Svetlana Kuznetsova has questioned the depth in women’s tennis by saying that she is unsure who is currently in the world’s top 10.
The world No.32 said during a recent Instagram live chat that she was concerned about a reduction in consistent top-class players compared to the past. Women’s tennis has come under fire for what some perceive as inconsistency among player’s compared to the men’s Tour. Which is mainly dominated by the Big Three.
“I don’t want to offend anyone, but the WTA tour has diminished,” Sport.ru quoted Kuznetsova as saying.
“Not long ago we had many top-class female players, but I don’t even know who’s in the top 10 these days. The turnover is really very high. And this not because mid-level players have gone close to the leaders, it’s quite the opposite.”
Since 2017 there have been 11 different grand slam winners of the WTA Tour. During that period only Simona Halep and Naomi Osaka have managed to win multiple titles at that level.
Kuznetsova is not alone in her views. Tennis legend Martina Navratilova wrote in November 2018 that the ‘lack of consistency is the new normal’ in an article published on the official WTA website. Citing examples of players who have been unable to back up their grand slam triumph at the following major. Although she argues that it isn’t necessarily a bad situation to be in.
“The top players could lose in the first round or, if they survive that opening match, they could go on to win the whole thing. And that was even happening at the majors,” Navratilova wrote.
“I guess this lack of consistency is the new normal and we’re going to keep on seeing it. It’s interesting to watch – when the top women play well, they can play lights-out tennis, but then what happens to them at their next tournament?”
Looking at the current WTA rankings (as of March 16th 2020), 60% of the top 10 players were also in the top 10 12 months beforehand – Halep, Osaka, Elina Svitolina, Kiki Bertens, Karolina Pliskova and Serena Williams. On the other hand, since 2017 eight different players have held the No.1 ranking at some stage.
34-year-old Kuznetsova is a veteran of the sport with 18 WTA titles under her belt so far in her career. Including the 2004 US Open and 2009 French Open. She is currently in 10th place on the all-time list for most prize money earned among female players after making just over $25.3 million.
