Kostyuk Gets Mover Of The Week

Mover of the week honors go to eighteen-year-old, Marta Kostyuk.  In the first tournament of the 2021 season, the Ukrainian made it to the semifinals.  She had opportunities to potentially change the outcome of the match but was unable to convert.

A case of nerves perhaps?  Yet, she will go into the first major of the season feeling better prepared than other players.  So many players have not played professionally in a long time due to the limited schedule and scheduling difficulties caused by the coronavirus pandemic.  We are all wondering what level of play will be on display.  I anticipate we may see quite a few early upsets

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Coronavirus Still Controlling Play

The sporadic nature of play and the uncertainty that still prevails has to be taking a toll emotionally on the players.  Those who are more admirably adapted may be coping better; however, it still has to be a factor in the quality of play we see going forward. 

Physicians are trained to compartmentalize in order to maintain clarity; but to do this for extended periods daily must be quite taxing on mind, body, and soul.

Top 100 WTA Ranking Changes

PLAYER	RANKING CHANGE	CURRENT RANK
Marta Kostyuk (UKR)	UP  21	78                    CAREER HIGH
Veronika Kudermetova (RUS)	UP  10	36                    CAREER HIGH

Top 10 ATP & WTA Ranking Changes

ATP: there were no changes in the top ten.   All members remained the same from the last rankings.  Novak Djokovic remains at #1.  The distance between the #2 ranked player [Rafael Nadal] and #3 [Dominic Thiem] has dwindled a bit.  Nadal will be looking to put some distance between them at the Australian Open.

WTA:  While the members of the top ten remained the same;  Aryna Sabalenka moved up three spots to #7 with her recent title.  Bianca Andreescu, Petra Kvitova, and Kiki Bertens each moved down one spot to #8, #9, and #10 respectively.  Ashleigh Barty remains at #1.

SOURCE OF IMAGE: Getty Images (Marta Kostyuk)