Yes, you read it correctly. In spite of winning the 2010 U.S. Open, one of the biggest events in the sport, Kim Clijsters slipped from No. 3 to No. 5 in the WTA rankings.
Here’s how that happened. Clijsters earned 2,000 rankings points for winning this year’s tournament, but it had no net effect on her old ranking because she was defending 2,000 points because of her win in 2009. No matter what she did in New York, she couldn’t earn any more points.
Two other players, however, were able to earn extra rankings points. Vera Zvonareva and Venus Williams both were defeated in the fourth round of last year’s tournament and earned 280 points in the WTA rankings as a result. This year, Venus made the semifinals and Vera advanced to the finals, gaining 620 and 1,120 points, respectively. This enabled both players to catapult past Clijsters.
So what can we conclude from this? There are times when the rankings don’t mean a thing.
There is something wrong when the winner of a major Grand Slam tournament is surpassed a player who lost several rounds earlier, and also by the player she defeated in the finals. It certainly is no indication of who is the best player. There must be a better system. I wish someone would find it fast!
Or perhaps, if someone is hoping to gain in the rankings, it would be better to purposely lose early in tournaments one year, then play well the next year and catapult right up to the top. Perhaps there is a book to be written: “How to become No. 1 by losing!” or “Sandbagging to the Top!”
