Navratilova says ranking system keeping Wozniacki on top

Jan 23, 2012, 4:07 GMT

Melbourne - Former great Martina Navratilova said that only the vagaries of the WTA ranking system is keeping Caroline Wozniacki in the number one ranking as the Dane seeks her first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open.

'Clearly nobody feels that Wozniacki is a true number one,' said the 55-year-old who Sunday beat 31-year-old Martina Hingis in a women's legend match at the Grand Slam, adding that the top spot would likely be held by Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova under a more equitable system.

'If we still had the same ranking system we were using six years ago when they were giving bonus points for beating players, Kvitova would have ended up number one because she had beaten more top players than Wozniacki.

'Wozniacki doesn't even have that great a record in her career or the last four years over the top 10 or against the top five; whereas Petra you feel really imposes herself on the match and any player.'

Czech Kvitova and Navratilova, who has dual Czech-US citizenship, have an obvious connection, with the veteran keen on the youngster's chances after reaching the quarter-finals in Melbourne.

Navratilova said that Wozniacki has the computer to thank for a run on the top spot which has lasted for two seasons. 'She's number one because that's how they set up the computer ranking. But she is the way it is. It (rankings) weighs too much on quantity and not enough on quality.

'Caroline doesn't need to explain why she's number one, it's the WTA that needs to explain that,' said the player who won nine Wimbledon singles titles.

'I would just like for it to be weighted so that it's a better. It's not a true reflection of how a player is playing right now because too many tournaments don't count and great wins don't count. 'They both get to a semis and one player beats number one player and number three player to get to the semis and the other one gets qualifiers and they get the same amount of points. It doesn't make any sense.'

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