Tennis
Women's Power Rankings: Kuznetsova is No. 1
Tennis

Women's Power Rankings: Kuznetsova is No. 1

Published Jul. 9, 2009 5:56 p.m. ET

























































































































Women's tennis power rankings

The start of the clay season has brought some big movement to the women's Power Rankings as Svetlana Kuznetsova edges out Dinara Safina for the top spot.




How does it work? While the official WTA rankings take the entire previous year into account, our rankings deal only with the last four events in which each player has participated. This is designed to create a better estimate of who is hot now by putting the emphasis on recent action.




Disagree with our rankings? Sound off in the comments section below. Enjoy!




Rankings account for events completed prior to May 13. A "+N/A" mark in the +/- column means the player was not ranked in the previous rankings.
Rank Player +/- WTA Last four Comment
1 Svetlana
Kuznetsova
+9 7 Rome: F
Stuttgart: W
Miami: SF
Indian Wells: R64
Svetlana KuznetsovaStuttgart win and Rome runner-up showings prove she's ready for a big run at Roland Garros.
2 Dinara
Safina
+7 1 Rome: W
Stuttgart: F
Miami R32
Indian Wells: QF
Dinara SafinaAlmost a dead heat with Kuznetsova, but has a slight disadvantage in points over the same four events.
3 Victoria
Azarenka
-2 9 Rome: SF
Stuttgart: R16
Miami: W
Indian Wells: SF
Victoria AzarenkaCan't keep her at No. 1 anymore with clay not treating her well. She lost early in Stuttgart and was flattened by Kuznetsova in Rome.
4 Venus
Williams
3 Rome: SF
Charleston: R16
Miami: SF
Acapulco: W
Venus WilliamsWe have to play by the rules and ignore her early loss Tuesday in Madrid. For now, she's here ... but it won't last.
5 Ana
Ivanovic
+3 8 Rome: R16
Miami: R32
Indian Wells: F
Dubai: QF
Ana IvanovicMoving up the list more due to others' troubles than her own successes, Ivanovic is back on the surface that yielded her only Slam win.
6 Serena
Williams
-4 2 Rome: R32
Marbella: R32
Miami: F
Dubai: SF
Serena WilliamsThat leg injury in Rome raises some big red flags. Even if she is ready for the French, she hasn't yet won a match on clay this year.
7 Caroline
Wozniacki
-1 11 Rome: R16
Stuttgart: R16
Charleston: F
Ponte Vedra: W
Caroline WozniackiHasn't been able to back up her Charleston-Ponte Vedra success so far on the clay and was crushed by Azarenka in Rome.
8 Agnieszka
Radwanska
+N/A 12 Rome: QF
Stuttgart: QF
Miami: R16
Indian Wells: QF
Agnieszka RadwanskaQuarterfinal runs in Stuttgart and Rome (where she beat Ivanovic) make her a sleeper to watch in the clay stretch.
9 Jelena
Jankovic
-2 4 Rome: QF
Stuttgart: QF
Marbella: W
Miami: R64
Jelena JankovicAlso had quarterfinal efforts in Stuttgart and Rome, but the former No. 1 hasn't beaten a top-10 player all year.
10 Vera
Zvonareva
-7 6 Charleston: R16
Miami: R32
Indian Wells: W
Dubai: QF
Vera ZvonarevaWe'll keep her here another week, but the torn ligaments in her ankle have kept her off the clay, and that Indian Wells win is carrying less weight now.
Outside looking in The big question
Elena Dementieva
Last four — Stuttgart: SF; Charleston: SF; Miami: R16; Indian Wells: R64

Decent showing in Stuttgart not enough to keep her in the rankings.


Marion Bartoli
Last four — Rome: R32; Stuttgart: QF; Charleston: SF; Ponte Vedra: R32

Beat Wozniacki in Stuttgart but no other wins to write home about in this stretch.


Nadia Petrova
Last four — Rome: R16; Stuttgart: R16; Charleston: R16; Ponte Vedra: SF

Repeated Round of 16 runs aren't helping her back up her top-10 ranking.




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