2017 BSA's: Rankings Round-Up

Rankings, rankings, rise and fall.
Finally, in 2017, a Romanian rose above them all.

Wish she may one moment, and in another wish she might
she eventually claimed a prize that
proved the encouraging words of Coach Cahill
to be most definitely right.

Stepping into the footsteps put down by four others who shed joyous tears,
Si-mo-na became the thirteenth to do so after all these tour years.
Yes, it comes without having opened a grand career chapter,
but do you want to be the one who trolls the full-body smile
that so effortlessly overwhelmed her?

The season-end rankings are out, so in this thread, I’ll post my favorite 2017 season photo of each player in the Top 100.

#1 @Simona_Halep pic.twitter.com/oYqrgYkls2

— Jimmie48 Photography (@JJlovesTennis) November 6, 2017

The recapping phase of the 2017 Backspin Awards begins now with the annual whole-lotta-love (and numbers) year-end rankings round-up. Of course, I can't promise all these words and numbers will be as headspinning as Miss Alona Ostapenko's no-looking-back run to glory in Paris, or as heartwarming as the sight of Petra Kvitova once again smiling and swinging a racket on a tennis court.

But, hey, what can you do, right?


First up, the third edition of the Backspin "All-Rankings Team."


Congratulations to the players who pulled off some of the most significant rankings accomplishments during the 2017 season!


Martina Hingis, SUI: at 37, she won nine titles and returned to #1 in doubles for the first time since 2000. It's the first time EVER that Hingis has been the season-ending WD #1 (sharing the honor with partner Chan Yung-Jan, with whom she won nine titles), allowing her to head into (another) retirement literally on top of her game.
Ash Barty, AUS: back in the tennis world with a vengeance, the 21-year old Aussie's first full season since her comeback produced a Top 20 year in both singles and doubles. Barty was ranked #325 in singles at the end of the '16 season.
Caroline Garcia, FRA: the Pastry just missed out on All-Rankings team honors last year, but gets aboard this season with one of the best 4Q surges in memory. Garcia became the first player to sweep the Wuhan and Beijing titles, and climbed into the Top 20 AND Top 10 for the first time. And, you know, she's looking down at her former doubles partner in the rankings, too, so... bonus!
Elise Mertens, BEL: Her season began with a surprise maiden title, and the Waffle wore her success well over the course of the year, rising from outside the Top 100 to #35.
Alona Ostapenko, LAT: No player flipped over the WTA table with more unrestrained ferocity than Latvian Thunder, as she went to Paris and liked it so much that she claimed her maiden tour title at Roland Garros. The 20-year old roared up the rankings, jumping from #44 to #7 over the course of the past year and becoming the first two-time (w/ 2015 2nd team honors) All-Rankings Team member.
Aleksandra Krunic, SRB: Serbian women's tennis has taken a sharp downturn, but Krunic did her part to keep it afloat, putting together a career year that produced her first Top 60 season and national #1 honors.
Beatriz Haddad Maia, BRA: Is the young Brazilian the player who will finally bring South American women's tennis out of it's recent "dark ages?" She reached her first tour final and climbed nearly 150 ranking spots to become the continent's new #1 in 2017. Stay tuned.
Magdalena Rybarikova, SVK: The Slovak has always been an underappreciated, though oft-injured, force to reckon with when the conditions were right. They were this season. Finally healthy and in form, she staged a stunning semifinal run at Wimbledon and, at 29, edged into the Top 20 for the first time in her career at the close of the final week of the '17 season.
Marketa Vondrousova, CZE: The Czech won her maiden tour singles title in Biel at age 17 in just her second career MD appearance, and finished the season (up 300+ spots in a year) as the youngest player in the Top 100.
Julia Goerges, GER: The German vet finally saw everything begin to come together this season, winning her first titles in six seasons and enjoying her first Top 20 campaign since 2012. She won her final two tournaments and climbed to a career-best #14 at the close of the season.

*BACKSPIN ALL-RANKINGS TEAMS*
[2015]
Timea Bacsinszky, SUI (1st team)
Dasha Gavrilova, RUS/AUS (1st team)
Dasha Kasatkina, RUS (1st team)
Johanna Konta, GBR (1st team)
Garbine Muguruza, ESP (1st team)
Madison Brengle, USA
Margarita Gasparyan, RUS
Kristina Mladenovic, FRA
Alona Ostapenko, LAT
Teliana Pereira, BRA
Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, SVK

[2016]
Cagla Buyukakcay, TUR (1st team)
Dominika Cibulkova, SVK (1st team)
Vania King, USA (1st team)
Johanna Konta, GBR (1st team)
Naomi Osaka, JPN (1st team)
CiCi Bellis, USA
Kiki Bertens, NED
Viktorija Golubic, SUI
Daria Kasatkina, RUS
Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
Anastasija Sevastova, LAT

[2017]
Ash Barty, AUS (1st team)
Caroline Garcia, FRA (1st team)
Martina Hingis, SUI (1st team)
Elise Mertens, BEL (1st team)
Alona Ostapenko, LAT (1st team)
Julia Goerges, GER
Beatriz Haddad Maia, BRA
Aleksandra Krunic, SRB
Magdalena Rybarikova, SVK
Marketa Vondrousova, CZE


**RANKINGS NOTES OF NOTE**
[as of end-of-season ranks on November 6, 2017]After a period of years in which Top 10 stability was common on the WTA tour, all that has changed the last few seasons as the rolling, multi-generational tide has fully taken hold. Seventeen different women moved in and out of the Top 10 over the course of 2017's official 44-week schedule. A big number, but it's actually three fewer than a year ago, and two less than in 2015, which itself had been the most in any season in over a decade. While the numbers say there was a slight bit of additional rankings "stability" this season, the notion is belied by the fact that five different women held the #1 spot in '17 -- tied with 2008 for the most ever in a single season -- and thirty-five women took up position in the Top 20 (five more than in '16) from January to early November. Last year's Top 3 all dropped at least twenty places in the rankings this year, while the three who've been the season-ending #1 from 2012-16 -- Victoria Azarenka, Serena Williams and Angelique Kerber -- finished outside the Top 20. All the women who've posted top-ranked seasons since 2008 are still active on tour, but just one previous #1 (Caroline Wozniacki, 2010-11) finished 2017 in the Top 20.

Your #WTA? Top 10 following @WTAEliteTrophy?! pic.twitter.com/erBjdJwAcV

— WTA (@WTA) November 6, 2017

Just four of the last year's Top 10 maintained their rankings for yet another campaign, the fewest since the same number in 2011, as the number of consistent performers was cut for a fourth straight season.

=TOP 10 RETURNEES, BY SEASON=
2011: 4
2012: 7
2013: 9
2014: 7
2015: 6
2016: 5
2017: 4
With Serena's pregnancy-related ranking slip (though she still finished at #22, with an 8-1 record and Australian Open title won while she was two months pregnant with her daughter), and Aga Radwanska falling from #3 to out of the Top 20 for the first time in nine and a half years, Simona Halep is the only 2016 Top 5 player to end '17 with the same top-tier designation. In fact, the new world #1's consistency, while it hasn't yet led her into the slam championship winner's circle, is written all over her place in the rankings. Not only will she begin the '18 season with more career weeks atop the rankings as a group that includes the likes of Ana Ivanovic, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario and Venus Williams, but she'll also be sporting both the longest active Top 10 (in the 220's in weeks come January) and Top 20 (over 200) streaks on tour. The Romanian also has the longest season-ending Top 10 streak at four seasons, one ahead of Wimbledon champ Garbine Muguruza and two better than Karolina Pliskova and Johanna Konta, the latter of whom followed up a '16 campaign in which she was the first Top 10 Brit since Jo Durie in 1983 by completing a season in which she became the first with consecutive Top 10 years since Virginia Wade (1975-79).

Every one of players in the group of six that fell out of the Top 10 have either won multiple slam crowns (Serena, Kerber and Svetlana Kuznetsova) or reached slam finals (Radwanska, Dominika Cibulkova and Madison Keys). Radwanska had had the longest Top 10 season streak (6 years), one more than both Williams and Kerber. Kerber, meanwhile, fell all the way from #1 in her two-slam title season of a year ago to #21, winning no titles and thirty-three fewer matches than in 2016. Her 20-spot drop in the rankings is the worst full-season (non-injury/retirement related) fall for a #1-ranked player since the institution of the WTA's computer rankings system in 1975.

Of the six woman who climbed into the season-ending Top 10 in 2017, both returning players (Wozniacki, V.Williams) are previous #1's, though only the Dane has finished a season atop the rankings. It's Williams' thirteenth Top 10 season (but just her second since 2011), and Wozniacki's seventh (first since '14). A year after Madison Keys became the first U.S. woman not named Williams to debut in the Top 10 since Chanda Rubin in 1996, CoCo Vandeweghe became the second, edging into the #10 spot in the season's final week while reaching the Elite Trophy final. U.S. Open champ Sloane Stephens became the first non-Williams Bannerette to win a slam crown since 2002 (Jennifer Capriati - AO), but her shortened season (foot surgery in January, then winless after her NYC triumph) left her at #13. It's no foregone conclusion that she'll jump into the Top 10 in 2018, either, as she climbed as high as the #11 spot in the fall of 2013, only to end the season at #12 and then fall back the following year.

Roland Garros champ Alona Ostapenko had the biggest jump of any Top 10er over the past twelve months, with the 20-year old improving her ranking by thirty-seven spots (the exact same improvement Konta made as the biggest jumper a year ago) to #7. She's the first Latvian to reach the Top 10, while Elina Svitolina became the first Ukrainian to do so. After France hadn't seen a Pastry debut in the Top 10 since Marion Bartoli in 2007, two did so a decade later. Both Caroline Garcia (with a late-season surge) and Kristina Mladenovic (on the strength of her 2017 1Q results) rose this year, but only Garcia finished the season there, becoming the first from France since 2011. A season-ending twelve-match losing streak prevented Mladenovic from making it two French women in the final Top 10 for the first time since 2005 (Amelie Mauresmo and Mary Pierce), as she slipped from #10 to #11 in the final rankings week of the 2017 season.

Victoria Azarenka's latest season produced yet another unique journey for the Belarussian. A Top 3 player from 2011-13, she saw injuries mar her '14 season as she fell to #32. 2015 included a few Top 20 weeks and a #22 finish. Last season, she briefly returned to the Top 5 after becoming the third woman to pull off the "Sunshine Double" with back-to-back titles in Indian Wells and Miami, but never played another match after Roland Garros, ending her season by announcing her pregnancy. Still, she ended up at #13. Returning from a 13-month absence during the grass court season, Azarenka played two events, going 4-2 and reaching the Wimbledon Round of 16. But she never played again, unable to travel due to being caught up in a custody battle for her son. Her season-ending ranking fell to #208, her lowest since her ranking debut year in 2004.

Meanwhile, Maria Sharapova returned from suspension in the spring following a season that saw her absent from the computer rankings for the first time since 2001 and ended her (then tour-leading) 13-year streak of seasons with a singles title. Forging her way back through wild card controversies and niggling injuries, she ultimately played eight events, winning at least one match in each of the first seven. Opening with a semifinal in Stuttgart, she eventually picked up her first title since May '15 in her penultimate '17 event in Tianjin. She finished the season with a 16-6 record and #60 ranking, her lowest position in a season-ending ranking list since her debut season in 2002 (#186).
===============================================
The United States once again produced the most Top 100 players this season, landing thirteen women in the field. The number matches the nation's 2015 total, but is three fewer than the Top 100-ranked Bannerettes of 2016. The U.S. contingent includes both the oldest (Venus Williams, 37) in the Top 100, youngest (CiCi Bellis, 18) player in the Top 50, as well as most junior in the Top 200 (U.S. Open girls champ Amanda Anisimova, 16).

Thirty-four nations combine to compose the season-ending Top 100 (one more than '16), while thirteen (after fourteen last year) make up the Top 20, with the U.S. (4), Russia (3), France (2) and, yes, Latvia (2) all having multiple representatives.

=TOP 100 NATIONS=
2011: 37
2012: 36
2013: 36
2014: 34
2015: 33
2016: 33
2017: 34
Twenty-seven players fell out of the Top 100 since the end of last season, replaced by twenty-seven newbies, the same number of transferred ranking slots as occurred a year ago. The majority (21) of the rising players made the logical jump from #101-200 a year ago, while two were ranked between #201-299, three between #301-399 (with 2016 #377 Mihaela Buzarnescu being the most distantly-ranked climber), and one (Sharapova) returned after being unranked at the end of last season. Other players who made return trips to the Top 100 included Magdalena Rybarikova, Peng Shuai, Mona Barthel, Zarina Diyas and Petra Martic, replacing such "name" players as Victoria Azarenka, Belinda Bencic, Sara Errani, Roberta Vinci, Sabine Lisicki, Jelena Jankovic, Cagla Buyukakcay and Tsvetana Pironkova. Additionally, 2016 #65 Ana Ivanovic retired last December.

Meanwhile, the number of Top 50 nations may have finally found it's limit in 2016 at twenty-five. The number slipped back down to twenty-one this season.

=TOP 50 NATIONS=
2013: 23
2014: 23
2015: 20
2016: 25
2017: 21===============================================
It's been an annual ritual to bemoan the state of South American women's tennis in this spot each and every year.

Finally, in 2015, there was some good news in the form of Brazil's 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 after a Top 100 finish in 2013, two years later Pereira became the most successful female player from the Land of Bueno (as in Hall of Famer Maria) in some thirty years, winning a pair of singles titles in '15 and finishing at #45 less than a year before the Summer Olympics were set to take place in Rio. But Pereira's tennis fortunes (she did get married in '17, at least) have been in a steep downturn ever since. She had her worst campaign since 2011 a year ago, falling to #204, then this season she slipped further to #352. No longer the top Brazilian, she's now the eighth highest-ranked woman on the continent.

But things ARE looking for the women of South American tennis. While Paraguay's Veronica Cepede Royg (#77, up from #116) posted her second consecutive "career year" at 25 (reaching the 4th Round at Roland Garros), Colombia's Mariana Duque Marino continues to set up camp just outside the season-ending Top 100. She finished at #103 for 2017, essentially the same as her #106 finish a year ago, and her third within-a-stone's-throw-of-the-Top-100 season-ending ranking since 2013, and fourth of her career. Her lone Top 100 year came in 2015.

The best news coming out of South America, though, may be Beatriz Haddad Maia. The 21-year old Brazilian may soon eclipse Pereira as the "most bueno" post-Bueno female tennis star to emerge from the nation. She reached her first career tour singles final in 2017 and climbed 146 spots in the rankings, going from #211 to #65, and the eighth-ranked player in South America to the first. A Top 50 ranking seems her next big step, along with a maiden tour singles crown in 2018.

For the record, nine South American men are ranked in the current ATP Top 100.

Meanwhile, the next generation of continental hope is finally emerging. Argentina's Maria Carle is a Top 10 junior, while Colombia's Emiliana Arango (she and Carle both reached this season's U.S. Open girls semifinals and Maria Camila Osorio Serrano are in the Top 20
===============================================
Just four teenagers rank in the Top 100, down from six last year (and five each in 2014-15), but that's mostly due to the most recent band of tennis "sisters" coming of age by turning 20. It's a group that included Alona Ostapenko (RG champ at 20 years, 2 days of age -- the youngest slam winner since 2006), Dasha Kasatkina (Charleston champ) and Naomi Osaka. The Kasatkina/Ostapenko final in Charleston was, as both were still 19, the first all-teen tour singles final since 2009. In all, there were five teen singles finalists on tour in 2017 (and twelve who were under 21, with six winning titles).

But the *next* NextGen is just around the corner.

While seven additional teens were ranked between #101-200 at this time a year ago, a whopping SEVENTEEN are there this year. They.Are.Coming.

=YOUNGEST IN...=
Top 20: Alona Ostapenko, LAT (20 - June 8, 1997)
Top 50: CiCi Bellis, USA (18 - April 8, 1999)
Top 100: Marketa Vondrousova, CZE (18 - June 28, 1999)
Top 200: Amanda Anisimova, USA (16 - August 31, 2001)
Top 300: Anisimova, USA
Top 400: Anisimova, USA
Top 500: Anisimova, USA
Top 600: Marta Kostyuk, UKR (15 - June 18, 2002)
Top 700: Kostyuk, UKR
Top 800: Kostyuk, UKR
Top 900: Zoe Kruger, RSA (15 - July 31, 2002)
Top 1000: Clara Tauson, DEN (14 - December 21, 2002)
2017 U.S. Open junior champ Amanda Anisimova is the youngest player in the Top 500 at #192. She leads the charge of this year's junior slam singles finalists, all but one of whom have a WTA ranking:

#192 Amanda Anisimova, USA (US champ) - Jr. #4
#263 Claire Liu, USA (RG finalist/WI champ) - Jr. #3
#439 Rebeka Masarova, SUI (AO finalist) - Jr. #130
#518 Marta Kostyuk, UKR (AO champ) - Jr. #2
#583 Ann Li, USA (WI finalist) - Jr. #17
#1120 Whitney Osuigwe, USA (RG champ) - Jr. #1
NR CoCo Gauff, USA (US finalist) - Jr. #63

Likely coming in 2018: the first ranking of a player born in 2003. Junior Dane Claura Tauson (#938), born just eleven days before January 1, 2003 is currently the youngest of the 1269 players currently with a singles ranking, one day younger than France's Salma Djoubri (#911).

As for the youngest players a little higher up in the rankings...

*YOUNGEST PLAYER - end of '17 season*
[Top 100]
18...Marketa Vondrousova, CZE (born June 28, 1999)
18...CiCi Bellis, USA (born April 8, 1999)
19...Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (born May 5, 1998)
19...Ana Konjuh, CRO (born December 27, 1997)
20...Naomi Osaka, JPN (born October 16, 1997)
20...Alona Ostapenko, LAT (born June 8, 1997)
20...Daria Kasatkina, RUS (born May 7, 1997)
20...Natalia Vikhlyantseva, RUS (born February 16, 1997)
21...Jana Fett, CRO (born November 2, 1996)
21...Oceane Dodin, FRA (born October 24, 1996)
21...Sara Torribes Tormo, ESP (born October 8, 1996)
21...Ash Barty, AUS (born April 23, 1996)
21...Anett Kontaveit, EST (born December 24, 1995)
21...Elise Mertens, BEL (born November 17, 1995)
21...Donna Vekic, CRO (born June 28, 1996)
21...Beatriz Haddad Maia, BRA (born May 30, 1996)
21...Katerina Siniakova, CZE (born May 10, 1996)
[#101-200]
16...Amanda Anisimova, USA (born August 31, 2001)
17...Bianca Andreescu, CAN (born June 16, 2000)
17...Dayana Yastremska, UKR (born May 15, 2000)
17...Destanee Aiava, AUS (born May 10, 2000)
17...Sofya Zhuk, RUS (born December 1, 1999)
18...Kayla Day, USA (born September 28, 1999)
18...Anna Kalinskaya, RUS (born December 2, 1998)
18...Sonya Kenin, USA (born November 14, 1998)
19...Vera Lapko, BLR (born September 29, 1998)
19...Anna Blinkova, RUS (born September 10, 1998)
19...Caroline Dolehide, USA (born September 5, 1998)
19...Dalma Galfi, HUN (born August 13, 1998)
19...Marie Bouzkova, CZE (born July 21, 1998)
19...Viktoria Kuzmova, SVK (born May 11, 1998)
19...Tamara Zidansek, SLO (born December 26, 1997)
19...Lizette Cabrera, AUS (born December 19, 1997)
19...Magdalena Frech, POL (born December 15, 1997)

While the youngsters are rising, and despite the retirement of 47-year old Kimiko Date (as well as 37-year old doubles co-#1 Martina Hingis), the veterans are staying around longer, and producing noteworthy seasons into their thirties. #5-ranked Venus Williams, 37, the oldest woman in the Top 100, reached two slam finals, a slam semi and the WTAF final in 2017. Venus is no longer the oldest player in the Top 200, though. That'd be #144 Patty Schnyder, 38. The Swiss, who turns 39 in December, is the oldest active player with a singles ranking.

There are nineteen thirtysomethings in the Top 100, four more than a year ago, as well as eight more ranked between #101-200. One of the players still outside the Top 200, but moving her way back up is 33-year old Vera Zvonareva, who returned to action for the first time since 2015, and ended the season at #204.

While Venus didn't win a title for the first time since 2013, eight women aged 30 or older *did*, including 36-year Francesca Schiavone and AO champ Serena Williams, 35. Serena became the oldest singles slam winner of the Open era in Melbourne in January, and should be looking to defend her crown in 2018. The Italian, who earlier in the year announced that she'd retire but still may or may not be playing in 2018, became the sixth-oldest WTA singles champion ever when she lifted the Bogota crown. If Venus wins a title next season, she'd settle into third place on the WTA list behind former title winners Billie Jean King (39y,7m,23d) and Date (38y,11m,30d).

On the doubles side, Hingis wasn't the oldest champion. No, that'd be Kveta Peschke. The 42-year old Czech vet won in Prague at age 41.

*OLDEST PLAYER - end of '17 season*
[Top 100]
37...Venus Williams, USA (born June 17, 1980)
37...Francesca Schiavone, ITA (born June 18, 1980)
36...Serena Williams, USA (born September 8, 1981)
35...Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, CRO (born March 9, 1982)
33...Samantha Stosur, AUS (born March 30, 1984)
32...Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS (born June 27, 1985)
31...Kirsten Flipkens, BEL (born January 1, 1986)
31...Hsieh Su-Wei, TPE (borN January 4, 1986)
31...Peng Shuai, CHN (born January 8, 1986)
31...Pauline Parmentier, FRA (born January 31, 1986)
31...Barbora Strycova, CZE (born March 28, 1986)
31...Varvara Lepchenko, USA (born April 21, 1986)
31...Elena Vesnina, RUS (born August 1, 1986)
31...Kateryna Bondarenko, UKR (born August 8, 1986)
30...Lucie Safarova, CZE (born February 4, 1987)
30...Maria Sharapova, RUS (born April 19, 1987)
30...Tatjana Maria, GER (born August 8, 1987)
30...Andrea Petkovic, GER (born September 9, 1987)
30...Monica Niculescu, ROU (born September 25, 1987)
[#101-200]
38...Patty Schnyder, SUI (born December 14, 1978)
34...Roberta Vinci, ITA (born February 18, 1983)
32...Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA (born March 23, 1985)
32...Lucie Hradecka, CZE (born May 21, 1985)
32...Kaia Kanepi, EST (born June 10, 1985)
31...Mandy Minella, LUX (born November 22, 1985)
30...Sara Errani, ITA (born April 29, 1987)
30...Tsvetana Pironkova, BUL (born September 13, 1987)

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

Dasha Gavrilova: The Aussie won her maiden WTA singles title, but her season-ending ranking merely remained steady at #25.

1st title baby!!!

A post shared by Daria Gavrilova (@daria_gav) on Aug 26, 2017 at 5:34pm PDT

Katerina Siniakova: The Czech won the first TWO singles titles of her career, but *her* season-ending ranking remained unchanged at #49. Oh, Czech me.

Ekaterina Makarova: The veteran Hordette claimed her first single title since 2014, but saw her ranking slip from #30 to #33.

Timea Babos: The Hungarian had gone 1-2 in WTA singles final in her entire career heading into 2017. She was 1-2 in tour finals this season alone, but saw her ranking plummet from #26 to #57.

Madison Brengle: The Bannerette had a career moment when she handed Serena Williams her only loss of the season in Auckland in Week 1. Unfortunately, that was the only tour-level event in which BrengleFly won multiple MD matches all season, as her ranking fell from #75 to #82.

First #WTA career Top 3 win!!

World No.72 Madison Brengle knocks out Serena Williams 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-4! #ASBClassic pic.twitter.com/eSHu1i4mHe

— WTA (@WTA) January 4, 2017

Madison Keys: She reached her first slam final at home at the U.S. Open, but her lingering wrist injury helped knock her season-ending ranking from #8 to #19.

And sometimes players get the chance to mess with the Tennis Gods...

Simona Halep: Surely due a little good fortune going her way, the Swarmette followed up a season in which she was 3-0 in finals with a '17 campaign where she was just 1-4. Still, helped by a Roland Garros final appearance, she became the first Romanian woman to reach #1, and she finished the season there.

Day 4 ?? pic.twitter.com/ImSw1HWiFL

— SimoReactions (@Simoreactions) November 6, 2017

===============================================
There are still two full sets of sisters in the 2017 Top 100. In all, eight players with tennis playing siblings are present, two fewer than a year ago. Eight of the sisters are repeats from 2016, with Naomi Broady (#120) and Kristina Kucova (#243) having fallen out. The Sisters Top 10:

#4 Karolina Pliskova, CZE (Kristyna)
#5 Venus Williams, USA (Serena)
#22 Serena Williams, USA (Venus)
#28 Aga Radwanska, POL (Ula)
#61 Kristyna Pliskova, CZE (Karolina)
#68 Naomi Osaka, JPN (Mari)
#93 Katernya Bondarenko, UKR (Alona)
#96 Hsieh Su-Wei, TPE (Shu-Ying)
#117 Arina Rodionova, AUS (Anastasia)
#120 Naomi Broady, GBR (Liam)

The rest in the Top 300:

#123 Frankie Abanda, CAN (Elisabeth)
#133 Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, SVK (Kristina)
#148 Caroline Dolehide, USA (Courtney)
#151 Ajla Tomljanovic, CRO/AUS (Hana)
#225 Lu Jig-jing, CHN (Jia-Xiang)
#234 Usue Arconada, USA (Jordi)
#242 Peangtarn Plipuech, THA (Plobrung)
#243 Kristina Kucova, SVK (Zuzana)
#250 Olga Ianchuk, UKR (Elizaveta)
#288 Julia Glushko, ISR (Lina)
#290 Erika Sema, JPN (Yurika)
#294 Chiara Scholl, USA (Chalena)
#297 Mari Osaka, JPN (Naomi)

===============================================
Some Top 100 odds and ends, with a mostly "nationalistic" bent:

The Aussies: It was a veritable game of musical chairs atop the Aussie rankings in 2017. With a nine and a half-year weekly run as the #1-ranked player from Australia, Samantha Stosur held onto her spot for a while longer by defeating countrywoman Dasha Gavrilova in a literal battle for title *and* position in Strasbourg in the first all-Aussie WTA singles final in twelve years. But with Stosur missing time due to injury, Gavrilova eventually assumed the top spot in the nation. She couldn't hold onto it until the end of the year, though, as both women were ultimately passed by Ash Barty in the 21-year old's first full season since returning from her year and a half tennis sabbatical. Barty finished at #17, while Gavrilova came in at #25 and Stosur at #41, her lowest finish since 2008.

The Dashas: Speaking of Gavrilova, it seems sort of perfect that one Dasha (#24 Kasatkina) finished directly ahead of the other (#25 Gavrilova) in the final season rankings.

Friends again! @Daria_Gav and @DKasatkina embrace! pic.twitter.com/81kaeb9SU1

— WTA (@WTA) April 6, 2017

The Russians: Svetlana Kuznetsova spent forty-two weeks in the Top 10 in 2017, and was the last best hope for Russia's long streak of seasons with a Top 10 player to continue. But Sveta slipped to #12 in the closing weeks, meaning there is no Hordette presence in the season-ending Top 10 for the first time since 2002.

Otherwise, though, signs of a collective Russian "comeback" season were apparent (and Maria Sharapova isn't even back in the Top 50 yet). There were three Top 20 Hordettes, one more than in 2016, and nine finished in the Top 100 (three more than a year ago). Seven different Russian women reached tour-level singles finals (and WTA 125 Series finalist Vera Zvonareva was "sort of" an eighth), with five of them winning seven titles, the most by the nation's players since 2014. In Indian Wells, Kuznetsova lost to Elena Vesnina in the biggest all-Russian final since 2009 (Elena Dementieva def. Sharapova at the Rogers Cup), and just the second overall on tour since the end of the 2011 season.

The Italians: The time remaining in the era of the famed Italian Quartet looks to have almost ticked down to 00:00.

Between the group of Flavia Pennetta, Francesca Schiavone, Roberta Vinci and Sara Errani, it produced four Fed Cup titles, two slam singles champions (Schiavone & Pennetta), three additional slam finals (Schiavone, Vinci & Errani) and a Career Doubles Slam (Errani/Vinci). Pennetta retired after the 2015 season, while Schiavone initially said 2017 would be her final season (though that's yet to be officially confirmed as '18 approaches). She won a singles title in '17 at age 36, and finished at #90, making her the second oldest woman (37) in the Top 100 behind Venus Williams. Meanwhile, 34-year old Vinci hinted that her own retirement was near and slumped to #111, and the youngest of the foursome, 30-year old Errani, had to weather a two-month suspension due to a positive test for a prohibited substance that voided all her results from mid-February until June, leaving her ranked #280 when she returned in October. She ultimately worked her way back up to #143.

Still, while Schiavone managed to avoid the inevitable this season, a Quartet-less Top 100 isn't likely too far into the future. It could be that Errani will be the final Quartet member standing in 2018, and she's already seen her season-ending ranking fall every season since her #6 finish in 2012 (#6-#7-#15-#20-#50-#143). The last time none of the four greatest female Italian tennis players in history (and arguably, ever, as maybe only ATP players Nicola Pietrangeli and Adriano Panatta might find their way into Italy's overall Top 4) finished a season in the Top 100 was before the current century, in 1999.

#79 Camila Giorgi is now the highest-ranked Italian woman.

The Serbs: The shining light that was the greatest era of Serbian tennis has taken some hits of late. While Novak Djokovic was having difficulty, and ultimately stepping away, from the ATP tour in 2017, what was left of the women's side of the three-headed Serbian tennis monster was drifting even farther afield. At this time last year, there were no Serbian women in the Top 50 for the first time since 2003, as former #1 and '08 RG champ Ana Ivanovic had fallen to #65, and former #1 Jelena Jankovic was at #55. AnaIvo, who just turned 30 this week, announced her retirement last December; while 32-year old JJ suffered through a nearly disastrous season, going 6-19 in MD tour-level matches, winning just one match from mid-May forward, not playing after the U.S. Open, and ranking #155 at season's end, her worst finish since 2002.

But, enter The Bracelet to pick up some of the pieces, as Aleksandra Krunic put together a career year.


After years of virtual apprenticeship, the pint-sized, 24-year old firebrand became the top-ranked Serb for the first time this year, nearly breaking into the Top 50 (#53) and ultimately finishing at #55 (naturally, right where JJ was last year), by far her best season-ending rank (it was previously #96 in '15). Krunic reached her maiden tour singles final in '17, won her biggest title (a WTA 125 Series crown), and reached a $100K final and the U.S. Open 3rd Round, the latter result after posting her second career Top 10 win in the 1st Round over #7 Johanna Konta.

Go Bracelet!

STAT-COLLECTING "FIND": while pulling together all of the numbers for this post, I happened upon one of those tennis names that just makes you smile, and beg the Tennis Gods to bring a player a little extra success. I give you...

Eliessa Vanlangendonck!

She's a 20-year old Belgian Waffle currently ranked #723 in the world. She reached two of three career ITF singles semifinals in 2017, as well as her first career doubles final at the challenger level. She's still seeking her maiden pro title and to break into the Top 700 for the first time. But that's what 2018 is for.

Go Eliessa!
===============================================
Of course, there's always SOMEONE with her nose pressed up against the Top 100 glass, finishing #101. In 2017, it's Kurumi Nara. The 25-year old from Japan, who ranked as high as #32 in 2014, had had four straight Top 100 seasons, finishing at #78 a year ago. Though her ranking slipped in 2017, she *did* post her first career Top 10 win (Kuznetsova - U.S. Open 2nd Rd.), and also notched victories over a former #1 (Jankovic/TAIPEI) and slam champion (Schiavone/MIAMI).

.@DonnaVekic crowned #AegonOpen Champion!

Her second #WTA career title--> https://t.co/COPU7geUfC pic.twitter.com/LKTy0mcS5f

— WTA (@WTA) June 18, 2017

Last year's #101, Donna Vekic, this season won her first WTA singles title since 2014, advanced to her third career slam 3rd Round (US), reached a new career high of #45, and recorded her first Top 100 season (#56) in three years.

2011: Stephanie Foretz-Gacon, FRA
2012: Stephanie Foretz-Gacon, FRA
2013: Mariana Duque, COL
2014: Aleksandra Krunic, SRB
2015: Kiki Bertens, NED
2016: Donna Vekic, CRO
2017: Kurumi Nara, JPN


[based on November 6 end-of-season 2017 WTA rankings]
*TOP 20 BY AGE*
37...Venus Williams (#5)
32...Svetlana Kuznetsova (#12)
31...Elena Vesnina (#18)
29...Magdalena Rybarikova (#20)
29...Julia Goerges (#14)
27...Anastasija Sevastova (#16)
27...Caroline Wozniacki (#3)
26...Johanna Konta (#9)
26...Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (#15)
26...Simona Halep (#1)
25...CoCo Vandeweghe (#10)
25...Karolina Pliskova (#4)
24...Sloane Stephens (#13)
24...Kristina Mladenovic (#11)
24...Garbine Muguruza (#2)
24...Caroline Garcia (#8)
23...Elina Svitolina (#6)
22...Madison Keys (#19)
21...Ash Barty (#17)
20...Alona Ostapenko (#7)
*TOP 20 BY NATION*
4...USA (V.Williams, Vandeweghe, Stephens, Keys)
3...RUS (Kuznetsova, Pavlyuchenkova, Vesnina)
2...FRA (Garcia, Mladenovic)
2...LAT (Ostapenko, Sevastova)
1...AUS (Barty)
1...CZE (Ka.Pliskova)
1...DEN (Wozniacki)
1...ESP (Muguruza)
1...GBR (Konta)
1...GER (Goerges)
1...ROU (Halep)
1...SVK (Rybarikova)
1...UKR (Svitolina)

*TOP 100 FACTS*
=HIGHEST-RANKED PLAYER WITHOUT A CAREER WTA SINGLES TITLE=
2007 Victoria Azarenka, BLR - won first title in 2009
2008 Victoria Azarenka, BLR - 2009
2009 Alla Kudryavtseva, RUS - 2010
2010 Dominika Cibulkova, SVK - 2011
2011 Peng Shuai, CHN - 2016
2012 Varvara Lepchenko, USA
2013 Sloane Stephens, USA - 2015
2014 Peng Shuai, CHN - 2016
2015 Kristina Mladenovic, FRA - 2017
2016 Dasha Gavrilova, AUS - 2017
2017 Wang Qiang, CHN
-----------------------------
*TOP 60 PLAYERS WITHOUT WTA SINGLES TITLES*
#45 Wang Qiang, CHN*
#46 Tatjana Maria, GER*
#47 CiCi Bellis, USA*
#52 Maria Sakkari, GRE*
#53 Yulia Putintseva, KAZ
#54 Natalia Vikhlyantseva, RUS
#55 Aleksandra Krunic, SRB
-
*-also no tour-level finals
-----------------------------
*PLAYERS RISING INTO THE TOP 100*
2017 newbies: 27 (since end of '16 season - Nov. 7, 2016)
2016 newbies: 27
2015 newbies: 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 ('16 rank):
(* - first career Top 100 season)
#17 Ash Barty, AUS (#325)*
#20 Magdalena Rybarikova, SVK (#156)
#27 Peng Shuai, CHN (#109)
#34 Anett Kontaveit, EST (#110)*
#35 Elise Mertens, BEL (#120)*
#46 Tatjana Maria, GER (#126)
#48 Mona Barthel, GER (#183)
#54 Natalia Vikhlyantseva, RUS (#161)*
#55 Aleksandra Krunic, SRB (#147)*
#56 Donna Vekic, CRO (#101)
#60 Maria Sharapova, RUS (NR)
#64 Jennifer Brady, USA (#111)*
#65 Beatriz Haddad Maia, BRA (#211)*
#66 Zarina Diyas, KAZ (#148)
#67 Marketa Vondrousova, CZE (#376)*
#72 Mihaela Buzarnescu, ROU (#377)*
#73 Ekaterina Alexandrova, RUS (#133)*
#75 Alison Van Uytvanck, BEL (#124)
#77 Veronica Cepede Royg, PAR (#116)*
#78 Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (#159)*
#83 Evgeniya Rodina, RUS (#104)
#87 Aliaksandra Sasnovich, BLR (#121)*
#88 Ons Jabeur, TUN (#193)*
#89 Petra Martic, CRO (#266)
#95 Duan Yingying, CHN (#102)*
#98 Jana Fett, CRO (#196)*
#99 Sara Sorribes Tormo, ESP (#107)*
-----------------------------
*SMALLEST 2016-to-2017 RANKING CHANGES IN TOP 100*
0...Dasha Gavrilova (#25 to #25)
0...Katerina Siniakova (#49 to #49)
0...Kristyna Pliskova (#61 to #61)
+1...Johanna Konta (#10 to #9)
+1...Shelby Rogers (#60 to #59)
+1...Francesca Schiavone (#91 to #90)
+1...Hsieh Su-Wei (#97 to #96)
+2...Karolina Pliskova (#6 to #4)
-----------------------------
*TOP 100 BY NATION*
(w/ # in 2016)
13...United States (16)
9...Russia (6)
7...Czech Republic (7)
7...Germany (8)
5...China (3)
5...Croatia (2)
5...France (5)
5...Romania (4)
4...Spain (3)
4...Ukraine (4)
3...Australia (2)
3...Belgium (2)
2...Belarus (1)
2...Great Britain (3)
2...Italy (4)
2...Japan (5)
2...Kazakhstan (2)
2...Latvia (2)
2...Poland (2)
2...Slovakia (3)
1...Brazil (1)
1...Canada (1)
1...Denmark (1)
1...Estonia (0)
1...Greece (1)
1...Hungary (1)
1...Netherlands (1)
1...Paraguay (1)
1...Puerto Rico (1)
1...Serbia (2)
1...Sweden (1)
1...Switzerland (3)
1...Taiwan (1)
1...Tunisia (1)
--
2016 TOP 100, NONE in 20156: Bulgaria(1), Montenegro(1), Turkey(1)
===============================================
*RANKINGS OF 2017 ITF SINGLES TITLE LEADERS*
(by titles as of November 6, 2017)
6 titles - #77 Mihaela Buzarnescu, ROU
6 titles - #102 Polona Hercog, SLO
6 titles - #375 Despina Papamichail, GRE
5 titles - #174 Polina Monova, RUS
5 titles - #210 Maria Teresa Torro-Flor, ESP
5 titles - #446 Nuria Parrizas Diaz, ESP
===============================================




*REGIONAL RANKINGS*==EASTERN EUROPE & RUSSIA==
#1 Simona Halep, ROU
#6 Elina Svitolina, UKR
#7 Alona Ostapenko, LAT
#16 Anastasija Sevastova, LAT
#34 Anett Kontaveit, EST
#37 Sorana Cirstea, ROU
#42 Lesia Tsurenko, UKR
#43 Irina-Camelia Begu, ROU
#72 Mihaela Buzarnescu, ROU
#78 Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
#86 Kateryna Kozlova, UKR
#87 Aliaksandra Sasnovich, BLR
#100 Monica Niculescu, ROU
=RUSSIA=
#12 Svetlana Kuznetsova
#15 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
#18 Elena Vesnina
#24 Dasha Kasatkina
#33 Ekaterina Makarova
#54 Natalia Vikhlyantseva
#60 Maria Sharapova
#73 Ekaterina Alexandrova
#83 Evgeniya Rodina
#136 Anna Blinkova

==WESTERN EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA==
#2 Garbine Muguruza, ESP
#3 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
#4 Karolina Pliskova, CZE
#8 Caroline Garcia, FRA
#9 Johanna Konta, GBR
#11 Kristina Mladenovic, FRA
#14 Julia Goerges, GER
#20 Magdalena Rybarikova, SVK
#21 Angelique Kerber, GER
#23 Barbora Strycova, CZE
==SCANDINAVIA==
#3 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
#80 Johanna Larsson, SWE
#196 Rebecca Peterson, SWE
#232 Ulrikke Eikeri, NOR
#277 Melanie Stokke, NOR
#426 Cornelia Lister, SWE
#463 Jacqueline Cabaj Awad, SWE
#500 Karen Barritza, DEN

==ASIA/PACIFIC & CHINA==
#17 Ash Barty, AUS
#25 Dasha Gavrilova, AUS
#27 Peng Shuai, CHN
#36 Zhang Shuai, CHN
#41 Samantha Stosur, AUS
#45 Wang Qiang, CHN
#53 Yulia Putintseva, KAZ
#66 Zarina Diyas, KAZ
#68 Naomi Osaka, JPN
#94 Zheng Saisai, CHN
#95 Duan Yingying, CHN
#96 Hsieh Su-Wei, TPE
==CHINA==
#27 Peng Shuai
#36 Zhang Shuai
#45 Wang Qiang
#94 Zheng Saisai
#95 Duan Yingying
#104 Zhu Lin
#130 Han Xinyun
#156 Liu Fangszhou
#168 Wang Yafan
#169 Lu Jingjing

==AFRICA, MIDDLE EAST & MEDITERRANEAN==
#52 Maria Sakkari, GRE
#88 Ons Jabeur, TUN
#158 Cagla Buyukakcay, TUR
#173 Basak Eraydin, TUR
#195 Ipek Soylu, TUR
#212 Valentini Grammatikopoulou, GRE
#217 Ayla Aksu, TUR
#264 Lina Gjorcheska, MKD
#273 Deniz Khazaniuk, ISR
#288 Julia Glushko, ISR
#316 Chanel Simmonds, RSA

==SOUTH & CENTRAL AMERICA==
#65 Beatriz Haddad, BRA
#77 Veronica Cepede Royg, PAR
#103 Mariana Duque, COL
#207 Daniela Seguel, CHI
#252 Andrea Gamiz, VEN
#308 Catalina Pella, ARG
#314 Nadia Podoroska, ARG
#352 Teliana Pereira, BRA
#373 Alexa Guarachi, CHI
#371 Fernanda Brito, CHI
#402 Laura Pigossi, BRA
#403 Gabriela Ce, BRA
#404 Paula Cristina Goncalves, BRA
[Central America #1: #963 Andrea Weedon, Guatemala]

==NON-U.S. NORTH AMERICA/ATLANTIC & UNITED STATES==
#58 Monica Puig, PUR
#81 Genie Bouchard, CAN
#123 Frankie Abanda, CAN
#182 Bianca Andreescu, CAN
#221 Carol Zhao, CAN
#248 Renata Zarazua, MEX
#259 Victoria Rodriguez, MEX
#270 Katherine Sebov, CAN
#278 Gaby Dabrowski, CAN
##300 Aleksandra Wozniak, CAN
==UNITED STATES==
#5 Venus Williams
#10 CoCo Vandeweghe
#13 Sloane Stephens
#19 Madison Keys
#22 Serena Williams
#47 CiCi Bellis
#50 Lauren Davis
#59 Shelby Rogers
#62 Varvara Lepchenko
#63 Christina McHale
#64 Jennifer Brady



*BIGGEST RISES IN THE RANKINGS*
=end of '16 to end of '17 season=
[in 2017 Top 25]
+308...Ash Barty (#325 to #17)
+136...Magdalena Rybarikova (#156 to #20)
+40...Julia Goerges (#54 to #14)
+37...Alona Ostapenko (#44 to #7)
+31...Kristina Mladenovic (#42 to #11)
+27...CoCo Vandeweghe (#37 to #10)
+23...Sloane Stephens (#36 to #13)
+19...Anastasija Sevastova (#35 to #16)
+16...Caroline Wozniacki (#19 to #3)
+15...Caroline Garcia (#23 to #8)
+13...Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (#28 to #15)
+12...Venus Williams (#17 to #5)
[2017 Top 26-50]
+135...Mona Barthel (#183 to #48)
+85...Elise Mertens (#120 to #35)
+82...Peng Shuai (#109 to #27)
+80...Tatjana Maria (#126 to #46)
+76...Anett Kontaveit (#110 to #34)
+50...Mirjana Lucic-Baroni (#82 to #32)
+44...Sorana Cirstea (#81 to #37)
+43...CiCi Bellis (#90 to #47)
+34...Lucie Safarova (#64 to #30)
+25...Wang Qiang (#70 to #45)
+16...Lesia Tsurenko (#58 to #42)
[2017 Top 51-100]
unranked - Maria Sharapova (NR to #60)
+309...Marketa Vondrousova (#376 to #67)
+305...Mihaela Buzarnescu (#377 to #72)
+177...Petra Martic (#266 to #89)
+146...Beatriz Haddad Maia (#211 to #65)
+107...Natalia Vikhlyantseva (#161 to #54)
+105...Ons Jabeur (#193 to #88)
+98...Jana Fett (#196 to #98)
+92...Aleksandra Krunic (#147 to #55)
+82...Zarina Diyas (#148 to #66)
+81...Aryna Sabalenka (#159 to #78)
+60...Ekaterina Alexandrova (#133 to #73)
+49...Alison Van Uytvanck (#124 to #75)

*BIGGEST FALLS IN THE RANKINGS*
=end of '16 to end of '17 season=
[2016 Top 25]
-195...Victoria Azarenka (#13 to #208)
-93...Roberta Vinci (#18 to #111)
-28...Carla Suarez-Navarro (#12 to #40)
-25...Aga Radwanska (#3 to #28)
-24...Timea Bacsinszky (#15 to #39)
-21...Dominika Cibulkova (#5 to #26)
-20...Angelique Kerber (#1 to #21)
-20...Serena Williams (#2 to #22)
-20...Samantha Stosur (#21 to #41)
-18...Petra Kvitova (#11 to #39)
-12...Zhang Shuai (#24 to #36)
-11...Madison Keys (#8 to #19)
[2016 Top 26-50]
-259...Yaroslava Shvedova (#33 to #292)
-122...Belinda Bencic (#43 to #165)
-93...Sara Errani (#40 to #143)
-81...Misaki Doi (#38 to #119)
-61...Monica Niculescu (#39 to #100)
-38...Laura Siegemund (#31 to #69)
-31...Timea Babos (#26 to #57)
-29...Alison Riske (#41 to #70)
-28...Naomi Osaka (#40 to #68)
-26...Monica Puig (#32 to #58)
[2016 Top 51-100]
-957...Anna-Lena Friedsam (#68 to #1025)
-408...Vania King (#79 to #487)
-176...Sabine Lisicki (#92 to #268)
-163...Kristina Kucova (#80 to #243)
-152...Louisa Chirico (#59 to #211)
-124...Annika Beck (#53 to #177)
-98...Jelena Jankovic (#55 to #153)
-96...Tsvetana Pironkova (#66 to #162)
-93...Roberta Vinci (#18 to #111)
-91...Cagla Buyukakcay (#67 to #158)
-71...Viktorija Golubic (#57 to #128)
-68...Irina Khromacheva (#93 to #161)
-60...Yanina Wickmayer (#52 to #112)
retired...Ana Ivanovic (#65 to NR)

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

*DOUBLES TOP 100*
(w/ # in 2016)
9...China (7)
9...Czech Republic (9)
9...Russia (8)
8...Australia (4)
8...United States (12)
5...Japan (6)
5...Taiwan (4)
4...Spain (5)
4...Ukraine (4)
3...Germany (5)
3...Great Britain (4)
3...Netherlands (3)
3...Romania (3)
3...Slovenia (2)
3...Switzerland (2)
2...Belgium (3)
2...Croatia (1)
2...France (2)
2...Latvia (0)
2...Serbia (1)
1...Argentina (1)
1...Belarus (0)
1...Canada (1)
1...Georgia (1)
1...Hungary (1)
1...India (1)
1...Kazakhstan (1)
1...Luxembourg (0)
1...Poland (2)
1...Sweden (1)
1...Turkey (1)
--
2016 TOP 100, NONE in 2017: Bulgaria(1),Italy(1),Montenegro(1),Paraguay(1),Thailand(1)

*DOUBLES TOP 20*
[by nation]
5...CZE (#5 Hlavackova, #6 Safarova, #13 Siniakova, #14 Hradecka, #15 Strycova)
2...AUS (#10 Dellacqua, #11 Barty)
2...CHN (#9 Peng, #16 Xu Yifan)
2...RUS (#3 Makarova, #3 Vesnina)
2...TPE (#1 Y.Chan, #17 H.Chan)
1...CAN (#18 Dabrowski)
1...HUN (#7 Babos)
1...IND (#12 Mirza)
1...NED (#19 Bertens)
1...SUI (#1 Hingis)
1...SWE (#20 Larsson)
1...USA (#8 Mattek-Sands)
[ages]
37...Hingis
32...Dellacqua,Hradecka,Mattek-Sands
31...Hlavackova,Peng,Strycova,Vesnina
30...Mirza,Safarova
29...Larsson,Makarova,Xu Yifan
28...Y.Chan
25...Bertens,Dabrowski
24...Babos,H.Chan
21...Barty,Siniakova

*SINGLES & DOUBLES*
(singles/doubles ranks)
=TOP 20 IN BOTH (2)=
Ash Barty (#17 singles, #11 doubles)
Elena Vesnina (#18 singles, #3 doubles)
=TOP 50 IN BOTH (+10)=
Irina-Camelia Begu (#43 singles, #38 doubles)
Kiki Bertens (#31 singles, #19 doubles)
Peng Shuai (#27 singles, #9 doubles)
Ekaterina Makarova (#33 singles, #3 doubles)
Elise Mertens (#35 singles, #41 doubles)
Kristina Mladenovic (#11 singles, #26 doubles)
Alona Ostapenko (#7 singles, #42 doubles)
Lucie Safarova (#30 singles, #6 doubles)
Katerina Siniakova (#49 singles, #13 doubles)
Barbora Strycova (#23 singles, #15 doubles)

*NATIONS WITH TOP 100 DOUBLES PLAYER, BUT NONE IN SINGLES*
ARGENTINA (1): #72 Maria Irigoyen
GEORGIA (1): #70 Oksana Kalashnikova
INDIA (1): #12 Sania Mirza
LUXEMBOURG (1): #97 Mandy Minella
SLOVENIA (3): #24 Andreja Klepac, #35 Katarina Srebotnik, #85 Dalila Jakupovic
TURKEY (1): #83 Ipek Soylu
[high-ranking singles player]
ARGENTINA: #308 Catalina Pella
GEORGIA: #341 Sofia Shapatava
INDIA: #283 Ankita Raina
LUXEMBOURG: #134 Mandy Minella
SLOVENIA: #102 Polona Hercog
TURKEY: #158 Cagla Buyukakcay


So... whew!


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

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

(crossing fingers)


More 2017 Backspin Awards are coming soon!


All for now.