WTA 1000 Dubai 2/18 - 2/24 2024

[ponchi101]

What happened to Chang when he decided to bulk up? He was still as fast, and reached three slam finals. But he was still the smallest of the top four Americans at the moment, and his lack of height was always a liability.
You are totally right that the extremes make it difficult to be a top player. Amanda Coetzer, as good as she was, always played at a disadvantage. So did Kei and Diego, and so did Isner, at the opposite extreme.
Paolini is having a good week, and she is proving she belongs as a top player. Does she belong as a very top player, a top 10? That is till a long way from where she is. These cases happen every once in a while, and we should not make much of them (see, Diego beating Rafa in Rome a few years ago).

[Jeff from TX]

Like the old saying, "size matters"!

[Suliso]

Gauff and Swiatek no problem, but Paolini is a bridge too far. What a crazy game...

[ponchi101]

And she won. Wow. I mean, I know I yap endlessly about parity but, as you say, this is a bridge too far.

[ti-amie]

[ti-amie]

[Owendonovan]

That was a fun win for Jasmine. Likely won't happen again, but she did get to do it once and seemed to relish it.

[mick1303]

This is one of those cases when I feel that ELO does a better job than conventional ranking. It almost seems "unfair" when one finalist does a heavy lifting, eliminating the string of favorites, while other reaps the reward, because by the final his/her opponent is emotionally (and maybe physically) spent.

[ti-amie]

This is one of those cases when I feel that ELO does a better job than conventional ranking. It almost seems "unfair" when one finalist does a heavy lifting, eliminating the string of favorites, while other reaps the reward, because by the final his/her opponent is emotionally (and maybe physically) spent.

You mean like that US Open where Leylah-Annie went through Murderers Row while Raducanu romped?

[meganfernandez]

This is one of those cases when I feel that ELO does a better job than conventional ranking. It almost seems "unfair" when one finalist does a heavy lifting, eliminating the string of favorites, while other reaps the reward, because by the final his/her opponent is emotionally (and maybe physically) spent.

Is that why Kalinskaya couldn’t close from 5-3 up in the third and didn’t win another game?


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[meganfernandez]

What happened to Chang when he decided to bulk up? He was still as fast, and reached three slam finals. But he was still the smallest of the top four Americans at the moment, and his lack of height was always a liability.
You are totally right that the extremes make it difficult to be a top player. Amanda Coetzer, as good as she was, always played at a disadvantage. So did Kei and Diego, and so did Isner, at the opposite extreme.
Paolini is having a good week, and she is proving she belongs as a top player. Does she belong as a very top player, a top 10? That is till a long way from where she is. These cases happen every once in a while, and we should not make much of them (see, Diego beating Rafa in Rome a few years ago).

I figure anyone in the top 100, maybe top 50 can hit a peak for a few week or a few months, maybe even a year. But putting it all together for a while is one thing, and keeping it together for years is another. This is a surprising result but not shocking. She caught a couple lucky breaks, was playing well enough, and fought hard. This might happen 1 out of 50 attempts in a career. Usually a better player will close out the matches she won, though - the Cirstea and Kalinskaya, for sure. Kalinskaya 100% should have won this final.

[mick1303]

This is one of those cases when I feel that ELO does a better job than conventional ranking. It almost seems "unfair" when one finalist does a heavy lifting, eliminating the string of favorites, while other reaps the reward, because by the final his/her opponent is emotionally (and maybe physically) spent.

You mean like that US Open where Leylah-Annie went through Murderers Row while Raducanu romped?

This is a good example. Also Stosur losing that RG final to Schiavone.

[ashkor87]

This is one of those cases when I feel that ELO does a better job than conventional ranking. It almost seems "unfair" when one finalist does a heavy lifting, eliminating the string of favorites, while other reaps the reward, because by the final his/her opponent is emotionally (and maybe physically) spent.

You mean like that US Open where Leylah-Annie went through Murderers Row while Raducanu romped?

Raducanu had to get past Bencic, who had just beaten Swiatek..Bencic is as formidable as they come, on hard courts... I am quite convince the 'odd' results that USO were because the court was exceptionally fast - young guns like Leylah and Raducanu are quicker, have better reflexes, and better eyesight. It will never happen again, of course, because courts will only get slower

[meganfernandez]

This is one of those cases when I feel that ELO does a better job than conventional ranking. It almost seems "unfair" when one finalist does a heavy lifting, eliminating the string of favorites, while other reaps the reward, because by the final his/her opponent is emotionally (and maybe physically) spent.

You mean like that US Open where Leylah-Annie went through Murderers Row while Raducanu romped?

Raducanu had to get past Bencic, who had just beaten Swiatek..Bencic is as formidable as they come, on hard courts... I am quite convince the 'odd' results that USO were because the court was exceptionally fast - young guns like Leylah and Raducanu are quicker, have better reflexes, and better eyesight. It will never happen again, of course, because courts will only get slower

You are comparing teenagers to women in their early to mid 20s, not geezers! I don’t think Raducanu and Leylah were quicker than their more experienced counterparts. I think it’s more likely that teenagers aren’t as strong and mature as women a few years older. And they don’t have the experience of managing their bodies and emotions through a Slam.


Bencic was a formidable opponent. And Raducanu came through with qualifying. Leylah had a tougher draw but Raducanu had to win 3 more matches!

[mick1303]

This is one of those cases when I feel that ELO does a better job than conventional ranking. It almost seems "unfair" when one finalist does a heavy lifting, eliminating the string of favorites, while other reaps the reward, because by the final his/her opponent is emotionally (and maybe physically) spent.

Is that why Kalinskaya couldn’t close from 5-3 up in the third and didn’t win another game?


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Absolutely. "Choking" could be a manifestation of a mental fatigue.