Lindsay Davenport

She is self-effacing, lacks the dominance of Serena and Venus Williams, the stridency of Hingis and the sex appeal of Anna Kournikova. Some in women's tennis and media circles feel Davenport has been shortchanged in publicity, particularly in June, 2000, when Sports Illustrated ran on its cover a photo of Kournikova, who has never won a professional tournament, in a sexually suggestive pose.

"Top-ranked Lindsay Davenport is too gawky and pudgy to grace the cover of SI, which could stand for Sexist Illustrated," Michael Muldoon wrote in the Lawrence, Massachusetts Eagle-Tribune. "Kournikova, [soccer star] Brandi Chastain, soccer star Mia Hamm and WNBA standout/model Lisa Leslie are very attractive, making them the darlings of Madison Avenue. Davenport, tennis all-time great Martina Navratilova and longtime golf champion Laura Davies are considered rather plain, so their phones never ring." Davenport, however, is popular with the media. Journalists honored her at the 2000 French Open as "friendliest and most approachable player on Tour."