I just wanted to post some quick thoughts on the news that Safina is soon to be enthroned as the new world number one.We all know of course who the real number one (and number two for that matter) is, but have to say I think Dinara, like Jelena before her, is coming in for a disproportionate (and completely unfair) amount of flak.
-- Firstly I think it's worth remembering that the rankings system is a rolling, week-on-week measure of a player's performance in the last 52 weeks. Whatever else your view may be, the fact remains that for whatever reason, both Serena and Venus have these past few years, been a little thin on presence at the tournaments outside of the Slams. Both in terms of not always showing up and not performing as well as they might when they do. Credit though to Venus in particular, for putting in a strong showing this last year and dispelling the myth that their off court pursuits have somehow put a dent in their desire.
-- The Slams ARE already worth twice as much as the 'Premier' (formerly Tier-ones) events -- 2000 points versus the 1000 that the winner of a Premier event will pick up. Furthermore, from this year, the Slams are to be weighted more systematically internally, so that a player progressing to the latter stages of the event will receive more points than they would have done in the past - a welcome change I think, broadening the difference between the first and second weeks of Slam, and a good kick up the backside for any top seeds that go out early.
-- Dinara has since last year, won three tier ones, and reached the final of two Slams. I know she's had a pretty dismal 2009 (aside from the final at Melbourne), but it'd be incredibly unfair to her to throw all of that out of the window.
-- Are these people that are so critical of Dinara (and presumably the rankings system) demanding that points be further skewed in favour of the Slams? If so, I think it's worth noting that were that to happen, Dinara would in all likelihood, still finish pretty close to the top as she's made Slam finals twice in the last year. Unless they're suggesting that we also drastically increase the difference in points awarded to the winners and runners-up at a Slam - which by the way really is as insane as it sounds.
-- Having said that I'm not completely in favour of further increasing the weight attached to Slams as it would launch players like Ana Ivanovic (God knows what's going to happen to her ranking when she loses the points for her RG win last year in a couple of months time) into the stratosphere.
-- Perhaps these people that have such a big problem with Dinara's ascendancy, will take some 'comfort' from knowing that she has shed-loads of points to defend in the coming months, and given the current state of her game will in all likelihood, quickly lose the top spot to someone more 'undeserving'.
-- It's not that I don't think there's something fundamentally wrong with the winner of the last two Slams not being able to hold on to the top spot. But let's be honest - the real reason we're seeing anomalies like this has little to do with the way the rankings are administered, and rather more to do with the general bran-flakiness of the tour. But I promised myself not to talk about that for a while.
Safina image - Getty
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