a lot of top 20 players from last year are/were injured and the ones of lower level barely ever make 2-3 good tournaments in a row. She's been solid on a mediocre level, which at the moment is enough for that.
I like Varvara but I'm also a bit confused about this. She was very very solid and consistent in the last few months, but she definitely lacks a standout-result. She didn't manage to beat Wozniacki in Montréal and she was wiped away when she played Kvitova in RG and Wimbly. If she manages to win Seoul, then I think her place in the Top 20 is well deserved.
But this area of the rankings is definitely weaker than before. You can already see this by Top 30 players like Kirilenko and Vinci in the Top 15.
I was also surprised when I read few weeks ago that she is heading towards TOP 20 but nowadays you only need to be consistent, what Varvara definitely is and having also a bit of luck to good draws. Current randomness outside TOP 10-15 helps exactly to those kind of players who maybe hasn´t some outstanding runs in a few tournaments but they can take the advantage from draws and are consistent enough for a long time. Varvara started to play well already last year before RG and hadn´t any major slump since then. This pays more than beating several TOP players but losing then on X tournaments in R1.
She's beating who she is supposed to beat, and the top 10-20 is very random/weak at the moment so it gives her the opportunity to make 3rd or 4th rounds of slams and QF of Premier/International tournaments. But she loses more often than not to better players.
Actually she is top 20.
Reason why she is top 20 is because the others that did well in a certain slam are so inconsistent. like Makarova, Lisicki, Cibulkova, Clijsters, Wozniacki, and Kanepi.
and
the finalist of slams, premier 4 and premier mandatory featured the same people unlike previous years.
and
the gap between top 20 and 30 is just one premier 470 event so jumping from 32 to top 20 isn't that difficult.
^^ Not official because Makarova is still alive but I think it looks good.
To be top 20, that means you should be making the R32 at slams which Varvara is. Plus, she had a great run in the Middle East and at Madrid. Couple that with the inconsistent mess of the tour, Varvara has really come on strong. Her game has improved immensely. If she can improve her serve a little bit more and flatten out her strokes a little more she is going to be VERY tough.
Two Americans in top 20 and 3 once Venus gets a full, real schedule under her belt
Why do so many people hate lepchenko? She's not a pusher, and she's more consistent than a brainless ballbasher, but is still able to hit a number of winner on the FH side.
Lepchenko is reminiscent of Bammer in the sense that she's a lefty journeywoman who is definitely making the most out of her limited abilities, but the player she reminds me the most is probably Greta Arn: well built, physically strong, hits a fairly big ball with a measure of consistency despite crassly rudimentary and fug technique, nothing in the way of flair or point construction, wins by bringing her opponents' level down to her own. She'll probably be around vulturing depleted US hardcourt events and taking advantage of draws falling apart for a few more years.
Fewer injuries. Hard work. Fewer worries about visa issues. Maintaining a fighting mentality on the court, not giving up early. Perhaps better coaching.
The problem is the WTA points system it gives too many computer points in the earlier rounds. For instance, the ATP Tour computer is superior than the WTA computer. If you look at the ATP points system it is tougher to rise up the rankings unless a player has stellar results. Lepechenko doesn't deserve to be top 20 I see her as more a 25 to 35 ranked player. She's definitely top 40 but certainly not top 20 material.
When you have players like Zvonereva and Kanepi ranked in the 11-20 range who are injured, not playing, out of form etc and then Wozniacki and Georges losing 1st round in slams/premiers it gives many players opportunity to take advantage of the draws. Lepchenko has been one of them and she has certainly been more consistent than those ranked behind her which are Penetta, Jankovic and Zheng. who else is supposed to be ranked 20 at the moment? You guys don't seem to realize that the top 10, more specifically the top 4, has been playing at such a high level for most of the year. But outside of that it's been a hot mess. There is only so much that the points system can do.
The A-List has been winning everything and raking up every single ranking point while the B-List has been injured for half the season.
That leaves tons of opportunities for any hard-working journeyman.
The WTA will probably be like the ATP with a very strong top 4-5 and with Li, Kerber, etc. playing the roles of Tsonga, Berdych and Ferrer.