Johanna Konta

Helen40 · Grand Slam Champion

RE: Johanna Konta

paulisi · Tennis legend

paulisi wrote:
Helen40 wrote:
When will Jo be able to use her new WR 28 to enter tournaments? I guess her whole schedule will change now.
I think the WTA entry lists are six weeks ahead, so mid March

Indian Wells list has old entries prior to Aus Open - however seedings should be based on ranking the previous week, so she should be seeded.

Miami entries not released yet, so should have new rankings

-- Edited by paulisi on Monday 1st of February 2016 04:55:22 PM

insomniacfolder · Challenger level

Jo is one of the 5 nominees that you can vote for for the highly coveted January WTA Breakthrough Performance of the Month award
Flippancy aside, she must have a reasonable chance

wimdledont · Challenger level

With Mladenovic losing in Moscow, then according to the usually highly unreliable live rankings list below, Jo will rise to WR27 on Monday, the equal highest by any UK gal this century...

live-tennis.eu/wta-live-ranking

So big, if provisional, congratulations to her.

She could climb a further place the following week also, as Stosur drops points and falls below her, and neither are due to play.

This is fine progress for sitting on the sofa - Claire Balding's sofa, apparently, and coming to the telly soon.

With Jo having so few points to defend, and with the massive 282 point gap between the top 32 and WR33, this could now happen quite regularly, until she has some significant 2015 points to defend herself, after Paris.

vohor · Grand Slam Champion

Provisional congrats Jo :D

indiana · Tennis legend

Just heard at the end of the Clare Balding Show on BBC 2 that Jo is going to be a guest next Thursday night.

I'll add a reminder next week.

insomniacfolder · Challenger level

As I am sometimes wont to do, I was idly wondering about rankings, and given Johanna's start to the season, what would she have to do in order to achieve the highest placed finish by a Brit in the Year End Race over the last few years.
Turns out though, and this was surprising to me, at least, that she already did it, last year!
The final positions of the top ranked Brits over the last 10 years have been as follows:-

Year	Player	YE Rank	YE points
2016	Johanna Konta	*	782*
2015	Johanna Konta	44	1107
2014	Heather Watson	49	1048
2013	Laura Robson	46	1212
2012	Heather Watson	49	1161
2011	Elena Baltacha	49	1120
2010	Elena Baltacha	55	1092
2009	Anne Keothavong	73	643
2008	Anne Keothavong	91	278
2007	Katie O'Brien	126	166
2006	Sarah Borwell	192	51

So, Jo already is the top GB placed YE Race finisher, with her 44th race last year; though Laura in 2013 has the top YE points haul.
The seeming discrepancy is largely explained by the Serena points vacuum effect that was exerted in 2015 as she closed in on the calendar Grand Slam; Serena hoovering up all the points from almost every major tournament, concentrating them at the top and skewing the rest of the field as a consequence.

Also, interesting that Bally in 2011 & Heather in 2012 also outscored Jo, despite ending the season race behind her mark. The ranking system has been tweaked, but the general score for early rounds at smaller tournaments - such as those in which Bally (in particular), & Hev, accrued most of their points, has gone down, not up!

With Jo's start to the year, she surely has every chance to set new marks for both rank and points this year.
I found it all an interesting trifle

indiana · Tennis legend

Very interesting, thanks very much for that.

WavenNarsam · Lower Club Player

Well she already has 780 points from the Australian Open result, so I can't imagine it will take much to beat Laura's points tally from 2013. If she has a reasonably consistent year, maybe winning around one to two matches on average each tournament (although you'd hope on a fair few occasions, she manages more), that should be enough.

What that graph does show is that there is clear progress from the late 00's at the top of the women's game in Britain. It's leveled out over the past few years, but at least it isn't dropping off.

vohor · Grand Slam Champion

Very nice work ISF, thanks :)

steven · Tennis legend

Very interesting (and very well presented!) - and I hadn't even thought to check whether Jo's 2015 year-end race position was the highest by a Brit yet.

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Really beautiful graph !

vohor · Grand Slam Champion

Coup Droit wrote:
Really beautiful graph !

Especially the very stubby bar at the bottom; long may it remain stubby :)

Jan · Hall of fame

Thanks ISF - very interesting and colourful too!
I do like a good graph!

wimdledont · Challenger level

Lovely graph ISF, though I do hope that Jo is about to mess it up terribly, by breaking the x-axis on the right hand side.