Many ( most ? ) players are capable of more than their current ranking would suggest and certainly many are well off their CHs.

I'd say that Jo, Heather and Naomi's rankings fairly reflect their years and there is little to suggest even in the last few months that their current tennis is better than their rankings. Naomi's may be generally worse even although she was a genuine top 100 player not that long ago.

Hopefully they will move again in a positive direction next year.

flamingowings wrote:

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Ace Ventura wrote:

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flamingowings wrote:

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SuperT wrote:

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Michael D wrote:

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The dwindling number of women in the rankings this year has been noted often, mainly because of the lack of 15k events in the UK. Currently there are just 29 ranked GB players. As we all know now, things will shift quite a lot next year, with more players securing transition tour rankings, but comparatively fewer a WTA rank (and with a small number of players still in limbo with WTA points, but not the 3 counters and but with no separate ITF points).

In spite of the dwindling number, having recently having to get a new laptop before being able to update my own tables, what was striking for me is the number of GB players that have secure CHs in the last 3 weeks (counting tomorrow's predicted rankings). In order these are:
Katie Boulter - 92
Harriet Dart - 153
Katie Swan - 163
Gabi Taylor - 164
Maia Lumsden - 368
Fran Jones - 397
Jodie Burrage - 411
Eden Silva -436
Emily Appleton - 501
Lissey Barnett - 507
Emma Raducanu - 692
Ella Taylor - 785
Tiff William - 786
Emilie Lindh -1029 (equal CH)
Kasia Pitak - 1094
Anna Popescu - 1094
Ola Pitak - 1169 (now UNR again)

This is 17 players altogether. Not all these players are still at these rankings of course, and in Ola's case was just a fleeting one week back in the rankings until she secures another counter again. But the overall point is that despite the comparative lack of tournaments in the UK our women players that are managing to play are continuing to push upwards (with Emma R and Tiff both due further significant increases in another week's time).

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 What's interesting about this list is that they are all 25 or under (and mostly under 23)  By contrast according to Steven's tables every single female GB player aged 26 or over has fallen in the rankings during 2018.

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 Our U25 players outnumber our 26+ ones though. I don't see forum faves Sam Murray or EWS getting much higher but Heather and Jo and Naomi - they are all better than their current rankings.

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 Out of interest, why do you think Watson is better than her current rank and where would you say a more realistic placing would be?

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 Who knows where thoughts and feelings come from? But Heather is more capable than her currently ranking of 99, she has a career high of mid-30's. Heather should be around 40-60.

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Respect your opinion and obviously hope she can get back there, but I'm just not sure I see it. Her highest rank since Aug 2016 is 73. She was out of the top 100 from early March 2017 to July of that year, obviously that grass season massively helped, but she has done little since then bar the odd run like Auckland and Quebec, certainly wasn't playing as a top 100 player and once the Eastbourne / Wimbledon points came off, she was back to being well out the top 100 and most other players wouldn't have had the WC opportunities at Eastbourne and Wimbledon which were influential in her climb back up the rankings. She's around 100 again now and has a couple of events to replace some low counters so hopefully can pick up a few wins to cement her place, but her recent record vs top 100 players isn't great at all:

Since Jan 8th = 3-16

2018 = 6-18

Since August 2017 = 7-23. So that's just 7 wins in 30 matches vs top 100 players in the past 15 months and that's a long period, not just a temporary loss of form. She's not necessarily old at 26, but you see so many talented youngsters coming through and a fair few of the top 100 are now 21 and under so I just think it'll be really hard for her to get anywhere near where she once was.

there is a trend for a sort of M shaped carer arc in wta over last decade or so tho amongst the 30-100 ch type
high 1st peak then a period in the doldrums and then a late carere resurgeance maybe not quite to 1st hites but better than the slump and back up to close
second peak is sort of 28-32 so hev be in that group martic lucic-baroni baczinsky parmentier petkovic cornet wickmayer cirstea etc some examples of this
sometimes due to injury or other things such as aplys to hev with glandular fever and also her menstrual intensity and they take a few years to recover or adapt themself and they game to whatever has changed

Lovely to see that Mandy will regain her WTA ranking next week at around 862 (and be GB #24). This will also bring back up our total number of ranked players to 32. Of course, this is all becoming increasingly academic with the new split points system coming in in just over a month. Nevertheless on the old or new system Mandy will now get into at least 15k tournaments when she wants, and if her wrist continues to hold up be back on 25k entry lists again soon, though it's possible under the new system that might take a little longer, since at the start of next year Mandy will only have 1 WTA counter.

Peter too wrote:

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Percentage improvements in rankings since the end of 2017

-- Edited by Peter too on Monday 5th of November 2018 03:25:03 AM

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Only just over 3 weeks late (), but at last I've looked at this chart, Peter too, for which many thanks 

I'm delighted that my rankings predictions optimism in Katie B, Harriet, Gabi and Katie S fortunes was not entirely misplaced; they make for a good cohort and I have my fingers crossed they can keep up the good work in 2019 

If only Heather and Naomi (and Jo) could re-join the upwards trend too it might be a very exciting year ahead. 

As trailed by Michael last week, congratulations to Mandy who regains her WTA ranking this week, coming in at 861. Although there are no more tournaments left to enter with the current rankings system, getting this ranking will make her the top and only seed in Solarino qualifying next week. That should mean she will benefit from any byes going, and may mean she will only have to play the one qualifying match. If she qualifies and the main draw is made after qualifying she would also be seeded 8 in the main draw of those currently entered.

seagull wrote:

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RedSquirrel wrote:

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As trailed by Michael last week, congratulations to Mandy who regains her WTA ranking this week, coming in at 861. Although there are no more tournaments left to enter with the current rankings system, getting this ranking will make her the top and only seed in Solarino qualifying next week. That should mean she will benefit from any byes going, and may mean she will only have to play the one qualifying match. If she qualifies and the main draw is made after qualifying she would also be seeded 8 in the main draw of those currently entered.

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 Is their much point in being the only seed?!!

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Yes if it enables you to go straight into the MD, and what RS was really saying is that she has a very good chance of doing that (or simply getting a WC)!