Tennis Rankings: 3 Things That Need to Be Changed About the Rankings

Tennis rankings are often criticized. There are many people out there who believe something needs to be changed in the way the rankings are set up.

The current ranking system allots points to players based on the number of tournaments they play and their success in those events.

What are the problems fans have with this setup? 

Basically, if a player participates in as many tournaments as they can, they will be ranked higher solely based on that fact. There are plenty of players that miss out due to injuries and have their ranking suffer.

How should the rankings operate? I can't give you that answer, but I do have a few cases that should be changed right now.

Women's No. 1

Caroline Wozniacki has never won a Grand Slam. In fact, she's only ever been to one Slam final.

The 2009 US Open was the only major where Wozniacki made it to the final round. She gained No. 1 status back in October 2010 after reaching the semifinals of the US Open that year. Yet, Kim Clijsters remained No. 2 after winning her third Slam in New York.

It's often discussed whether a player should be able to be the top ranked player in the world without winning any majors. Is it fair that Wozniacki is No. 1?

Serena Williams easily ousted Wozniacki at this year's US Open in the semifinals. Williams has defeated Wozniacki in all three meetings they have had. Williams had dropped severely in the rankings, though, due to injuries she has been battling.

Kim Clijsters is another one that's been fighting injuries lately, but she has accomplished far more than the women ranked ahead of her.

So what should the answer be to the rankings issue? Is it fair that just because a player participates in more events they should be higher ranked? 

I don't have answer to solving this system, but Wozniacki is definitely not the best women's player in my mind.

Serena Williams

Serena Williams is arguably the best women's player in the world right now. 

As I mentioned in the previous slide, Williams has been dealing with several issues this recently. There was a time that people were unsure if she would ever play again.

Despite all the complications, Serena has made her way back. She had a memorable return to the 2011 US Open—partially due to her outbursts toward the umpire—and made it all the way to the finals.

She has jumped up in the rankings, but she still sits at No. 14.

Let's be real, there might be two or three players that deserve to be ahead of Serena right now. 

She's only played in 13 events in 2011, so she hasn't been able to accumulate as many points as the rest of the field. Yet, everyone knows how good she is.

She deserves to be ranked higher.

Juan Martin Del Potro

Juan Martin del Potro made it all the way to No. 4 in the world in 2010. Unfortunately, due to a wrist injury he dropped off considerably in the rankings.

Del Potro has fought his way back in 2011. He has won two singles titles and looks to be on the right track to regaining his old form.

He is currently ranked No. 17 in the world. Look at some of the players ahead of him. Do they really deserve to be there?

Take Janko Tipsarevic for example. I'm going to pick on him because he's never accomplished anything. Tipsarevic has never won a singles' title. He has been to two finals in tournaments this year. One of them was against del Potro, who defeated Tipsarevic in straight sets.

It's obvious that del Potro is a better player. But Tipsarevic has played in four more events than the Argentine this year, so that gives him a higher ranking? Seems a little flawed.