Unforeseen changes will happen this year with the return of the world tennis ranking to its previous formula.
The freezing of the list due to the pandemic and the consequent lack of regularity in the tournaments on both circuits meant that the great figures benefited.
But going back to the points defense formula many names will fall down the rankings in a resounding way.
Despite spending almost two years without playing on the circuit, Roger Federer was still among the top 20 in the world, however, now the Swiss will have his worst ranking in 21 years.
Even for much of 2020 and 2021, Roger managed to stay in the Top Ten, but now the rules of the game are different.
Without his presence at the Australian Open, the winner of 20 Grand Slams and considered the best of all time, will fall to position 30 in the ranking, even dropping to 34 if some results are given.
And the worst is coming, because in March he will have to defend the points he got in the Doha tournament, which he has already announced that he will not play, then he will drop even further in the ranking.
If there is a player who will be affected in terms of ranking, it will be the American star Serena Willias, because from the 59th place in which she started the year, she will finish in 246th.
It will be a very hard blow for Serena, who has been struggling with injuries for a long time. Not being able to defend the Semifinals reached in 2021 in Australia is a lethal blow for whoever was number one in the world for several years.
With her loss in the third round of the Australian Open against the American Amanda Anisimova, the Japanese Naomi Osaka, champion of this tournament last year, will drop 70 places, to 84th place.
A resounding fall that is explained by how little the Japanese has played in recent seasons. Since the arrival of Covid, Naomi has not played tournaments regularly on the circuit, either due to injuries or personal decisions, such as when she decided to leave Roland Garros due to her mental health.
Another injured party will be the Austrian Dominic Thiem, whose wrist did not allow him to participate in this edition of the Australian Open and will not be able to defend the Final that he won in 2020.
The ranking had protected him from his great performance in Melbourne two years ago, but no more. The Austrian will fall to 37th place in the world, losing even the chance to be seeded in the next Masters 1000 and Grand Slams.
Others affected will be the Canadian Milos Raonic, who will go from 85 to 151; Stan Wawrinka, from 102 to 159, while in women are Sofia Kenin, who will leave the 13th place and will occupy the 95; Jennifer Brady, from 28 to 111 and Venus Williams, who is already at 463 in the world.
However, this will not affect their checkbook much because even without playing, Federer, Osaka and Serena continue to be the ones with the most earnings, most of them from sponsorships.
