WTA Tour: No True Number 1, No True Favorite

You have heard it from everybody- experts, players, coaches, and fans: This is the most wide-open the women's draw has been for a major championship in the last 50 years. Why? Because there seems to be no legitimate worldNo. 1 in women's tennis at the moment. Caroline Wozniacki, who is ranked No 1 at the moment, plays almost every week but has not won a major yet. Serena and Venus Williams do not play in enough tournaments to be ranked no. 1, and Kim Clijsters seems to only play her best at Major Championships, which will not earn her the number 1 ranking. Back to Roland Garros; with the absence of the Williams sisters and Justine Henin, who "retired" again, Caroline Wozniacki and Kim Clijsters seem to be the "favorites." However, one can make a case for all top ten seeds. For example, Li Na has been playing her best ternnis in the early stages of 2o11, Victoria Azarenka has looked like a legitimate top-5 player in the world, and Maria Sharapova is coming to Roland Garros after her biggest win on clay at the Italian Open.

Many people would say that the lack of a legitimate No. 1, which leads to a lack of a favorite at Roland Garros, makes this tournament extremely exciting. Others say that it makes it boring because there is not one player who everyone else is gunning for. Either way, the French Open should serve as a preview of things to come on the WTA tour. Experts will be saying the same sort of thing about there being no real favorite on the women's side at Wimbledon and the US Open. This should make for an extremely exciting summer of women's tennis, with lesser-name players breaking through on the biggest stages. Will Caroline Wozniacki be one of these players to break through and cement her No. 1 ranking? Nobody knows. What we do know is that the lack of a real No. 1 player on the WTA tour is great for the game. The days when Serena and Venus Williams won every tournament were not as exciting as the days when players are coming out of nowhere to appear on the game's biggest stage. If only the men's game could be the same way....