Sports Then and Now

Dinara Safina surpasses Serena Williams to once again be ranked number one at Sony Ericsson Championships that begin on October 27 in Qatar.

Finally the end of another agonizing year for the women’s tour is upon us.  As the eight top seeds in the women’s game head off to Doha, the tournament will reveal once and for all who will end 2009 ranked
numero uno.

Poetically, Dinara Safina surpasses Serena Williams to once again be ranked number one as they enter the season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships that begin on October 27 in Qatar.  Currently Safina is
ranked five points behind Serena Williams.

As of October 26 when the new rankings come out, the points from last year’s championship will come off the totals.  Safina has earned more points than any other player after winning titles in Rome, Madrid and Portoroz as well as reaching six finals.  Therefore, she has earned the number one seed.

Throughout the year players earn points but only the top eight players are awarded entry into the Sony Ericsson Championship Tournament.  For doubles, it is the top four teams that gain entry into the year-ending championship.

So who is in:

#1      Dinara Safina           7,731 points
#2      Serena Williams         7,576 points
#3      Svetlana Kuznetsova 5,772 points
#4      Caroline Wozniacki 5,475 points
#5      Elena Dementieva 5,415 points
#6      Victoria Azarenka 4,451 points
#7      Venus Williams 4,391 points
#8      Jelena Jankovic 3,555 points

Jelena Jankovic just squeaked into the final eight this week when Vera Zvonareva lost to qualifier Tsvetana Pironkova in Moscow during the second round. The two were battling it out for the final eighth spot.
Zvonareva blinked first and the feisty Serb is back in contention.

In 2008 Venus Williams won the tournament as the number 7 seed fighting for the championship against the number 8 seed Vera Zvonareva 6-7, 6-0, 6-2.  They both went through their respective round-robins undefeated.

What will happen in 2009?