by Pete Bodo
The fiery responses to the men's Hot. . .or Not? post suggest that we've found a fun, somewhat novel way to look at the players as they prepare for the first Grand Slam tournament of the year. I also realize that I'd better restate the chili pepper concept here, as so many readers took the ratings as either a comparative exercise, or some sort of overarching judgement of the players in question. So let me repeat:
Each player is assigned one to five chili peppers to denote his or her degree of "hotness." This rating is relative, not comparative. In other words, just because two players have the same rating, it doesn't mean they have an equal chance to win the tournament, or are competing at the same level. It's just an attempt to quantify the state of each individual's game at this moment in time as the first major of the year looms.
So let's break out the chilis for the WTA Top 10:
No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki