47 Johanna Konta, GBR
-----------------------------
*TOP 50 PLAYERS WITHOUT TOUR FINALS*
#36 Daria Gavrilova, RUS/AUS
#42 Alison Van Uytvanck, BEL
#47 Johanna Konta, GBR
-----------------------------
NEW PLAYERS IN THE TOP 100 (since end of '14 season - Nov. 3, 2014): 29
2014 newbies: 24
2013 newbies: 27
2012 newbies: 29
2011 newbies: 31
2010 newbies: 23
2009 newbies: 28
2008 newbies: 34
2007 newbies: 33
-----------------------------
TOP 100 NEWBIES ('14 rank):
#36 Daria Gavrilova, RUS/AUS (#233)
#45 Teliana Pereira, BRA (#106)
#47 Johanna Konta, GBR (#150)
#53 Lucie Hradecka, CZE (#157)
#57 Alexandra Dulgheru, ROU (#105)
#58 Danka Kovinic, MNE (#109)
#60 Misaki Doi, JPN (#122)
#61 Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA (#175)
#62 Margarita Gasparyan, RUS (#217)
#63 Denisa Allertova, CZE (#110)
#64 Carina Witthoeft, GER (#104)
#68 Tatjana Maria, GER (#214)
#69 Olga Govortsova, BLR (#145)
#72 Daria Kasatkina, RUS (#370)
#73 Irina Falconi, USA (#114)
#74 Yulia Putintseva, KAZ (#113)
#75 Mariana Duque, COL (#137)
#78 Nao Hibino, JPN (#207)
#79 Jelena Ostapenko, LAT (#308)
#84 Evgeniya Rodina, RUS (#152)
#88 Kateryna Bondarenko, UKR (#204)
#89 Magda Linette, POL (#117)
#90 Laura Siegemund, GER (#161)
#91 Anett Kontaveit, EST (#166)
#94 Andreea Mitu, ROU (#121)
#95 Ula Radwanska, POL (#180)
#96 Aleksandra Krunic, SRB (#101)
#98 Lourdes Dominguez-Lino, ESP (#111)
#100 Anna Tatishvili, USA (#149)
-----------------------------
*SMALLEST 2014-to-2015 RANKING CHANGES IN TOP 100*
0...Serena Williams (1/1)
0...Angelique Kerber (10/10)
+1...Simona Halep (3 to 2)
+1...Aga Radwanska (6 to 5)
-1...Camila Giorgi (34 to 35)
-1...Mona Barthel (43 to 44)
-1...Annika Beck (55 to 56)
+2...Lara Arruabarrena (88 to 86)
-2...Maria Sharapova (2 to 4)
-2...Petra Kvitova (4 to 6)
-----------------------------
*TOP 100 BY NATION*
(w/ # in 2014)
13...United States (12)
10...Germany (7)
8...Russia (6)
6...Czech Republic (8)
5...Italy (6)
5...Romania (4)
4...Serbia (3)
4...Slovak Republic (5)
4...Spain (5)
3...Belgium (3)
3...Croatia (3)
3...France (4)
3...Japan (1)
3...Kazakhstan (2)
3...Poland (1)
3...Ukraine (2)
2...Belarus (1)
2...Great Britain (1)
2...Switzerland (3)
1...Australia (3)
1...Brazil (0)
1...Bulgaria (1)
1...Canada (1)
1...China (6)
1...Colombia (0)
1...Denmark (1)
1...Estonia (1)
1...Hungary (1)
1...Latvia (0)
1...Montenegro (1)
1...Puerto Rico (1)
1...Slovenia (1)
1...Sweden (1)
--
2014 TOP 100, NONE in 2015: Austria(1),Netherlands(1),New Zealand(1),South Africa(1),Thailand(1)
--
Russian total includes Gavrilova, Croatian total includes Tomljanovic

===============================================

*SISTERS*
#1 Serena Williams, #7 Venus Williams (USA)
#5 Agnieszka Radwanska, #95 Urszula Radwanska (POL)
#7 (d) Chan Yung-Jan, #12 (d) Chan Hao-Ching (TPE)
#8 (Jr.) Usue Arconada, (Jr.Boy) Jordi Arconada (USA/ARG)
#11 Karolina Pliskova, #113 Kristyna Pliskova (CZE)
#26 Anna Schmiedlova, #417 Kristina Schmiedlova (SVK)
#30 (Jr.) Caroline Dolehide, (ex-UCLA) Courtney Dolehide (USA)
#47 (d) Anastasia Rodionova, #56 (d) Arina Rodionova (AUS)
#53 (d) Lyudmyla Kichenok, #59 (d) Nadiia Kichenok (UKR)
#66 Ajla Tomljanovic, (ex-Univ.of Virginia) Hana Tomljanovic (CRO)
#88 Kateryna Bondarenko, (ret.) Alona Bondarenko (UKR)
#107 Hsieh Su-Wei, #732 (d) Shu-Ying (TPE)
#109 (d) Cara Black, (ATP-retired) Byron & Wayne Black (ZIM)
#118 Naomi Broady, (ATP) Liam Broady (GBR)
#128 Julia Glushko, #786 (Jr.) Lina Glushko (ISR)
#147 Kristina Kucova, (ret.) Zuzana Kucova (SVK)
#169 (d) Sandra Klemenschits, (WTA, deceased) Daniela Klemenschits (AUT)
#177 Michaella Krajicek, (ATP-retired) Richard Krajicek (NED)
#187 (d) Varatchaya Wongteanchi, #310 (d) Varunya Wongteanchi (THA)
#203 Naomi Osaka, #471 Mari Osaka (JPN)
#204 Lu Jia-Jing, (NR) Lu Jia-Xiang (CHN)
#229 (Jr.) Hurricane Tyra Black, #1099 Tornado Alicia Black (USA)
#246 Erika Sema, #393 (d) Yurika Sema (JPN)
#270 Olga Ianchuk, #325 Elizaveta Ianchuk (UKR)
#369 Peangtarn Plipuech, #793 (d) Plobrung Plipuech (THA)
#377 (d) Anna Klasen, #416 (d) Charlotte Klasen (GER)
#384 Francoise Abanda, (NR) Elisabeth Abanda (CAN)
#448 Sara Tomic, (ATP) Bernard Tomic (AUS)
#484 Bianca Turati, #1089 Anna Turati (ITA)
#532 (d) Nadiya Kolb, #532 (d) Nadiya Kolb (UKR)
#532 Sally Peers, (ATP) John Peers (AUS)
#709 Chichi Scholl, (Duke Univ.) Chalena Scholl (USA)
#805 (Jr.) Malika Auger-Aliassime, (Jr.Boy) Felix Auger-Aliassime (CAN)
#812 (d) Akiko Yonemura, (NR) Tomoko Yonemura (JPN)
#834 (d) Lutfiye Esen, #1007 Hulya Esen (TUR)
#930 Paula Andrea Perez Garcia, #904 (d) Maria Paulina Perez Garcia (COL)
#944 Flavia Guimaraes Bueno, #965 (d) Marcela Guimaraes Bueno (BRA)
(NR/Fed Cup '15) Jacklyn Lambert, (DNP) Tara Lambert (BER)
(Pepperdine) Laura Gulbis, (ATP) Ernests Gulbis (LAT)
-----------------------------
*COMEBACK RANKINGS OF NOTE*
#7 Venus Williams, USA
#12 Timea Bacinszky, SUI
#15 Roberta Vinci, ITA
#22 Victoria Azarenka, BLR
#30 Sloane Stephens, USA
#61 Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA
#68 Tatjana Maria, GER
#69 Olga Govortsova, BLR
#71 Polona Hercog, SLO
#73 Irina Falconi, USA
#84 Evgeniya Rodina, RUS
#88 Kateryna Bondarenko, UKR
#95 Ula Radwanska, POL
#100 Anna Tatishvili, USA
#109 Sesil Karatantcheva, BUL
#110 Anastasija Sevastaova, LAT
#129 Chang Kai-Chen, TPE
#137 Alexa Glatch, USA
#149 Madalina Gojnea, ROU
#175 Mathilde Johansson, FRA
#177 Michaella Krajicek, NED
#182 Vera Zvonareva, RUS
#226 Amra Sadikovic, SUI
#257 Nicole Vaidisova, CZE
#260 Mihaela Buzarnescu, ROU
#277 Alexandra Cadantu, ROU
#286 Katalin Marosi, HUN
#376 Melanie Oudin, USA
#498 Olga Puchkova, RUS
#558 Laura Robson, GBR
#652 Vicky Duval, USA
#740 Patty Schnyder, SUI
#844 Aleksandra Wozniak, CAN
[doubles]
#3 Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA
#115 Maria Jose Martinez-Sanchez, ESP
#275 Vania King, USA
-----------------------------
*TOP 500 NextGen RANKINGS - born 1997 or after*
#14 Belinda Bencic, SUI
#72 Daria Kasatkina, RUS
#79 Jelena Ostapenko, LAT
#80 Ana Konjuh, CRO
#148 Anhelina Kalinina, UKR
#168 Katerina Stewart, USA
#203 Naomi Osaka, JPN
#207 Anastasiya Komardina, RUS
#219 Ivana Jorovic, SRB
#220 Paula Badosa, ESP
#230 Natalia Vikhlyantseva, RUS
#248 CiCi Bellis, USA
#261 Fiona Ferro, FRA
#279 Olga Fridman, UKR
#296 Xu Shilin, CHN
#309 Tamara Zidansek, SLO
#313 Dalma Galfi, HUN
#336 Nadia Podoroska, ARG
#346 Priscilla Hon, AUS
#358 Valentini Grammatikopoulou, GRE
#361 Kimberly Birrell, AUS
#378 Marie Bouzkova, CZE
#384 Francoise Abanda, CAN
#397 Anna Bondar, HUN
#400 Veronika Kudermetova, RUS
#417 Kristina Schmiedlova, SVK
#420 Gao Xinyu, CHN
#428 Nicole Frenkel, USA
#429 Marketa Vondrousova, CZE
#433 Maria Marfutina, RUS
#436 Karine Sarkisova, RUS
#439 Jil Teichmann, SUI
#440 Viktoria Kuzmova, SVK
#443 Usue Arconada, USA
#448 Sara Tomic, AUS
#457 Greetje Minnen, BEL
#459 Magdalena Frech, POL
#464 Ellie Halbauer, USA
#465 Jessica Pieri, ITA
#476 Alexa Graham, USA
#478 Marta Paigina, RUS
#484 Bianca Turati, ITA
#491 Tessah Andrianjafitrimo, FRA



*REGIONAL RANKINGS*
==EASTERN EUROPE (non-Russian)==
#2 Simona Halep, ROU
#19 Elina Svitolina, UKR
#22 Victoria Azarenka, BLR
#31 Irina-Camelia Begu, ROU
#33 Lesia Tsurenko, UKR
#39 Monica Niculescu, ROU
#57 Alexandra Dulgheru, ROU
#69 Olga Govortsova, BLR
#79 Jelena Ostapenko, LAT
#88 Kateryna Bondarenko, UKR
#91 Anett Kontaveit, EST
==WESTERN EUROPE==
#3 Garbine Muguruza, ESP
#5 Aga Radwanska, POL
#6 Petra Kvitova, CZE
#8 Flavia Pennetta, ITA
#9 Lucie Safarova, CZE
#10 Angelique Kerber, GER
#11 Karolina Pliskova, CZE
#12 Timea Bacsinszky, SUI
#13 Carla Suarez-Navarro, ESP
#14 Belinda Bencic, SUI
==SCANDINAVIA==
#17 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
#55 Johanna Larsson, SWE
#138 Rebecca Peterson, SWE
#282 Susanne Celik, SWE
#316 Sofia Arvidsson, SWE
#409 Melanie Stokke, NOR
#425 Ulrikke Eikeri, NOR
#472 Karen Barbat, DEN
#493 Jacqueline Cabaj Awad, SWE
#543 Cornelia Lister, SWE
#546 Kajsa Rinaldo Persson, SWE
[Finland #1: #627 Pia Suomalainen]
==ASIA/PACIFIC==
#27 Samantha Stosur, AUS
[#36 Daria Gavrilova, RUS/AUS]
#52 Zarina Diyas, KAZ
#60 Misaki Doi, JPN
#70 Zhang Saisai, CHN
#74 Yulia Putintseva, KAZ
#78 Nao Nibino, JPN
#82 Yaroslava Shvedova, KAZ
#83 Kurumi Nara, JPN
#102 Jarmila Gajdosova, AUS
#107 Hsieh Su-Wei, TPE
==SOUTH AMERICA==
#45 Teliana Pereira, BRA
#75 Mariana Duque, COL
#153 Veronica Cepede Royg, PAR
#196 Maria Irigoyen, ARG
#198 Beatriz Haddad, BRA
#221 Florencia Molinero, ARG
#235 Montserrat Gonzalez, PAR
#241 Gabriela Ce, BRA
#258 Paula Ormaechea, ARG
#263 Bianca Botto, PER
#265 Andrea Gamiz, VEN
#273 Paula Cristina Goncalves, BRA
#336 Nadia Podoroska, ARG
#328 Daniela Seguel, CHI
==NON-U.S. NORTH AMERICA/ATLANTIC==
#48 Genie Bouchard, CAN
#92 Monica Puig, PUR
#190 Marcela Zacarias, MEX
#223 Victoria Rodriguez, MEX
#318 Gabriela Dabrowski, CAN
#327 Ana Sofia Sanchez, MEX
#344 Carol Zhao, CAN
#366 Sharon Fichman, CAN
#368 Heidi El Tabakh, CAN
#384 Francoise Abanda, CAN
#524 Francesca Segarelli, DOM
#621 Charlotte Robillard-Millette, CAN
#633 Bianca Andreescu, CAN
#574 Renata Zarazua, MEX
#613 Nazari Urbina, MEX
==AFRICA/MIDDLE EAST==
#128 Julia Glushko, ISR
#158 Cagla Buyukakcay, TUR
#166 Ipek Soylu, TUR
#174 Shahar Peer, ISR
#210 Ons Jabeur, TUN
#301 Basak Eraydin, TUR
#306 Deniz Khazaniuk, ISR
#308 Pemra Ozgen, TUR
#314 Chanel Simmonds, RSA
#392 Fatma Al Nabhani, OMA

*NATIONAL CHECKS & BALANCES*
==UNITED STATES==
#1 Serena Williams
#7 Venus Williams
#18 Madison Keys
#30 Sloane Stephens
#37 Coco Vandeweghe
#40 Madison Brengle
#46 Varvara Lepchenko
#61 Bethanie Mattek-Sands
#64 Christina McHale
#73 Irina Falconi
#87 Lauren Davis
#97 Alison Riske
==RUSSIA==
#4 Maria Sharapova
#23 Ekaterina Makarova
#25 Svetlana Kuznetsova
#28 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
#36 Daria Gavrilova (AUS)
#62 Margarita Gasparyan
#72 Daria Kasatkina
#84 Evgeniya Rodina
#104 Elizaveta Kulichkova
#111 Elena Vesnina
#132 Alexandra Panova
#169 Vitalia Diatchenko
==CHINA==
#70 Zheng Saisai
#114 Wang Qiang
#117 Duan Ying-Ying
#135 Wang Yafan
#136 Peng Shuai
#139 Zhang Kai-lin
#152 Han Xinyun
#160 Yang Zhaoxuan
#167 Liu Fangzhou
#173 Zhu Lin
#186 Zhang Shuai
==ROMANIA==
#2 Simona Halep
#31 Irina-Camelia Begu
#39 Monica Niculescu
#57 Alexandra Dulgheru
#94 Andreea Mitu
#115 Patricia-Maria Tig
#161 Ana Bogdan
#233 Cristina Dinu
#244 Sorana Cirstea
#260 Mihaela Buzarnescu
#277 Alexandra Cadantu
#337 Irina Maria Bara
==CZECH REPUBLIC==
#6 Petra Kvitova
#9 Lucie Safarova
#11 Karolina Pliskova
#41 Barbora Strycova
#53 Lucie Hradecka
#63 Denisa Allertova
#106 Klara Koukalova
#108 Katerina Siniakova
#113 Kristyna Pliskova
#125 Tereza Smitkova
#131 Petra Cetkovska
#155 Andrea Hlavackova
==GERMANY==
#10 Angelique Kerber
#24 Andrea Petkovic
#32 Sabine Lisicki
#44 Mona Barthel
#50 Julia Goerges
#55 Annika Beck
#65 Carina Witthoeft
#68 Tatjana Maria
#90 Laura Siegemund
#99 Anna-Lena Friedsam
#222 Anne Schaefer
==AUSTRALIA/NEW ZEALAND==
#27 Samantha Stosur
(#36 Daria Gavrilova, RUS-AUS)
(#66 Ajla Tomljanovic, CRO-AUS)
#102 Jarmila Gajdosova
#112 Casey Dellacqua
#134 Marina Erakovic (NZL)
#228 Anastasia Rodionova
#274 Olivia Rogowska
#292 Jessica Moore
#323 Alison Bai
#333 Arina Rodionova
#346 Priscilla Hon
#361 Kimberly Birrell
#371 Storm Sanders
#448 Sara Tomic
==ITALY==
#8 Flavia Pennetta
#15 Roberta Vinci
#20 Sara Errani
#34 Camila Giorgi
#51 Karin Knapp
#121 Francesca Schiavone
#275 Alberta Brianti
#278 Martina Caregaro
#300 Giulia Gatto-Monticone
#332 Alice Matteucci
==FRANCE==
#29 Kristina Mladenovic
#35 Caroline Garcia
#43 Alize Cornet
#110 Pauline Parmentier
#150 Oceane Dodin
#154 Alize Lim
#159 Amandine Hesse
#175 Mathilde Johansson
#176 Stephanie Foretz
#199 Virginie Razzano
#232 Myrtille Georges
#236 Julie Coin
==GREAT BRITAIN==
#47 Johanna Konta
#54 Heather Watson
#118 Naomi Broady
#280 Katy Dunne
#307 Amanda Carreras
#345 Emily Webley-Smith
#355 Tara Moore
#385 Harriet Dart
#502 Naomi Cavaday
#514 Katie Swan
#555 Freya Christie
#558 Laura Robson
==IRELAND==
#637 Amy Bowtell
#667 Jenny Claffey

?? what a year 2015!! Time to relax and enjoy #3 #ThankYouForTheLove ?? pic.twitter.com/uYFbq6sRgR

— Garbiñe Muguruza (@GarbiMuguruza) November 7, 2015

==SPAIN==
#3 Garbine Muguruza
#13 Carla Suarez-Navarro
#86 Lara Arruabarrena
#98 Lourdes Dominguez-Lino
#127 Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor
#142 Silvia Soler-Espinosa
#164 Sara Sorribes Tormo
#200 Laura Pous-Tio
#220 Paula Badosa
#317 Georgina Garcia Perez
==SWITZERLAND==
#12 Timea Bacsinszky
#14 Belinda Bencic
#122 Stefanie Voegele
#124 Romina Oprandi
#178 Viktorija Golubic
#226 Amra Sadikovic
#356 Xenia Knoll
#360 Conny Perrin
#422 Lisa Sabino
#439 Jil Teichmann
==SERBIA==
#16 Ana Ivanovic
#21 Jelena Jankovic
#76 Bojana Jovanovski
#96 Aleksandra Krunic
#179 Jovana Jaksic
#219 Ivana Jorovic
#287 Nina Stojanovic
#331 Vojislava Lukic
#445 Vesna Dolonc
==JAPAN==
#60 Misaki Doi
#78 Nao Hibino
#83 Kurumi Nara
#141 Kimiko Date-Krumm
#145 Risa Ozaki
#180 Miyu Kato
#181 Misa Eguchi
#193 Eri Hozumi
#197 Mayo Hibi
#203 Naomi Osaka
==KAZAKHSTAN==
#52 Zarina Diyas
#74 Yulia Putintseva
#82 Yaroslava Shvedova
#482 Kamila Kerimbayeva
==SLOVAK REPUBLIC==
#26 Anna Schmiedlova
#38 Dominika Cibulkova
#77 Magdalena Rybarikova
#81 Daniela Hantuchova
#143 Jana Cepelova
#147 Kristina Kucova
#312 Rebecca Sramkova
#417 Kristina Schmiedlova
#431 Chantal Skamlova
#440 Viktoria Kuzmova
==UKRAINE==
#19 Elina Svitolina
#33 Lesia Tsurenko
#88 Kateryna Bondarenko
#140 Maryna Zanevska
#148 Anhelina Kalinina
#165 Kateryna Kozlova
#192 Yuliya Beygelzimer
#195 Olga Savchuk
#266 Nadiia Kichenok
#270 Olga Ianchuk
#279 Olga Fridman
#284 Valeriya Strakhova
==POLAND==
#5 Agnieszka Radwanska
#89 Magda Linette
#95 Ula Radwanska
#149 Paula Kania
#218 Katarzyna Piter
#267 Katarzyna Kawa
==BELARUS==
#22 Victoria Azarenka
#69 Olga Govortsova
#103 Aliaksandra Sasnovich
#470 Sviatlana Pirazhenka
#534 Iryna Shymanovich
==BELGIUM==
#42 Alison Van Uytvanck
#49 Yanina Wickmayer
#93 Kirsten Flipkens
#123 An-Sophie Mestach
#156 Ysaline Bonaventure
#157 Elise Mertens
#288 Marie Benoit
#357 Elyne Boeykens
#414 Klaartje Liebens
#447 Sofie Oyen
#457 Greetje Minnen
==CROATIA==
#66 Ajla Tomljanovic (AUS)
#68 Mirjana Lucic-Baroni
#80 Ana Konjuh
#105 Donna Vekic
#144 Petra Martic
#184 Tereza Mrdeza
#231 Jana Fett
#234 Ana Vrljic
#271 Tena Lukas
#411 Silvia Njiric
==ARGENTINA==
#196 Maria Irigoyen
#221 Florencia Molinero
#258 Paula Ormaechea
#336 Nadia Podoroska
#481 Guadalupe Perez Rojas
#520 Julieta Estable
#526 Victoria Bosio
==BRAZIL==
#45 Teliana Pereira
#198 Beatriz Haddad
#241 Gabriela Ce
#273 Paula Cristina Goncalves
#545 Laura Pigossi
#552 Eduarda Piai
#582 Carolina Maria Alves
#645 Maria Fernanda Alves
#651 Nathaly Kurata
#764 Nathalia Rossi
==NETHERLANDS==
#101 Kiki Bertens
#133 Richel Hogenkamp
#177 Michaella Krajicek
#185 Cindy Burger
#239 Lesley Kerkhove
#268 Indy De Vroome
#289 Arantxa Rus
==LATVIA==
#79 Jelena Ostapenko
#110 Anastasija Sevastova
#454 Diana Marcinkevica
==ESTONIA==
#91 Anett Kontaveit
#126 Kaia Kanepi
==HUNGARY==
#85 Timea Babos
#212 Reka-Luca Jani
#313 Dalma Galfi
#495 Naomi Totka
#397 Anna Bondar
==BULGARIA==
#59 Tsvetana Pironkova
#109 Sesil Karatantcheva
#252 Elitsa Kostova
#299 Aleksandrina Naydenova
#330 Isabella Shinikova
#339 Julia Terziyska
==GREECE==
#188 Maria Sakkari
#358 Valentini Grammatikopoulou
#490 Despina Papamichail
#706 Eleni Daniilidou
==TURKEY==
#158 Cagla Buyukakcay
#166 Ipek Soylu
#301 Basak Eraydin
#308 Pemra Ozgen
#398 Melis Sezer
#404 Ayla Aksu
#618 Berfu Cengiz
#1007 Hulya Esen
==UZBEKISTAN==
#206 Nigina Abduraimova
#237 Sabina Sharipova
#297 Akgul Amanmuradova
==TAIWAN/HONG KONG==
#107 Hsieh Su-Wei, TPE
#129 Chang Kai-Chan, TPE
#214 Lee-Ya Hsuan, TPE
#298 Zhang Ling, HKG
#340 Hsu Ching-Wen, TPE
#352 Hsu Chieh-Yu, TPE
#406 Chan Yung-Jan, TPE
#575 Lee Pei-Chi, TPE
==SOUTH KOREA==
#202 Jang Su-Jeong
#254 Lee So-Ra
#276 Han Na-Lae
#408 Choi Ji-Hee
#517 Lee Ye-Ra
#551 Hang Sung-Hee
#577 Kim Na-Ri
==THAILAND==
#211 Luksika Kumkhum
#281 Varatchaya Wongteanchai
#374 Nudnida Luangnam
#388 Kamonwan Buayam
#407 Nicha Lertpitaksinchai
#412 Noppawan Lertcheewakarn
#456 Tamarine Tanasugarn
==LIECHTENSTEIN==
#163 Stephanie Vogt
#410 Kathinka von Deichmann
==ISRAEL==
#128 Julia Glushko
#174 Shahar Peer
#306 Deniz Khazaniuk
#588 Saray Sherenbach
#589 Karen Shlomo
#608 Ofri Lankri
==AUSTRIA==
#171 Tamira Paszek
#227 Barbara Haas
#341 Pia Konig
#442 Patricia Mayr-Achleitner
#477 Melanie Klaffner
==EGYPT==
#488 Ola Abou Zekry
#530 Sandra Samir

*BIGGEST RISES IN THE RANKINGS*
=end of '14 to end of '15=
[in 2015 Top 25]
+36...Timea Bacsinszky (#48 to #12)
+34...Roberta Vinci (#49 to #15)
+19...Belinda Bencic (#33 to #14)
+18...Garbine Muguruza (#21 to #3)
+15...Karolina Pliskova (#26 to #11)
+13...Madison Keys (#31 to #18)
+12...Venus Williams (#19 to #7)
+10...Elina Svitolina (#29 to #19)
+10...Victoria Azarenka (#32 to #22)
[2015 Top 26-50]
+197...Daria Gavrilova (#233 to #36)
+103...Johanna Konta (#150 to #47)
+63...Lesia Tsurenko (#96 to #33)
+61...Teliana Pereira (#106 to #45)
+54...Madison Brengle (#94 to #40)
+52...Kristina Mladenovic (#81 to #29)
+47...Anna Schmiedlova (#73 to #26)
+38...Alison Van Uytvanck (#80 to #42)
+25...Julia Goerges (#75 to #50)
+18...Yanina Wickmayer (#67 to #49)
[2015 Top 51-100]
+298...Daria Kasatkina (#370 to #72)
+229...Jelena Ostapenko (#308 to #79)
+155...Margarita Gasparyan (#217 to #62)
+146...Tatjana Maria (#214 to #68)
+129...Nao Hibino (#207 to #78)
+116...Kateryna Bondarenko (#204 to #88)
+114...Bethanie Mattek-Sands (#175 to #61)
+104...Lucie Hradecka (#157 to #53)
+85...Ula Radwanska (#180 to #95)
+76...Olga Govortsova (#145 to #69)
+75...Anett Kontaveit (#166 to #91)
+71...Laura Siegemund (#161 to #90)
+68...Evgeniya Rodina (#152 to #84)
+62...Misaki Doi (#122 to #60)
+62...Mariana Duque (#137 to #75)
+51...Danka Kovinic (#109 to #58)

*BIGGEST FALLS IN THE RANKINGS*
=end of '14 to end of '15=
[2014 Top 25]
-114...Peng Shuai (#22 to #136)
-41...Genie Bouchard (#7 to #48)
-27...Dominika Cibulkova (#11 to #38)
-23...Alize Cornet (#20 to #43)
-11...Ana Ivanovic (#5 to #16)
-11...Ekaterina Makarova (#12 to #23)
-9...Caroline Wozniacki (#8 to #17)
retired...Li Na (#9)
[2014 Top 26-50]
-82...Casey Dellacqua (#30 to #112)
-65...Klara Koukalova (#41 to #106)
-52...Alison Riske (#45 to #97)
-47...Kirsten Flipkens (#46 to #93)
-39...Kurumi Nara (#44 to #83)
-20...Tsvetana Pironkova (#39 to #59)
-18...Zarina Diyas (#34 to #52)
-15...Barbora Strycova (#26 to #41)
[2014 Top 51-100]
-858...Zheng Jie (#91 to #949)
-346...Chanelle Scheepers (#77 to #423) - retired
-151...Sorana Cirstea (#93 to #244)
-134...Zhang Shuai (#62 to #186)
-126...Luksika Kumkhum (#85 to #211)
-90...Jana Cepelova (#53 to #143)
-74...Kaia Kanepi (#52 to #126)
-74...Silvia Soler-Espinosa (#68 to #142)
-74...Shelby Rogers (#72 to #146)
-72...Petra Cetkovska (#59 to #131)
-72...Alla Kudryavtseva (#98 to #170)
-58...Marina Erakovic (#76 to #134)
retired...Yvonne Meusburger (#86)

===============================================

*DOUBLES TOP 100*
9...Czech Republic
8...Russia
8...United States
7...Spain
6...China
6...Germany
5...Taiwan
4...Australia
4...Italy
4...Japan
4...Ukraine
3...Netherlands
3...Poland
3...Romania
2...Belgium
2...Croatia
2...France
2...Great Britain
2...Serbia
2...Slovak Republic
2...Slovenia
2...Switzerland
1...Argentina
1...Brazil
1...Canada
1...Georgia
1...Hungary
1...India
1...Kazakhstan
1...Liechtenstein
1...Luxembourg
1...Sweden

*DOUBLES TOP 20*
[by nation]
3...Czech Republic (#20 Hlavackova, #17 Hradecka, #4 Safarova)
3...United States (#18 Kops-Jones, #3 Mattek-Sands, #18 Spears)
2...France (#14 Garcia, #9 Mladenovic)
2...Russia (#10 Makarova, #8 Vesnina)
2...Spain (#16 Muguruza, #13 Suarez-Navarro)
2...Taiwan (#12 H.Chan, #7 Y.Chan)
1...Australia (#5 Dellacqua)
1...Hungary (#11 Babos)
1...India (#1 Mirza)
1...Kazakhstan (#6 Shvedova)
1...Slovenia (#14 Srebotnik)
1...Switzerland (#2 Hingis)
[ages]
35...Hingis
34...Srebotnik, Spears
32...Kops-Jones
30...Dellacqua, Hradecka, Mattek-Sands
29...Hlavackova, Vesnina
28...Mirza, Safarova, Shvedova
27...Makarova, Suarez-Navarro
26...Y.Chan
22...Babos, Y.Chan, Garcia, Mladenovic, Muguruza

*SINGLES & DOUBLES*
(singles/doubles ranks)
=TOP 20 IN BOTH (3)=
Garbine Muguruza (#3 singles, #16 doubles)
Lucie Safarova (#9 singles, #4 doubles)
Carla Suarez-Navarro (#13 singles, #13 doubles)
=TOP 50 IN BOTH (+11)=
Irina-Camelia Begu (#31 singles, #30 doubles)
Sara Errani (#20 singles, #42 doubles)
Caroline Garcia (#35 singles, #14 doubles)
Julia Goerges (#50 singles, #24 doubles)
Ekaterina Makarova (#23 singles, #10 doubles)
Kristina Mladenovic (#29 singles, #9 doubles)
Monica Niculescu (#39 singles, #33 doubles)
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (#28 singles, #27 doubles)
Flavia Pennetta (#8 singles, #21 doubles)
Karolina Pliskova (#11 singles, #46 doubles)
Barbora Strycova (#41 singles, #28 doubles)

*NATIONS WITH TOP 100 DOUBLES PLAYER, BUT NONE IN SINGLES*
ARGENTINA (1): #66 Maria Irigoyen
GEORGIA (1): #78 Oksana Kalashnikova
INDIA (1): #1 Sania Mirza
LIECHTENSTEIN (1): #81 Stephanie Vogt
LUXEMBOURG (1): #98 Mandy Minella
NETHERLANDS (3): #23 Michaella Krajicek, #38 Kiki Bertens, #72 Demi Schuurs
TAIWAN (5): #7 Chan Yung-Jan, #12 Chan Hao-Ching, #26 Hsieh Su-Wei, #43 Chuang Chia-Jung, #79 Chan Chin-Wei
[high-ranking singles player]
ARGENTINA: #66 Maria Irigoyen
GEORGIA: #78 Oksana Kalashnikova
INDIA: #247 Ankita Raina
LIECHTENSTEIN: #163 Stephanie Vogt
LUXEMBOURG: #162 Mandy Minella
NETHERLANDS: #101 Kiki Bertens
TAIWAN: #107 Hsieh Su-Wei

So... whew!


Yeah, yeah. I know there's quite a bit there. You didn't have to read it ALL, Serena... but now at least you know.

Anyway, hopefully, I didn't flub up any numbers or other notes after all that transcribing.

(crossing fingers)


All for now.




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