Rankings – TOP 20
(as of January 30, 2023)
1. Iga Swiatek (POL)
2. Aryna Sabalenka (BLR)
3. Ons Jabeur (TUN)
4. Jessica Pegula (USA)
5. Caroline Garcia (FRA)
6. Coco Gauff (USA)
7. Maria Sakkari (GRE)
8. Daria Kasatkina (RUS)
9. Belinda Bencic (SUI)
10. Elena Rybakina (KAZ)
11. Veronika Kudermetova (RUS)
12. Jelena Ostapenko (LAT)
13. Petra Kvitova (CZE)
14. Beatriz Haddad Maria (BRA)
15. Simona Halep (ROU)
16. Victoria Azarenka (BLR)
17. Ekaterina Alexandrova (RUS)
18. Anett Kontaveit (EST)
19. Liudmila Samsonova (RUS)
20. Karolina Pliskova (CZE)
» click here for full rankings
Current Tournaments
Thailand Open
Hua Hin, Thailand
January 30 – February 5, 2023
Level: WTA 250
Total prize pool: $259,303
Surface: Hard
Open 6e Sens Metropole de Lyon
Lyon, France
January 30 – February 5, 2023
Level: WTA 250
Total prize pool: $259,303
Surface: Hard
Copa Oster
Cali, Colombia
January 30 – February 5, 2023
Level: WTA 125
Total prize pool: $115,000
Surface: Clay
Upcoming Tournaments
Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
February 6-12, 2023
Level: WTA 500
Total prize pool: $780,637
Surface: Hard
Upper Austria Ladies Linz
Linz, Austria
February 6-12, 2023
Level: WTA 250
Total prize pool: $259,303
Surface: Hard
I like your theory of jj’s decline in performance, but I believe you make a fair point.
I’m too sceptical on the credibility and consumer appeal of this ad; it’s riddled with irony. First of all it’s rather incongruous, I believe to place Jie and Jelena together, despite the fact that they are the only two athletes representing the brand and also perhaps because I know the majority of the sane tennis community, of course minus fans of the budding Chinese tennis player, would not consider Zheng to be a ‘star’, or at least not in the context with which Jankovic was labelled as too, in the ad. I know Jelena has been plagued by inconsistency this year, but she was a former world NO.1 and one does hope that the young sporting brand would not categorise Jelena, a player of such calibre with Zheng and her relatively inferior career resume. And of course that infamous, ‘keep moving’ slogan, which needless to mention is impossible if, as Marija mentioned, the shoes can barely get you anywhere across the court.
I consider Zheng a tennis star as well. Of course, her career resume is much poorer than Jankovic’s, but don’t forget how famous she is in China, she has also marked a history in tennis in some way. Therefore, I don’t find the pairing of JJ and Zheng in this ad incongruous.
Don’t forget that Zheng has won two Grand Slam doubles titles in her career, while JJ has won one (the mixed doubles title at Wimbledon in 2007). Zheng is as much a star in my eyes as JJ is and as you said Marija, she is hugely famous in China.
I suppose in the context of the Chinese and South east Asian universe who are more familiar and updated about her successes, will not perceive it as an alarming subject, but from my corner of the galaxy, we would just go: ‘Zheng who?’ or perhaps we are more ignorant, either way, we have womenstennisblog.com to update us…!