A lot of debate has been going on over the last few years regarding the coveted world No.1 spot in the WTA rankings. Issues have been raised that the WTA ranking system is flawed, that the player must win a Grand Slam before she gets to the top. Is the WTA ranking system really flawed? And is it mandatory for a player to be a Grand Slam winner before she attains No.1 in the rankings? If yes, then why? And if no, then why has the hype been created?

These are the questions that will be debated on forever. As for me, being the best player in the world does not mean that you have to win all the tournaments or you have to win some specific events. For me, the best player in the world is the one who has been the most consistent throughout the year. You should not be ranked the best player in the world if you win all the four majors and do poorly the rest of the year. A player doing well in all the tournaments has all the right to be the best player in the world. How do you define the best player? What is your opinion on who should be the world No.1 player?

THE BEGINNINGS OF "SLAMLESS NUMBER ONES": WHO WAS THE FIRST AND WHEN WAS THE TERM COINED?

The term "slamless No.1" first appeared in August 2003 when Kim Clijsters became the first Belgian ever (man or woman) to be ranked world No.1. During that stellar season, Clijsters compiled a 90–12 singles record. Her singles win total was the highest single-season total by any woman since Martina Navratilova in 1982. Clijsters was also the first woman to play more than 100 singles matches in a year since Chris Evert in 1974.

Amelie Mauresmo followed in the footsteps of Kim Clijsters in 2004, when Mauresmo became the first French player to attain the top spot in the WTA rankings. Jelena Jankovic then repeated the same feat in 2008 and clinched the year-end top spot as well. Dinara Safina followed in 2009 and Caroline Wozniacki in 2010.

While Clijsters did go on to win her first Grand Slam at the 2005 US Open, and Mauresmo did it at the Australian Open 2006, Safina, Jankovic and Wozniacki are still in the hunt of their first ever major trophy. Will they ever be able to win it, only time will tell us.

Let's have a look at the seasons of the these five players, during which they first attained the top spot. Let the numbers do the talking, and let yourself be the judge as to who do you think did the best during her season that saw her attain the world No. 1 ranking for the first time. Do comment on how do you people see the seasons of these five players.

PERFORMANCE OF SLAMLESS WORLD NUMBER ONES IN THE YEAR THEY REACHED THE TOP RANKING

GRAND SLAM RESULTS OF SLAMLESS WORLD NUMBER ONES IN THE YEAR THEY REACHED THE TOP RANKING

At three of four Grand Slam events Clijsters was defeated by the eventual champion, with the only exception being Wimbledon where she lost to Venus Williams in the semis, who then lost to sister Serena in the final. At both French Open and the US Open Clijsters was defeated by none other than Justine Henin.

Safina was defeated by Serena at the Australian Open and Svetlana Kuznetsova at the French Open, while Venus thrashed Safina in Wimbledon semis (6-1 6-0) which marked the fewest games won by a reigning No.1 in a match. Serena mocked Safina's status of the top player. After Serena won Wimbledon, she said that she would rather be world No.2 and win two Grand Slams, than be world No.1 and win Rome.

As for our current world No.1 Caroline Wozniacki, we can notice that her 15-4 win-loss record at Grand Slams in the year she first occupied the top spot is the worst of the five slamless number ones.

PERFORMANCE AT YEAR-END CHAMPIONSHIPS

PERFORMANCE AT TOURNAMENTS

INSIGHT INTO LOSSES

What is interesting to note here is that Clijsters was beaten only thrice by a player outside the Top 25 during the whole year and for a total of four times only by a player ranked outside the Top 5. I guess Clijsters' season of 2003 was the best of all these five players. What do you people think?

Safina is the only slamless No.1 who lost to a player outside the Top 100 in the year she reached the top of the rankings. Safina fell to a world No.132 player and a world No.226 player consecutively.

As for our current No.1, Caroline Wozniacki, she had six losses to players outside Top 25, while her lowest-ranked conqueror was then-No.62 Petra Kvitova, currently the world's second-ranked player.

How do you see the performance of these five stars during their stellar seasons which made them achieve the top spot?

Thanks, Omair, for contributing with your analysis once again. I'm looking forward to posting Part 2. For those who have joined us for the first time, do explore Omair's previous insights into the 2011 season:

• Comparative analysis of Top 10 players and their performance at big tournaments in 2011
• Part 1: Top 10 players in 2011 – how they scored against fellow big opponents
• Part 2: Top 10 players in 2011 – what do their losses suggest?

(photos: © Neal Trousdale, Stephane Martinache)

Martina Navratilova and her mother Jana, who passed away at the age of 75.

In the photos above and below you can see Amelie Mauresmo's mother Françoise. The photos are from the Paris ceremony paying tribute to the career of the France's former world No.1 and two-time Grand Slam champion.

In the following photo you can see Martina Hingis' mother Melanie Molitorova.

As early as in her pregnancy, Melanie wanted her daughter to be a top tennis player, as she herself was once ranked tenth among women in Czechoslovakia.

Elena Dementieva's mother Vera was a recreational tennis players and coached her daughter.

Elena has recently retired, without prior notice, during the WTA Championships in Doha, and the second photo is from the emotional ceremony of Elena saying goodbye to tennis.

More photos of tennis players and their mothers to follow.

I am sure you can immediately recognize the face of this cute kid – it's our Amelie Mauresmo before she became one of the most successful players in women’s tennis history. The kind look in the eyes of little Amelie is simply adorable, and what is more, she can still be proud of her gentleness. Notice how peaceful and at the same time excited little Amelie is while looking at her birthday cake.

The 30-year-old Mauresmo ended her seventeen-year career on December 3, 2009, but only after she had won 25 singles titles on the WTA Tour, including two Grand Slams (Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2006), and three WTA doubles titles. In addition, she became the first French player to reach No.1 ranking on the WTA Tour (in September 2004).

If you’re new to the series of childhood photos of women’s tennis players, have a look at our rich archive which includes Dinara Safina, Ana Ivanovic, Kim Clijsters, Monica Seles, Dominika Cibulkova, Jelena Jankovic, Venus Williams, and many more.

Amelie was joined by fellow Frenchwomen Julie Coin, Alize Cornet, Nathalie Dechy and Tatiana Golovin (I hope people still remember her), as well as Patty Schnyder, Francesca Schiavone, Tathiana Garbin, Alisa Kleybanova, Flavia Pennetta and Elena Dementieva.  The widescreen was showing the highlights of Amelie’s career:  her greatest victories and souvenirs from her friendships with coaches Loïc Courteau and Hugo Lecoq.

The 30-year-old, whose last career title came at the Open GDF SUEZ, expressed her love of the tournament:

I really have a special relationship with this tournament and this court. It is very moving to have to say goodbye here. I'm going to miss you all. I have one thing to say, 'Thank you!' It may be simple, and it may be brief, but all the greatest moments in my career have happened here.

Here's a short video from the ceremony:

Reminder: Check out our yesterday's post about Amelie's plans in her new life. (sources: Down the Line, Open GDF SUEZ; photos by Stephane Martinache)

Australian Open and Wimbledon champion Amelie Mauresmo, who retired in December 2009, is revealing her plans for the future and is telling us how she will be "taking the time to rest, to live".

The Frenchwoman is currently preparing for the New York marathon, with the help of her former fitness trainer. The role of a TV host is also something that appeals to Amelie. As for the things related to tennis, she would like to be a tournament director, but coaching is definitely not an option, primarily because of excessive traveling.

I can see a pattern: professional tennis players miss simple life, are sick of traveling, and would like to engage in and learn about other things besides tennis. (source: Tennis.com via Women Who Serve, photo by Monique Flippella)

After careful consideration, France’s former world number one Amelie Mauresmo, the Australian Open and Wimbledon champion in 2006, announced her retirement December 3rd, 2009.

"It was becoming tough mentally. What happened is I simply did not want to go training any more. My tennis life lasted 25 years, there were extraordinary things and tough moments," said tearful 30-year-old Mauresmo.

"I had three main goals in my career, becoming world number one, claiming a Grand Slam title and a Fed Cup. I achieved all of them," added the winner of 25 WTA Tour singles crowns.

Mauresmo’s career took a downward spiral after her Antwerp Diamond Games victory in 2007, her long recovery process after an appendectomy and a series of injuries, and talks about her retirement have been in the air for a while.

The biggest thing left missing in Mauresmo’s career is a title at her home Grand Slam, the French Open. She has never gone further than the quarterfinals there.

Mauresmo’s last title came at the Paris Open in February 2009 and what happened to be her last match on the Tour was the second-round loss at the US Open to Aleksandra Wozniak.

Mauresmo is finishing her career ranked 21st in the world. (source: Reuters, photo: Stephane Martinache)

The former world No.1 Mauresmo saved five set points in the opening set, and won the tiebeak 11-9. The second set she lost easily, while in the third she reclaimed the momentum to advance to the semifinals.

Mauresmo’s next opponent will be Elena Vesnina, who defeated Gisela Dulko in the first round, seed No.9 Samantha Stosur in the second, and Anna Chakvetadze in the quarterfinals. (photo: Stephane Martinache)

So who was the lucky winner? German world No.51 Anna-Lena Groenefeld defeated the 16th seed 6-4 6-3, showing the skills that got her to No.14 in the rankings in 2006, the year she reached the quarterfinals of the French Open.

Both Mauresmo and Groenefeld hit 21 unforced errors, but Groenefeld scored 32 winners compared to Mauresmo’s 13.

France wasn’t lucky on Sunday, as only one of their six players who competed on Day 1 survived. Besides Mauresmo, Mathilde Johansson, Severine Bremond Beltrame, Olivia Sanchez, and Emilie Loit left the French Open right away in the first round, while the only Frenchwoman who won today was Julie Coin. (photo via Sony Ericsson WTA Tour)

Seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams, who will try to win her first French Open title, was seen training for the greatest claycourt tournament. Her sister Serena Williams, who won the event in 2002, was also busy trying to finally adapt to clay this season, with the help of father Richard.

Jelena Jankovic was seen practicing with coach Ricardo Sanchez, but as you may have heard, she will most probably change her coach if she doesn't make a good result at the French Open. Just to remind you, earlier this year Jankovic fired conditioning coach Pat Etcheberry.

JJ is exceptional on clay, but having in mind her recent problems with form and conidence, I don't expect her to claim her first Grand Slam title this time.

Also spotted was Amelie Mauresmo, who still hasn't got past the quarterfinals at her home Grand Slam.

Additional info: The draw will be available starting Friday, May 22. (photos via Roland Garros)

Mauresmo advanced to the final four after fighting back from a set down to beat Agnes Szavay 5-7 6-1 6-1. In the third set, Mauresmo broke Szavay’s serve in the first, third and seventh game.

Earlier on Friday, ninth seed Caroline Wozniacki, who will become the first Danish woman to crack the Top 10, defeated Vera Dushevina 6-0 6-4.

Mauresmo and Wozniacki have never clashed so far, so we’ll watch their first career meeting.

In the other semifinal, world No.1 Dinara Safina, who beat Alona Bondarenko 6-4 6-3, will face the winner of the quarterfinal between fourth seed Jelena Jankovic and Patty Schnyder. (photo: Ralf Reinecke)