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Mon Oct 26, 2009 6:27 pm EDT

Weekly Slice: The phony battle for No. 1

By Martin Rogers

First serve

The WTA Tour has one storyline right now and it is riding it for all it's worth. The battle for the No. 1 ranking, a phony war that only exists due to a serious flaw in the rating system, is being billed as the headline attraction ahead of this week's season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships.

It seems to matter little that the real gap between Serena Williams and Dinara Safina is a monstrous one, in terms of form and ability to handle big-time tournament pressure. No, all the WTA is concerned with is that its ludicrous formula has Safina ahead of Williams by 155 points going into Doha. That means whoever performs better over the next week will end the year as No.1.

Despite winning the Australian Open and Wimbledon, and reaching the semifinal of the other two Slams, Williams still can't get officially recognized as the best in the world. She regained top spot a few weeks ago, only for Safina to grab it back thanks to a quirk in the statistics. Safina lost in the first two Slam finals of the year, reached the last four at Wimbledon and looked abysmal before being dumped in the third round at Flushing Meadows.

The furor over the rankings has rumbled on for much of the year, and has stuck in Williams' craw constantly. Yet it might not go away any time soon. Even if Williams wins in Doha to move well clear in the rankings, she has a ton of points to defend at the Australian Open in January and the gap could easily remain tight.

Let's hope that one way or another there will soon be enough points separation between the two players that this ceases to be an issue. The tour needs new talking points, real ones - not those based upon a formulaic anomaly.

Drop shot

London looks set to respond well to winter tennis, with tickets for the ATP Tour finals at the O2 Arena selling fast. However, what should be a thrilling, showpiece event to end the tour year looks set to be decimated by injuries and withdrawals, with several of the top men's players nursing various ailments.

Clean winner

Marcos Baghdatis turned around a difficult year with a remarkable victory in Stockholm last week, defeating Olivier Rochus in the final after being handed a route through when Robin Soderling retired through injury. It was a rare and welcome moment in the spotlight for the former Australian Open finalist, who has spent much of the year scuttling around on the Challenger circuit.

Use your frequent flyer miles

It's off to Qatar this week, where the top eight women of the year go head-to-head in the season-ending championships. No Kim Clijsters unfortunately, given her limited schedule this year, but the Safina-Serena battle provides some interest.

Last week's winners

If Open, Stockholm: Marcos Baghdatis
Kremlin Cup, Moscow: Mikhail Youzhny
BGL Open, Luxembourg: Timea Bacsinsky
Kremlin Cup, Moscow: Francesca Schiavone

This week's predictions

St Petersburg Open, St Petersburg: Victor Hanescu
Bank Austria Tennis Trophy, Vienna: Marin Cilic
Grand Prix de Tennis, Lyon: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Sony Ericsson Championships, Doha: Serena Williams

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104 Comments

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  1. NightWing
    1. Posted by NightWing Mon Oct 26, 2009 7:15 pm EDT

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    Nice post, Rogers!
  2. Mr. A-Jo
    2. Posted by Mr. A-Jo Mon Oct 26, 2009 7:24 pm EDT

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    Play more tournaments, then talk about who should really be #1.
  3. BrianN
    3. Posted by BrianN Mon Oct 26, 2009 7:27 pm EDT

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    I like it!
    This was a nice blog,
    and I'm always a Serena fan!!!
  4. Vanessa L
    4. Posted by Vanessa L Mon Oct 26, 2009 8:19 pm EDT

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    Give the whole 'Who's #1' thing a rest already. The rankings are not made on majors alone. Safina's results were steadier all year and it's not like she lost first round of every major. How many people ranked under her did Serena lose to this year? Including to Clijsters at the US Open and in every tournament she's entered since. Let's be realistic.
  5. NYC M
    5. Posted by NYC M Mon Oct 26, 2009 8:23 pm EDT

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    Finally an article by Martin Rogers in which he put some thought. I think it is a real embarrassment for the sport that all the WTA has to generate interests in its final tournament of the year is a 155 points. And of course all this phony publicity stunt will only hurt Safina who most likely will once again crack like an egg under the pressure of having to do better than Serena to retain the #1 ranking. I honestly believe this #1 ranking is the ultimate curse for Safina. There's no doubt she has the game to win a major, but it will only happen once she is no longer in contention for the #1 ranking. As long as she keeps finding herself in the position of having to justify her ranking without a significant win, she will never breakthrough a win a major. Of course with Justine coming, the ground just got more treacherous..........
  6. marhefka
    6. Posted by marhefka Mon Oct 26, 2009 9:11 pm EDT

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    The ranking system not only doesn't have a major flaw; it's absolutely ingenious. How else would you devise a ranking system? Resulsts for only the last month? Too short. Two years? Too long., One year is perfect.
    That being said, I agree that the grand slam results are under-stated in the point system. Put another way, the major tour events are over-stated. I'm not an expert on the women's ranking system; but, I feel it must parallel the men's. In the men's a Masters 1000 event winner gets 1000 points while a grand slam winner gets 2000 points. This means the value of a slam is exactly double a Masters 1000 event. I maintain that only "double" is not enough of a difference.
    Robin Soderling's career is made. Why? He made the finals of the French Open. He was treated likie royalty in Sweden for this achievement. If he makes the finals at a Masters 1000 event, it's only so-what kind of news.
  7. BENSONL
    7. Posted by BENSONL Mon Oct 26, 2009 9:23 pm EDT

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    Once the Belgium ladies get warmed up, Sharapova and Janvovic clean up their game, ladies' tennis will get exciting again. For now, it is unfortunate that we are back to recyling this staled issue AGAIN. Please, give it a rest!
  8. Delores B
    8. Posted by Delores B Mon Oct 26, 2009 9:31 pm EDT

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    @Mr A J-O
    Can you understand that if she plays a 100 tournaments and don't win any of them, she cannot be #1. Safina is not winning any matches. She needs to start winning soon. She is always losing in the first,second and third rounds, that is not expected of a #1 player.
  9. minbolong
    9. Posted by minbolong Mon Oct 26, 2009 9:32 pm EDT

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    Serena has won two grand slams and no other tournaments in that time.
    '...soon be enough points separation between the two players that this ceases to be an issue'?... Serena, over to you...
  10. wearethere1234
    10. Posted by wearethere1234 Mon Oct 26, 2009 9:45 pm EDT

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    Where does Martin Rogers have his head. UP HIS ASS. What has Serena done lately but lost to poor players just like Safina. Where do these writers come from. Let the women play. If you don't like the system tuff [profane]. We can't do anything about it. If Serena wants to be #1 so bad then all she has to do is play more events. The worst #1 was Jankovic and she still runs her mouth about Safina.
  11. wearethere1234
    11. Posted by wearethere1234 Mon Oct 26, 2009 9:48 pm EDT

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    Did you see the photo of the ladies? Real classy dresser except for one. Guess who!!
  12. sandy
    12. Posted by sandy Mon Oct 26, 2009 9:51 pm EDT

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    The slams are already given more points (rightfully so) and more money. But the tour is more than 4 a year. In the past, one had to playa dfeined number of tournaments to be ranked. Is that still a rule? I wonder if Serena played more tournaments if she might suffer more losses--maybe because as she says, she seems to rise to the occasion for the slams..whereas she may lose in earlier rounds as she had a bad day. I hope to Safina overcome her nerves and regain the form she showed earlier in the year. I am also happy to see Kim and Justine return. Women's tennis has many stars!! Thx ladies for your efforts!!
  13. Victor P
    13. Posted by Victor P Mon Oct 26, 2009 10:03 pm EDT

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    Another dumb, dumb article by Martin Rogers.
  14. Jason
    14. Posted by Jason Mon Oct 26, 2009 10:05 pm EDT

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    I have one issue with all the talk about Serena being number 1, fine she has done well in the slams, but she hasn't done well in the other mandatory events. Roger Federer during most of his status as number 1 has done one thing, WIN ALL THE TIME (SLAMS, MASTERS EVENTS, WHATEVER). IF YOU WIN MOST OF THE TIME YOU WILL BE NUMBER 1 NO QUESTIONS ASKED. SERENA MAY BE THE BEST PLAYER, but she's not number 1 unless the computer says so. The year that Clijsters go to number 1 without a slam, she had made it to the quarterfinals or better in every tournament she played up until the U.S. Open except for Canada that year. So she doesn't necesaarily have to win more often, she has to tale the Roger approach and win everything she plays in if she's going to be judicious with the schedule
  15. adolph12
    15. Posted by adolph12 Mon Oct 26, 2009 10:06 pm EDT

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    Why hasn't Williams been suspended? The WTA is gutless - PC gone bad.
  16. Sampras
    16. Posted by Sampras Mon Oct 26, 2009 10:18 pm EDT

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    ho-hum....the 2009 tour is over....let's just look forward to 2010!
  17. KELASINGS
    17. Posted by KELASINGS Mon Oct 26, 2009 10:27 pm EDT

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    First of all, a lot of you keep saying that Serena should play in more tournaments. Do you realize that Safina has only played in 1 more tournament than Serena?????? Serena did a better job in the tournaments she was in, yet the system is based on a rolling 52 weeks. You people need to give it a rest already. The points will work themselves out.
  18. Joe
    18. Posted by Joe Mon Oct 26, 2009 10:32 pm EDT

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    Another "Who's the real No.1?" article from Martin Rogers?!!!
    This is so tiring already!
    Nothing new and substantial from the article...
    just a man's ranting about the so-called "flawed" ranking system...Geez!
  19. Arnrock
    19. Posted by Arnrock Mon Oct 26, 2009 10:36 pm EDT

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    Safina has been vilified by both the press and by Serena Williams for working a system that rewards consistency over a year, as opposed to a few weeks. She is a professional tennis player, rather than a sitcom star, clothing designer or party goer. It is on that basis that she has amassed an excellent 2009 record and the current number 1 ranking.
    Bottom line - Safina earned it. Serena is more than capable of seizing it back, of course - simply by emulating the Russian and demonstrating greater consistency throughout the year. Aside from the two Slams, how many other tournaments has Serena won? Zero. Add a win at the Rogers Cup or Sony Ericsson, and this conversation isn't even happening.
  20. SeanL
    20. Posted by SeanL Mon Oct 26, 2009 10:49 pm EDT

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    One word: Stupidity.
    I'll have to defend the WTA for once. If Serena Williams wants to become number 1, why doesn't she play more tournaments? Why can't she play well during other events outside of grandslams? In comparison, Serena played 14 tournaments vs Dinara's 17. Besides, Dinara almost dominated the entire clay court season. If there is a major flaw, how come nobody challenges the ranking sytem for ATP. According to several websites, players are ranked the same way for both ATP and WTA. Sounds to me like another American bias.
  21. beverly d
    21. Posted by beverly d Mon Oct 26, 2009 11:03 pm EDT

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    enough of the ranking system,it sucks and the only people that don't agree with that is safina fans,sorry but its true..but i don't count rankings as the only way to say who is the number 1 player..lets look at the over all subject..lets look at it all..the first and second serve,of both players,ace's,the vollying,the preasure in big moments,backhands and forhands,smash's..in other words how the player actually plays,not the points for a tournament or how many one plays..look at the over all picture on how the game is played,how the player actually play's the match..venus and serena both have the best record onquestening calls made by the linesmen,they are very very seldom wrong when they challange a call,besides the fact they very seldom challange a call..look at the over all player,not just the points..does serena get pis*sed,yep she does,so does safina...i'm tired of hearing about what happened at the open,they are so many men players back in the 70's,80's,and 90's that have done so much worse then what serena did,great men players that have done worse..and it was a bad call,no foot fault,even johnny mac ,mary corillo and patrick mc enroe all said there was no foot fault..but beside all of that,how the player plays and the statistics,the players stats should come into play..anyone,and i repeat anyone can play all the tournaments can be #1 in the rankings,but not be the #1 in any way shape or form player...if anyone can honestly say that safina is the number 1 tennis player,that she honestly plays the game better then serena,then there is nothing anyone can say,your just not going to believe it no matter what..but that doesn't make it true either..tech wise serena is just the better player..right now safina doesn't have the stats or game to be #1,can she get there,sure she can..she has the talent,just like murat..but right now her game is not up to par of a #1..she can play all the tournaments they have,her game right now is just not #1 material,neither is her mind and thats a big one,a very big one
  22. BobW
    22. Posted by BobW Mon Oct 26, 2009 11:29 pm EDT

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    If you write about this Serena-Safina thing a couple of times, I'd understand that you are making a point.
    If you write about this over and over (for what seems like the tenth time so far), it reveals an obsession, a monotonous and dull disease of not being able to let go and move on to other more substantive issues such as analyzing (and proposing solutions for) why women's tennis has generally stunk over the past 5 years.
    Start taking your pills and get with the program Martin.
  23. stuartboy20
    23. Posted by stuartboy20 Mon Oct 26, 2009 11:55 pm EDT

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    Both WTA and ATP ranking systems have undergone several changes in the past few years, and I believe at the moment they share a lot of similarities in calculating and rewarding points to players based on their results and the importance of the tournaments. Unless I am very much mistaken, both rankings now award the same amount of points (2000 points) to Grand Slam winners, and also exactly the same amount of points (1000 points) for Masters Series (ATP) and Tier I (WTA) tournaments. While no system is perfect, no one can say that the systems are completely flawed. If the WTA ranking system is seriously flawed, then so is the ATP ranking system because they both take into account results over the past 12 months and award players similar amount of points. If that is so, why is the WTA ranking system taking all the blame for being flawed while no one is having any conversation about the ATP ranking system? Just because Safina is ranked no.1 over Serena does not necessarily mean she is the best player out there at the moment. It is simply because she has gathered better results over the past 12 months than Serena has, it's as simple as that. Had Serena won (even just) one of the Tier-I tournaments, she would've been no.1 on the list, I'm sure. But the fact Serena did not win any other tournament than the two Slams has hurt her chances of becoming no.1, not to mention that she played rather poorly at almost all Tier-I tournaments this year. So the final point is, don't make a big fuss out of the ranking system, after all it's just all a mathematical calculation which doesn't always tell you who the best is. Just let the players do the talking with their performance, and whether it is Safina or Serena or somebody else who wins the Sony Ericsson Championship in Doha, just sit back, relax, and enjoy the game.
  24. Jason S
    24. Posted by Jason S Tue Oct 27, 2009 12:01 am EDT

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    Vanessa, you make a good point.
  25. RUSSELLT
    25. Posted by RUSSELLT Tue Oct 27, 2009 12:07 am EDT

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    CORRECTION
    Serena lost to eventual 2009 French Open Champion Szetlana Kuznetsova in the QUARTERFINALS.

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Busted Racquet is a tennis blog edited by Chris Chase. Email him, and follow him on Twitter.

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