Amidst controversy and spectacular play, Serena Williams of the United States ends 2009 ranked No. 1 in the world on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. Once before in her 14 year career she achieved the No. 1 year-end ranking, seven years ago in 2002.
Just three years ago, in 2006 she had dipped to No. 95 at year’s end following an injury-plagued season. She lost in the 3rd round at the Australian Open to Daniela Hantuchova. Williams then withdrew from all events until summer with a left knee injury, including Roland Garros and Wimbledon. She spent 18 weeks outside of the top 100 during that time. Then after starting up again, she lost at the U.S. Open in round four, ending the year at #95. In 2007 she started her climb back up the rankings, moving up to No. 7 at the end of the year, and finishing 2008, No. 3.
In 2009, Serena Williams was undoubtedly the most successful of all the women tennis players of the season. She won two Grand Slam singles titles, the Australian Open and Wimbledon, with solid runs in the other two Grand Slams. She lost to the eventual champion, Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarterfinals of the French Open, and to eventual champion Kim Clijsters in the semifinals of the U.S. Open.
However, the year certainly ended in controversy. While playing Kim Clijsters of Belgium in the 2009 U.S. Open, Williams was called for a foot fault during the Women’s Singles Semifinal match of the 2009 U.S. Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 12, 2009. Following the call, Williams threatened the lineswoman who made the call, “I swear to God, I’ll f— take this ball and shove it down your f— throat.”[NYDailyNews.com] This led to Williams being given a match-point code violation, giving Clijsters the win, 6-4, 7-5. Williams was fined $10,500 for racquet abuse and her profane outburst against the lineswoman. Mary Carillo who was commentating on the match said, “I think she should be suspended. I can’t believe they are letting her play the doubles after that. What does it say about our sport if all you do is hand out a fine?”[NYDailyNews.com]
USTA officials said afterwards about the lineswoman who made the call, “The poor woman was so upset that she looked like she was going to faint. The other linespeople were comforting her, but she looked very shaken.” [NYDailyNews.com]
The question remains about further penalties. Williams won $350,000 for her run at the U.S. Open. Does that meager fine mean anything to Williams? Does it teach her anything? Some say she should not have been allowed to play in the Sony Ericsson Championships which clinched her No. 1 year-end ranking. Others say she does not deserve the No. 1 ranking after such an emotional outburst. Still others think she should not be allowed to play in Grand Slams during 2010. What do you think?
On November 9, 2009, the Season Ending Top 10 Rankings were released.[OnTheBaseline.com]
- Serena Williams (Previous high – #1 in 2002; ended 2008 at #3)
- Dinara Safina(Previous high – #2 in 2008)
- Svetlana Kuznetsova (Previous high – #2 in 2007; Ended 2008 at #7)
- Caroline Wozniacki (Previous high – #13 in 2008)
- Elena Dementieva (Previous high – #5 in 2008)
- Venus Williams (Previous high – #2 in 2002; ended 2008 at #8)
- Victoria Azarenka (Previous high – #17 in 2008)
- Jelena Jankovic (Previous high – #1 in 2008)
- Vera Zvonareva (Previous high – #9 in 2008)
- Agnieszka Radwanska (Previous high- #10 in 2008)
Notice that all the players advanced their ranking, or stayed the same, except for Jelena Jankovic who fell from No. 1 to No. 8. Do you suppose that after nine years as a pro, Jankovic has reached her peak and is on the way down and out? She certainly did not hold on to her No. 1 ranking for very long. She has not been able to win a Grand Slam, and did not make it past the 4th round in a Grand Slam during 2009. Others have struggled for their first Grand Slam win, have had their ups and downs from year to year, only to come back and climb to the top. Just look again at Serena Williams, for example. Can Jankovic do that? Time will tell, but she doesn’t see to have the game, or the fire, of Serena Williams.
