Serena - Best vs. #1

[NLBwell]

Serena Williams has been claiming that she is the real number one in women's tennis. Of course that isn't true - the rankings show it. She may be the best when she is playing well, but being the best is not the same as being number 1. The best is something you ARE. Number 1 is something you EARN Serena has not earned the points to be number one.
Some would say that Serena does better in the Slams, but it is easier to win slams if you are not playing all year long (just ask Nadal today). You don't earn being number one by losing 4 matches in a row and then putting effort into the slam tournament.

In the slams since Safina broke through:

Safina: Serena:
French 08 - finals 6 wins French 08 - 3rd round, 2 wins
Wimbledon 08 - 3rd round, 2 wins Wimbledon 08 -finals, 6 wins
US Open 08 - semis, 5 wins US Open 08 - winner, 7 wins
Aust. 09 - finals, 6 wins Aust. 09 - winner, 7 wins
French 09 - finals, 6 wins French 09 - quarters, 4 wins
Total: 25 wins Total: 26 wins

Not enough difference to offset the results of all the other tournaments during the year (yes, one French drops off the ranking points depending upon what date you are talking about). Serena may pass Safina if she does well at Wimbledon and Safina doesn't (though more likely Safina will get past the 3rd round). If that happens, then Serena should be number 1 (as she has been several times before) and deserves to be number one. But she's got to EARN it.




(don't know how to get this to not eliminate the spaces when I put things in columns)

 

[Mick]

if serena gets into a GS final, she is not going to choke. the other player has to win it. safina, on the other hand, got into the 2008 french open final, olympics gold medal match, australian open final, 2009 french open final. she choked in all of them.

safina is a great player at the small tournaments, serena is a great player at the big tournaments and that's how i see it.

 

[NLBwell]

Yes, she's a great player - probably better than Safina. The point is that you shouldn't be number one because you can play great when you want to. You earn being number one and Serena hasn't chosen to do that so she doesn't deserve to be called number 1. By the measure of who is best when they can play their best or when they feel like playing their best you could pick Sharapova or Henin or maybe even Venus (Wimbledon is the most important tournament, after all).

 

[thalivest]

Whether or not Serena is the real #1 right now Safina sure as heck isnt. The real #1 wins big titles, not chokes in them. I guess I would have to agree Serena is the real #1 now as the two women with a slam title in the last year (Kuznetsova and Venus) dont in anyway have superior enough non slam performances to offset her 2 slams and 3 finals vs their 1 slam each. If Kuznetsova hadnt choked vs Serena in Australia I might say she is the real #1 now, but just like with Safina that isnt the stuff of a true #1.

 

[NLBwell]

So, you think the ranking points should be adjusted so that a player should only have to win 14 matches a year and can lose the first round all the other weeks and be ranked number one? Should no points be allotted for any other tournaments than the big 4?

 

[oberyn]

I agree with the OP. Safina is and deserves to be ranked #1. She's had the results over the past 52 weeks. That makes her the "real" #1. She earned those ranking points, they weren't given to her.

Of course, the slams are what people remember. If Safina doesn't win one of the big 4, not many people will care that she was ranked #1.