Sans Serena Williams or Maria Sharapova, women’s tennis has plenty of winners, but few champions

Sloane Stephens, world No 23, is the only repeat winner on the tour in the first two months of the season, which has seen 11 different champions in 12 tournaments so far, writes Ahmed Rizvi.

Serena Williams, left, of the US and Russia's Maria Sharapova hold their trophies after Williams won their women's singles final at the 2015 Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne. AFP PHOTO /Show more

A year ago, after the first eight weeks of the season, Serena Williams was at the top of the WTA rankings, followed by Maria Sharapova, Simona Halep, Petra Kvitova, Caroline Wozniacki, Ana Ivanovic, Eugenie Bouchard, Agnieszka Radwanska, Ekaterina Makarova and Andrea Petkovic making up the top 10.

Fast forward 12 months and Williams is still at the top, with a comfortable lead of 3,545 points, but few others have managed to retain their positions.

Sharapova, struggling with injuries, has played just the Australian Open and slipped down the rankings, to No 7.

Halep, also struggling with health issues, has lost five of her eight matches in 2016 and has been knocked out of her last three tournaments without winning a match, twice by opponents ranked outside the top 100.

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Kvitova, the current world No 9, has fared no better, losing five of her seven completed matches, while Wozniacki, a first-round loser at the Australian Open, is now No 22.

Ivanovic, No 16, has endured a mixed bag as well, starting the year with two first-round exits before stringing together a few wins in the following three tournaments.

Bouchard? She is No 52 at present following a horrendous sophomore year, during which she lost 18 of her 30 matches.

Makarova’s ranking has also been in a free fall, down to No 32 in the world having lost three matches on the trot. Petkovic, who was on the verge of quitting tennis last year, is No 24.

Radwanska, an 11-year veteran of the tour, is the only player from that top 10 of March 2, 2015, who has actually improved her position. And she is also the only one to have won a title this year.

Williams and Sharapova have appeared in only one tournament until now, but Halep, Kvitova, Wozniacki, Ivanovic and even Garbine Muguruza, who started the year at No 3, have played more than one event and have yet to reach the final.

Instead, the names of Svetlana Kuznetsova, Alize Cornet, Roberta Vinci, Sara Errani, Venus Williams, Francesca Schiavone feature on the WTA’s winners roll for 2016.

Sloane Stephens, world No 23, is the only repeat winner on the tour in the first two months of the season, which has seen 11 different champions in 12 tournaments so far.

What do these first two months of the year tell us then?

That the WTA Tour, in the absence of Williams and Sharapova, is as orderly as the Dubai-Sharjah traffic at peak hours.

Dread the day, then, when these two superstars call time on their careers.

Because women’s tennis seems to have plenty of winners, but few champions.

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