DOHA, Qatar(AP) After months of debate about who is more deserving of the No. 1 ranking, Serena Williams and Dinara Safina will settle the issue on the court at the WTA Tour's season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships.
Safina recaptured the top ranking from Williams this week, but the player who performs better at this week's lucrative tournament in Doha will end the year at No. 1.
Safina has held the top spot for 26 weeks this year but has faced questions about whether she's worthy of the title without having won a Grand Slam tournament. Williams won her 11th major title at Wimbledon this year, and also won the Australian Open.
Williams said Monday that ending 2009 as No. 1 ``would be really cool.''
The eight-player tournament starts Tuesday.