After a year in which players played hot potato with the No.1 ranking, Serena Williams will conclude 2009 there, as she moved from No.2 back to No.1 on the November 2 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Rankings after her title at the Sony Ericsson Championships - Doha 2009.
Williams first ascended to No.1 in the world in July 2002 and interestingly enough, that was the only other year prior to this one in which she finished a year atop the rankings. As for this year, she rose to No.1 in February, fell to No.2 in April, went back to No.1 on October 12, back to No.2 on October 26 and finally back to No.1 again this week.
Dinara Safina, who Williams replaced at No.1, had to withdraw from Doha during her first round robin match with a back injury. She will conclude 2009 at No.2, which is the highest year-end finish of her career, her previous best having been No.3 at the end of 2008. Svetlana Kuznetsova will finish the year third, a big improvement over where she started the year - eighth. Caroline Wozniacki will end 2009 at a career-high No.4, with her previous year-end best being No.13 at the end of last year. Elena Dementieva will finish the year right where she started it - No.5. Venus Williams rose from No.7 to No.6 this week following her runner-up showing in Doha a year after she took the title there. This is her highest year-end finish since 2002 when she ended the year at No.2. No.7 Victoria Azarenka had never previously finished higher than 17th. No.8 Jelena Jankovic had a significant slide from her 2008 finish of No.1. No.9 Vera Zvonareva will also finish the year where she started it, as will No.10 Agnieszka Radwanska.
Also making a move this week was María José Martínez Sánchez, who went from No.31 to No.30, her Top 30 singles debut. She also reached her career-high in doubles, going from No.8 to No.6 after capturing the Tour Championships with partner Nuria Llagostera Vives, who went from No.7 to No.5, also her new career-high.
Check out this week's singles rankings and doubles rankings.
