Scanning the teenagers in the Top 100 on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Rankings can provide a glimpse at the sport's future stars. Many of them will never crack the Top 10 or win a Grand Slam, a few certainly will if history is any indication.
For instance, five years ago 17-year-old Maria Sharapova finished the year ranked No.4 and 19-year-old Svetlana Kuznetsova was No.5. They were both fresh off their first Grand Slam titles at Wimbledon and the US Open, respectively, and both have since added additional majors to their resumes. Also at the end of 2004, 19-year-old Jelena Jankovic was ranked No.35, 18-year-old Dinara Safina was No.44 and 17-year-old Ana Ivanovic was No.97. So who among today's teens in the Top 100 will follow similar paths to stardom? None of them already have a Grand Slam title like Sharapova and Kuznetsova, but all have shown signs of the potential it will take to keep ascending up the rankings like their predecessors.
Players Who Won Tour Singles Titles as Teenagers in 2009
(number in parentheses is age they were when they won event):
Victoria Azarenka (19): Brisbane, Memphis, Miami
Alexandra Dulgheru (19): Warsaw
Petra Kvitova (18): Hobart
Sabine Lisicki (19): Charleston
Yanina Wickmayer (19): Estoril (Also won Linz, but that was after she turned 20)
Caroline Wozniacki (18): Ponte Vedra Beach, Eastbourne, New Haven (was 19 when she won New Haven)
Notes: Wozniacki was the youngest Tour singles titlist in 2009, winning Ponte Vedra Beach about three months before she turned 19, which is about a month younger than Kvitova was when she won Hobart. ... The record for youngest Tour singles titlist belongs to Tracy Austin, who was 14 years, 18 days when she won Portland in 1977 ... The Charleston event had the lowest combined ages of finalists this year, with the then-19-year-old Lisicki beating the then-18-year-old Wozniacki.
Teens in 2009 Year-End Top 100
(number in parentheses is player's age as of November 9, 2009):
No.4 Caroline Wozniacki (19) (DEN)
No.41 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (18) (RUS)
No.46 Sorana Cirstea (19) (ROU)
No.49 Melanie Oudin (18) (USA)
No.50 Alizé Cornet (19) (FRA)
No.62 Petra Kvitova (19) (CZE)
No.66 Urszula Radwanska (18) (POL)
No.71 Polona Hercog (18) (SLO)
No.72 Ayumi Morita (19) (JPN)
No.76 Stefanie Voegele (19) (SUI)
No.83 Anastasija Sevastova (19) (LAT)
No.84 Petra Martic (18) (CRO)
No.92 Chang Kai-Chen (18) (TPE)
Notes: Oudin, who turned 18 on September 23, is the youngest player in the Top 100. ... No country has more than one teenager in the Top 100.
Highest Year-End Ranking Current Top 10 Achieved as Teens:
1. Serena Williams: Finished 1999 No.4 as 18-year-old
2. Dinara Safina: Finished 2005 No.20 as 19-year-old
3. Svetlana Kuznetsova: Finished 2004 No.5 as 19-year-old
4. Caroline Wozniacki: Finished 2009 No.4 as 19-year-old
5. Elena Dementieva: Finished 2000 No.12 as 19-year-old
6. Venus Williams: Finished 1999 No.3 as 19-year-old
7. Victoria Azarenka: Finished 2008 No.17 as 19-year-old
8. Jelena Jankovic: Finished 2004 No.28 as 19-year-old
9. Vera Zvonareva: Finished 2003 No.13 as 19-year-old
10. Agnieszka Radwanska: Finished 2008 No.10 as 19-year-old
Notes: Nineteen-year-old Wozniacki is the only teen in the current Top 10 ... Jennifer Capriati is the all-time youngest Top 10 player, as she was 14 years, 7 months when she rose to No.10 on October 29, 1990.
