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Random thread, but still bored in lockdown Dublin, so rolling with it anyway.
Lots of nostalgic talk on here lately, and the realization of the demise of the Golden Era of Russian women's tennis got me thinking about where we rank the peak levels of some of the most accomplished Russian players of this era. I've added the most accomplished 15 Russian players of the last 20 years or so to my list, as it was a bit trickier to exclude it to just 10. For my list, I took into consideration genuine top levels of play that we seen on multiple occasions, and did give a slight nod to ability to deliver that level in bigger situations - something which most of the girls were usually rubbish at. It's also a bit trickier to compare the likes of Kournikova to some newer players since she did play in a different era, but I tried to balance it in my head as much as possible.
My list looks like:
1. Sharapova - She is of course the most accomplished, but I genuinely feel like her peak level was just more reliable, consistent, and she was more mentally effective than the majority of her peers combined.
2. Kuznetsova - Kuznetsova's peak, peak level was extremely high, but we only really seen it a handful of times, and she flopped so many times even in best years to much lesser players in big matches. Still, I don't think anybody bar peak Sharapova would be able to handle her at her very peak.
3. Dementieva - I obviously have a soft spot for her, but when everything was on, she was able to hang with anybody on any surface, and she just never put everything together at the right time to peak for slams (completely her own fault).
4. Safina - Very short peak level, but her clay court form and 08 HC form were mercieless for 95% of the tour. She just wasn't as good of an athlete as either Kuznetsova or Dementieva though, and off of clay, wouldn't be a match for peak Sharapova;
5. Myskina - I believe that her best level is not that impressive vs. others, and she is one of the least accomplished slam winners of all time - never made it past the QF of another slam - but I do believe she was more reliable in terms of bringing her top level consistently on bigger stages vs. some of those which came close to her in my list.
6. Petrova - Petrova was very talented, and could play almost every shot in the book, but IMO, she was often just out-gunned against the elite, and she never truly felt like a slam contended outside of the RG 06 notorious flop.
7. Kournikova - I'm sure Kournikova's inclusion will be different on everybody's list here, but I do genuinely think she had game for her time, and was much more versatile vs. more accomplished players that came after her.
8. Zvonareva - Definitely above Kournikova in terms of results of course, but she was always an overachiever of the era considering that she spent most of the 00s as a 8-12 level player in ranking, and was obviously less dangerous vs. even some of the other bridesmaids of her era. Still, her natural ability to shift the direction of the ball regardless of where it came from is one of the best of all time.
9. Chakvetadze - Smart, and fun player to watch, who had her career cut short by illness. I don't think she was ever going to win a slam either, and her top 5 showing was a bit of an apparition, but she should have spent a couple more seasons in the top 20 and had some decent slam runs
10. Pavlyuchenkova - Actually, this was a hard one between herself and Makarova - Makarova has her slam SFs, but Pavluchenkova's game at her very best is more dangerous to a wider group of players.
The rest....
Players who maximised their talent despite obvious limitations - 11. Makarova (not super athletic without proper weapons, but a good upset artist of her time), 12. Kirilenko (pretty but underpowered game, but definitely maximised her potential).
13. Likhovsteva - Boring but effective top 20 player, with solid career results that couldn't be missed from this list.
14. Vesnina - B/C-list basher that is probably the most undeniable overachiever from the list, but she was quite inoffensive and innocuous for the majority of her career.
15. Kasatkina - Boring pusher, and the least interesting of all.
Discuss and feedback.
Lots of nostalgic talk on here lately, and the realization of the demise of the Golden Era of Russian women's tennis got me thinking about where we rank the peak levels of some of the most accomplished Russian players of this era. I've added the most accomplished 15 Russian players of the last 20 years or so to my list, as it was a bit trickier to exclude it to just 10. For my list, I took into consideration genuine top levels of play that we seen on multiple occasions, and did give a slight nod to ability to deliver that level in bigger situations - something which most of the girls were usually rubbish at. It's also a bit trickier to compare the likes of Kournikova to some newer players since she did play in a different era, but I tried to balance it in my head as much as possible.
My list looks like:
1. Sharapova - She is of course the most accomplished, but I genuinely feel like her peak level was just more reliable, consistent, and she was more mentally effective than the majority of her peers combined.
2. Kuznetsova - Kuznetsova's peak, peak level was extremely high, but we only really seen it a handful of times, and she flopped so many times even in best years to much lesser players in big matches. Still, I don't think anybody bar peak Sharapova would be able to handle her at her very peak.
3. Dementieva - I obviously have a soft spot for her, but when everything was on, she was able to hang with anybody on any surface, and she just never put everything together at the right time to peak for slams (completely her own fault).
4. Safina - Very short peak level, but her clay court form and 08 HC form were mercieless for 95% of the tour. She just wasn't as good of an athlete as either Kuznetsova or Dementieva though, and off of clay, wouldn't be a match for peak Sharapova;
5. Myskina - I believe that her best level is not that impressive vs. others, and she is one of the least accomplished slam winners of all time - never made it past the QF of another slam - but I do believe she was more reliable in terms of bringing her top level consistently on bigger stages vs. some of those which came close to her in my list.
6. Petrova - Petrova was very talented, and could play almost every shot in the book, but IMO, she was often just out-gunned against the elite, and she never truly felt like a slam contended outside of the RG 06 notorious flop.
7. Kournikova - I'm sure Kournikova's inclusion will be different on everybody's list here, but I do genuinely think she had game for her time, and was much more versatile vs. more accomplished players that came after her.
8. Zvonareva - Definitely above Kournikova in terms of results of course, but she was always an overachiever of the era considering that she spent most of the 00s as a 8-12 level player in ranking, and was obviously less dangerous vs. even some of the other bridesmaids of her era. Still, her natural ability to shift the direction of the ball regardless of where it came from is one of the best of all time.
9. Chakvetadze - Smart, and fun player to watch, who had her career cut short by illness. I don't think she was ever going to win a slam either, and her top 5 showing was a bit of an apparition, but she should have spent a couple more seasons in the top 20 and had some decent slam runs
10. Pavlyuchenkova - Actually, this was a hard one between herself and Makarova - Makarova has her slam SFs, but Pavluchenkova's game at her very best is more dangerous to a wider group of players.
The rest....
Players who maximised their talent despite obvious limitations - 11. Makarova (not super athletic without proper weapons, but a good upset artist of her time), 12. Kirilenko (pretty but underpowered game, but definitely maximised her potential).
13. Likhovsteva - Boring but effective top 20 player, with solid career results that couldn't be missed from this list.
14. Vesnina - B/C-list basher that is probably the most undeniable overachiever from the list, but she was quite inoffensive and innocuous for the majority of her career.
15. Kasatkina - Boring pusher, and the least interesting of all.
Discuss and feedback.
