Reflections: Something Un-Rotten From Denmark

Caroline Wozniacki might be the best thing from Denmark since, well, Caroline Wozniacki. We struggled to think of someone else famous from the tiny country in Northern Europe (besides Hamlet, who’s fictional), so we consulted a very reliable reference.

Here’s a little Social Studies lesson for you: Denmark is home to approximately 5.5 million people (the 110th largest country by population). The country is number 32 in the world among net exporters of crude oil. Its currency is the Danish krone. Notable author, Hans Christian Andersen, is a Dane and is famous for his fairy tales, such as The Emperor’s New Clothes, The Little Mermaid and The Ugly Duckling.

And then there’s sports.

Plain as sight, the only recognizable picture on the entire Wikipedia page (yes, our source of data) is that of Caroline Wozniacki in her Stella McCartney for Adidas tennis dress. Sadly, it seems, this teeny-tiny Nordic country has not had much to boast about – until now. According to Denmark’s Wikipedia page, Wozniacki is a “notable Danish sportsperson” who is “rising up the rankings on the WTA tennis tour.”

Looks like someone needs to update their page.

Caroline Wozniacki convincingly defeated Petra Kvitova 6-3, 6-2 to reach the Quarterfinals of the China Open in Beijing, and convincingly secure the WTA Tour world number 1 ranking for the first time in her career.

Forget all of the chatter that she hasn’t played a top-five player all year, her rise to the top has been an easier climb than others or that she doesn’t deserve the number one ranking because she hasn’t won a Grand Slam.

Lets think about some of those that have won a Grand Slam and whether or not they would be better fit to be ranked number 1 right now: 1) Serena Williams (didn’t play all summer, missed the US Open) 2) Venus Williams (out injured for the rest of the season) 3) Kim Clijsters (out injured for the rest of the season) 4) Maria Sharapova (done for the season) 5) Svetlana Kuznetsova (out injured for the rest of the season) 6) Ana Ivanovic (not even ranked in the top 30’s).

Possibly the only player that’s won a Grand Slam not listed above that could be ranked number one is Francesca Schiavone, but Wozniacki has far better consistency in tournaments than Schiavone had after winning the French Open this summer.

So who would you rather have as the number one-ranked player and the current face of the WTA: Someone who’s out, injured for the rest of the season, or someone who’s actually earned it.

We’ll take the latter.