The WTA seems quite proud that for the first time since the organisation began ranking players, in 1975, 10 countries are represented in the women's top 10.
Denmark, Belgium, Russia, Italy, Australia, the United States, China, Serbia, Belarus and Poland each have a player in the elite group. But only one.
Four continents are represented by Caroline Wozniacki, Kim Clijsters, Vera Zvonareva, Francesca Schiavone, Samantha Stosur, Venus Williams, Li Na, Jelena Jankovic, Victoria Azarenka and Agnieszka Radwanska.
The list "shows how truly global tennis has become", Stacey Allaster, the WTA's chief executive, said.
She did not mention the men, but the ATP is not far behind in spreading the wealth. At present, eight nations are represented in the top 10, with only Spain (Rafael Nadal, David Ferrer and Fernando Verdasco) having more than one player.
What does this say about tennis as a world game?
It is indisputable that the game has put down roots far outside its Anglo-French origins. Iberians, Eastern Europeans, Russians and South Americans have been prominent in world lists for decades, and Li represents the leading edge of what looks like a surge of competitive Chinese female players.
What has changed is the number of countries with competitive players. To wit: 30 countries are represented in the world's top 60 women's players; on the men's side it is 25 nations from the first 56 players.
However, what has not really changed is the game's lack of competitive players from wide swathes of the globe. African and Asian players remain rare in the upper end of the world rankings.
Li is the only Asian in the women's top 38. Only one African (South Africa's Chanelle Scheepers, No 80) is among the women's first 200.
The situation on the men's side is more dire; the highest-ranked Asian male is Kei Nishikori of Japan at No 72; the only African in the top 100 is Kevin Anderson of South Africa; the only Arab in the first 200 is Reda el Amrani of Morocco at No 196.
The tennis push toward becoming a sort of United Nations of sport also is not helped by India's slide in producing top players. The world's second-most populous nation, once a middling tennis country, is represented on the women's side by Sania Mirza at No 134 and on the men's by Somdev Devvarman at No 80.
Ultimately, what seems self-evident is that "country of origin" plays only a small part in how fans evaluate the attractiveness of a tournament or match-up in a personality-driven sport.
A 10-nation WTA top 10 is an interesting novelty.
But tournament organisers presumably would rather have, say, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova in their fields at the expense of most of those top-10 place-holders.
Men's tour this week
Tommy Robredo of Spain picked up his 10th tournament title by beating the Colombian Santiago Giraldo 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 in the Movistar Open in Santiago. Also, Kevin Anderson, the South African, defeated Sondev Devverman of India 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 to win the SA Open in Johannesburg. In Croatia, Ivan Dodig also won his home-country event, defeating Michael Berrer of Germany 6-3, 6-4 in the final of the Zagreb Indoors.
ATP rankings
1. R Nadal ESP 12,390
2. R Federer SUI 7,965
3. N Djokovic SRB 7,880
4. R Soderling SWE 5,995
5. A Murray GBR 5,760
WTA rankings (no tournament last week)
1. C Wozniacki DEN 8,655
2. K Clijsters BEL 8,515
3. V Zvonareva RUS 7,405
4. F Schiavone ITA 5,055
5. S Stosur AUS 4,862
Tournaments
Rotterdam Open
Place: Rotterdam, Holland
Duration: Until Sunday
Prize money: US$1.55 million (Dh5.7m)
Surface: Indoor hard
Reigning champion:Robin Soderling
SAP Open
Place: San Jose, California
Duration: Until Sunday
Prize money: $531,000
Surface: Indoor hard
Reigning champion:Fernando Verdasco
Paris Gaz de France Open
Place: Paris
Duration: Until Sunday
Prize money: $618,000
Surface: Indoor hard
Reigning champion:Elena Dementieva
