Yes, it’s March.

A year ago, players were starting a Challenger event at Indian Wells, ahead of the main event.

And a week later, the roof fell in on tennis for months.

A year later, it’s stumbling along, somehow.

A month of relatively COVID-free non-drama in Australia concluded with one final WTA Tour event in Adelaide.

And 2020 Roland Garros champion Iga Swiatek, who bowed out in the fourth round of the Australian Open to Simona Halep, didn’t drop a set en route to the Adelaide International title.

ATP Tour Rankings Report – March 1, 2021

She hits a career high. And, if the rankings weren’t frozen, would be in the second best form of all the players on the WTA Tour in terms of points won, after Naomi Osaka.

There might be more interesting moves after this week, with a 250 in Lyon and a 500 in Doha on the schedule.

ON THE UPSWING

Video highlights: Melbourne summer ends with Swiatek winning Adelaide

Iga Swiatek (POL): No. 18 ========> No. 15 (A career high for the Adelaide champion).

Cori Gauff (USA): No. 52 ========> No. 38 (A late entrant, Gauff had to go through qualifying, and got through to the semifinals in Adelaide. The 16-year-old sits at a career high).

Gauff rises inside the top 40 to a career high, after her effort in Adelaide.

Shelby Rogers (USA): No. 53 ========> No. 49 (The 28-year-old, who missed more than a year after knee surgery, has come back better than ever and is one short of a career high reached four years ago).

Jil Teichmann (SUI): No. 61 ========> No. 54

Madison Brengle (USA): No. 81 ========> No. 77

Maddison Inglis (AUS): No. 136 ========> No. 123

Sanders teamed up with Arina Rodionova at the Australian Open.

Storm Sanders (AUS): No. 292 ========> No. 199 (The 26-year-old Aussie, who is ranked No. 64 in doubles, reaches a career high in singles after qualifying and reaching the quarters in Adelaide. She upset Ajla Tomljanovic and Yulia Putintseva in the first two rounds. Sanders has been dealing with injuries for years – shoulder, ankle, back, abs. In the interim, she had finished a psychology degree and a coaching certification).

Carol Zhao (CAN): No. 517 =====> No. 421 (The Canadians is finally getting back to competing, and a win at a $25K in South Africa gets her ranking up nearly 100 spots).

(Editors’ note: A lot of stories went unwritten here on Open Court during the Australian Open. It was a matter of priorities: first TV work, then radio and if there was time left over, posting here.

With the expenses involved in travelling, we had to prioritize the revenue streams. Open Court is earning increasingly good revenue from Google ads. But it can always improve. Clicking on a couple of ads whenever you read a post will help increase that – and thus move it up on the priority chain in future events. Thank you for reading – and clicking!)