Stats Corner: No.1 On The Line
Published January 25, 2012 07:13
MELBOURNE, Australia - It is guaranteed that Caroline Wozniacki will be replaced as World No.1 when the new rankings are released on Monday, however what is still very much in question is who will replace the Dane. Three of the four Australian Open semifinalists - Victoria Azarenka, Petra Kvitova and Maria Sharapova - have a shot at it. Here is a table explaining the scenarios:
| If Final Is: | New No.1 Will Be: |
| Clijsters vs. Sharapova | Sharapova if she wins, Kvitova if Clijsters wins |
| Clijsters vs. Kvitova | Kvitova |
| Azarenka vs. Sharapova | Winner of this match |
| Azarenka vs. Kvitova | Winner of this match |
If Sharapova wins the title, she will have had the third-longest duration between stints at No.1 in rankings history, as 190 weeks will have passed since she was last No.1 on June 8, 2008. Here is a list of the longest three spans:
| Player | Dates Between No.1 Stints | Weeks |
| Serena Williams | 8/11/03-9/8/08 | 265 |
| Kim Clijsters | 3/10/06-2/14/11 | 256 |
| Lindsay Davenport | 1/14/02-10/18/04 | 144 |
Notes: If current World No.3 Azarenka wins the title, she will become the first player in rankings history to become No.1 without having previously ever been No.2 (not counting Chris Evert, who was No.1 when the rankings debuted on November 3, 1975) ... Azarenka would be the first Belarusian to hold the top spot ... If Kvitova becomes No.1, she will be the second Czech No.1 after Martina Navratilova and the third lefty No.1 after Navratilova and Monica Seles ... Sharapova was the first Russian No.1 when she ascended to the position on August 22, 2005 ... Azarenka or Kvitova would be the 21st different players to be No.1.
