Serena Should Be No. 1 and Much More

Blame the system if you want. It is all wrong. But Dinara Safina is now the No. 1 ranked women's tennis player, and no, she's not the best women's player.

Psycho. That's how Serena Williams, the best player, described it.

"I just ...'' she said. "I can't compute it.''

No, a computer does that. Tennis has its own little BCS-type controversy now, with computers trying to measure greatness. The difference is that the college football can't pick a champ without computers. Tennis does it with tournaments.

For Safina, this is the spoiling of a moment when a young woman should be reaching her dreams. Her brother, Marat Safin, once was No. 1, too.

"There's no question that while I am very proud of my results over the past year, I would have liked to reach this achievement in a different manner,'' Safina said. "I hope to prove to everyone over the coming months that I merit the honor of being world No. 1.''

When the dream comes, is that really what you say?

She knows.

This is a shared blame, though. The computer system is wrong. But frankly, I give even more blame to Williams.

"Well, I mean, (Safina's) really a good girl and she is a nice person,'' Williams said earlier this month, when she barely managed to hang on to her No. 1 ranking. "You know, I just have the utmost respect for not only her, but everyone on this tour. I just think it's crazy that I can just be so consistent throughout the year, and last year, and barely be No. 1. I mean, winning two of the last four Grand Slams and getting into the finals of three of the last four.''

Was the word consistent in there? Really, Serena? The rankings are on a points system covering the past 52 weeks. You do well this week, and it erases what you did on the same week last year. And you get more points for doing well in majors.

Well, in the past 52 weeks, Williams has won the Australian Open and the U.S. Open, and reached the Wimbledon final, where she lost to sister Venus. Safina has never won a major.

Never.

But what about Williams' first-round loss in Stuttgart? And Marbella, Spain? Williams is the most dominant, best player in the world, but in the past 52 weeks, while she has won two majors, she has won a total of just three tournaments. When you discard the majors, she has won just one tournament, and reached the final in one other, where she was clobbered.

Look, Williams deserves to be No. 1. And every player on tour thinks of her that way. But the rankings reward consistency, too, and Safina has provided more of that than Williams. Safina won four tournaments in those past 52 weeks, and reached three other finals. She beat Serena in Berlin. She lost in the finals at the Australian and the French.

So the debate in tennis now is whether a player should be No. 1 without having won a major. Roger Federer has openly wondered. And the answer is no. Tennis is based around majors, four Super Bowls for the sport.

Just let the computer run its numbers and also require a major title.

It's not that hard to program in.

But to me, the bigger issue is Williams. She is everything tennis needs: power, success, beauty, grace and manners. And yet she never seems to fully commit.

I always find myself wanting more from Williams. She can be superstar, role model, hero. It's all right there inside of her.

Unfair? Of course it's unfair.

In fact, here's how unfair: On Monday, I talked with Monica Seles who told the story of how her life fell into shambles, complete with unstoppable eating binges, mostly because there was no balance in her life when she competed. Now here's Williams, living the life she feels comfortable with, in balance.



And I'm critical? Well, others have been, too. Remember Chris Evert wrote her a letter once urging her to commit. But it just seems that Williams loves the life of celebrity too much.

So Safina gives total commitment to the game and the computer rewards her.

But maybe this is all we can get from Williams. Maybe a 100 percent commitment to tennis, and to fitness, would force her right out of the game. And as for the computer, well, even Andre Agassi, at one point, finally gave up on the rankings and decided to focus on majors only.

But it just seems that Williams, and Venus, too, have so much more to give. And tennis, finally starting to regain a little popularity, can use it.

The women's game has been trying to find its way since Justine Henin quit last year. Since then, the computer has punched up five different No. 1 players: Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Jankovic, Williams and now Safina.

Sharapova is still out hurt. Ivanovic couldn't handle the crown. The computer is just searching for someone to dominate, someone to lead the game.

Williams is the answer, and has to be. But the tour doesn't have to change the computer to make sure Williams is No. 1. She has the power to do it herself.