Who Are The BIGGEST NUTCASES Who Lost Their #1 Ranking Due To Pressure And Burnout?

So many #1s who have burnt out due to pressure to stay on top. These girls put too much pressure on themselves. If they remained how they were when they got the #1 ranking they'd be fine. But they felt they needed to go OTT. Therefore burning out. :facepalm:
I have my Top2.

Dinara Safina :tape:
Jelena Jankovic. :tape:



Name some others. :help:

So many #1s who have burnt out due to pressure to stay on top. These girls put too much pressure on themselves. If they remained how they were when they got the #1 ranking they'd be fine. But they felt they needed to go OTT. Therefore burning out. :facepalm:
I have my Top2.

Dinara Safina :tape:
Jelena Jankovic. :tape:



Name some others. :help:

That's it

Dinara got injured- chronic back thats why she lost her no1

worst case scenario is Ivanovic who shat herself.

They're called headcases :rolleyes:

And Baby Anci is the clear winner here :sad:

Experiencing and suffering 'Pressure And Burnout' does not necessarily make one a nutcase. Those are two different things, we need seperate catagories: #1Nutcases, #2Burmouts.

Experiencing and suffering 'Pressure And Burnout' does not necessarily make one a nutcase. Those are two different things, we need seperate catagories: #1Nutcases, #2Burmouts.


But we don't really because that implies there are actually enough examples to make categorising them worthwhile :shrug:.

The OP's 'so many' burnouts is a slight exaggeration especially since they only managed to come up with two examples.

Ivanovic BY FAR....

Jankovic and Safina still did something when they were number ones :shrug:

We can't say Maria handled being no.1 that well either.
Everytime she got to that spot, she had poor results.

Not necessarily a nutcase but Caroline Wozniacki.

Does Justine Henin count?

:sad:

This thread has Ivanovic written all over it.

Ana lost it because she severly injured her right hand :oh:

I would not call them nutcases, but there are few players who surely failed to continue their impressive game after they catched #1 spot. Ivanovic, Sharapova, Jankovic, Safina and Wozniacki didn't mantain the level they had before #1.

Sharapova is obviously very close to be #1 again very soon, so she did come back. Ivanovic and Wozniacki are showing some good tennis again, but they will need to improve more next season (which I believe will happen), to become at least consistent top 10 players and than to try to catch top 5. Jankovic is enigma, not sure how much she wants to be dedicated to tennis in future, 2013 will be now or never for her. Safina sadly had to retire.

We can't say Maria handled being no.1 that well either.
Everytime she got to that spot, she had poor results.

She had injury issues the first three times she was #1. The only tournament she played while ranked #1 this year was Wimbledon, which was her only pre-QF loss of the season :shrug:

Maria just isn't fit to hold the Number 1 spot for a long amount of time. Sort of like Venus. :shrug:

So many #1s who have burnt out due to pressure to stay on top. These girls put too much pressure on themselves. If they remained how they were when they got the #1 ranking they'd be fine. But they felt they needed to go OTT. Therefore burning out. :facepalm:
I have my Top2.

Dinara Safina :tape:
Jelena Jankovic. :tape:



Name some others. :help:

Ana Ivanovic- Didn´t win another tournament above international level after becoming #1.
Monica Seles- Didn´t win another Slam after losing her #1 ranking in 1996.
Justine Henin- Retired under the pressure of being #1 and never won another Slam.
Kim Clijsters- Retired only 12 months after being #1 and never won another Slam.
Jennifer Capriati- Only won one other tournament between losing #1 ranking in 2002 and retiring.
Amelie Mauresmo- Only won two minor tournaments between losing #1 ranking in 2006 and retiring. Didn´t reach another Grand Slam QF.
Lindsay Davenport- Became #1 seven different times after winning her final Slam, always losing it quickly due to pressure and failed to win another Slam.
Caroline Wozniacki- Only handled the pressure for 67 weeks and finally crumbled and hasn´t won a Slam or Tier I title since losing her #1 ranking.
Victoria Azarenka- Hasn´t won a Slam since becoming #1.
Maria Sharapova- Lost the #1 ranking quickly five times already, always unable to handle the pressure.
Venus Williams- Couldn´t hold onto #1 ranking for longer than four weeks due to intense pressure. Couldn´t win any Slams outside of Wimbledon in the prime of her career since losing #1 ranking for the final time at age 22.

Need I go on. Every time a players reaches the #1 ranking for some bizarre reason, the only direction to go is down. The ranking is clearly cursed.

Dinara got injured- chronic back thats why she lost her no1

worst case scenario is Ivanovic who shat herself.

Totally agree.


I don't think JJ felt pressure or was burned out at that point, Serena just passed her in the rankings.

Dinara felt pressure and got burnt out. Jelena got passed by Serena, she was not the favorite for anything during her stint at number one.

I don't think WOzniacki had the same pressure as Safina and Jankovic when she was number 1.

Safina i think is the number 1 at this, the pressure of number made her push harder and further than she should that led to her back injury getting worse.

I don't think WOzniacki had the same pressure as Safina and Jankovic when she was number 1.

Safina i think is the number 1 at this, the pressure of number made her push harder and further than she should that led to her back injury getting worse.

I completely agree with that. Safina had so much depth in the game to deal with when she was number one. That was a ton of pressure. For example, Kuznetsova cooked her in the French final, Venus absolutely blitzed her off the court in that semi at Wimbledon, and she lost in the first round (to an Aussie qualifier I do believe) at the US Open before losing the number one spot back to Serena. Her injury just added to her derailment. I liked her. :sad:

For Ivanovic, I can't decide whether winning RG was the worst thing that happened to her career.

We will never know, I often speculate if she had not won RG, she would have a better career.
She strikes me as the type of player who needed to pay her due by staying in the top 10 for while, dealing with adversity of coming close but not winning,
then getting up and trying again.


This sort of hardship in apprenticeship period will have prepared her to deal with pressure when she finally got to the top.
I think the success came too soon before she was prepared to manage it.

She even admitted she could not deal well with opponents being super motivated to beat her when she became #1.

I don't think WOzniacki had the same pressure as Safina and Jankovic when she was number 1.

Safina i think is the number 1 at this, the pressure of number made her push harder and further than she should that led to her back injury getting worse.
The added pressure for Caro, which is often overlooked is she was not liked even when she won.

Plurality of tennis fans did not like her game, did not respect her game, were contemptuous of her even when in situations where any other player would have gotten sympathy from fans.

Last, but not least, fans often questioned her motivation for entering tournaments they think is beneath the #1 rank player.
It is as if they were blaming her for disgracing the WTA #1 ranking ( one thing they once respected) for entering those tournaments and bring discredit the to the top throne.


She may not have publicly expressed the weight of this on her, but I do think it had to be a factor.

I completely agree with that. Safina had so much depth in the game to deal with when she was number one. That was a ton of pressure. For example, Kuznetsova cooked her in the French final, Venus absolutely blitzed her off the court in that semi at Wimbledon, and she lost in the first round (to an Aussie qualifier I do believe) at the US Open before losing the number one spot back to Serena. Her injury just added to her derailment. I liked her. :sad:


To be fair, Dinara did reach the 3rd round of the USO before losing to Kvitova. She did indeed struggle with Rogowska in the 1st round though.

To be fair, Dinara did reach the 3rd round of the USO before losing to Kvitova. She did indeed struggle with Rogowska in the 1st round though.

Ahh! Now I remember. Thanks, dear! ;)

Jankovic's tenure was always going to be brief. She was bridging the void left by Henin's departure and Serena's inconsistency throughout 2008. By 2009, she had pretty much been usurped. Plus she compounded her issues with various melodramas etc.

Ivanovic just completely unravelled post Slam, and that has set the tone for the rest of her career. She's become distinctly second-tier.

Safina's demise was obviously due to that chronic back injury, but I feel even without injuries, there would've been an eventual slump/burn-out, purely due to the gruelling physical demands she put on her gamestyle during her 'peak' and the sheer amount of effort and workload she had to maintain just to maintain a high level of play, considering how mechanical and naturally un-athletic she was as a player.

The added pressure for Caro, which if often overlooked is she was not like even when she won.

Plurality of tennis fan did not like her game, did not respect her game, were contemptuous of her even when in situations where any other player would have gotten sympathy from fans.

Last, but no least, fan often questioned her motivation for entering tournament they think is beneath #1 rank player.


She may not have publicly expressed they weight of this on her, but I do think it had to be a factor.

Well said.

Wozniacki is probably one of the mentally strongest players on Tour, but I'm fairly sure that 2 years of disrespectful comments from fans and media took their toll on her confidence. I am certain that this pressure are the main cause of the problems that she has experienced in 2012.

Jankovic's tenure was always going to be brief. She was bridging the void left by Henin's departure and Serena's inconsistency throughout 2008. By 2009, she had pretty much been usurped. Plus she compounded her issues with various melodramas etc.

Ivanovic just completely unravelled post Slam, and that has set the tone for the rest of her career. She's become distinctly second-tier.

Safina's demise was obviously due to that chronic back injury, but I feel even without injuries, there would've been an eventual slump/burn-out, purely due to the gruelling physical demands she put on her gamestyle during her 'peak' and the sheer amount of effort and workload she had to maintain just to maintain a high level of play, considering how mechanical and naturally un-athletic she was as a player.

Good post.

I wouldn't say Aa had a burnout. She just didn't manage being no. 1 very well. It was almost like she was trying too hard. She injured her thumb after RG, it got worse at Wimbledon but she still chose to play Montreal and the USO (withdrew from the Olympics but still chose to play the USO) that year which was possibly the worst decision she's ever made (something she's admitted to herself as well). Those losses to Paszek and Coin really were shocking, and it really sapped the confidence out of her. Not only that, losing early at Wimbledon really did get people talking and the pressure started to mount, something she didn't handle to well. Yeah, she just didn't deal with the situation very well. I think she's admitted that on a lot of times. It was the external pressure + pressure she put on herself + mismanagement of her fitness that ultimately led to her falling.

From no.1 position the only direction is down

For Ivanovic, I can't decide whether winning RG was the worst thing that happened to her career.

We will never know, I often speculate if she had not won RG, she would have a better career.
It strike she is the type of player who needed to pay her due by staying in the top 10 for while, dealing with adversity of coming close but not winning,
then getting up and trying again.


This sort of hardship in apprenticeship period will have prepared her to deal with pressure when she finally got to the top.
I think the success came too soon before she was prepared to manage it.

She even admitted she could not deal well with opponents being super motivated to beat her when she became #1.

I completely agree with you, I feel if Ana remained consistent in the Top 10 but not winning a slam so soon would have benefited her. The pressure really did take it's toll on her. She really couldn't take the pressure to stay on top which is what quite a few #1s couldn't manage.

It'll be interesting to see how Vika handles the pressure next year.

Every time a players reaches the #1 ranking for some bizarre reason, the only direction to go is down. The ranking is clearly cursed.

Exactly, which is why I call some of these girls "Nutcases". I have no problem losing #1 ranking but starting within the Top 10 at least. These girls completely lost the plot and went into a mental and physical overload which was ridiculous.

I blame the people around them too, they did nothing to motivate and advise them once they were on top. It's like their job was now "finished".

Well said.

Wozniacki is probably one of the mentally strongest players on Tour, but I'm fairly sure that 2 years of disrespectful comments from fans and media took their toll on her confidence. I am certain that this pressure are the main cause of the problems that she has experienced in 2012.

I´d love to see these two years of negative articles in the media about Wozniacki. That is revisionist history at its best. Wozniacki, due to her looks and age, and Serena´s absence/insecure future and Sharapova´s injury struggles was treated as the heir apparent for a very long time. She was never treated as badly as the other Slamless #1´s, despite having less game and far worse results at the Slams.

I´d love to see these two years of negative articles in the media about Wozniacki. That is revisionist history at its best. Wozniacki, due to her looks and age, and Serena´s absence/insecure future and Sharapova´s injury struggles was treated as the heir apparent for a very long time. She was never treated as badly as the other Slamless #1´s, despite having less game and far worse results at the Slams.
Well, as someone who regularly payed a visit at the Caro players forum in search of material to use against her and her fans at GM I'm sure that you must have noticed that most Caro fans already complained about negative articles, blogs, comments and so on at the time when she was #1, so it's hardly revisionist history as far as they are concerned. But I guess it all depends on whether you like her or not, don't it? If you like her that stuff was annoying, if you hated her like the vast majority of TF members do it was a reason to high five each other and argue that said reporter(s) were just telling it like it was. Until that reporter or pundit said something negative about THEIR fave of course, in which case they immediately returned to the group of those that didn't know what they were talking about.

Well, as someone who regularly payed a visit at the Caro players forum in search of material to use against her and her fans at GM I'm sure that you must have noticed that most Caro fans already complained about negative articles, blogs, comments and so on at the time when she was #1, so it's hardly revisionist history as far as they are concerned. But I guess it all depends on whether you like her or not, don't it? If you like her that stuff was annoying, if you hated her like the vast majority of TF members do it was a reason to high five each other and argue that said reporter(s) were just telling it like it was. Until that reporter or pundit said something negative about THEIR fave of course, in which case they immediately returned to the group of those that didn't know what they were talking about.

Well If I say media, I´m talking about the huge outlets, experts and the journalists that are actually present at the major tennis events and have to interact with players behind their words not TF, messageboards or bloggers. These people will find a way to hate on a firefighter that ran into a burning building to rescue 10 puppies. There is no way the huge TV stations, newspapers and journalists attacked Wozniacki with the same vigor as they attacked Mauresmo, Safina or Jankovic. The Kvitova bandwagon was almost empty (due to her personality) till she won her 2nd major title (the YEC) and had closed the ranking gap on Wozniacki to 100 points. Of course there is a subjective element, but you cannot convince me that Wozniacki due to her looks, media friendly outgoing personality, age and the lack of young competition wasn´t treated positively for a very long time.

Well said.

Wozniacki is probably one of the mentally strongest players on Tour, but I'm fairly sure that 2 years of disrespectful comments from fans and media took their toll on her confidence. I am certain that this pressure are the main cause of the problems that she has experienced in 2012.

I disagree, she didn't pay that much attention which is why she stayed at no.1 for so long. She did not crumble, but ran out of steam after those 67 weeks.

The ones who did crumble under the pressure were Ivanovic and Safina. Ivanovic lost it due to the big expectations placed on her and Safina because she took criticism to heart and tried to 'prove herself' which created too much pressure.

Ana - Pressure
Dinara - Pressure
JJ - Burnout + Pressure
Caro - Burnout + Pressure :oh:

I disagree, she didn't pay that much attention which is why she stayed at no.1 for so long. She did not crumble, but ran out of steam after those 67 weeks.
She did not crumble for a very long time, but the negative comments nevertheless planted a seed of doubt in her mind up to a point where she started experimenting with different coaches who wanted her to play a different type of game. Whether in the long term working with Sanchez or TJ could have gotten her the results that she was aiming for is hard to say because she gave both of them the boot in a matter of months. But no matter what side of that issue one is on, I think that all of that confused her, and perhaps she even panicked a bit at some point. Her dilemma was/is whether she should stick with the formula that brought her lots of success or get more offensive in the quest to win that elusive slam which holds the very real risk of losing it all if it doesn't work out.

She did not crumble for a very long time, but the negative comments nevertheless planted a seed of doubt in her mind up to a point where she started experimenting with different coaches who wanted her to play a different type of game. Whether in the long term working with Sanchez or TJ could have gotten her the results that she was aiming for is hard to say because she gave both of them the boot in a matter of months. But no matter what side of that issue one is on, I think that all of that confused her, and perhaps she even panicked a bit at some point. Her dilemma was/is whether she should stick with the formula that brought her lots of success or get more offensive in the quest to win that elusive slam which holds the very real risk of losing it all if it doesn't work out.

Guess that is a fair assessment. The whole on and off-coaching situation was a total mess. You need to make the hard cut like Radwanska/Sharapova did or you don´t make it at all. Even Azarenka had her worst stretch of the year during the fail experiment with Sumyk/Mauresmo. You cannot employ two part-time coaches, especially when they pull in different directions.

She did not crumble for a very long time, but the negative comments nevertheless planted a seed of doubt in her mind up to a point where she started experimenting with different coaches who wanted her to play a different type of game. Whether in the long term working with Sanchez or TJ could have gotten her the results that she was aiming for is hard to say because she gave both of them the boot in a matter of months. But no matter what side of that issue one is on, I think that all of that confused her, and perhaps she even panicked a bit at some point. Her dilemma was/is whether she should stick with the formula that brought her lots of success or get more offensive in the quest to win that elusive slam which holds the very real risk of losing it all if it doesn't work out.

Good point, I think that she, or better saying, her team decided to take a plunge and change a few things.

I´d love to see these two years of negative articles in the media about Wozniacki. That is revisionist history at its best. Wozniacki, due to her looks and age, and Serena´s absence/insecure future and Sharapova´s injury struggles was treated as the heir apparent for a very long time. She was never treated as badly as the other Slamless #1´s, despite having less game and far worse results at the Slams.

Revisionist history? Not quite. As a fan, I had to endure all these attacks along with Wozniacki, in French as well as in English. I know what I'm talking about. Safina had to deal with even more contempt and animosity, but that doesn't mean that the media were respectful towards Caroline. I grant you that the media are appreciating Wozniacki as a person, but they showed nothing but contempt for her game and achievements (and I'm talking about the real media, including the ex-players working for them). I certainly do not intend to track down all those articles, but they're still on the Net, if you really want to see them. But ultimately it's as Chrissie-fan states: "But I guess it all depends on whether you like her or not, don't it? If you like her that stuff was annoying, if you hated her [...] it was a reason to high five each other and argue that said reporter(s) were just telling it like it was".

And Caroline was aware of those criticisms, since the media has been taking pleasure to rub her nose in it. Which prompted responses such as "Um, well, if I don’t have a weapon, then what do the others have? Since I’m No. 1, I must do something right".

I disagree, she didn't pay that much attention which is why she stayed at no.1 for so long. She did not crumble, but ran out of steam after those 67 weeks.

The ones who did crumble under the pressure were Ivanovic and Safina. Ivanovic lost it due to the big expectations placed on her and Safina because she took criticism to heart and tried to 'prove herself' which created too much pressure.

I agree with you for Ivanovic and Safina, especially the latter, but I'm fairly sure that you underestimate the pressure endured by Caroline and its effects on her. She was paying attention and it does explain how poorly she played in 2012. The successive changes of coaches were a reaction to this pressure, while she was trying to live to the expectations put on the number one. I'm not saying she crumbled, she's tough as nails and she dealt with the pressure a lot better than they other "slamless ones", but 2 years of endless negative criticism did affect her in the end. It took a while, but it insidiously affected her, leading her to doubt herself. Chrissie-fan explained it very well by saying "She did not crumble for a very long time, but the negative comments nevertheless planted a seed of doubt in her mind".

@Chrissie-fan: thanks for your answers. Once again we think alike :)

Experiencing and suffering 'Pressure And Burnout' does not necessarily make one a nutcase. Those are two different things, we need seperate catagories: #1Nutcases, #2Burmouts.

#3 Sexually active band geeks
#4 the greatest people you will ever meet
#5 and the worst. Beware of plastics.

Nutcases wont even make #1.

The fact that Jankovic was #1 still gives me nightmares :hysteric:

Ivanovic and Rios. I had to include Rios because he should have been #1 longer and won multiple slams if he wasn't such a headcase.

lethallaura's favourite lost her junior no.1 ranking at some point in 2009......

Nicole Vaidisova didn't reach number 1, but I think she was definitely the biggest nutcase of all, bar none. Of course, the alternative theory is that Stephanek is secretly a vampire and Nicole went Bella Swan on us.

Nicole Vaidisova didn't reach number 1, but I think she was definitely the biggest nutcase of all, bar none. Of course, the alternative theory is that Stephanek is secretly a vampire and Nicole went Bella Swan on us.

At least she had the decency to quit, unlike a bunch of other nutcases who are still around making a mockery of the tour.

Ana Ivanovic- Didn´t win another tournament above international level after becoming #1.
Monica Seles- Didn´t win another Slam after losing her #1 ranking in 1996.
Justine Henin- Retired under the pressure of being #1 and never won another Slam.
Kim Clijsters- Retired only 12 months after being #1 and never won another Slam.
Jennifer Capriati- Only won one other tournament between losing #1 ranking in 2002 and retiring.
Amelie Mauresmo- Only won two minor tournaments between losing #1 ranking in 2006 and retiring. Didn´t reach another Grand Slam QF.
Lindsay Davenport- Became #1 seven different times after winning her final Slam, always losing it quickly due to pressure and failed to win another Slam.
Caroline Wozniacki- Only handled the pressure for 67 weeks and finally crumbled and hasn´t won a Slam or Tier I title since losing her #1 ranking.
Victoria Azarenka- Hasn´t won a Slam since becoming #1.
Maria Sharapova- Lost the #1 ranking quickly five times already, always unable to handle the pressure.
Venus Williams- Couldn´t hold onto #1 ranking for longer than four weeks due to intense pressure. Couldn´t win any Slams outside of Wimbledon in the prime of her career since losing #1 ranking for the final time at age 22.

Need I go on. Every time a players reaches the #1 ranking for some bizarre reason, the only direction to go is down. The ranking is clearly cursed.


Venus held the No 1 for 11 weeks. And She didn't hold it again

or win any other slam except Wimb again for only one reason

and that reason was Serena Williams.

Terms like headcase, burnout, or couldn't handle pressure

did not apply

At least she had the decency to quit, unlike a bunch of other nutcases who are still making a mockery of the tour.

Exactly. So many rusty girls still on tour who are not contributing anything to the sport. They think they can do a "Serena" which is not possible.

:zzz:

Experiencing and suffering 'Pressure And Burnout' does not necessarily make one a nutcase. Those are two different things, we need seperate catagories: #1Nutcases, #2Burmouts.

this.