“Listen, you’re never going to be a looker. You’re never going to be somebody like a Sharapova, you’re never going to be somebody with long legs, so you have to compensate for that.”
As innocently as he meant it, John Inverdale’s remark ruffled a feather or two. Call a spade a spade, and the BBC is going to be inundated with complaints. A year has passed since his slip of the tongue and come Monday, the first pack of fresh Wimbledon tennis balls will be prised open.
So, in an attempt to deter those who will re-open the Bartolli case, we’ve chosen our pick of the best-looking female tennis players to have graced the court over the years.
ANNA KOURNIKOVA
Country: Russia
Highest ranking: No. 8 (November 2000)
Current ranking: Retired
Best singles result in a Grandslam: Wimbledon Semi-finalist 1997
ANA IVANOVIC
Country: Serbia
Highest ranking: No. 1 (November 2008)
Current ranking: No. 11
Best singles result in a Grandslam: French Open Winner 2008
LAURA ROBSON
Country: Great Britain
Highest ranking: No. 27 (July 2013)
Current ranking: No. 80
Best singles result in a Grandslam: Wimbledon 4R 2013 & US Open 4R 2012
MARIA KIRILENKO
Country: Russia
Highest ranking: No. 10 (June 2013)
Current ranking: No. 88
Best singles result in a Grandslam: Australian Open QF 2010, French Open QF 2013 & Wimbledon QF 2012
Country: Argentina
Highest ranking: No. 26 (November 2005)
Current ranking: Retired
Best singles result in a Grandslam: French Open 4R 2006, 2011 & US Open 4R 2009
ASHLEY HARKLEROAD
Country: US
Highest ranking: No. 39 (June 2003)
Current ranking: Retired
Best singles result in a Grandslam: French Open 3R 2003 & Australian Open 3R 2007
MARIA SHARAPOVA
Country: Russia
Highest ranking: No. 1 (August 2005)
Current ranking: No. 5
Best singles result in a Grandslam: French Open Winner 2012, 2014, Australian Open Winner 2008, Wimbledon Winner 2004 & US Open Winner 2006
Country: Romania
Highest ranking: No. 21 (August 2013)
Current ranking: No. 29
Best singles result in a Grandslam: French Open QF 2009
JULIA GORGES
Country: Germany
Highest ranking: No. 15 (March 2012)
Current ranking: No. 99
Best singles result in a Grandslam: Australian Open 4R 2012, 2013
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI
Country: Denmark
Highest ranking: No. 1 (October 2010)
Current ranking: No. 16
Best singles result in a Grandslam: US OPEN Finalist 2009
