February By The Numbers
How many minutes did it take Kurumi Nara to overcome Daniela Hantuchova in their recent Malaysian marathon? Which nation is best represented in the Top 100? And who has hit the most aces in 2016? These are just a few of the questions answered in the latest installment of wtatennis.com’s By The Numbers.
200 – The number of minutes needed by Kurumi Nara to defeat Daniela Hantuchova in the first round of the BMW Malaysian Open, making it the longest match of the season. The previous record was Heather Watson and Monica Niculescu’s 194-minute marathon in Hobart.
84.6 – Despite having a delivery that rarely breaks the 90mph mark, Sara Errani succeeded in winning 84.6% of the points on her first serve in February.
76 – The WTA-leading number of aces struck by, no, not Serena Williams or Karolina Pliskova, but Timea Babos, who credits a change in technique with improved power and consistency behind her booming delivery. Number two on the list for the year is Julia Goerges (61), who, as chance would have it, teamed up with Babos for doubles through the Middle East Swing..
45 – Doha finalist Jelena Ostapenko was the most upwardly mobile of any player currently ranked in the Top 100 in February, rising 45 places (from No.86 to 41).
33 – Based on the rankings from February 29, 2016, there are currently 33 nations represented in the Top 100, led by the USA (12), Germany (10) and Russia (8).
13 – Unlucky for some, Angelique Kerber, Agnieszka Radwanska and Carla Suárez Navarro have all played 13 matches in 2016, more than any other player.
3 – Kerber still leads the way in the Road To Singapore leaderboard with 2,361 points. Three of the current Top 8 on the leaderboard have never competed in singles at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
2 – Sloane Stephens became the first player to win multiple singles titles in 2016 with victory in Acapulco on Saturday. It was her third career title (after Washington DC, in 2015 and Auckland this January). Stephens played 83 tournaments before advancing to her first WTA singles final and has now won three titles in her last 11 events.
1 – Looking ahead to Indian Wells, Simona Halep will follow in the footsteps of greatness should she reclaim the title; Martina Navratilova (1990, 1991) is the only woman to successfully defend her title at the event
0 – Number of wins by seeded players in Dubai.