Women's tennis welcomes new No. 1

The comeback kid has done it again, and the Swiss miss is down and out for the count.

During the late-1990's, Martina Hingis had become accustomed to winning tournaments and sitting atop the WTA rankings at No. 1. There were no worries, except an occasional spat with coach and mom Melanie.

That's all changed and Hingis is now in one of the worst slumps of her career. She has won three titles in 2001, but none since February, and has not won a Grand Slam singles event in her last 11 attempts.

Attempting to rebound from a quarterfinal loss in Moscow at the beginning of October, Hingis won her first two matches the following week in Filderstadt to gain a semifinal berth against Lindsay Davenport. Unfortunately, things went from bad to worse for Hingis. She rolled her right ankle after just a few games and is now facing surgery and two months off the tour. With it, the No. 1 ranking has been relinquished to Jennifer Capriati.

By just 25 ranking points, Jennifer Capriati has taken over as the new No. 1 as of October 15, 2001. Just another in a series of firsts for Capriati, she now adds world No. 1 to her list of growing accomplishments, which include an Olympic gold medal and two Grand Slam singles crowns.

Capriati has always had potential. From the age of 14 when she became the youngest ever Grand Slam semifinalist, youngest to win a match at Wimbledon, and youngest to enter the Top 10. For Capriati, though, that was a lifetime ago. For tennis enthusiasts and Capriati fans, 11 years have passed since the cute and bubbly teenager bust onto the scene.

The dark days of Jennifer Capriati are well documented. Suffice to say that the early to mid-1990's were not a joyous time for Capriati, and especially tumultuous for the teenager with so many expectations placed on her.

"It's been a long road. It's something a lot of people thought I could never do. Something I wasn't sure of myself," commented Capriati on her first day as world No. 1.

Will Capriati end the year 2001 as No. 1?

There is still more tennis to be played, but she has as good a chance as anyone. Martina Hingis is likely out of the running, but other top contenders include Lindsay Davenport and Venus Williams. Both Capriati and Davenport have titles to defend between now and the year-end championships, and there are still points to be earned.

The vote for sentimental and crowd favorite goes to Capriati.