Futterman: The Australian Open women’s semifinal, Madison Keys over Iga Świątek in a deciding tiebreak. A match point saved. The outcome uncertain until the final ball. A player winning a monumental match on her way to fulfilling a life mission. All of it done and dusted in a two-hour-and-35-minute knot of tension.

Women's tennis world rankings are calculated by the WTA, who award points based on a player's performance at particular tournaments. The further a player progresses in a sanctioned event, the more points they will be awarded. Grand slams provide the most points with 2000 awarded to the winner and 1200 to the runner-up.

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA - NOVEMBER 01: Aryna Sabalenka poses for a photo with her trophy during the WTA World Number One ceremony on day one of the WTA Finals Riyadh as part of the Hologic WTA Tour 2025 at King Saud University Indoor Arena on November 01 ...

The 24-year-old pointed out that finishing as number 2 is a great success, stressing that the competition on the tennis scene is stronger than ever.

When Billie Jean King played - and beat - Bobby Riggs in the iconic Battle of the Sexes in 1973, women's tennis was struggling for relevance. The comp.

The freedom to treat a mixed gender match as entertainment is not a step backward, but a hard-earned marker of progress for women.