Doha: Dinara Safina withdrew from the WTA Championships, Serena Williams gets number 1 ranking back
Doha: Dinara Safina withdrew from the WTA Championships, Serena Williams gets number 1 ranking back
Doha: Dinara Safina withdrew from the WTA Championships, Serena Williams gets number 1 ranking back
Dinara Safina announced her withdrawal from the WTA Sony Ericsson Championships due to a back injury giving Serena Williams the honor to end the year as world number one in the women’s tennis rankings.
Williams won her opening match against Svetlana Kuznetsova guaranteeing enough ranking points to overtake Safina at the end of the week.
Safina began her first group match against Jelena Jankovic but at 1-1 she was forced to retire. She earned 70 points just for taking to the court against Jankovic but that is not enough to keep the number 1.
At the press conference Safina said the bone structure in her lower back is “starting to fracture” and that the injury has been bothering her for three months.
She said doctors told her she will be sidelined for at least six weeks, and she may not be ready for the Australian Open in January.
“I went yesterday to have injections, cortisone,” she said. “But I just couldn’t handle this pain.”
“When I speak with the doctors, it doesn’t sound so good,” Safina said. “It is possible I may have to skip it (the 2010 Australian Open).”
Source PA SportsTicker
Photo credit should read KARIM JAAFAR/AFP/Getty Images
