Power Ranking the Top 20 Women's Players Heading into 2015 Australian Open
The 2015 Australian Open gets underway with Maria Sharapova zeroing in on the No. 1 ranking and Serena Williams focused on winning her 19th Grand Slam.
Williams and Sharapova are the top two players in the WTA Tour rankings in prize money earned and popularity. They also top the power rankings going into the Australian Open. If Sharapova wins the Australian Open, it will signal a power shift.
When it comes to the power rankings, Williams sets the tone and everyone else falls in line. Unlike last year, however, the gap between Williams and the rest is much smaller. Her stranglehold on the No. 1 ranking has been slipping, and Sharapova is in the best position to snatch it away.
Taking into account how players finished in 2014 and how they've looked early in 2015, these are the power rankings heading into the Aussie Open.
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Also Considered: Sam Stosur, Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, Belinda Bencic and Caroline Garcia.
20. Garbine Muguruza: Slowly moving up the rankings, No. 24 Muguruza continues to show championship promise. She burst onto the scene with a second-round upset win over Serena Williams in the 2014 French Open. More recently, she defeated Sara Errani and Agnieszka Radwanska in Sydney.
19. Sara Errani: Once a Top Five player, Errani's sad serve has finally caught up to her. Powerful returners use it as target practice. Until the clay-court season rolls around, Errani won't be a factor.
18. Carla Suarez Navarro: Similar to Errani, Suarez Navarro is small in stature and her serve gets punished by big hitters. However, Suarez Navarro has a better hard-court game than Errani.
17. Alize Cornet: Considered the Serena Slayer for her three wins against the No. 1 player last year, Cornet finds the right mix of variation and agitation to get under Serena Williams' skin. Unfortunately for her, she can't play Williams every match. A streaky player, Cornet has a nifty gritty game but no killer shot to scare anybody.
16. Jelena Jankovic: The former No. 1 appeared to experience a rebirth last year as she climbed back into the Top 10. She's lost it again. One of the best movers in the game, Jankovic arrives in Melbourne with too many question marks. A Grand Slam would be a nice place to figure out some answers.
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15. Venus Williams: Fresh off a win in Auckland, Williams looks more solid than her younger sister. She defeated Caroline Wozniacki in the finals. Williams' old-school serve-and-volley shake things up in Melbourne.
14. Lucie Safarova: A semifinal run at Wimbledon propelled Safarova into the Top 20. Safarova has all the tools. What she lacks is the focus needed to close out big matches. She lost in the first round in Sydney, however she went 2-1 at the Hopman Cup.
13. Andrea Petkovic: After reaching the semifinals at the French Open, the powerful German seemed ready to leap into the realm of the elite. But Petkovic has slipped back into her inconsistent ways. Stymied by a mix of injuries and nerves, Petkovic is Sabine Lisicki with fewer unforced errors.
12. Dominika Cibulkova: The pocket rocket may have run out of fuel. Cibulkova is already struggling. Now she has to defend points acquired when she reached the finals of the Australian Open last year. An early-round loss and she will go spiraling down the rankings.
11. Flavia Pennetta: The 32-year-old manages to play consistently enough to stay in the Top 20. An excellent hard-court player, Pennetta reached the quarterfinals at the Australian Open and U.S. Open last year. She also won Indian Wells.
10. Ekaterina Makarova
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The lefty with a big forehand, Ekaterina Makarova surprised many with her run to the semifinals of the 2014 U.S. Open. Twice a quarterfinalist at the Australian Open, Makarova suffers more from lack of confidence than deficits in her game.
Makarova is that talented player who, despite having a Top 20 ranking, somehow glides under the radar.
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9. Angelique Kerber
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Angelique Kerber is among the best counterpunchers on tour. However, unlike Wozniacki, who has added more offense to her game, Kerber seems content to make her living running from side to side on the baseline.
Because she can chase down balls, Kerber is never an easy out. Until she finds a way to take it to the likes of Sharapova, Williams and Ana Ivanovic, Kerber will continue to be the WTA's best retriever but never top dog.
8. Eugenie Bouchard
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All eyes will be on Eugenie Bouchard to see if last year's up-and-coming sensation can avoid the sophomore slump.
She performed miserably at the WTA Finals, losing all three of her matches and winning just 11 games. Was it late-season fatigue, or have the top players figured out her game?
Bouchard scored an upset against Serena Williams at the Hopman Cup. It was her first win against Williams. Too bad it only counted as a exhibition.
7. Caroline Wozniacki
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Even with an unfavorable draw, Caroline Wozniacki could still find herself facing pal Serena Williams in the quarterfinals.
Wozniacki seems to be playing with newfound confidence. The biggest question mark is a recent wrist injury that forced her to withdraw in Sydney.
She comes in at No. 7, above her WTA ranking, because she's shown marked improvement in her game. No longer content to win rallies by default, Wozniacki is putting more opponents on the defensive.
6. Agnieszka Radwanska
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Agnieszka Radwanska made a bold statement by hiring 18-Slam winner Martina Navratilova as coach. The partnership seemed to pay dividends early. Radwanska defeated Serena Williams for the first time at the Hopman Cup.
However, she was upset by Muguruza in Sydney. It will be interesting to see what impact Navratilova has on Radwanska's game. Only 25, Radwanska is young enough to make changes. However, her small window of opportunity may lie somewhere between Serena Williams' decline and Simona Halep's rise.
5. Ana Ivanovic
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Ana Ivanovic sent ripples through Melbourne when she upset Serena Williams in the fourth round of the Australian Open last year. It wasn't just because she defeated Williams. It was because she outplayed and overpowered Williams.
Perhaps overwhelmed by all the post-Williams defeat attention, Ivanovic played less than stellar against Bouchard. Still, the former No. 1 has to feel good about her chances.
4. Petra Kvitova
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Petra Kvitova is one hard-court Slam win away from establishing herself as the new Victoria Azarenka. Once upon a time—less than two years ago—Azarenka was the one player, other than Sharapova, expected to put an end to the Serena Williams reign.
Kvitova, winner of two Wimbledon titles, hopes to assert herself on a surface other than grass.
3. Simona Halep
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Simona Halep comes in at No. 3, right where she belongs. She has a beautiful all-court game. Aside from occasional bouts with anxiety, Halep performs well in big tournaments.
She should benefit from the beatdown she delivered to Serena Williams at the WTA Finals. The only thing left for her to do is win a Slam.
2. Maria Sharapova
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Maria Sharapova needs a win over Serena Williams. She can gain the No. 1 ranking without it. However, if she wants credibility to come with that ranking, a win over Williams would do it.
Sharapova enters Australia having closed the gap between her and Williams. That was mainly due to a late-season run on points and Williams' decision to skip Brisbane.
Still, Sharapova has played herself into a position to regain the top spot. Make no mistake: She wants desperately to turn the tide before Williams retires. Otherwise, her legacy will be clouded by the lopsided head-to-head record (2-16).
1. Serena Williams
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Which Serena Williams will show up in Melbourne? Will it be the fierce and focused woman who powered her way through the field during the 2007 Australian Open? Or will she be the fragile and fatigued player who struggled at Slams in 2014?
Regardless, the tournament always seems to rest on her racket. If she's dialed in, look out. If she's lethargic, the title is Sharapova's for the taking.
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