"Generation Suck"

[lexpretend]

But then why are so many of the up-and-comers small, retriever/grinder type girls? McHale, Watson, Oudin, Pervak, Lertcheewakarn, Diyas...none of them are big girls who can bash. And that's not counting the younger ones I haven't seen play.

And from injuries to the loss of the fun factor to the money - all valid, plausible theories re: SEWTA. But why haven't they affected the ATP, then? This is what I don't understand.

[lexpretend]

From TF, DevilishAttitude put this list together. Some interesting names in here, along with some who have been around for so long you're surprised they're still teenagers. Also interesting in the light of the recent ATP stat about there being no teenagers in the top 200.

Records of teenagers inside Top 250 in the end of year official rankings of 2012:
---
#1 Sloane Stephens (1993)
Rank: #38. 2011 rank: #97 - +59
Best ranking: #36 in October 2012
W/L: 27-21
Best WTA result: SF of Strasbourg and Washington
Best slam result: 4th Round of French Open
Best win: #17 Maria Kirilenko* #25 Petra Cetkovska

#2 Laura Robson (1994)
Rank: #53. 2011: #131 - +78
Best ranking: #52 in October 2012
W/L: 34-25
Best WTA result: F of Guangzhou
Best slam result: 4th Round of US Open
Best win: #8 Na Li

#3 Timea Babos (1993)
Rank: #64. 2011: #153 - +89
Best ranking: #59 in August 2012
W/L: 30-23
Best WTA result: Won Monterrey
Best slam result: 2nd Round of Wimbledon
Best win: #36 Sara Errani

#4 Kristina Mladenovic (1993)
Rank: #76. 2011: #183 - +107
Best ranking: #76 in November 2012
W/L: 30-26
Best WTA result: SF of Quebec City
Best slam result: 3rd Round of US Open
Best win: #20 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova

#5 Annika Beck (1994)
Rank: #78. 2011: #234 - +156
Best ranking: #78 in November 2012
W/L: 62-16
Best WTA result: 2nd Round of Quebec City, Luxembourg
Best slam result: 1st Round of Wimbledon
Best win: #57 Aleksandra Wozniak

#6 Lauren Davis (1993)
Rank: #94. 2011: #319 - +225
Best ranking: #88 in October 2012
W/L: 46-19
Best WTA result: QF of Quebec City
Best slam result: 2nd Round of French Open
Best win: #27 Yanina Wickmayer

#7 Garbine Muguruza (1993)
Rank: #104. 2011: #249 - +145
Best ranking: #94 in August 2012
W/L: 35-25
Best WTA result: QF of Fes
Best slam result: 1st Round of US Open
Best win: #9 Vera Zvonareva

#8 Jana Cepelova (1993)
Rank: #107. 2011: #218 - +111
Best ranking: #102 in August 2012
W/L: 38-24
Best WTA result: QF of Washington
Best slam result: 3rd Round of Wimbledon
Best win: #28 Anabel Media Garrigues

#9 Michelle Larcher de Brito (1993)
Rank: #116. 2011: #173 - +57
Best ranking: #76 in July 2009
W/L: 48-28
Best WTA result: 2nd Round of Birmingham, Stanford, Washington
Best slam result: N/A
Best win: #62 Barbora Zahlavova-Strycova

#10 Donna Vekic (1996)
Rank: #118. 2011: #392 - +274
Best ranking: #108 in October 2012
W/L: 41-11
Best WTA result: F of Tashkent
Best slam result: N/A
Best win: #54 Magdalena Rybarikova

#11 Yulia Putintseva (1995)
Rank: #121. 2011: #241 - +120
Best ranking: #120 in July 2012
W/L: 31-16
Best WTA result: 2nd Round of Copenhagen
Best slam result: N/A
Best win: #59 Silvia Soler-Espinosa

#12 Monica Puig (1993)
Rank: #127. 2011: 228 - +101
Best ranking: #121 in October 2012
W/L: 44-23
Best WTA result: 1st Round of Monterrey, Tashkent
Best slam result: N/A
Best win: #66 Magdalena Rybarikova

#13 Saisai Zheng (1994)
Rank: #133. 2011: #276 - +143
Best ranking: #133 in November 2012
W/L: 43-22
Best WTA result: 2nd Round of Stanford, Guangzhou
Best slam result: N/A
Best win: #70 Ayumi Morita* #102 Julia Cohen

#14 Caroline Garcia (1993)
Rank: #138. 2011: #146 - +8
Best ranking: #132 in May 2012
W/L: 28-29
Best WTA result: 2nd Round of Seoul
Best slam result: 1st Round of French Open
Best win: #83 Stephanie Foretz-Gacon

#15 Eugenie Bouchard (1994)
Rank: #144. 2011: #302 - +168
Best ranking: #144 in November 2012
W/L: 46-15
Best WTA result: QF of Washington
Best slam result: N/A
Best win: #56 Shahar Peer

#16 Jessica Pegula (1994)
Rank: #147. 2011: #288 - +141
Best ranking: #147 in November 2012
W/L: 35-21
Best WTA result: 1st Round of Indian Wells, Quebec City
Best slam result: N/A
Best win: #76 Mandy Minella

#17 Madison Keys (1995)
Rank: #149. 2011: #315 - +166
Best ranking: #149 in November 2012
W/L: 26-16
Best WTA result: 2nd Round of Miami
Best slam result: 1st Round of Australian Open
Best win: #62 Timea Babos

#18 Elina Svitolina (1994)
Rank: #156. 2011: #269 - +113
Best ranking: #133 in October 2012
W/L: 26-15
Best WTA result: 1st Round of Baku, Moscow
Best slam result: 1st Round of US Open
Best win: #104 Jana Cepelova

#19 Aleksandra Krunic (1993)
Rank: #168. 2011: #226 - +58
Best ranking: #167 in October 2012
W/L: 28-20
Best WTA result: QF of Baku
Best slam result: N/A
Best win: #88 Andrea Hlavackova

#20 Irina Khromacheva (1995)
Rank: #176. 2011: #402 - +226
Best ranking: #165 in July 2012
W/L: 33-19
Best WTA result: N/A
Best slam result: N/A
Best win: #53 Irina-Camelia Begu* #93 Patricia Mayr-Achleitner

#21 Grace Min (1994)
Rank: #177. 2011: #414 - +237
Best ranking: #169 in July 2012
W/L: 40-20
Best WTA result: 1st Round of Birmingham, Stanford, Quebec City
Best slam result: N/A
Best win: #65 Anastasiya Yakimova

#22 Anna-Lena Friedsam (1994)
Rank: #189. 2011: #655 - +466
Best ranking: #189 in November 2012
W/L: 56-14
Best WTA result: N/A
Best slam result: N/A
Best win: #66 Andrea Hlavackova

#23 Kateryna Kozlova (1994)
Rank: #192. 2011: #343 - +151
Best ranking: #192 in November 2012
W/L: 36-14
Best WTA result: N/A
Best slam result: N/A
Best win: #107 Kristyna Pliskova

#24 Ashleigh Barty (1996)
Rank: #195. 2011: 669 - +474
Best ranking: #195 in November 2012
W/L: 31-7
Best WTA result: 1st Round of Hobart
Best slam result: 1st Round of Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon
Best win: #121 Karolina Pliskova

#25 Maryna Zanevska (1993)
Rank: #197. 2011: #435 - +238
Best ranking: #192 in October 2012
W/L: 56-15
Best WTA result: N/A
Best slam result: N/A
Best win: #88 Alexandra Panova

#26 Anna Schmiedlova (1994)
Rank: #212. 2011: #634 - +422
Best ranking: #212 in November 2012
W/L: 48-12
Best WTA result: N/A
Best slam result: N/A
Best win: #101 Julia Cohen

#27 Daria Gavrilova (1994)
Rank: #215. 2011: #383 - +178
Best ranking: #215 in November 2012
W/L: 30-21
Best WTA result: 2nd Round of s'Hertogenbosch
Best slam result: N/A
Best win: #35 Yanina Wickmayer

#28 Luksika Kumkhum (1993)
Rank: #216. 2011: #320 - +104
Best ranking: #202 in October 2012
W/L: 35-15
Best WTA result: 1st Round of Guangzhou, Osaka
Best slam result: N/A
Best win: #119 Tamarine Tanasugarn

#29 Alison van Uytvanck (1994)
Rank: #220. 2011: #297 - +77
Best ranking: #218 in October 2012
W/L: 28-17
Best WTA result: QF of Brussels
Best slam result: N/A
Best win: #39 Ksenia Pervak

#30 Carina Witthoeft (1995)
Rank: #223. 2011: #405 - +182
Best ranking: #208 in October 2012
W/L: 29-9
Best WTA result: 1st Round of Bastad
Best slam result: N/A
Best win: #42 Tsvetana Pironkova

#31 Margarita Gasparyan (1994)
Rank: #231. 2011: #648 - +417
Best ranking: #223 in October 2012
W/L: 28-8
Best WTA result: 1st Round of Moscow
Best slam result: N/A
Best win: #162 Ekaterina Bychkova

#32 Nicole Gibbs (1993)
Rank: #233. 2011: #620 - +387
Best ranking: #227 in September 2012
W/L: 17-6
Best WTA result: 2nd Round of Stanford, New Haven
Best slam result: 1st Round of US Open
Best win: #78 Lourdes Dominguez Lino

#33 Valentyna Ivakhnenko (1993)
Rank: #240. 2011: #300 - +60
Best ranking: #222 in July 2012
W/L: 33-21
Best WTA result: 1st Round of Palermo
Best slam result: N/A
Best win: #114 Anastasiya Yakimova

#34 Cristina Dinu (1993)
Rank: #241. 2011: #298 - +57
Best ranking: #241 in November 2012
W/L: 36-17
Best WTA result: N/A
Best slam result: N/A
Best win: #91 Nina Bratchikova

[janie]

Eye-opening, for sure. The best wins of most of these players are so unimpressive. (I don't mean you, Laura.) Still, there are a few glimmers of hope.

What do the asterisks mean?

And when did Mlad reach 76? I guess she zoomed up after winning her "WTA Title" last week?

[Old Hag]

Go Kiki.

[janie]

From article on the WTA site today:

Vekic made headlines a few months ago with a run to the final in her first WTA tournament in Tashkent, and she's currently sitting just outside the Top 100 at No.118. The 16-year-old is actually the youngest player in the Top 500.

[lexpretend]

There are only two other 1996 girls in the top 500, Barty and Hibi.

Yeah, Kiki had a big climb this week. Funny to think that just two months ago her career was going nowhere. I guess these girls with big games can just click like that, I expect Keys to do it soon too. Whether they can win Slams, though...

I don't know what the asterisks mean, I just c/ped. "Best wins" are a bit misleading considering that most of those players haven't had the chance to play top players yet. What I'm taking from this list is that compared to a couple of years ago things are looking much more positive for the future of the WTA. Yes, I'm stanning for Vekic. It's been so long since we saw a player that young put these sorts of results together.

[DevilishAttitude]

Hi

Just lurking on the board and spotted this.

I know this is rather out-of-date now, what the asterisks meant was when their opponent had retired in their match.

If any of you are interested what the up to date version of how the teens are doing, visit www.tennisforum.com/showthread.php?t=462947&highlight=.

[janie]

Thanks! Finally we learn about those asterisks. I must really have been scrutinizing that list closely to notice them, because just now they completely escaped my notice.

What fun for you to happen across yourself playing this starring role here.

[DevilishAttitude]

Quite! Been over two years since I last posted here.

I find it fascinating keeping track of today's teens. Personally, I think it's a combination of the game being more physical now and teenagers not being as good as before. There does seem to be more promise with this generation though compared to the 91-92 era.

[janie]

Yeah, finally! Well a lot of them have a chance to step up this week, so let's see who can take advantage and who folds like a paper bag.

Meanwhile, you should move in here and post all the time.

[DBBN]

He doesn't like it when I try to teach him grammar.

[lexpretend]

Feb 23, 2013 16:44:28 GMT -5 DevilishAttitude said:

I find it fascinating keeping track of today's teens. Personally, I think it's a combination of the game being more physical now and teenagers not being as good as before. There does seem to be more promise with this generation though compared to the 91-92 era.

I agree that there's more promise now. Never been convinced that the game's physicality has been a factor - well, it's probably the barrier to 16-yr-olds reaching the top 20, but it shouldn't stop them reaching the top 100-200. Vekic and Barty (who isn't exactly physically imposing) prove that. The girls that many "hyped" juniors have flopped to in the ITFs are hardly incredibly powerful athletes themselves.

Would be interested to find out about the role money, and the increasing lack of it, plays - I've noticed a lot of juniors seem to hold off on playing a full senior schedule until relatively late. Wonder if they're concentrating more on education (and keeping open the possibility of a college scholarship) because going pro is such a financial risk, or because they just can't afford to commit fully to the tour. Not just the girls' own families - national federations must be suffering too, and sponsors must be harder to come by in this climate.

[DevilishAttitude]

Yes - Mladenovic, Beck, Muguruza, Garcia, Cepelova, Zheng, Barty and Vekic are all in main draws of WTA tournaments taking place this week.

I'd like to think that my grammar is much better now than it was five years ago.

It is interesting when you bring the financial side into it. I know countries like Germany, seem to have a real philosophy that education should come first, and then tennis later. Then you have countries like Russia, who 5-10 years ago had player after player breaking through, yet now seem to have completely cut any financial help for all players, so players like Putintseva start playing for countries such as Kazakhstan, where money is plentiful.

[DevilishAttitude]

Record of teenagers inside Top 250 in the end of year official rankings in 2013:
---
#1 Eugenie Bouchard (1994)
Rank: #32. 2012 rank: #144 - +112
Best ranking: #32 in October 2013
W/L: 39-24
Best WTA result: F of Osaka
Best slam result: 3rd round of Wimbledon
Best win: #9 Samantha Stosur* #10 Jelena Jankovic

#2 Madison Keys (1995)
Rank: #37. 2012 rank: #149 - +112
Best ranking: #36 in October 2013
W/L: 34-21
Best WTA result: SF of Osaka
Best slam result: 3rd round of Australian Open and Wimbledon
Best win: #5 Na Li

#3 Elina Svitolina (1994)
Rank: #40. 2012 rank: #156 - +116
Best ranking: #39 in September 2013
W/L: 34-27
Best WTA result: Won Baku
Best slam result: 2nd round of French Open and US Open
Best win: #21 Dominika Cibulkova

#4 Laura Robson (1994)
Rank: #46. 2012 rank: #53 - +7
Best ranking: #27 in July 2013
W/L: 18-22
Best WTA result: QF of Guangzhou
Best slam result: 4th round of Wimbledon
Best win: #4 Agnieszka Radwanska

#5 Annika Beck (1994)
Rank: #58. 2012 rank: #78 - +20
Best ranking: #46 in August 2013
W/L: 29-30
Best WTA result: F of Luxembourg
Best slam result: 2nd round of Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon
Best win: #25 Su-Wei Hsieh

#6 Anna Schmiedlova (1994)
Rank: #74. 2012 rank: #212 - +138
Best ranking: #74 in November 2013
W/L: 41-22
Best WTA result: 2nd round of Katowice
Best slam result: 2nd round of French Open and US Open
Best win: #33 Alize Cornet

#7 Donna Vekic (1996)
Rank: #86. 2012 rank: #118 - +32
Best ranking: #62 in July 2013
W/L: 19-15
Best WTA result: F of Birmingham
Best slam result: 2nd round of Australian Open and US Open
Best win: #24 Sorana Cirstea

#8 Yulia Putintseva (1995)
Rank: #105. 2012 rank: #121 - +16
Best ranking: #88 in April 2013
W/L: 20-22
Best WTA result: 2nd round of Dubai, Marrakech and Brussels
Best slam result: 2nd round of Australian Open and French Open
Best win: #35 Christina McHale

#9 Anna-Lena Friedsam (1994)
Rank: #126. 2012 rank: #189 - +63
Best ranking: #126 in November 2013
W/L: 48-22
Best WTA result: N/A
Best slam result: N/A
Best win: #34 Shuai Peng

#10 Alison Van Uytvanck (1994)
Rank: #129. 2012 rank: #220 - +91
Best ranking: #122 in October 2013
W/L: 45-22
Best WTA result: 2nd round of Birmingham
Best slam result: N/A
Best win: #49 Ayumi Morita

#11 Aliaksandra Sasnovich (1994)
Rank: #135. 2012 rank: #534 - +399
Best ranking: #135 in November 2013
W/L: 49-14
Best WTA result: N/A
Best slam result: N/A
Best win: #66 Alexandra Cadantu

#12 An-Sophie Mestach (1994)
Rank: #138. 2012 rank: #408 - +270
Best ranking: #131 in October 2013
W/L: 44-17
Best WTA result: 1st round of s'Hertogenbosch
Best slam result: N/A
Best win: #75 Kimiko Date-Krumm* #85 Alexandra Cadantu

#13 Ons Jabeur (1994)
Rank: #139. 2012 rank: #264 - +125
Best ranking: #139 in October 2013
W/L: 36-14
Best WTA result: QF of Baku
Best slam result: N/A
Best win: #37 Bojana Jovanovski

#14 Daria Gavrilova (1994)
Rank: #144. 2012 rank: #215 - +71
Best ranking: #128 in October 2013
W/L: 16-25
Best WTA result: 2nd round of Doha
Best slam result: 2nd round of Australian Open
Best win: #58 Anabel Medina Garrigues

#15 Grace Min (1994)
Rank: #151. 2012 rank: #177 - +26
Best ranking: #128 in September 2013
W/L: 34-22
Best WTA result: 2nd round of Charleston
Best slam result: 1st round of French Open and US Open
Best win: #31 Tamira Paszek* #101 Andrea Hlavackova

#16 Saisai Zheng (1994)
Rank: #162. 2012 rank: #133 - -29
Best ranking: #133 in November 2012
W/L: 22-18
Best WTA result: 2nd round of Guangzhou
Best slam result: N/A
Best win: #72 Caroline Garcia

#17 Ashleigh Barty (1996)
Rank: #164. 2012 rank: #195 - +31
Best ranking: #129 in September 2013
W/L: 11-12
Best WTA result: QF of Kuala Lumpur
Best slam result: 2nd round of French Open and US Open
Best win: #56 Stefanie Voegele

#18 Victoria Duval (1995)
Rank: #168. 2012 rank: #518 - +350
Best ranking: #168 in November 2013
W/L: 19-13
Best WTA result: 2nd round of Memphis and Miami
Best slam result: 2nd round of US Open
Best win: #11 Samantha Stosur

#19 Danka Kovinic (1994)
Rank: #170. 2012 rank: #295 - +125
Best ranking: #155 in September 2013
W/L: 33-20
Best WTA result: QF of Budapest
Best slam result: N/A
Best win: #98 Dinah Pfizenmaier

#20 Risa Ozaki (1994)
Rank: #188. 2012 rank: #333 - +155
Best ranking: #186 in October 2013
W/L: 34-21
Best WTA result: 2nd round of Tashkent
Best slam result: N/A
Best win: #93 Silvia Soler-Espinosa

#21 Sachia Vickery (1995)
Rank: #190. 2012 rank: #389 - +199
Best ranking: #182 in September 2013
W/L: 31-21
Best WTA result: N/A
Best slam result: 2nd round of US Open
Best win: #118 Mirjana Lucic-Baroni

#22 Kateryna Kozlova (1994)
Rank: #204. 2012 rank: #192 - -12
Best ranking: #177 in August 2013
W/L: 25-21
Best WTA result: 2nd round of Baku
Best slam result: N/A
Best win: #103 Eleni Daniilidou

#23 Jessica Pegula (1994)
Rank: #206. 2012 rank: #147 - -59
Best ranking: #123 in June 2013
W/L: 23-17
Best WTA result: 3rd round of Charleston
Best slam result: N/A
Best win: #29 Mona Barthel

#24 Victoria Kan (1995)
Rank: #209. 2012 rank: #456 - +247
Best ranking: #209 in November 2013
W/L: 32-11
Best WTA result: N/A
Best slam result: N/A
Best win: #90 Virginie Razzano

#25 Carina Witthoeft (1995)
Rank: #210. 2012 rank: #223 - +13
Best ranking: #178 in September 2013
W/L: 30-16
Best WTA result: 1st round of Bad Gastein
Best slam result: 1st round of Wimbledon
Best win: #93 Camila Giorgi

#26 Katerina Siniakova (1996)
Rank: #211. 2012 rank: #1068 - +867
Best ranking: #211 in November 2013
W/L: 34-12
Best WTA result: 1st round of Miami
Best slam result: N/A
Best win: #97 Mandy Minella

#27 Belinda Bencic (1997)
Rank: #212. 2012 rank: #626 - +414
Best ranking: #212 in November 2013
W/L: 35-16
Best WTA result: 2nd round of Tokyo and Osaka
Best slam result: N/A
Best win: #76 Lauren Davis

#28 Nigina Abduraimova (1994)
Rank: #214. 2012 rank: #346 - +132
Best ranking: #206 in October 2013
W/L: 25-15
Best WTA result: 1st round of Baku and Tashkent
Best slam result: N/A
Best win: #175 Erika Sema

#29 Eri Hozumi (1994)
Rank: #218. 2012 rank: #403 - +185
Best ranking: #218 in November 2013
W/L: 42-21
Best WTA result: N/A
Best slam result: N/A
Best win: #138 Ying-Ying Duan* #152 Saisai Zheng

#30 Mayo Hibi (1996)
Rank: #227. 2012 rank: #392 - +165
Best ranking: #212 in September 2013
W/L: 27-12
Best WTA result: N/A
Best slam result: N/A
Best win: #88 Lauren Davis and #88 Ajla Tomljanovic

#31 Anett Kontaveit (1995)
Rank: #228. 2012 rank: #436 - +208
Best ranking: #228 in November 2013
W/L: 37-12
Best WTA result: 1st round of Miami
Best slam result: N/A
Best win: #159 Olivia Rogowska

#32 Ilona Kremen (1994)
Rank: #233. 2012 rank: #286 - +53
Best ranking: #201 in June 2013
W/L: 30-20
Best WTA result: 1st round of Baku
Best slam result: N/A
Best win: #93 Coco Vandeweghe

#33 Tereza Smitkova (1994)
Rank: #239. 2012 rank: #391 - +152
Best ranking: #230 in October 2013
W/L: 31-24
Best WTA result: 2nd round of Luxembourg
Best slam result: N/A
Best win: #47 Kristina Mladenovic

#34 Storm Sanders (1994)
Rank: #242. 2012 rank: #721 - +479
Best ranking: #217 in August 2013
W/L: 28-16
Best WTA result: N/A
Best slam result: N/A
Best win: #140 Olivia Rogowska and #140 Shelby Rogers

#35 Irina Khromacheva (1995)
Rank: #249. 2012 rank: #176 - -73
Best ranking: #165 in July 2012
W/L: 22-20
Best WTA result: N/A
Best slam result: N/A
Best win: #149 Stephanie Dubois* #171 Alison Riske

- WTA 125 and qualifying performances in WTA and slam tournaments are not counted in best result.
- *means opponent retired in their match.

[The Chloe]

Thanks!

[Paean]

Wow, that's a great work.

Now, who could I force myself to like? I need a substitute for the fading Namigata, and I do know that Ozaki looks nice and completely harmless and will never be big enough to be forced upon me by the media or fans. I'll take her.

[janie]

Thanks! I love this chart.

Ah, Paean! So it's Namigata, not Nara, you used to talk about.

I'm, hoping for big futures for Abduraimova, Jabeur, Kan, Vekic.

Next year, the list change radically as that 1994 group graduates out of their teens. I hope more promising 96 and later girls start to step up.

[lexpretend]

Excellent stuff here!

Scattered thoughts:

- Impressed by Bouchard's improvement but still don't see her as a future elite player; then again, Azarenka's game never struck me as dominant when she was a teenager
- Most underrated aspect of Keys' rise this year (149 to 37) is her consistency - she almost always won a few rounds. And bear in mind she was injured during the USO swing, her best part of the season
- Svitolina is pretty overranked, that ranking is based on cleaning up at ITFs, 125s and, like, Baku; but she's been murdered by all top players
- Notwithstanding minor injuries, Robson's lack of progress is hugely disappointing, and I was never 100% convinced before
- I expected Vekic and Barty to do more than just consolidate their positions this year, but they're still way ahead of their peer group, and I guess did pretty well considering how restricted their schedules are
- The 1994 cohort is pretty strong; even among the sub-100 ones there are players who have really come on strong this year (Jabeur, Sasnovich) as well as those who have made slower but steady progress (Friedsam, Van Uytvanck, Kovinic, Ozaki, Abduraimova, Smitkova). And then there are those who have already begun to regress or stagnate: Gavrilova, Zheng, Min
- Among the 1995 group, it's notable that Kan isn't too far behind Duval and Vickery despite not getting any of the high-level WCs they did. Witthoeft and Khromacheva have already started to regress/stagnate, disappointingly
- 1996-97 seems like the most exciting generation to me. Vekic and Barty already seem like they've been around for ages; Bencic is already winning Tour matches; Siniakova, Hibi and Konjuh (who is 274 but deserves a mention) have put up big ITF results consistently on a very limited schedule
- The highest ranked 1998 girl is one Katarina Jokic (BIH), at 773, thanks to her 10K results - though Black seems like the one to watch, ranked 954, joint with 1999-born Ibbou - both off the back of one 10K win

[DevilishAttitude]

Thanks for the comments

Here are some more facts and figures of the results of teenagers over the course of this year. It include some players who are no longer teenagers, but were when they achieved their result earlier this year or finished last year inside the Top 250.

Best slam result
Sloane Stephens - SF of Australian Open
Monica Puig - 4th round of Wimbledon
Laura Robson - 4th round of Wimbledon
Laura Robson - 3rd round of Australian Open
Madison Keys - 3rd round of Australian Open and Wimbledon
Monica Puig - 3rd round of French Open
Eugenie Bouchard - 3rd round of Wimbledon

Best tournament result
Elina Svitolina - Won Baku
Donna Vekic - F of Birmingham
Eugenie Bouchard - F of Osaka
Annika Beck - F of Luxembourg
Sloane Stephens - SF of Hobart
Kristina Mladenovic - SF of Paris and Florianopolis
Garbine Muguruza - SF of s'Hertogenbosch
Elina Svitolina - SF of Bad Gastein
Madison Keys - SF of Osaka

Best win
Sloane Stephens - #3 Serena Williams
Laura Robson - #4 Agnieszka Radwanska
Madison Keys - #5 Na Li
Monica Puig - #5 Sara Errani
Laura Robson - #8 Petra Kvitova
Kristina Mladenovic - #8 Petra Kvitova

Biggest ranking risers
Katerina Siniakova - #1068 to #211 - +867
Storm Sanders - #721 to #242 - +479
Belinda Bencic - #626 to #212 - +414
Aliaksandra Sasnovich - #534 to #135 - +399
Victoria Duval - #518 to #168 - +350

Best W/L ratio
Aliaksandra Sasnovich - 49-14 - +35
An-Sophie Mestach - 44-17 - +27
Anna-Lena Friedsam - 48-22 - +26
Anett Kontaveit - 37-12 - +25
Alison Van Uytvanck - 45-22 - +23

Ranking drops
Margarita Gasparyan - #231 to #318 - -87
Irina Khromacheva - #176 to #249 - -73
Jessica Pegula - #147 to #206 - -59
Saisai Zheng - #133 to #162 - -29
Kateryna Kozlova - #192 to #204 - -12

Worst W/L ratio
Daria Gavrilova - 16-25 - -9
Laura Robson - 18-22 - -4
Yulia Putintseva - 20-22 - -2
Annika Beck - 29-30 - -1
Ashleigh Barty - 11-12 - -1

[DevilishAttitude]

Nov 7, 2013 2:58:31 GMT -5 Paean said:

Wow, that's a great work.

Now, who could I force myself to like? I need a substitute for the fading Namigata, and I do know that Ozaki looks nice and completely harmless and will never be big enough to be forced upon me by the media or fans. I'll take her.

How about Hozumi? She's more obscure than fellow Japanese Ozaki?

Nov 7, 2013 9:00:55 GMT -5 lexpretend said:

Excellent stuff here!

Scattered thoughts:

- Impressed by Bouchard's improvement but still don't see her as a future elite player; then again, Azarenka's game never struck me as dominant when she was a teenager
- Most underrated aspect of Keys' rise this year (149 to 37) is her consistency - she almost always won a few rounds. And bear in mind she was injured during the USO swing, her best part of the season
- Svitolina is pretty overranked, that ranking is based on cleaning up at ITFs, 125s and, like, Baku; but she's been murdered by all top players
- Notwithstanding minor injuries, Robson's lack of progress is hugely disappointing, and I was never 100% convinced before
- I expected Vekic and Barty to do more than just consolidate their positions this year, but they're still way ahead of their peer group, and I guess did pretty well considering how restricted their schedules are
- The 1994 cohort is pretty strong; even among the sub-100 ones there are players who have really come on strong this year (Jabeur, Sasnovich) as well as those who have made slower but steady progress (Friedsam, Van Uytvanck, Kovinic, Ozaki, Abduraimova, Smitkova). And then there are those who have already begun to regress or stagnate: Gavrilova, Zheng, Min
- Among the 1995 group, it's notable that Kan isn't too far behind Duval and Vickery despite not getting any of the high-level WCs they did. Witthoeft and Khromacheva have already started to regress/stagnate, disappointingly
- 1996-97 seems like the most exciting generation to me. Vekic and Barty already seem like they've been around for ages; Bencic is already winning Tour matches; Siniakova, Hibi and Konjuh (who is 274 but deserves a mention) have put up big ITF results consistently on a very limited schedule
- The highest ranked 1998 girl is one Katarina Jokic (BIH), at 773, thanks to her 10K results - though Black seems like the one to watch, ranked 954, joint with 1999-born Ibbou - both off the back of one 10K win

Funny because I also remember thinking the same thing about Azarenka too. I haven't been hugely impressed by Bouchard when I have watched her - she's does everything decently but nothing outstanding and TBH, I'm surprised how she has managed to post decent results considering how funky her groundstrokes look. I guess time will tell.

Out of the 16 WTA tournaments and slams that Keys played when she was in the main draw, she only lost in three of them in the first round, and that was to Lisicki, Flipkens and Jankovic, which is impressive considering she's still raw and has so much to improve on. I do feel she has huge potential.

Agree about Svitolina - she's 13-20 in matches above ITF and WTA 125 level, but when you factor in that eight of those wins came in Bad Gastein and Baku (not facing anyone above the Top 60 in that process), she's 5-18 overall. She faced six Top 30 players after the US Open, and didn't win a set off any of them.

Robson should be doing better but I now have question marks - I don't know if she's prepared to give her all at becoming the best she can be, just happy to settle for the odd big result now and again. I certainly wouldn't have expected her to be passed by Bouchard and Svitolina in the ranks and in results - one QF all year is very disappointing.

Vekic has struggled after her final in Birmingham, and Barty has only played two tournaments since Wimbledon - no idea what to make of them really.

Gavrilova started the year well, but she's not done anything since Doha and I feel she's missed her chance to get inside the Top 100. Zheng meanwhile barely won a match until July, so even if she's no world-beater, she will probably have opportunities to get into slam maindraws at least. Don't know much about Min and there seems to be no fanfare for her, her results haven't been brilliant at any level either.

Kan seems to have sneaked into the Top 250 quietly playing challengers every now and again. To think that Khromacheva 12/18 months ago was not far behind Keys and Putintseva in the ranks and yet is now struggling to stay in the Top 250.

The 1996/97 are definitely showing signs of promise - may be they will end the trend of teenagers only breaking through as they near their twenties!

[janie]

Storm Sanders! Her ranking rise looks impressive, but a glance at her year confirms that she's yet another example of an Aussie player riding the false waves of those horrible AUS 25Ks. Her losses outside of Australia have been excruciating. No offense meant to her ardent fans, of course. Perhaps in time, with a lot of hard work, she can become the Next Rogowska.

[Paean]

Nov 7, 2013 7:44:21 GMT -5 janie said:

Ah, Paean! So it's Namigata, not Nara, you used to talk about.

It was Namigata and even Brinyi would sometimes single out her results in those NOC Asian challengers. But it's been quiet now for some time - no Brinyi and no noteworthy results from Namigata.

[lexpretend]

I actually thought Sanders was relatively impressive by Aussie standards - she got herself to Europe and the US, and scored a 25K and 50K SF in each. She didn't play the recent AUS swing, either - injured? But if she'd played that, she would probably be top 200 by now.

I think Barty's been injured too. Honestly, serves her right for not bothering to enter tournaments all year, coasting on Slam WCs and thinking she could vulture points at home again. I definitely question her career management - though her stellar doubles results should be noted. It'll be much easier to tell Vekic and Barty's full potential once they're allowed to play a somewhat fuller schedule. AER is so frustrating, not least because I don't think it even prevents burnout - just ask Vaidisova.

Zheng's dad died at the start of the year, to explain her losing streak then.

Watching Vekic in the indoor tournaments, I was struck that she looked slightly ungainly in comparison with the smooth mover I saw at Tashkent and Edgbaston. Makes me think she's still growing.

We've discussed Townsend in the Hidden World thread a bit, but WTF is going on with her? Can't get out of ITF R1s or even qualifying, ranking entirely propped up by unimpressive wins over slumpers in big-point events (and even then she'll fall to ~350 next week - while Bencic, Hibi and Siniakova are confirming their AO qualy spots).

[lexpretend]

Wow. There are people in Townsend's TF thread saying she's had a good year. A 5-13 W/L record counts as a good year?

[janie]

They must be talking about her Junior results? She has made the transition from jr to pro look harder than anyone else has. Maybe she can effect some sort of Golovinesque sudden breakthrough at some point, if her confidence hasn't been shattered for life already. Mine would be!

[DevilishAttitude]

Nov 8, 2013 5:39:25 GMT -5 lexpretend said:

I actually thought Sanders was relatively impressive by Aussie standards - she got herself to Europe and the US, and scored a 25K and 50K SF in each. She didn't play the recent AUS swing, either - injured? But if she'd played that, she would probably be top 200 by now.

I think Barty's been injured too. Honestly, serves her right for not bothering to enter tournaments all year, coasting on Slam WCs and thinking she could vulture points at home again. I definitely question her career management - though her stellar doubles results should be noted. It'll be much easier to tell Vekic and Barty's full potential once they're allowed to play a somewhat fuller schedule. AER is so frustrating, not least because I don't think it even prevents burnout - just ask Vaidisova.

Zheng's dad died at the start of the year, to explain her losing streak then.

Watching Vekic in the indoor tournaments, I was struck that she looked slightly ungainly in comparison with the smooth mover I saw at Tashkent and Edgbaston. Makes me think she's still growing.

We've discussed Townsend in the Hidden World thread a bit, but WTF is going on with her? Can't get out of ITF R1s or even qualifying, ranking entirely propped up by unimpressive wins over slumpers in big-point events (and even then she'll fall to ~350 next week - while Bencic, Hibi and Siniakova are confirming their AO qualy spots).

Agreed about Sanders - she actually beat Bouchard right at the start of the year, and had she gone down the usual tournament route of an Australian player, there is no reason why she wouldn't have been around the Top 150 now. It appears though that she chose to train, rather than play tournaments recently (I think she's gone down Barty's route for some reason) although she is playing a challenger next week.

I've only watched Vekic when she played in Birmingham. I thought she was a very solid player for a 16-year-old. There wasn't anything that REALLY stood out, but she clearly had good foundations and seemed to have no real weaknesses other than inexperience - whether she has grown and this has impacted on her movement (which looked decent when I have watched her), and therefore affected the solid foundation may be a factor.

I saw most of the first set Townsend played in the junior Wimbledon final, and thought she had lots of potential. Big FH and all-court ability - she blew Bencic off the court at the start of the match and made the Swiss look completely harmless. Even though she's terribly out-of-shape, she actually didn't move particularly poorly (she certainly moved better than when someone like Pierce was out-of-shape and could barely walk, let alone run back in 2002) so that can't be the main reason for her very poor results this year - I sense all isn't well behind the scenes, can't imagine it's easy for a teenager who firstly is told she was better than Serena at her age when she was 15, and then have that very public fall-out with the USTA due to her weight.

[lexpretend]

Agree with that analysis of Townsend's game. I've only seen clips of Bencic and haven't really noticed anything outstanding, though if she's a tactical player it may well be that you can't really tell via clips.

[DevilishAttitude]

Me neither - she's solid and has the ability to take the ball on very early so it isn't hard to see why she's done well in juniors, but I wonder if she will get over-powered by bigger hitters on the main tour. She has transitioned pretty well so far though.

[lexpretend]

Official Best Newcomer 2013 nominees are Bouchard, Keys and Puig. All deserved and obvious. Massive slap in the face to Svitolina, I know we've just been saying she's overranked but even so winning an actual title and finishing in the top 50 would merit a nomination at least. No one really overlooked, I guess Muguruza could have been in contention had she played the second half of the year. Schmiedlova made good, solid progress but not very eye-catching. Tomljanovic may have finished in the top 100 for the first time but I'd be more inclined to nominate her for Comeback Player.

Anyway, it should be between Bouchard and Keys. I like Puig's game but she's had a lot of bad losses, especially since Wimbledon - although she's the only one to make a Slam second week - and is the oldest of the three.

Bouchard went from 144 to 32, best Slam result was 3R, made a MM F, top 20 wins over Stosur (by ret.), Ivanovic, Stephens, Jankovic.

Keys went from 149 to 37 (exactly the same number of places risen!), best Slam results were 2 x 3R, made one MM SF, wins over Safarova, Li, CSN.

That's almost exactly the same record but the fact that Keys is a year younger should really sway it in her favour (and Li is the best win of either).

[janie]

Thanks for all that info. I would happily call it a tie between those two. But give it to Bouchard, because we all agree that Keys will probably be better than EB from here on out, right? So let EB have her day in the sun. Plus she's moved into in Slam seed territory, which is impressive.