The race to challenge Serena Williams at the top of the women's game has been more crawl than sprint.
Williams broke a nine-month title-winning drought in Rome last weekend and has looked unusually vulnerable.
Yet identifying the women who might challenge her at the French Open, where the American is the defending champion, is like picking a needle from a haystack.
So inconsistent have the leading players been that US Open champion Flavia Pennetta re-entered the top 10 this week despite having retired at the end of last season.
Twenty-one different players have won WTA Tour events so far this season, and the leading contenders tend to fall into two camps.
Players such as Roland Garros second seed Agnieszka Radwanska and Victoria Azarenka have had good seasons but find clay the most difficult surface.
Meanwhile, the likes of Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber, fourth seed Garbine Muguruza and former finalist Simona Halep are comfortable on clay but have been wildly up and down.
If Azarenka can find her form on the red stuff, she could well emerge as the player to challenge Williams, who she beat in the final in Indian Wells in March.
The Belarusian has been struggling with a back injury, which hampered her in Madrid and Rome, but has arrived in Paris healthy and refreshed.
Azarenka said: "It was good for me to take some time off and regroup. I have been practising pain-free, so I'm feeling ready to start the tournament.
"It was more mental, to just get away and get myself focused again and motivated again. I went home, spent time with the family. It's always the best recharge."
Halep put herself firmly in the frame by winning the title in Madrid after an indifferent start to the year but then lost her opening match in Rome.
The Romanian became a favourite at Roland Garros two years ago when she made it all the way to the final before losing an extremely close match to Maria Sharapova.
"Two years ago, I have great memories," said Halep. "Actually from the juniors I have good memories. I like this tournament. I feel good on this clay. The conditions are good for me.
"Now I'm also with confidence. I feel stronger than the beginning of the year. I feel that I have my chance here, so I just try to play better day by day and to believe that I can win matches."
Kerber produced the most notable result of the year so far when she stunned Williams in her first grand slam final to triumph at Melbourne Park.
It was the 21-time grand slam champion rather than the rookie who appeared cowed by the occasion, leaving Kerber to lift her first slam title at the age of 28.
Adjusting to her new status has been a challenge but Kerber has had some good results and won another title in Stuttgart.
She said: " I'm not thinking too much that I won the first grand slam of the year. It's a good feeling to be the champion from the Australian Open, but here we all start from the first match. I will try to give my best without pressure."
Muguruza will be the highest seed in action on Sunday, the opening day of the tournament. The Spaniard meets Anna Karolina Schmiedlova while Halep takes on Nao Hibino and last year's losing finalist Lucie Safarova plays Vitalia Diatchenko.
Source: PA
