Decade's Best: Players of the 2010's, #16-30

The numbers are dwindling, as thirty entries are sliced in half to become fifteen still in contention for placement on Backspin's Players of the Decade list...






In ascending order...


#30 - Jordanne Whiley, GBR (WC)
...Whiley's time as a force on the wheelchair tour in the 2010's has included quite a few glorious accomplishments, but also comes with one of the more curious statistical notes of the entire decade. Clearly, her biggest moments have come in doubles, as she won nine slam titles while partnering her friend Yui Kamiji. The pair completed a Grand Slam in '14, ultimately winning five straight majors and six of seven over two seasons of play. They picked up two Doubles Masters titles, as well, and Whiley teamed with Lucy Shuker to take home Paralympics Bronze in 2012 and '16. Whiley was one of seven women in the decade to claim both singles and doubles slam crowns, only two of whom were not Dutch (Whiley and Kamiji). Whiley reached her career peak in the middle of the decade, winning the U.S. Open singles in '15 during her dominant doubles slam stretch. Oddly, though, Whiley has yet to play the U.S. Open since. The Paralympics tennis event was held in place of the U.S. Open in '16, then Whiley missed the event in '17 and '18 due to pregnancy and being a new mother. In 2019, she returned to the Top 10 but wasn't ranked high enough come U.S. Open time to automatically qualify for the eight-player field. She was ranked #8 at the time, but her spot was given to Dana Mathewson, the highest ranked U.S. woman, via a wild card.


#29 - Sania Mirza, IND
...*the* legend of Indian women's tennis, Mirza broke through in the 2000's in singles before spending most of the current decade as a doubles specialist. She collected her first slam wins in MX, winning her second and third career crowns in 2012 and '14. During her super-successful short-term pairing with Hall of Famer Martina Hingis, Mirza finally got her first WD major wins after having already become the first Indian to be ranked #1 (April '15), taking three straight slam titles in 2015-16 (WI-US-AO) after the two began their partnership by winning the "Sunshine Double" at Indian Wells and Miami. They compiled a 14-3 mark in finals during their 16-month stint together. She won back-to-back WTAF crowns (2014-15) while partnering Cara Black and Hingis. Of her 33 doubles titles in the decade, nine were at high Premier events. After posting four straight Top 10 rankings from 2013-16 (year-end #1 in the last two years), and a #12 finish in' 17, Mirza sat out 2018-19 while becoming a first-time mother, but has announced her return in 2020.


#28 - Ash Barty, AUS
...a junior star early in the decade, 2011 Wimbledon girls champ Barty reached three slam WD finals (w/ Casey Dellacqua) while still a teenager before making the unconventional decision in '14 to take a break from the sport in order to better learn to deal with the pressures of the tour. During her year and a half away, Barty played women's professional cricket in Australia before returning to tennis in mid-2016. Upon her return, the level-headed Aussie gradually built back her career, starting slowly in doubles and small events. She reached the Top 20 in '17 and won her first singles title. Next came her maiden slam win in the U.S. Open doubles with CoCo Vandeweghe in '18 (she ultimately was 1-5 in slam WD finals in the decade) and four high Premier doubles crowns. Everything came to a head in 2019, as Barty put together one of the most versatile, great seasons of the decade. After winning the singles at Premier Mandatory Miami, she took home the Italian Open crown and stunningly rode her momentum to the Roland Garros title a few weeks later. She'd reach #1 (becoming the only Aussie woman since the start of computer rankings in 1975 to end a season atop the rankings), spent time simultaneously in the Top 10 in both singles and doubles, won the WTA Finals singles title and carried the Australian team to the Fed Cup final while extending a multi-season undefeated s/d streak in the competition. Only a final day stumble in Perth vs. France prevented her from topping off her dream season with a title on home soil. Barty had seventeen Top 10 wins during the decade, with twelve coming in 2019 alone.


#27 - Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA
...one of the most unique personalities on tour, with perhaps *the* most eclectic fashion sense, Mattek-Sands persevered through a series of major injuries and surgeries during the decade to become one of the game's preeminent big event doubles stars after reaching the Top 30 in singles early in the decade. A winner of 20 WD titles over the ten seasons, BMS reached #1 (2017), collected nine slam crowns (5 wd/4 mx) and took home the Gold medal in the Olympic mixed competition (w/ Jack Sock) in 2016. While a champion with six different doubles partners during the 2010's, Mattek's most memorable courtmate/partner-in-crime was Lucie Safarova. "Team Bucie," as they dubbed themselves, won five majors from 2015-17, including winning two straight in '15 and three in a row in 2016-17 before Mattek's injury at Wimbledon prevented them from pulling off a non-calendar year Grand Slam in London. In all, Mattek-Sands went 11-2 in finals alongside Safarova, her most successful pairing in the decade (though she was 5-1 while occasionally teaming up w/ good friend Sania Mirza, as well). Already successfully moonlighting as a television commentator in recent seasons, Mattek-Sands seems set to spend much time in the sport's spotlight well beyond her eventual retirement.


#26 - Elina Svitolina, UKR
...perhaps the best "regular season" tour player of the last half of the decade, Svitolina finally scratched the surface of slam success in 2019, an otherwise disappointing campaign which ironically saw her win no titles for the first time since 2012 and only reach one final (at the end of her WTA Finals title defense). Before '19, Svitolina had climbed as high as #3 while winning sixteen singles titles (in 18 finals, including going 5-0 in high Premier events and WTAF finals)) during the decade, recording 29 Top 10 wins from 2014-18 (19 in 2017-18 alone), including six over world #1's. Before her final run in the '19 WTAF, she had just one that season before adding three more in the event (giving her 33 in the 2010's). A junior slam champ at Roland Garros in 2010, Svitolina had become the first Ukrainian Top 10er in '17, then the first from her nation to reach a slam singles semifinal in '19 at Wimbledon, a result she followed up by reaching another SF at the U.S. Open. Prior to that, she'd been the only player in tour history with 13+ WTA singles titles without a final four finish at a major (she'd been 0-4 in slam QF). Her big event results in '19 gave Svitolina her third straight Top 6 finish to end the decade.


#25 - Lucie Safarova, CZE
...Safarova was maybe the most versatile of the many Czech stars during the decade, ranking in the Top 5 in both singles and doubles (at one point simultaneously in the Top 10 of both), reaching #1 in WD and #5 in WS within a two-year window from 2015-17. Part of five Fed Cup title teams, Safarova teamed with Bethanie Mattek-Sands to win five doubles majors (three in a row in 2016-17) and four high Premier titles (while picking up a fifth w/ A.Pavlyuchenkova). She won Olympic Bronze with Barbora Strycova in '16 and recorded two SF-or-better slam results in singles in 2014-15, reaching the Wimbledon semis and Roland Garros final, respectively. Unfortunately, Safarova's singles suffered soon after as she had multiple issues with viral illnesses that took her off tour for extended periods. She added three WTA singles titles (in ten finals) during the decade to go with the four she won in the late 2000's, recording nineteen Top 10 wins over the stretch. She was 14-5 in doubles finals. Safarova retired in early '19, and is set to become a first-time mother in '20.

#24 (tie) - Sara Errani, ITA and Roberta Vinci, ITA
...two of the famed "Italian Quartet" that carried the nation to four Fed Cup titles (two in the 2010's), played in a combined five slams singles finals (2-3) and won six slam doubles majors (including a Career Doubles Slam), Errani is definitely the most underrated of the group, while Vinci was the "late bloomer."

Despite lacking in size and power, Errani's fighting nature carried her to great overall success in the decade. As noted, she and Vinci claimed five slam WD crowns (in 8 finals) from 2012-14, completing a Career Slam (and taking five other high Premier crowns). Errani reached doubles #1 in '12, the same season she reached the Roland Garros singles final and U.S. Open semis. She climbed as high as #5 in singles in early '13, then reached another RG semi soon after that. Recording thirteen Top 10 wins in the decade, Errani had three straight Top 10 seasons of her own from 2012-14 (ranking in the final Top 7 in both singles and doubles in the first two seasons, and the season-ending doubles #1 in 2013-14) and won seven singles titles to go along with twenty-five in doubles. Errani posted a total of seven QF+ slam singles results at three majors (all but Wimbledon) in the decade. She was part of three Italian FC championship teams, including the winning squads in 2010 and '13.

Vinci's 2010's career produced results very similar to Errani's, though her success built over the stretch while Errani's was mostly concentrated in the decade's middle years. Vinci collected more singles titles (8, including wins in seven straight finals from 2010-13), but slightly fewer in doubles (22). She, too, reached doubles #1 in 2012, four years before reaching her career singles high of #8 in 2016 at age 33, less than a year after she'd reached the U.S. Open singles final after pulling off possibly the most newsworthy upset of the decade, a SF win over Serena Williams (when she just one slam title away from five straight major victories and the sport's first singles Grand Slam since Steffi Graf's in 1988). Vinci lost the resulting all-Italian final to childhood friend Flavia Pennetta. Her rise made Vinci the oldest player in tour history to make her Top 10 debut. She had three additional slam QF+ results, all coming at the U.S. Open. Vinci recorded twelve Top 10 wins, had one Top 10 singles season (2016) and four in doubles (year-end #1 from 2012-14). She was part of Italy's two Fed Cup champion teams in the decade, giving her four during her career.

Vinci retired in 2018, while Errani continues to toil away as she attempts to climb back up the rankings (currently Top 200) after serving a suspension for a failed 2017 drug test that she attributed to her mother's medication contaminating a dish of tortellini during a family visit.


#22 - Aga Radwanska, POL
...Radwanska qualifies as *the* "near-miss" player of the decade. Acceptance of her magical game style -- a virtual How-To on executing every shot, and a few she virtually created on the spot, in the tennis handbook, sometimes seemingly during the span of just a few minutes of court time -- was a slow process for some, but those paying close attention knew a once-in-a-lifetime artiste when they saw her (see her six straight "Fan Favorite" and five consecutive "Shot of the Year" awards from the WTA fans). Once someone bought in to the show, though, they were hooked. But it wasn't just a fascinating experience, she did *so* much during the decade, too. A two-time junior slam champ (WI/RG) in 2005-06, her sixteen WTA titles in the decade included five high level Premier crowns and a WTA Finals win, improving her career mark in finals to 20-8. She had nine QF+ slam finishes (12 career, with five being SF-or-better), 21 SF+ results at high Premier events (24 career), climbed as high as #2 in the rankings, recorded 38 Top 10 wins (49 career), had six straight Top 10 seasons and a decade-best 505-week streak of Top 20 rankings from 2008-17. But she never won the major title that would have *officially* validated her career. She came extremely close, though. In 2012, as the only Pole in the Open era to reach a slam final, she took Serena Williams to three sets at Wimbledon. A year later, after a series of upsets had decimated the draw, Radwanska seemed the clear favorite to take the title at SW19, returning to the semis as the #4 seed along with players seeded #15, #20 and #23. But she lost in a shocker to the grass court-loving German Sabine Lisicki in a 9-7 3rd set, ending her dream (Marion Bartoli went on to live hers) while her subsequent blink-and-you-missed-it, turning-away post-match handshake with Lisicki at the net still lives on as a wrongheaded example of poor sportswomanship rather than what it really was: the reaction of a crushed athlete who only seconds earlier had seen her career dream blown up on the very ground she held most dear, and her wanting to escape the scene of the crime as quickly as possible. While Radwanska had many great moments after that 2013 loss, including winning her biggest title at the WTAF two years later, Radwanska never replaced it with an equivalent winning one that would have rendered it powerless. As the injuries mounted and her ranking slipped, a 29-year old Radwanska retired after the 2018 season, with her long-awaited, history-altering slam win forever placed out of her reach. Sigh. Well, we'll always have the twirling 360-degree volleys, squat shots, down the line winners, short-bounce angled forehand winners, and even the occasional big serve when Aga had the notion to paint her canvas with an even more vibrant color to remember her by. It's a pity memories invariably won't last as long as a name etched into a slam championship trophy would have.


#21 - Venus Williams, USA
...while her high-end results have predictably flagged as she's approached age 40 (the day come next June), as Williams hasn't won a title since early 2016, Venus maintains a high profile on tour as she will soon play in her fourth different decade in 2020. Williams' feats over the course of the just completed decade are remarkable for a player who debuted in a pro event 1994 and reached the U.S. Open final (1997) at age 17 in her tournament debut nearly a quarter century ago. Notably, many of her best 2010's results came in her late thirties *after* the 2011 diagnosis of the auto-immune disease Sjogren's syndrome, a moment in time at which the continuation of Williams' career *seemed* to be in jeopardy. After the diagnosis, Williams didn't reach a slam QF until 2015, during which she returned to the Top 10 (and won Wuhan, her biggest title since '10). She posted her 20th career major SF at Wimbledon in '16, setting the stage for an amazing '17 season. That year, at age 37, Venus reached the finals of the Australian Open and Wimbledon (the 15th and 16th of her career, but first since '09), played in the U.S. Open semis and WTAF final while finishing at #5, her best season-ending ranking in seven years. As has been the case throughout their careers, the doubles duo of Venus and sister Serena may be the most lethal in history. Though their teamings were few in the decade, the siblings claimed three WD slams early, then won a fourth in '16 (the 14th of their career). There would have been many, many more, but the sisters only played in three slam MD after the '14 season (and in just 13 of 40 majors in the 2010's). Their '12 Olympic WD Gold made them three-time champions of the Games, and Venus' addition of a '16 MX Silver (w/ Rajeev Ram) made her the most decorated tennis Olympian since the sport's return to the competition in 1988. Her five medals ties Brit Kitty McKane's five in the 1920's for the all-time mark, and her four Golds equal Serena's total all-time. Playing for as long as she has, it's inevitable that Williams will pile up some pretty impressive career numbers. A few: her 84 slam MD appearances are the most even (female or male), while she has 138 Top 10 wins (29 came this decade, including over then-#1 Kerber in '17 when Venus became the oldest player to ever post such a victory), 49 singles titles (10th all-time, with 8 this decade), 636 weeks in the Top 10 (2nd), thirteen Top 10 seasons (4th) and is one of just four women age 38+ to rank in the Top 10 (w/ Navratilova, King and Serena). Her '15 Top 10 finish was her first since 2010, and her #5 ranking in '17 came nineteen after her first Top 5 campaign.


#20 - Karolina Pliskova, CZE
...Pliskova ends the decade as the most accomplished and qualified active player on tour *without* a slam title, and one of the few (well, probably only) who could match Serena Williams ace-for-ace over the course of a full season -- hence, her many Aces Hit crowns and "Ace Queen" moniker. She was a solid singles star (playing in the U.S. Open final in '16, reaching #1 in '17) and consummate team player (part of three CZE Fed Cup champions, often as the lead Maiden) during the decade. A girls Wimbledon champ in 2010, Pliskova went on to post women's SF-or-better results at three different majors ('16 U.S., '17 RG, '19 AO), won fifteen tour titles (2 high Premier) and recorded 31 Top 10 wins while closing out the 2010's with four straight Top 10 seasons, ending the decade with her highest finish (#2). While often docked by some as being too "unemotional" on court, Pliskova's calm intensity was apparent in many big matches even if it didn't *always* show on her face in the heat of battle. When she allowed it to be visible, though, it was clear how deeply it ran through her body. As the decade wore on, after perhaps playing her very *best* tennis in 2016, the Czech's many coaching changes in the last few years accompanied an increase in her surface versatility. She won her biggest career clay titles in 2018-19 (topping out w/ Rome in the tournament's decade finale), and even claiming titles on three *different* surfaces in a season ('19) for the first time in her career. The remaining holes in Pliskova's resume are more apparent than probably any other player on tour, as her lack of a major crown is joined alongside an Olympic-less career (Tokyo '20 will likely be her last chance to represent her country in the Games, should she choose to accept it) and the lack of a deep run at the major at which she won her lone junior slam. Pliskova opened her Wimbledon career by going just 5-6 at SW19 from 2012-17, through she did rebound with consecutive Round of 16 finishes in 2018-19. Additionally, while the two haven't made a habit of teaming up on the doubles court, Karolina and twin Kristyna *did* combine to win three tour-level WD titles in the decade, good for third all-time behind the Williams and Chan sisters as far as WTA titles won by all-sibling duos.


#19 - Aniek Van Koot, NED
...the first player to (briefly) ascend to the top of the wheelchair tennis pyramid after Esther Vergeer's retirement following the 2012 Paralympics, Van Koot rose to #1 and won two singles majors in 2013. She then spent the rest of the decade succeeding in the long shadows of a series of other dominant (eventual) singles #1 players, from Yui Kamiji to Jiske Griffioen to Diede de Groot. Van Koot won her first three doubles slams before Vergeer's exit, and she had a hand in denying her countrywoman completing an undefeated "slam" career. While Van Koot's first win ('10 AO) came without Vergeer in the draw, her second and third came while being on the court during two of Vergeer's three career defeats -- all in doubles -- in "slam" events (the early "Classic 8's" events and eventually named "grand slam" competitions at all four majors). In 2010, Van Koot & Daniela Di Toro defeated Vergeer & Sharon Walaven in the Roland Garros final, and in '12 she teamed with Griffioen to hand Vergeer (w/ Marjolein Buis) a defeat in her final major in the semis of Wimbledon. Vergeer's only other "slam" loss came in 2002. Starting in 2013, Van Koot added twelve more doubles slams, including two completed Grand Slams in '13 (w/ Griffioen) and '19 (w/ de Groot), won three of her four career Masters Doubles wins in '15/'18-19, and Paralympic doubles Gold (w/ Griffioen) in '16. She won back-to-back Paralympic singles Silvers in '12 and '16, losing in finals to Vergeer and Griffioen. In 2019, Van Koot had "her moment" as she upset de Groot in the Wimbledon final, denying her countrywoman and doubles partner what would have been the sport's first clean season sweep of all eight slam titles (and s/d Masters, as the pair went on to win that, too). The six-year gap between Van Koot's second and third slam singles wins is the longest the sport's history between singles slam wins. Her eighteen career slams rank third all-time behind Vergeer and Kamiji. And she's still only 29. Griffioen reached #1 at just over age 30 and won three of her four singles majors that same season. Of course, Griffioen didn't have the specter of a young de Groot (soon to be just 23) looming on the WC landscape for most or (maybe) the entire next decade as *she* (perhaps) seeks to chase down some of Vergeer's "unattainable" records.


#18 - Jiske Griffioen, NED
...while Griffioen was an active, relevant player during the Vergeer era (she won six WD slams alongside her countrywoman from 2006-08), she came into her own in singles late in her career. In the immediate 12-major stretch after Vergeer's retirement, six different women won slam titles, with Griffioen claiming the most with four. All came in a little over a year in 2015-16, as she rose to #1 and became the first Wimbledon WC singles event winner (2016) *and* swept the Paralympics in a period nestled neatly between the post-Vergeer stretch of parity and the Kamiji/de Groot era that has defined the WC majors since 2017. Griffioen twice swept the season-ending Masters events in singles and doubles during the decade (2012/15) after having won the WD five times in the 2000's with Vergeer. Her eighteen career slams (4s/14d) is tied with Aniek Van Koot for third all-time, just one ahead of the charging de Groot. While she spread out her success, reaching #1 in doubles at age 20 in '05 and then #1 in singles at 30 in '15, the only hole in Griffioen's career resume was the U.S. Open. She claimed four doubles crowns in New York in her career, but never the singles final. She was 0-4 in WS semis in the decade, and 0-5 in her career (with the matches taking place over an eight-year span). Griffioen retired after failing to defend her Wimbledon title in '17, citing a lack of competitive fire, but returned to the WC tour in an unexpected comeback bid in late 2019.


#17 - Samantha Stosur, AUS
...the Aussie's career has been the very picture of versatility and perseverance, often in spite of her own worst faults. After first breaking through in the late 2000's with doubles success, -- Stosur reached #1 in '06, won two WD majors, two WTA Championships crowns, nine high Premiers (4 at IW/Mia in 2006-07) and two MX slams -- she developed into a top singles star as one decade became another. Her semifinal at Roland Garros in '09 set the stage for three more such deep finishes in Paris (including a final in '10 after she'd ended Justine Henin's 24-match RG winning streak in the 4th Rd.) and a stunning U.S. Open title run in '11 during which she often toiled away from the big stage and, as the #9 seed, knocked off four seeded players (and unseeded A.Kerber) en route to claiming the first slam won by an Aussie woman since 1980. She defeated Serena Williams in a 2 & 3 final, becoming the first player other than V.Williams and M.Sharapova to defeat Serena in the first 25 major finals of her career. Stosur climbed as high as #4 that season. She never rose to such a height again, though she did reach the RG semis in '16. She notched 24 of her 31 career Top 10 wins in the decade, and improved upon a 3-12 record in finals to start her career with a 6-4 stretch from 2013-19. For 452 straight weeks from 2008-17, she was the highest-ranked Aussie on tour. Still, Stosur was 0-3 in high Premier finals (losing to S.Williams, Sharapova and Azarenka), and her lack of success while staring down the overwhelming pressure of competing at her home major (18-17 in her AO career, she was 9-10 in the decade, with four straight 1st Round exits to close things out) and in Australia-hosted Fed Cup ties has been a major, lingering sticking point. Still, her significant losses have been largely offset by her (Hall of Fame-worthy?) career versatility. As the decade progressed, Stosur began to dabble again in doubles after mostly moving on after her singles career took off. She won the Wimbledon MX title in '14, and then closed out the decade in Melbourne by winning the WD with longtime friend Zhang Shuai in '19 (the pair also reached the Miami final during the year). The win made her the only woman in the 2010's to win major titles in singles, doubles and mixed. With Martina Hingis' retirement after 2017, only Stosur and Venus and Serena Williams end the decade as active WTA players who have accomplished the feat during their careers. After the AO doubles win somewhat softened the edges of a career filled with disappointment in Australia for Stosur, she came of a match short of further redemption when she and Ash Barty lost the deciding doubles in the '19 Fed Cup vs. France in Perth when a win would have give Australia its first title since 1974 (and it's first won on home soil since '71). The nation won't likely get another chance like that anytime soon with the competition's format change (the final moves to Budapest in a week-long multi-nation spring event starting in '20), and surely not during Stosur's career. But she recently announced that she's not going away quite yet, and intends to play on after some wondered if '19 might be the the end of the road for the now 35-year old Aussie. Good for her, as if she chooses to once again focus more on doubles she just might be able to collect a handful of additional slam WD/MX crowns that could further deepen her case for eventual enshrinement in Newport.


#16 - Garbine Muguruza, ESP
...if this list was based on the "high-end" of Muguruza's abilities -- apparent in her two majors, #1 ranking, four #1 victories (two over Serena), and wins over *both* Williams sisters in a slam final (the *only* player to ever do it) -- she'd likely be Top 5. But the Venezuela-born Spaniard's penchant for "drifting off mentally" in super-frustrating fashion on any given day (aka to Mugu) leaves her as *the* unchallenged (sorry, Sloane) biggest enigma in women's tennis during the 2010's. She won seven titles, but two were majors (at which she reached three finals). She claimed two high Premier titles ('15 PM Beijing, '17 P5 Cincinnati), but her only tournament wins in the final two years of the decade came during the relative quiet of April in the small International event in Monterrey. She reached the SF or better in four majors, but did so in only one (Beijing) PM event of the 28 she played. She's 3-3 vs. Serena (beating her twice at RG, with five meetings coming in majors and the other at Indian Wells), 5-3 vs. Kerber, 3-2 vs. Halep, and had 32 top 10 wins. But Muguruza has just three Top 10 seasons of her own (2015-17, when she finished #3 and #2, respectively, in the bookending years), and she concluded the decade slumping to #18 and #36 despite the lack of any sort of major injury that kept her off tour for months. But when Muguruza has been "on," she's often been spectacular on the big stage, showing an ability to virtually lord over the best players in the game (yes, even *that* one) without them having much say in the matter. Aga Radwanska described her playing style as being "very explosive, especially from every shot. So forehand, backhand, serve, return, everything is coming to you so fast." At the '16 Roland Garros, she lost her opening set in the 1st Round, then won fourteen straight en route to the title, besting S.Williams in the final to the become the first Spanish woman to win a major since 1998. At Wimbledon in '17, she was at her dominant and (most importantly) calm and confident best. With coach Sam Sumyk (w/ whom Muguruza often petulantly battled with during in-match sessions through the decade) absent for personal reasons, Spanish tennis great Conchita Martinez stepped in to assist. The breath of fresh air served Garbi well and we finally saw what a care-free Muguruza looked like. She's never smiled more in a tournament. Again, she lost just one set (Kerber-4r) on to way to another major win, defeating V.Williams 5 & love in the final. She reached #1 later that summer, but only held the spot for four weeks. Still, she reached the U.S. Open Round of 16 for the first time, as she did at all four slams in a season for the first and only time in her career. But in her eight slams MD appearances that followed, Muguruza lost in the 1st or 2nd Round five times. Martinez returned for a brief stint in early '18 during which Muguruza reached the Qatar final and Dubai semi before 2r/4r exits at Indian Wells and Miami, after which Sumyk again returned. Since then, aside from her runs in Monterrey (where the highest ranked players she faced were #44 and #66), she's gone just 37-31 in other events and Fed Cup. This is suddenly significant because Muguruza finally moved on from Sumyk after 2019 on the heels of a 1-7 season-ending crash, and will enter '20 with Martinez again by her side. At just age 26, if she can rediscover her "safe space," maybe the enigmatic Spaniard might still have some big moments in her future.




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16. Garbine Muguruza, ESP
17. Samantha Stosur, AUS
18. Jiske Griffioen, NED (WC)
19. Aniek Van Koot, NED (WC)
20. Karolina Pliskova, CZE
21. Venus Williams, USA
22. Aga Radwanska, POL
23. (tie) Sara Errani, ITA
23. (tie) Roberta Vinci, ITA
25. Lucie Safarova, CZE
26. Elina Svitolina, UKR
27. Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA
28. Ash Barty, AUS
29. Sania Mirza, IND
30. Jordanne Whiley, GBR (WC)
31. Francesca Schiavone, ITA
32. Naomi Osaka, JPN
33. Kristina Mladenovic, FRA
34. Sloane Stephens, USA
35. Barbora Strycova, CZE
36. Hsieh Su-wei, TPE
37. Latisha Chan, TPE
38. Andrea Hlavackova/Lucie Hradecka, CZE
39. Peng Shuai, CHN
40. Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova, CZE
41. Alona Ostapenko, LAT
42. Bianca Andreescu, CAN
43. Vera Zvonareva, RUS
44. CoCo Vandeweghe, USA
45. Marion Bartoli, FRA
46. Timea Babos, HUN
47. Vania King/Yaroslava Shvedova, USA/KAZ
48. Dominika Cibulkova, SVK
49. Gisela Dulko, ARG
50. Katarina Srebotnik, SLO


Players of the Decade, #31-50: HERE

Here are the remaining 15 entries on the countdown list:

Victoria Azarenka, BLR
Kim Clijsters, BEL
Diede de Groot, NED (wc)
Simona Halep, ROU
Martina Hingis, SUI
Yui Kamiji, JPN (wc)
Angelique Kerber, GER
Petra Kvitova, CZE
Li Na, CHN
Ekaterina Makarova/Elena Vesnina, RUS/RUS
Flavia Pennetta, ITA
Maria Sharapova, RUS
Esther Vergeer, NED (wc)
Serena Williams, USA
Caroline Wozniacki, DEN




*BACKSPIN'S non-"Fab 50" 2010-19 HONOR ROLL (to 168)*
Akgul Amanmuradova, UZB
Amanda Anisimova, USA
Shuko Aoyama, JPN
Raquel Atawo, USA
Timea Bacsinszky, SUI
Irina-Camelia Begu, ROU
Belinda Bencic, SUI
Iveta Benesova, CZE
Kiki Bertens, NED
Cara Black, ZIM
Genie Bouchard, CAN
Jennifer Brady, USA
Marjolein Buis, NED (wc)
Chan Chin-wei, TPE
Chan Hao-ching, TPE
Chuang Chia-jung, TPE
Danielle Collins, USA
Gaby Dabrowski, CAN
Harriet Dart, GBR
Kimiko Date, JPN
Casey Dellacqua, AUS
Elena Dementieva, RUS
Daniela Di Toro, AUS (wc)
Caroline Dolehide, USA
Duan Yingying, CHN
Vera Dushevina, RUS
Sabine Ellerbrock, GER (wc)
Marina Erakovic, NZL
Kirsten Flipkens, BEL
Jarmila Gajdosova (Wolfe; ex-Groth), AUS
Caroline Garcia, FRA
Margarita Gasparyan, RUS
Camila Giorgi, ITA
Julia Goerges, GER
Florence Gravellier, FRA (wc)
Anna-Lena Groenefeld, GER
Daniela Hantuchova, SVK
Justine Henin, BEL
Korie Homan, NED (wc)
Eri Hozumi, JPN
Liezel Huber, USA
Ana Ivanovic, SRB
Jelena Jankovic, SRB
Klaudia Jans-Ignacik, POL
Kaia Kanepi, EST
Dasha Kasatkina, RUS
Miyu Kato, JPN
Madison Keys, USA
Maria Kirilenko, RUS
Andreja Klepac, SLO
Ana Konjuh, CRO
Johanna Konta, GBR
Michaella Krajicek, NED
Luksika Kumkhum, THA
Viktoria Kuzmova, SVK
Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
Johanna Larsson, SWE
Varvara Lepchenko, USA
Sabine Lisicki, GER
Nuria Llagostera-Vives, ESP
Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, CRO
Petra Martic, CRO
Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, ESP
Christina McHale, USA
Anabel Medina-Garrigues, ESP
Nicole Melichar, USA
Elise Mertens, BEL
Karolina Muchova, CZE
Monica Niculescu, ROU
Makoto Ninomiya, JPN
Melanie Oudin, USA
Tamira Paszek, AUT
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, RUS
Teliana Pereira, BRA
Kveta Peschke, CZE
Andrea Petkovic, GER
Nadia Petrova, RUS
Tsvetana Pironkova, BUL
Monica Puig, PUR
Yulia Putintseva, KAZ
Lisa Raymond, USA
Alison Riske, USA
Laura Robson, GBR
Anastasia Rodionova, RUS
Shelby Rogers, USA
Alicja Rosolska, POL
Magdalena Rybarikova, SVK
Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
Aliaksandra Sasnovich, BLR
Chanelle Scheepers, RSA
Demi Schuurs, NED
Anastasija Sevastova, LAT
Astra Sharma, AUS
Lucy Shuker, GBR (wc)
Laura Siegemund, GER
Abigail Spears, USA
Rennae Stubbs, AUS
Carla Suarez-Navarro, ESP
Aldila Sutjiadi, INA
Tamarine Tanasugarn, THA
Taylor Townsend, USA
Lesia Tsurenko, UKR
Alison Van Uytvanck, BEL
Donna Vekic, CRO
Marketa Vondrousova, CZE
Galina Voskoboeva, KAZ
Sharon Walraven, NED (wc)
Wang Qiang, CHN
Heather Watson, GBR
Xu Yifan, CHN
Yang Zhaoxuan, CHN
Zhang Shuai, CHN
Zheng Jie, CHN
Zheng Saisai, CHN






*TOP WD+MX - INDIVIDUAL*
1.Martina Hingis, SUI
2.Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA
3.Sania Mirza, IND
4.Kristina Mladenovic, FRA
5.Latisha Chan, TPE

NON-RANKED SPECIAL MENTION: Kveta Peschke, CZE
...21 WD titles, 1 slam (w/ Srebotnik '11), 3 MX finals, playing at age 44 in '19


*TOP DOUBLES DUOS*
1.Sara Errani/Roberta Vinci, ITA/ITA - won Career Doubles Slam, 5 majors, 22 titles
2.Ekaterina Makarova/Elena Vesnina, RUS/RUS - 3 slams, Olympic Gold, WTAF, 12 titles
3.Martina Hingis/Sania Mirza, SUI/IND - 3 slams, Sunshine Double, WTAF, 14 titles in 16-month partnership
4.Serena Williams/Venus Williams, USA/USA - 4 slams, 6 titles, Olympic Gold
5.Bethanie Mattek-Sands/Lucie Safarova, USA/CZE - 5 slams (3 con. 2016-17), 11 titles
6.Timea Babos/Kristina Mladenovic, HUN/FRA - 2 slams, back-to-back WTAF, 9 titles
7.Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova, CZE/CZE - 3 juniors slams '13, 2 women's slams '18
8.Caroline Garcia/Kristina Mladenovic, FRA/FRA - '16 RG champs and Fed Cup finalists, '19 FC deciding doubles win in final, 4 titles
9.Andrea Hlavackova/Lucie Hradecka, CZE/CZE - 2 slams, Olympic Silver, 3 Cincinnati, 10 titles (& 2 $100K ITF)
10.Hsieh Su-wei/Peng Shuai, TPE/CHN - 2 slams, WTAF, Indian Wells, 8 titles
11.Chan Hao-ching/Latisha Chan, TPE/TPE - 14 titles, Cincinnati/Doha Premier, WTA 125, 2 ITF
12.Elise Mertens/Aryna Sabalenka, BEL/BLR - Sunshine Double and U.S. Open in '19
13.Liezel Huber/Lisa Raymond, USA/USA - 1 slam, WTAF, Indian Wells, 9 titles
14.Gisela Dulko/Flavia Pennetta, ARG/ITA - 1 slam, WTAF, Miami, 8 titles
15.Latisha Chan/Martina Hingis, TPE/SUI - 1 slam, Indian Wells, 9 titles in '17
HM-Vania King/Yaroslava Shvedova, USA/KAZ - 2 slams, 4 titles

NON-RANKED SPECIAL MENTION: Raquel Atawo (née Kops-Jones)/Abigail Spears, USA/USA
...13 titles, 19 finals, Cincinnati '14 win; 2007-16 partnership


*TOP MIXED DOUBLES - INDIVIDUAL*
1.Martina Hingis, SUI - Career MX Slam w/ Paes, + 2 w/ J.Murray
2.Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA - 4 slam wins (U.S. 2018-19 w/ J.Murray); '16 Olympic Gold
3.Latisha Chan, TPE - RG 2018-19 w/ Dodig; 2 con. MX slams in '19
4.Sania Mirza, IND - 2 MX slams + 3 RU (4 diff. partners); '16 Olympic SF w/ 5th
5.Kristina Mladenovic, FRA - 2-2 slam finals w/ Nestor
6.Cara Black, ZIM - AO/WI in '10 w/ Paes
7.Katarina Srebotnik, SLO - 2-1 MX finals 2010-11
8.Gaby Dabrowski, CAN - 2-2 MX finals 2017-19
9.Lisa Raymond, USA - 3 MX finals (1-2) w/ 3 partners 2010-13
10.Lucie Hradecka, CZE - 1-2 MX finals 2013-15
HM-Victoria Azarenka, BLR - '12 Olympic Gold w/ Mirnyi; '18 Wimb. RU w/ J.Murray
[duos]
1.Martina Hingis/Leander Paes, SUI/IND
2.Latisha Chan/Ivan Dodig, TPE/CRO
3.Bethanie Mattek-Sands/Jamie Murray, USA/GBR
4.Martina Hingis/Jamie Murray, SUI/GBR
5.Kristina Mladenovic/Daniel Nestor, FRA/CAN
6.Cara Black/Leander Paes, ZIM/IND
7t.Victoria Azarenka/Max Mirnyi, BLR/BLR (Olympic Gold '12)
7t.Bethanie Mattek-Sands/Jack Sock, USA/USA (Olympic Gold '16)
8t.Melanie Oudin/Jack Sock, USA/USA (home slam title '10)
8t.Heather Watson/Henri Kontinen, GBR/FIN (home slam title '16)
8t.Jarmila Gajdosova/Matthew Ebden, AUS/AUS (home slam title '13)
9.Lisa Raymond/Mike Bryan, USA/USA
10.Iveta Benesova/Jurgen Melzer, CZE/AUT (couple '11)


*TOP WHEELCHAIR*
1.Esther Vergeer, NED - undefeated in singles; 7s/8d slams, 2 Paralympic Golds, 3 s/d Masters; retired after '12
2.Diede de Groot, NED - first in sport to win all eight slam titles (won 7 of 8 slams, s/d Masters in '19); 15 totals slam wins 2017-19; 20 con. slam F to end decade
3.Yui Kamiji, JPN - 20 slams (6s/14d); Paralympic singles Bronze; 3 Masters (1/2); WD Grand Slam w/ Whiley in '14
4.Jiske Griffioen, NED - 12 (4s/8d) slams; '16 Paralympic Gold sweep; first Wimbledon WS champ in '16; 4 Masters (2/2)
5.Aniek Van Koot, NED - 3 singles slams (+1 Masters), 15 doubles slams (+4 Masters); '16 Paralympics WD Gold; two WD Grand Slams (w/ Griffioen '13, de Groot '19)
6.Jordanne Whiley, GBR - won '15 U.S. singles (hasn't played tournament since due to pregnancy, Paralympics and being ranked #8 and replaced by WC in '19 draw); won 9 WD slams w/ Kamiji (Grand Slam in '14, 5 con. majors)
7.Marjolein Buis, NED - '16 RG singles, +4 doubles slams (and Para. Gold '12 and Silver '16); WC classification change will force to retire after '20
8.Sabine Ellerbrock, GER - two singles slams in 2013-14; career began at age 33 in '09, reached #1 four years later; active in '19 at age 44
9.Sharon Walraven, NED - won seven con. WD majors 2010-12 (all w/ Vergeer); '10 AO singles RU
10.Lucy Shuker, GBR - five slam WD finals 2010-18; Masters doubles champ w/ de Groot in '16; two-time Para. WD Bronze medalist
HM-Korie Homan, NED - 2010 AO singles champ (w/d from WD in same event due to wrist injury, then retired in July w/o playing another match as a repair via surgery wasn't an option)


*TOP JUNIORS*
1.Belinda Bencic, SUI - only back-to-back girls major champ in 2010's, winning RG/WI in 2013
2.Ana Konjuh, CRO - won two singles slams (AO/US) in '13; swept AO s/d; '12 Eddie Herr and Orange Bowl champ
3t.Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova, CZE/CZE - won three con. GD slams (RG/WI/US) in '13; Krejcikova had reached GD final at AO
3t.Timea Babos/Sloane Stephens, HUN/USA - won three con. GD slams (RG/WI/US) in '10; Babos had reached AO GD final
5.Taylor Townsend, USA - swept 2012 AO singles/doubles; won three GD slams in '12 (2 w/ Gaby Andrews); reached '13 WI singles final
6.Genie Bouchard, CAN - in 2012 at Wimbledon became first Canadian jr. slam singles champ; won GD at Wimbledon in 2011-12 (one w/ Townsend)
7.Coco Gauff, USA - at 14, became youngest girls #1 in '18; '17 U.S. girls finalist, '18 RG girls champ; won U.S. GD w/ McNally (2018); '18 Orange Bowl 18s champ
8.Liang En-shuo, TPE - became first Taiwanese girls slam champ, sweeping s/d at AO in '18
9.Ons Jabeur, TUN - first Arab female to win slam girls crown, winning RG singles in '11 (had been finalist in' 10)
10.Wang Xinyu/Wang Xiyu, CHN/CHN - first all-CHN duo to win girls doubles slam at '18 Wimbledon; Xinyu also won '13 AO GD w/ Liang; at U.S. Open Xiyu was first CHN girls slam winnner

=ADDITIONAL NOTEWORTHY JUNIOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS=
Bianca Andreescu, CAN - won back-to-back GD slams in '17 (AO/RG); Orange Bowl 16s (2014) and 18s (2015) singles champ
Ash Barty, AUS - first Aussie girl to win Wimbledon (2011) since 1980
Clara Burel, FRA - in 2018, was runner-up at AO (Liang), U.S. (Wang Xiyu) and Youth Summer Games (Juvan), but won Junior Masters and was girls #1 for season
Olga Danilovic, SRB - won three GD majors (w/ three partners) in 2016-17
Kaja Juvan, SLO - swept s/d Golds at Youth Summer Games in '18
Irina Khromacheva, RUS - won three GD majors from 2010-12 (five finals w/ five partners)
Elizaveta Kulichkova, RUS - swept 2014 AO singles/doubles titles
An-Sophie Mestach, BEL - swept 2011 AO singles/doubles titles
Tereza Mihalikova, SVK - back-to-back AO singles finals (won '15); 3 GD slam finals 2014-16 (won '16 AO)
Maria Camila Osorio Serrano, COL - became first jr. girls slam champ ('19 U.S.) from South America since 2000
Alona Ostapenko, LAT - at Wimbledon in 2014 became first Latvian girls slam champ
Whitney Osuigwe, USA - first U.S. girl to win RG (2017) since 1989; '17 Eddie Herr and Orange Bowl titles
Karolina Pliskova, CZE and Kristyna Pliskova, CZE - only sisters to win jr. slams in decade, both in '10 (Karolina AO, Kristyna WI)


Categories to be cont'd...






*FED CUP PLAYERS*
1.Petra Kvitova, CZE
2.Flavia Pennetta, ITA
3.Karolina Pliskova, CZE
4.CoCo Vandeweghe, USA
5.Kiki Bertens, NED
6t.Roberta Vinci, ITA & Sara Errani, ITA
7t.Caroline Garcia, FRA & Kristina Mladenovic, FRA
8.Ash Barty, USA
9.Barbora Strycova, CZE
10.Ekaterina Makarova, RUS
HM-Aliaksandra Sasnovich, BLR
Special Mention: Aleksandra Krunic, SRB
[captains]
1.Petr Pala, CZE
2.Kathy Rinaldi, USA
3.Corrado Barazzutti, ITA
4.Amelie Mauresmo, FRA
5.Julien Benneteau, FRA
HM-Paul Haarhuis, NED
[nations]
1.Czech Republic - 6 titles (2011-12,14-16,18), 3 semis
2.Italy - 2 titles (2010,13), 3 semis
3.France - 1 title (2019), 2 RU, 2 semis
4.United States - 1 title (2017), 2 RU
5.Russia - 3 finals, 2 semis
6.Australia - 2 finalS, 1 semi
7.Belarus - 1 final, 1 semi
8.Germany - 1 final, 2 semis
9.Netherlands - 1 semi
10.Romania - 1 semi
HM-Switzerland (2 semis) & Serbia (1 final)


*TOP OLYMPIANS*
1.Serena Williams, USA - 2012 singles/doubles Golds
2.Monica Puig, PUR - 2016 singles Gold
3.Victoria Azarenka, BLR - 2012 singles Bronze, 2012 mixed Gold
4.Venus Williams, USA - 2012 doubles Gold, 2016 mixed Silver
5.Lucie Hradecka, CZE - 2012 doubles Silver, 2016 mixed Bronze
6.Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA - 2016 mixed Gold
7.Ekaterina Makarova/Elena Vesnina, RUS - 2016 doubles Gold
8.Maria Sharapova, RUS - 2012 singles Silver
9.Angelique Kerber, GER - 2016 singles Silver
10.Timea Bacsinszky/Martina Hingis, SUI - 2016 doubles Silver
HM-Petra Kvitova, CZE (2016 singles Bronze) & Laura Robson, GBR (2012 mixed Silver)


*NCAA PLAYERS*
1.Nicole Gibbs, Stanford (USA) - 2011-12 singles
2.Danielle Collins, Virginia (USA) - 2014 and '16 singles
HM-Brienne Minor, Michigan (USA) - 2017 singles; first African-American NCAA WS champ


*TEAM COMPETITIONS*
[World Team Tennis]
1.Washington Kastles - 2011-15 champions (2011-12 undefeated seasons)
2.Springfield Lasers - 2018-19 champions
[Hopman Cup]
1.Switzerland (Belinda Bencic/Roger Federer) - 2018-19 champions
2.Australia Green (Dasha Gavrilova/Nick Kyrgios) - 2016 champs; first AUS since '99
[Wheelchair World Team Cup]
1.Netherlands - 2010-16,18-19 champions
2.China - 2017 champions
[Junior Fed Cup 16s]
1.United States - 5 titles, 2 runners-up
2.Czech Republic - 1 title, 1 runner-up
3.Russia - 2 titles, 1 runner-up
[ITF World Junior 14s]
1.United States - 3 titles, 4 runners-up
2.Russia - 3 titles, 1 runner-up
3.Ukraine - 1 titles, 3 runners-up
[NCAA]
1.Stanford Cardinal - 2010,16,18-19 champions
2.Florida Gators - 2011-12,17 champions

Come on Lefty, we're breaking out of this joint. pic.twitter.com/ZcQpKk3dpq

— IAMis Dangerous to Evil I hope (@IAMISjp) November 25, 2019

All for now.