Andy Roddick admits superstars
Iga Swiatek,
Aryna Sabalenka,
Coco Gauff and
Elena Rybakina are a cut above from their peers in women's tennis at the moment.
The quartet make up the top four in the WTA rankings, and have won seven of the last nine singles Grand Slam titles on offer between them. Swiatek and Rybakina recently faced off in Doha at the
Qatar Open final, with the Pole winning the WTA 1000 title top 7-6 (10-8) 6-2 in a thrilling encounter.
Roddick stated that this can only be a good thing going forward in the female game. "I watched the Swiatek-Rybakina final and I hope I put this the right way, I love what I'm seeing on the women's tour right now," he said on his podcast 'Served with Andy Roddick'
"Gauff steps up at the US Open last year and then Swiatek steps up at World Tour Finals, and I'm like, 'Oh, she's the best player' and then, you know, Australia happens and Sabalenka pushes the the envelope again and gets through in dominant fashion, not losing a set."
With Gauff winning her maiden Grand Slam at Flushing Meadows last September, Sabalenka going back-to-back at the Australian Open and Swiatek taking the first WTA 1000 event of the year, it's no surprise that Roddick cannot decide which of them is the best. "Rybakina is back once she gets a downhill head of steam with that serve is dangerous," he added.
"I think the delta between her good and bad is probably more than the other 3 that we mentioned, but her upside is probably just as good or better than than the rest of them. So I don't know who's best. I change my mind every week, but isn't that fun?"
The four women have been in action this week at the Dubai Tennis Championship, where the final will be played on Saturday, 24 February.