Tennis Random, Random (On Court)

[Suliso]

I was just thinking which other female players in the last few decades have won 2 or 3 Slams. No less and no more. Here they are starting from 1990:

Lindsay Davenport (3)
Jennifer Capriati (3)
Mary Pierce (2)
Amelie Mauresmo (2)
Svetlana Kuznetsova (2)
Li Na (2)
Victoria Azarenka (2)
Garbine Muguruza (2)
Angelique Kerber (3)
Petra Kvitova (2)
Simona Halep (2)
Ashleigh Barty (3)

From the active ones maybe Muguruza can add another one. Others seem super unlikely to get there.

[ashkor87]

Mauresmo
And you are forgetting Sharapova (5)..ok I you want to stop at 3

[ashkor87]

But why stop at 3? Osaka has 4 already..not sure what you get by doing that

[Suliso]

But why stop at 3? Osaka has 4 already..not sure what you get by doing that

I stopped at 3 because I wanted to compare Iga with players who have won a similar number of Slams. One could be a lucky break.

[ponchi101]

I doubt Iga will stop at 2, but that is a good sample that it is not unusual. Austin in the 70's comes to mind too, but I draw a blank after that.
I hope your optimism about Mugu will pay off, but it does not look promising at the moment. There is something odd about her results.

[meganfernandez]

I was just thinking which other female players in the last few decades have won 2 or 3 Slams. No less and no more. Here they are starting from 1990:

Lindsay Davenport (3)
Jennifer Capriati (3)
Mary Pierce (2)
Svetlana Kuznetsova (2)
Li Na (2)
Victoria Azarenka (2)
Garbine Muguruza (2)
Angelique Kerber (3)
Petra Kvitova (2)
Simona Halep (2)
Ashleigh Barty (3)

From the active ones maybe Muguruza can add another one. Others seem super unlikely to get there.

I'd go with Halep from active players, then Barty. I think Mugu and Kerber could win one, if things break right, but I also think Barty might come back in a few years.

[3mlm]

I was just thinking which other female players in the last few decades have won 2 or 3 Slams. No less and no more. Here they are starting from 1990:

Lindsay Davenport (3)
Jennifer Capriati (3)
Mary Pierce (2)
Svetlana Kuznetsova (2)
Li Na (2)
Victoria Azarenka (2)
Garbine Muguruza (2)
Angelique Kerber (3)
Petra Kvitova (2)
Simona Halep (2)
Ashleigh Barty (3)
[Mauresmo (2) - added by Ashkor]

From the active ones maybe Muguruza can add another one. Others seem super unlikely to get there.

Going back to the beginning of the Open Era, there's only three more: Tracy Austin (2), Ann Haydon Jones (3), and Virginia Wade (3).

[meganfernandez]

Does this count as On Court?

[ashkor87]

So now Kyrgios has a winning record against everyone in the top 10 except FAA...haven't checked but seems plausible ..only Federer and Murray have a winning record against him and they aren't in the top 10. Another reason to ignore top 10 and rankings in general..!

[meganfernandez]

So now Kyrgios has a winning record against everyone in the top 10 except FAA...haven't checked but seems plausible ..only Federer and Murray have a winning record against him and they aren't in the top 10. Another reason to ignore top 10 and rankings in general..!

Yep, a couple handfuls of big wins and very little to show for it. I don't think any of those players would trade careers with Nick.

[ashkor87]

Yes, Frankly, I don't even like to watch him .awkward shots, ungainly movement...but his serve!!

[ashkor87]

Just for fun, and to invite discussion, I have classified current WTA players thusly:
Reverently setting aside the immortals Serena and Venus:
A plus: great champions, will reign for a long time
Swiatek, Osaka
A: champions, may or may not rule again but have proven their calibre
Kerber, vika, Halep, Andreescu, Muguruza

A minus: on the cusp of greatness-
Sloane, kenin, Sabalenka, Raducanu, Leylah ,Coco
Am a bit unsure about Bencic and krejcikova..maybe should be here, maybe in B plus (though both have already shown big things)
B plus: excellent players, who could become champions with some luck and improvement
Rybakina, Alexandrova, Kasatkina,Anisimova
B: good players, will not win a major
Badosa, Sakkari, Jabeur, pliskova, Mertens, kontaveit, Collins, keys have I missed out anyone?!

[Deuce]

Ok, I'll bite...

Just for fun, and to invite discussion, I have classified current WTA players thusly:
Reverently setting aside the immortals Serena and Venus:
A plus: great champions, will reign for a long time
Swiatek, Osaka

^ Swiatek is still an unknown in my book. She's the best player right now, and so the predictable tendency is for people to see the 'flavour of the month' as the greatest thing since sliced bread, and predict ongoing greatness. We see this all the time - sometimes the 'flavour of the month' does become great (Serena, Nadal)... Sometimes the 'flavour of the month' disappears (Bouchard, Andreescu) - and sometimes reappears after disappearing (Andreescu?)... But most often, the 'flavour of the month' comes back down to Earth and rejoins the pack, having a decent, but not outstanding, career.
I need to see another winning 12 to 24 months of Swiatek (she just turned 21) before I call her great.
As for Osaka - I've seen enough of her to say that the physical talent and potential is there... But I question her motivation and commitment to the game. She hasn't been the same since she had the 'problem with the media' and walked out of Roland Garros last year. That, plus her off-court involvements (fashion, photo shoots, 'famous' boyfriend, etc.) can certainly distract from her tennis (and already has, in my opinion). As well, her claiming that she doesn't want attention while at the same time doing several things which she absolutely knows will attract a lot of attention, paints the picture of a very confused human being. She is an intelligent individual and a profound thinker - but whether she becomes one of the great champions or not depends primarily on whether or not she can figure out who she is and what she wants.

A: champions, may or may not rule again but have proven their calibre
Kerber, vika, Halep, Andreescu, Muguruza

^ I can mostly agree with this... except for Andreescu. As I've mentioned many times - and what almost everyone seems to either overlook or forget - she had a good 6 months 3 years ago. A good 6 months does not make a good career - just as a bad 6 months does not make a bad career. She has to show me more over the next couple of years before I can say that she has truly proven herself.

A minus: on the cusp of greatness-
Sloane, kenin, Sabalenka, Raducanu, Leylah ,Coco
Am a bit unsure about Bencic and krejcikova..maybe should be here, maybe in B plus (though both have already shown big things)

^ Stephens is clearly on her way down, and not "on the cusp of greatness". Motivation certainly seems to be the main issue with her.
Kenin is a big question mark. How motivated/committed is she? From what I've seen, she doesn't seem in a hurry to get back to the top 10. I would not be surprised if she suddenly retires from tennis within the next year... nor would I be surprised if she wins a couple of more Majors.
Sabalenka has had infinite opportunities to become a dominant player, and hasn't pounced on any of those opportunities. I think her ship has sailed. She'll probably be a top 20 player for the next several years - but will never reach the potential her physical talent has. Simply put, she doesn't have the head to be a consistent top player.
Raducanu will settle in the rankings somewhere between #30 and #50 - a respectable career, but not close to being the stuff of champions. She'll have a few big wins over top 10/top 5 players here and there, but absolutely not anywhere near consistently. This is all IF she decides to actually participate and play, rather than continuing to retire from matches and withdraw from tournaments - and that's a big 'IF' at the moment.
Leylah won't make a habit of reaching Major Finals... but she'll have a good top 20 career, with some appearances in the top 10 once in a while.
Gauff will be similar to Leylah.

B plus: excellent players, who could become champions with some luck and improvement
Rybakina, Alexandrova, Kasatkina,Anisimova

^ Ok - I can mostly agree with this assessment. Rybakina has a lot of talent... Alexandrova needs to develop a physically stronger body... I can't help but feel that Kasatkina has plateaued already... and Anisimova needs to get her head together. She's still young, so it's still possible (unlike with Sabalenka). If Amanda gets her head together, she can become the dominant player that Sabalenka could have been.

B: good players, will not win a major
Badosa, Sakkari, Jabeur, pliskova, Mertens, kontaveit, Collins, keys have I missed out anyone?!

^ Ok, again... but Badosa might sneak out a Major at some point.

[ashkor87]

Thanks for the very detailed comments!

[Suliso]

You guys are super conservative as far as potential of players is concerned. Everyone, but 2-3 players is max top 20 potential or on the way down. If so who do you think will win a lion's share of Slams in the next 5-7 years? Do you expect Swiatek and Osaka to win ca 10 Slams each then? Or maybe 15 almost random one Slam wonders?