The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour world number one tennis ranking is poised to change hands once again.
When the new rankings are released on Monday, October 26, Dinara will be ranked World No.1, replacing current leader Serena Williams.
Safina will also be the top seed at the season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha next week.
After holding the top ranking for 25 consecutive weeks (April 20, 2009 – October 11, 2009), Safina will replace Williams at the top of the rankings when the points earned at the 2008 year-end Championships come off.
During the 2009 season, Safina has earned more ranking points than any other player on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour by reaching six finals which yielded three singles titles (Rome, Madrid, Portoroz).
Hopefully Dinara will keep the #1 ranking once DOHA is over ! That idea doesn’t makes me happy since i’m sure people are gonna enjoy bashing her again but if it’s what she wants , then go get it ! She can’t do worse than last year anyway .
If I was her, I will go find out what it costs to win a major and especially play like a champion.
I am a Total Tennis casual, and Safina’s game just make me laugh. It’s not bashing. If she’s that good, she will be lauded. simple.
Have you seen Serena’s results at the non-Slam tournaments that she plays? There are a LOT of early round losses. Serena is a big-venue player. She doesn’t do much at all the rest of the year; that is why she doesn’t ever stay ranked number one. I say that whoever earns the numbers one ranking deserves it, because they all play by the same ranking rules and have equal chance.
But what if those ranking-rules are completely warped?
Andrew,
It seems far more likely that may people’s perspectives on the rankings are warped. As jason101 posted – the ranking system that provides equal access and fair opportunity to all. If Federer only won majors he wouldn’t be #1 either.
I wish Dinara to stay at no.1 as she worked hard to earn the ranking whereas Serena opted for an easy pass to a top spot by performing only at big wallet (and big points) events.
I also think people’s view of the rankings is somehow misguided. Rankings serve to point out who was the most consistent = delivered the most during the season. In Dinara’s case she did win 4 titles and got to finals and semis of most of the majors. Serena on the other hand has 3 slams HOWEVER apart from grand slams she performed really poorly (for somebody who has got so much potential as they say). Serena can blame only herself for not having earned enough points to get to the rankings. I would say her no.1 post would be much dodgier than Dinara’s as during the season she does next to nothing and earns an easy pass to no.1 spot by winning a handful of tournaments.
The point of the rankings should not be to reward consistency, but to provide an accurate prediction of who will beat whom – especially when it most matters, i.e. at the Majors.
There are a lot of upsets under the current ranking-system – a lot of upsets indeed.
It’s not just majors what matters, there are other big important tournaments. This is a very wrong attitude which takes away the value of WTA.
Winning a major is no guarantee of quality. In Serena’s case she’s got enough experience to do it, so it’s an easy win for her especially after doing very little throughout the season.
Her slams nowadays are a fluke as once the slams are over it seems we see a different player out there. Sluggish, uninterested, making lots of errors – basically coming in to collect the entrants’ fee…
All tennis-tournaments are important, but it’s the Majors that matter the most, and make the best the best.
You don’t win a Major without quality these days – unless, of course, you win your third-round, semi-final and final-matches by retirement.
Whereas the #1 ranking, sadly, can be won by quantity rather than quality.
Well,if a player wins more points than others does that not signal that the quality is there…?
Not really. It just shows that that player wants to play every event or must win every event to stay in the top 10. Hince, that person has finally injuried herself so bad, that she had to leave the YEC. I pray that she will take care of herself, mentally and physically, and come back and prove why she is in the top 10.
Every event? You should cast a look at her stats. Dinara has played 18 events this year,compared to Serena’s 16. Not such a difference, eh? If this was about Wozniacki who did 23 this year I think, I would see where you’re coming from. But under these circumstances, you’ve got no case. Ah well, you do,actually you probably don’t want to admit Dinara plays a great tennis.
I know you didn’t try to say that I don’t believe that Dinara plays good tennis. That’s were you are wrong. I think Dinara plays great tennis and on every post I say it. I like tennis, not just certain people. If they want to play only the majors, fine. I just want them to play well. If they choose to play more, I don’t want them to fall apart because they can’t go on. It is a disservice first, to themselves. And then to the paying public. I do not wish to see any player who know they can’t go on and continue. Not Vera, not Caroline, not Serena or Venus. Yes, you do get more points if you play more tourneys, but at what cost.