In Part 1 of our feature on slamless number ones we closely analyzed the years in which players reached No.1 ranking without winning a Grand Slam title and the five such players are the likes of Kim Clijsters, Amelie Mauresmo, Jelena Jankovic, Dinara Safina and Caroline Wozniacki (the first two won Grand Slam titles later in their careers). This Part 2 will focus on Martina Hingis and Lindsay Davenport – players who had years in their careers that they finished on top of the rankings without claiming a single Grand Slam title during that season – so they could theoretically be called slamless No.1s, even though they had won Grand Slams in the previous years, because in some years they were ranked No.1 they had no majors won. If these two analyses don't stop all the fuss about the recent "shameful" slamless No.1s I don't know what will! Omair, bring on the numbers!

We have talked a lot about the spot being held by Caroline Wozniacki, Dinara Safina and Jelena Jankovic and discussed about whether their reign at the top was (is, in case of Wozinacki) fair or not. How did they end up being at the top of rankings without winning a major first? We did not appreciate their consistency throughout the year, tournament in, tournament out, what we did was only criticize them about being the slamless No.1s. I guess that's enough of it, let's move on to something I wanted to share with you guys. The other day I was going through the Tennis.com forums and there I saw that during the past 11 years, i.e. from the beginning of the 20th century, seven times a player has ended the year as No.1 and she did not win a single Grand Slam during the year. Here is the list of year-end No.1 players from 2000 onwards.

Martina Hingis, though she had won Grand Slams before 2000, did not end up winning a single major in 2000 and despite that she ended the year as world No.1. Lindsay Davenport had also won Grand Slams before 2001 but she did not win a single major in 2001, 2004 and 2005 and despite that she ended the years as No.1.

These two players did clinch the top spot without winning a major during that year, yet they have never been criticized for this achievement like Jelena Jankovic, Dinara Safina and Caroline Wozniacki. Some people argue that they did not win a major during that year but they had won it before that year, which to me is not a very strong logic. I think that these two players were not criticized because by winning a Grand Slam these two players had demonstrated their ability to win majors and hence put the critics to the silent mode.

In our Part 1 we had focused on the years of Clijsters, Mauresmo, Jankovic, Safina and Wozniacki, let's now have a look at how well Hingis and Davenport performed in the years they earned the top spot without winning a major. We won't include the stats of slamless year-end No.1s Jankovic and Wozniacki because we had already included them in our Part 1. Hope you people enjoy it

Hingis never lost before the quarterfinal stage of all the 20 tournaments she played and on top of that, she was only beaten once by a player ranked outside the Top 10. Davenport did not play French Open in 2001, despite that she ended up as world No.1, with a margin of just 10 points from Jennifer Capriati who had won the Australian Open and French Open that year!

* The average rank of conqueror is low due to the fact that both Henin and Clijsters had not played much during 2004 and had low rankings, Clijsters was ranked 133 when she defeated Davenport at Indian Wells and Henin was ranked 43 when she defeated Davenport in Charleston.

PERFORMANCE AT GRAND SLAMS

As you can see, in 2001 and 2004 Davenport reached two Grand Slam semifinals, just like Wozniacki in 2011.

LOSSES AND TITLES OF HINGIS AND DAVENPORT IN THE YEARS THEY ENDED NO.1 WITHOUT WINNING A GRAND SLAM

All these tables, numbers, stats and comparisons show us a few things:

• You don't have to win a Grand Slam to be world No. 1;
• You can't end up playing half year and finish the year at top;
• You have to play consistently throughout the year to be able to grab the top spot;
• Grand Slams alone are not the true measure of being the top player in the world.

Now that you have gone through all the details, what do you think of these top players? Do you agree that we should stop calling Jankovic, Safina and Wozniacki slamless No.1s and simply start referring to them as (real) No.1s? I definitely think so.

For first-time readers of Women's Tennis Blog and Omair's stats, do check out the revealing previous analyses:

• Part 1: Comparison of the five slamless WTA No.1s and the origin of the phenomenon
• 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: dbking, © Neal Trousdale, Tidalist)

Herald Sun, in the article entitled "Martina Hingis back for Australian Open", says that Hingis is understood to be contemplating a two-pronged involvement at Melbourne Park next year and Hingis is believed to be considering partnering Federer in mixed doubles.

What can be said with greater certainty is that the 31-year-old will be present in Melbourne to help launch the first veterans' event for women (women’s legends event).

Hingis retired for the second time in 2007 because of a series of injuries and health problems and she was also accused of doping when traces of cocaine were found in her blood. Hingis' two-year ban ended September 30, 2009. Roger Federer was supportive of his compatriot in those hard times.

Additional info: The 2012 Australian Open will be the 100th edition of the Australian men’s championship and it will be the richest tournament in Grand Slam history with the record prize money of $25 million. (photo: © Neal Trousdale)

Martina Hingis started working with Vancouver-based active wear brand Tonic and in March 2012 we can expect Tonic Tennis by Martina Hingis.

The cooperation between the Canadian company and Swiss tennis player was initiated in Chelsea, when Hingis visited a sports store and was attracted by the softness and unique look of Tonic clothes. Then Hingis tried their clothes in action at a Wimbledon exhibition last year, after which she approached Tonic with a suggestion to launch a tennis collection.

When you go out and play tennis, you want to feel nice. You want to feel like a woman and know that the clothes won't let you down. What's so great about this line is its versatility and comfort, making it wearable from club to professional level. – Martina Hingis, winner of 5 Grand Slams in singles

(via Tennis Served Fresh)

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.

Martina Hingis confirmed her relationship with French showjumper Thibault Hutin last month, and two days ago, on Friday, the couple got married in the presence of close family in Paris. Their wedding feast is supposed to take place next summer.

"Our wedding came as a surprise for many, but it has been in planning long in advance," Hingis said to Swiss celebrity magazine Schweizer Illustrierte.

On Monday, the magazine will publish the wedding photos of the 30-year-old Hingis and her six years younger husband. (source: Yahoo)

There’s a new name in Martina Hingis’ turbulent love life – it's 24-year-old Frenchman and fellow show jumper Thibault Hutin. The 30-year-old Swiss Miss confirmed the relationship earlier this month in an interview with La Voix du Nord and told Swiss tabloid Blick (Sonntags Blick) that she was "not single anymore".

In March 2010 Hingis announced her engagement to Swiss lawyer Andreas Bieri, but only a month later they broke up. If you want to see Hingis’ rich love life in pictures, have a look at 20 Minutes online and their collage of Hingis’ relationships. (source: Tennis.com, photo: magorsky)

Yonex has announced a new multi-year partnership with Martina Hingis, their longtime endorser. The news contributes to the recent hints that Hingis could come back from retirement to play doubles, as she will now, according to the announcement, "serve as a featured member of the Yonex advisory staff, play the new EZONE 100 racquet and continue to use the brand's tennis bags, strings and other accessories".

Hingis has been playing exhibitions and today she will play another one, at Arthur Ashe Stadium. The new EZONE series of racquets was launched at the start of the 2010 US Open. (via: Women Who Serve, photo: © Neal Trousdale)

Martina Hingis said she might play on the WTA Tour again, but only in doubles competition. Her possible doubles partner would be Lindsay Davenport. Hingis won 37 WTA Tour doubles titles during her fruitful career, and was runner-up in doubles 14 times. In addition, the Swiss has one mixed doubles title, the 2006 Australian Open.

Hingis, who occupied the top position in both singles and doubles rankings, will play a veteran doubles event at Wimbledon with longtime doubles partner Anna Kournikova. Hingis and Kournikova won two Australian Open titles together in 1999 and 2002. The 29-year-old Hingis retired from the WTA Tour in 2007, the 28-year-old Kournikova hasn’t played since 2003. (via Women Who Serve, photo: Life.com)

In March we reported that Martina Hingis would marry Zurich attorney Andreas Bieri, but now we have to say that the tennis star canceled this engagement as well, at least according to Swiss newspaper A-Z.ch. Hingis wasn’t available for comments about the break up, just like her ex fiancé Bieri.

This piece of information is actually more than two weeks old, but I haven't shared it on my blog until now because, hmm, I was probably waiting to hear it was just a rumor. Now I'm pretty convinced it's true. (source: Tennis Grand Stand, photo: Life.com)

Former world No.1 Martina Hingis of Switzerland has become engaged to her boyfriend Andreas Bieri, a 38-year-old Zurich attorney, and will marry him this year.

The 29-year-old five-time Grand Slam champion commented on her engagement for Zisch newspaper: "It's true: Andreas has made me a marriage proposal. I was totally surprised. Of course I accepted."

Hingis used to be engaged to fellow tennis player Radek Stepanek. When they broke off their engagement in 2007, Stepanek started dating 11 years younger tennis beauty Nicole Vaidisova and they are getting married as well, as Women Who Serve reports. However, this is not the first time news about Vaidisova's and Stepanek's marriage are circulating.

By the way, new tennis blog called Goddesses of the Court has a nice and supportive post about Nicole Vaidisova's talent and her career slump, that as you know Radek Stepanek is often blamed for. (via WTA Women Tennis)