Comments on: Serena Williams ridicules Dinara Safina’s No.1 ranking

By: Ben C

Ben C — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 06:10:52 +0000

Emily is probably right that this was blown up by the press. It continued over the following months and then Safina's form just plummeted. It's a possibility that Safina was badly affected by all of this. It's a bit like people saying that all the hard work you've put in was for nothing and you're not worthy.

Lots of ignorant comments here – that someone has won grand slams over a year ago makes no difference to their WTA ranking and of course it shouldn't. Also Serena generally plays fewer competitions than most players which of course affects her ranking. When she has suffered an injury, it tends to have been between grand slams, allowing her to bypass some of the lower-scored compulsory tournaments. For those who follow tennis eagerly, we know that tennis is much more than just the grand slams and of course it's also about performance in all of these competitions – reaching a grand slam final is a major achievement in itself.

The grand slams are a sizeable chunk of the WTA ranking system but certainly not more than half of the points on offer to championship winners. I think a lot of the comments about 'grand slam = no.1' comments are from people who just watch the grand slams for 8 weeks each year.

It's a pity that Serena didn't see fit to soften her comments later. I can't imagine that most WTA tennis players would agree with her as they all play the same system involving dozens of competitions of which the GS are important but not the whole story and performance in any competition is reflected by the points.

When she held it, Safina had earned the no.1 spot and this whole incident involving Serena and the press was unpleasant for women's tennis.

By: emily

emily — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 16:12:08 +0000

Why aren't people attack the press corp that a laughing at Safina too. They make it worse, Safina had been attacked constantly as an unworthy No1 by the press since she got there. The press know Serena is very funny and they can get that kind of comment, they had no respect for Safina and she was terribly damaged by it all.
Tracy Austin also said she and Jankovic shouldn't be no 1 without a Grand Slam.

By: Cbyrne

Cbyrne — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 15:05:46 +0000

excuse me ANDERSON but safina does have a grand slam, the 2007 US Open women's doubles title. She is a fantastic doubles player. I feel sorry for her because she has worked very hard, a bit like Murray, and people should respect her she did dominate the clay court season up to the French Open and really should have won it. However I dont think its right for Serena to make such nasty comments, who does she think she is? She has done this before about Henin which she has no respect for whatsoever, and saying that Venus is the best player on tour next to her is not necessarily true personally I think Henin is the best next to her as Venus is no force nowadays apart from at Wimbledon. Safina is a great player and should be respected for what she has achieved. And dont hate on these tennis players we cannot imagine how hard they have worked and how talented they are. Serena should stop it, theres no need for such behaviour. She should take a leaf out of Roger Federer's book on how to act like a gracious World No.1 instead of setting a bad example, or look at Nadal for that matter he has perfect manners and respect, unlike her. It's about time the women's tour started respecting each other instead of being so bitchy, the men are much nicer to one another and respectful they always give credit. The only one of I can think of on the WTA who consistently does that is Sharapova. Enough said

By: delois

delois — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 07:37:07 +0000

i agree with SERENA about one thing, i would rather have 2 slams, than 4 titles is a year, and stay no. 2, which she is, and since then she added another slam. she wont make it a grand slam, because she lost at the french. the media is partly the balme for asking a stupid, and serena is the blame for answering the way she did, but i love her anyway. Dinara Safina shoud see a sports phychology like Svetlana K. did it helps her to win the french open this year.

By: colon cleanse

colon cleanse — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 01:27:06 +0000

Proof today that Serena is right. Yes Venus struggled through her 1st round match, but the difference was that Safina was constantly screaming and staring at her coach for help. She should not be the #1 player in the world! No way, she can't even play a first round match without nearly imploding.

Shock horror! If she had lost that match against the young Aussie today she still would've been #1! WTA sort out this farce!

By: Marat Safin protects sister Dinara from attacks concerning her ranking | Dinara Safina

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 20:53:21 +0000

[...] is constantly attacked for being a world number one without winning a Grand Slam (the most brutal attacker is Serena Williams, in my opinion) and her brother Marat, the winner of two Grand Slam titles, is defending his [...]

By: Marija

Marija — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 18:20:06 +0000

Delane, here's the link to the interview:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4DHCdE7quU

By: Delane

Delane — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 03:53:15 +0000

Does anyone have the YouTube clip of this interview?

By: safina!!

safina!! — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 11:38:56 +0000

i dont care what people say the points system is fine!! serena may win the grand slams but what else has she won? nothing! safina is the most consistent player and therefore has earnt her ranking points she is good enough to defend her ranking points where serena doesnt really care there is no problem!! look at the mens rankings?? they are fine .. same system GET OVER IT!!

By: george

george — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 23:39:19 +0000

I have a solution: let's all respect Serena and Safina and enjoy the game. How about that? I can live with that, can you?