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WTA Race Rankings: 30th March, Radwanska hits form

By Geoff Nichols

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WTA Race Rankings: 30th March, Radwanska hits form

The relevance of the WTA Race Rankings have been displayed wonderfully at the Miami Masters, with seven of the top eight players in the Race making it through to the Last 16. With plenty more to play for heading into the second week, the landscape at the top could still change in a big way.

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Maria Sharapova was the big name casualty in the first week of Miami and she leaves herself vulnerable to being overtaken by a host of players beneath her in the Race as the Masters event is lucrative when it comes to the points that are on offer.

For a full run through of how the Race rankings are calculated and how they differ from the official WTA rankings, see here.

Race Rankings – 1 to 10

PlacePlayerNationPoints
1Simona HalepROU2730
 2Serena WilliamsUSA2510
 3Maria SharapovaRUS2010
 4Karolina PliskovaCZE1555
 5Carla Suarez NavarroESP1225
 6Ekaterina MakarovaRUS1211
 7Caroline WozniackiDEN1166
 8Venus WilliamsUSA1120
 9Timea BacsinszkySUI1085
 10Madison KeysUSA965

Miami has shown why looking at the Race standings can be very valuable when ascertaining the form players, especially in the early stages of a new season. As already mentioned, seven of the top eight are still alive in Miami and continue their strong starts to 2015.

Arguably the most interesting storyline is regarding Venus Williams. who at 34 years of age has admirably battled back to form and is making waves during the American hard court swing. Her points from Miami could continue to increase given her dominant head to head record over Caroline Wozniacki.

This week she seems to have cemented her place in the Top 10 of the Race, which is remarkable when taking into account some of her recent troubles. Meanwhile, sister Serena must be eyeing a return to the top of the standings, having been overtaken by Simona Halep last week.

Race Rankings – 11 to 20

PlacePlayerNationPoints
 11Petra KvitovaCZE915
 12Lucie SafarovaCZE846
 13Garbine MuguruzaESP821
 14Jelena JankovicSRB786
 15Sara ErraniITA737
 16Andrea PetkovicGER713
 17Caroline GarciaFRA696
 18Agnieszka RadwanskaPOL685
 19Victoria AzarenkaBLR676
 20Barbora Zahlavova StrycovaCZE660

Agnieszka Radwanska is the big riser after the first week in Miami and looks to be making a march toward the top of the Race and the rankings, where we have been accustomed to seeing her. Andrea Petkovic has achieved a similar rise and both ladies are still going in Miami.

Despite missing Miami, Petra Kvitova’s comeback is still well on track and the Race standings show that she hasn’t missed out too much. As the season goes on she will most likely continue to rise and will be grateful when she is back at the top.

Selected Others

The players outside of the Top 20 in the Race who are still alive in Miami are the ones to watch this week, given the amount of points available in the latter stages of the Masters event. Sabine Lisicki, fresh off a big win against Ana Ivanovic, has to be confident of getting higher than number 26.

Flavia Pennetta an Daria Gavrilova are the two other women that could threaten the top players with another win or two in Miami, although Pennetta faces the in form Halep for a place in the quarter finals, which will not be easy by any means.

American Sloane Stephens, making her first significant run of 2015, has already enjoyed a rise in the Race due to her wins in Miami and is heavy favourite for a quarter final berth, as she comes up against unseeded Swiss player Belinda Bencic.

Next: Will Stan Wawrinka be a one slam wonder?

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