Serena Williams has only been back hitting on court for a week having been dealing with a knee injury but the American seems determined to go the distance at the WTA Finals, particularly with the year-end No1 ranking on the line.
The top seed, who kicks off her title defence in Singapore on Monday against Ana Ivanovic, sustained a knee injury that forced her to withdraw ahead of her quarter-final in Beijing two weeks ago and confessed that she wasn’t sure she was going to be able to participate in the WTA Finals this week.
Williams had flown to Paris, where she met with her doctors, and could only resume practice last Monday but says she’s been surprised at how well she’s been feeling on court and that she’s ready to compete for a fifth WTA Finals title, which would be her fourth consecutive one (she didn’t participate in 2010 and 2011).
Williams, who has ended the year as the top player in the world on three previous occasions – in 2002, 2009 and 2013 – will have to fend off an assault from Maria Sharapova who trails the 33-year-old by a mere 466 points in the rankings, with 1500 up for grabs this week.
The 18-time major champion can secure the top spot if she reaches the final with a 3-0 record in the round robin matches or if she makes the final with a 2-1 record, provided Sharapova drops a group stage match.
Asked how important it was for her to end the year as No1, Williams said yesterday: “It's obviously super important for me. I love being No1, I love being the best.
“But at the same time, I'm really glad that I was able to get a slam this year, which was really annoying for me that I wasn't able to capture one.
“That was something that was super, super, super important, especially for the goals that I was trying to reach.
“I think (the battle for No1) definitely adds an extra element of excitement. At the end of the day, I don't let that stress me out. I'm just happy to be here. I really didn't think I was going to be able to come (due to the knee injury).
“With that, I don't feel a great amount of pressure. I'm just really excited to have made it to the WTA's biggest event at the end of the year.”
Williams is on a remarkable 15-match winning streak in the year-end championships having captured the title in 2009, 2012 and 2013 – missing the event the years in between. Only Martina Navratilova has had a longer winning run in the event, triumphing in 21 consecutive matches between 1983 and 1987.
