Well, the current system has only been Best 17 for just over a year. Before that, it was Best 18; in 1997, I believe *ALL* points were counted.
Having said that, I'm fairly certain that Hingis had the minimum number of events throughout 1999 and 2000; I *think* Davenport did in those small parts of the two years when she was #1.
João: I believe Venus has only played 14 events, not counting Dubai. Counting backwards, she had:
1) Antwerp
2) Paris
3) AO
4) Gold Coast
5) US Open
6) New Haven
7) San Diego
8) Stanford
9) Wimbledon
10) French Open
11) German Open
12) Hamburg
13) Key Biscayne
14) Indian Wells
Did I miss an event? Since I run a tennis web-site, I should hope not!
It's also interesting to note that in next week's rankings, five of the top six players will not have played the minimum 17 events. The only exception will be #4 Clijsters, with 22 events.
--Ted