Les Françaises qui, comme Kristina Mladenovic ont battu une numéro 1 mondiale

[Lunix I]

In Dubai, on Tuesday, for the 26th time in the history of the WTA, whose ranking has been in existence since 1975, a French woman has beaten the world number one. Before Kristina Mladenovic picked Naomi Osaka in the Emirates (6-3, 6-3), they were eight to have accomplished this feat, two of which were well above the lot ...

The only one to have reached the world rank is also the one that beat the most number one. Logic, in short. Eight times, between 1999 and 2006, Amelie Mauresmo triumphed over the queen of the moment. In half the cases, it was called Martina Hingis. His other victims? Lindsay Davenport, Serena Williams, Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters.

Although she never finished third in the world, Mary Pierce often looked like the best player in the world, when her powerful strikes broke through all the defenses. Seven times she beat a number 1 (twice Steffi Graf, twice Lindsay Davenport and three times Martina Hingis) and three of these successes were held at Roland Garros.

Jelena Jankovic's maiden at the 2009 Australian Open and then Victoria Azarenka in Miami in 2012, Marion Bartoli was especially noticeable when, when she was only 19th, she eliminated Justine Henin, number 1, in semifinal of Wimbledon 2007 (1-6, 7-5, 6-1).

Here is one who is fifty-fifty against numbers 1. And the three times that Alizé Cornet dominated the best, it was the same year (2014) and the same opponent: Serena Williams! A game ended with an abandonment, of course, but the most beautiful was the frame Wimbledon, when the French stopped the American in the third round (1-6, 6-3, 6-4), on a surface yet not conducive to the best expression of his tennis.