Much has changed in four years in women’s tennis. In August 2014, when The New York Times last tried to determine the best strokes in the game, Li Na, Maria Sharapova, Petra Kvitova and Serena Williams were all reigning Grand Slam champions.

Angelique Kerber had yet to win any major titles, and Naomi Osaka, Aryna Sabalenka and Jelena Ostapenko were still teenagers who had yet to play a match in a major.

The landscape is different now, with less clear sight lines. Li retired in September 2014. Sharapova has struggled after returning last year from a suspension for a doping violation. Williams and Kvitova have shown flashes of brilliant form but have not worked their way back to the top after extended absences: Williams after the birth of her first child in September 2017; and Kvitova after a knife attack in December 2016 that left her with career-threatening wounds on her primary playing hand.

It is time for a new survey to reflect the change and the talent on the rise. As in 2014, more than 20 coaches, players, former players and analysts have been polled. Each participant was asked to select a top three in each category with the focus on singles play. Greater weight was given to the votes of current tour-level coaches who regularly scout the leading women’s players.