TENNISRULZ.com - March 2003

TENNISRULZ.com WTA QUIZ (compiled by Todd Spiker)

 

THE QUESTIONS

1.The WTA instituted its computer rankings system on November 3, 1975.  Which were the original 1-5 rankings?
A.Navratilova,Evert,King,Court,Austin
B.Evert,Wade,Navratilova,King,Goolagong
C.King,Navratilova,Evert,Wade,Court
D.Court,Goolagong,Evert,Navratilova,Austin
E.Navratilova,King,Evert,Goolagong,Wade
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2.True/False.  In 1987, Steffi Graf became the first non-American born or naturalized American citizen to hold the #1 computer ranking in singles.
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3.Who was the lowest-ranked player to ever win a WTA singles title?
A.Martina Muller
B.Dinara Safina
C.Angelique Widjaja
D.Svetlana Kuznetsova
E.Myriam Casanova
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4.How many Russian women were ranked in the Top 50 singles at the conclusion of each of the last three seasons (2000,2001,2002)?
A.4,6,8
B.2,3,5
C.1,4,10
D.0,3,5
E.none of the above
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5.Pick the four women who won two or more Tier I singles titles over the course of the 2001-02 seasons:
A.V.Williams,S.Williams,Clijsters,Seles
B.Davenport,V.Williams,Capriati,Clijsters
C.V.Williams,Davenport,Hingis,Henin
D.Capriati,S.Williams,Clijsters,Hingis
E.S.Williams,Davenport,Dokic,Mauresmo
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6.True/False.  2002 Indian Wells champion Daniela Hantuchova, ranked #26 at the time, is the lowest-ranked player to ever win a Tier I event.
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7.Who were the youngest and oldest players to ever earn Top 10 rankings?  Who were the youngest and oldest #1's?
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8.The U.S. (22) and Belgium (6) had the most women singles champions in 2001-02.  Which countries tied for the third-most titles?
A.Switzerland and Russia
B.Spain and Russia
C.Russia and Slovakia
D.France and Spain
E.Israel and Yugoslavia
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9.Which current player holds the WTA record for the longest period of time between singles titles?
A.Ai Sugiyama
B.Jill Craybas
C.Elena Likhovtseva
D.Els Callens
E.Barbara Rittner
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10.Name the eleven women who have been ranked #1 since the computer rankings began in 1975.
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ANSWERS

1.B.Evert,Wade,Navratilova,King,Goolagong.  Evert held the #1 ranking for the proceeding 140 weeks, until Navratilova moved past her.
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2.True and False.  Germany's Graf became the first top-ranked women to never hold American citizenship when she became #1 in 1987 (she stayed there for 186 straight weeks before Seles overtook her in 1991).  But, Czech-born Navratilova did serve as #1 for 81 weeks from 1979-81 before she became a naturalized American citizen in July 1981.  As an American, she was #1 for a total of an additional 250 weeks through the rest of her career.
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3.C.#579 Angelique Widjaja of Indonesia won the Bali title in 2001.
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4.A.4,6,8  (4 in 2000: Kournikova, Dementieva, Likhovtseva, Panova), (6 in 2001: Dementieva, Krasnoroutskaya, Likhovtseva, Petrova, Panova, Bovina) and (8 in 2002: Myskina, Dementieva, Panova, Bovina, Kournikova, Likhovtseva, Kuznetsova, Zvonareva)
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5.E.S.Williams (4), Davenport (2), Dokic (2), Mauresmo (2)
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6.False.  In March 2002, #26 Hantuchova broke Dokic's record (#23 when she won Rome 2001) as the lowest-ranked Tier I champion.  But just one month later, #58 Iva Majoli broke Hantuchova's new record when she claimed the Charleston Tier I title.
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7.Jennifer Capriati became the youngest Top 10 player in October 1990, at 14 years-7 months; while Billie Jean King was the oldest at 39 years-10 months in October 1983.  Chris Evert holds the record as the oldest #1, at 31 years-10 months-7 weeks in 1985; while Martina Hingis is the youngest-ever #1 at 16 years-6 months-1 day in 1997.
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8.A.Switzerland and Russia.  Four Swiss women (Hingis-2, Schnyder-1, Mikaelian-1, Casanova-1) and three Russians (Bovina-2, Kuznetsova-2, Myskina-1) combined for five championships for each country.
Israel and Slovakia had four apiece.
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9.E.Barbara Rittner, with a stretch of 8 years-9 months between her 1992 Schenectady and 2001 Antwerp titles.
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10.In order of their first attaining the #1 ranking:  Evert, Navratilova, Austin, Graf, Seles, Sanchez Vicario, Hingis, Davenport, Capriati, V.Williams, S.Williams
 

SCORING

10 correct: GRAND SLAM CHAMPION...look out, Serena!

7-9:  Top 10, with flair...work on your game's consistency.

5-6:  A grinder with Top 20 potential.

3-4:  Maybe a new coach will help?  Damir Dokic is currently available.

1-2: Curse out the umpire...it worked for McEnroe.

0:  Time for retirement...I hear Arantxa needs a morning hitting partner these days.