Jankovic leads "egalitarian phase" in women's tennis (News Feature)

Hamburg - Venus Williams' title at the WTA Championships on Sunday marked the end of a turbulent year in women's tennis which saw six changes at the number one position after Justine Henin's retirement. The Belgian Henin was tipped to dominate 2008 after an amazing unbeaten second half of 2007, but her win streak came to an end at the Australian Open in January and she then retired from tennis on May 14 at the age of 26. 'I based my life on the relationships, the love and all that I could give to tennis. But I couldn't manage to express it anymore these past months,' she said, naming retirement 'a great day in my life.' Henin, whose last match was a three-set defeat to Russian Dinara Safina in mid-May in Berlin, asked to be dropped from the rankings immediately which allowed Maria Sharapova to go back on top. Ana Ivanovic, Jankovic, Ivanovic again and Serena Williams were the next top-ranked players before Jankovic ruled for the rest of the year from October 6. Whether or not these frequent changes are good or bad for the sport is being hotly debated. WTA boss Larry Scott said he would have preferred the year-ending number one to be decided at the finale in Doha and not Jelena Jankovic clinching it several weeks earlier. But British daily The Times said last week it appears 'the sport has lost more than it has gained. 'Four different Grand Slams have produced as many champions and the world number one ranking has been passed around like the proverbial hot potato, nobody seeming to possess either the quality, the consistency or the resilience to maintain the requisite standard necessary to stay at the top,' The Times said. The New York Times spoke politely of 'an egalitarian phase' in the women's game while Ivanovic was happy. 'When Justine retired, it opened the number one spot for many players. At the end of the day, I think the way it is now is also very exciting,' said Ivanovic. But there were some raised eyebrows in Doha that neither Jankovic nor number two Safina have ever won a Grand Slam - unprecedented in the 33-year history of the women's rankings. In 2008, Sharapova won the Australian Open, Ivanovic the French Open, Venus Williams Wimbledon and Serena Williams the US Open. The prestigious Olympic gold in Beijing went to Elena Dementieva in a Russian sweep while Venus Williams' three-set win at the WTA Championships on Sunday made her the only player with two big titles. Injuries and scheduling also played a role in the many changes at the top. Sharapova was sidelined for the second half of the year with a shoulder injury, the Williams sisters play only few events and Ivanovic's form dipped after her French Open crown. Jankovic has been through various ailments as well but a late surge with WTA titles in Beijing, Stuttgart and Moscow assured her of the year-ending top spot. 'I believe that I deserve to be the number one player in the world. I really worked so hard all the year. I broke a lot of sweat, a lot of tears and blood everywhere. It's not easy,' said the cheerful Serb. 'You are in the history books and it's a great achievement.' Jankovic is yet to win a Grand Slam but she was the most consistent player over the year with 20 quarter-finals from 22 tournaments played, a dozen semi-finals and six finals of which she won four. She has a tour-leading 67 wins with 19 defeats. Now comes 2009 and a reformed calendar which in theory is to look after players health in a better way with a maximum 10 mandatory tournaments - down from 12 but excluding the Grand Slams and the season-ender - for the stars. The overall number drops from 17 to 15. The off-season is longer, but possible fines and suspensions also effectively force the stars into the tournaments. But the Williams sisters have insisted they will not come to the mandatory Indian Wells event which they refuse to enter after being the target of racist remarks from the stands there in 2001. In addition, Serena Williams has never played more than 13 tournaments in a year throughout her career. When Venus won in Doha on Sunday, it marked the true end of Henin in the sport as she was the 2007 champion. But by then the Belgian was more than happy to be far away from the sport, completing her high school studies and engaged in various other activities. 'I'll be honest with you, I do not miss tennis. I keep a magic feeling of that period of my life. A time where I learned so much, but a new life fills me, and I am completely satisfied,' she said in an October diary entry on her website.