Serena Returns to No. 1

When Serena Williams won the U.S. Open this past Sunday and reclaimed the No. 1 spot in tennis, she jumped so high and so often that it seemed that the energy that propelled her upward into the New York sky was coming through the blue courts. The trophy for capturing the fourth and final Grand Slam Title of the year serves as wonderful wrapping for her No. 1 ranking that came with it, the longest time between No. 1 rankings – more than five years – in the history of the WTA Tour. Williams now has the eighth most successful career in women’s professional tennis, tying her with her childhood idol Monica Seles with nine singles titles in major tournaments. The victory at Arthur Ashe Stadium in the Flushing Meadows section of Queens, N.Y. also marked the end of a six-year drought between U.S. Open championships for Williams, 26, who erupted with near-primal joy when she won the match over Jelena Jankovic. The drought between U.S. Open championship titles included riding on tumultuous personal waves. She underwent knee surgery, dropped out of the top 100 rankings and especially had to recover from the murder in 2003 of her elder half sister, Yetunde Price, in Compton, Calif.“Lots of ups and downs — more downs than I care to know,” Williams told USA Today. “There were ups, too. I had fun; I lived my life, met lots of new people. I don’t regret anything because I feel like I was able to do everything I wanted to and still have my career.” Serena and big sister Venus have won two of this year’s Grand Slams – Venus took home the Wimbledon trophy a few months ago. Their longevity, coupled with the mass exodus of the game’s top stars, has acquitted them of those who criticized them for not devoting single-minded, fanatic attention to the sport 100 percent. Their careers have been characterized by constant catcalls about their pursuit of various interests outside of tennis that wrenched their attention from the sport that brought them international fame and riches. The sport’s luminaries, including legends Martina Navrátilová and Chris Evert, denigrated the sisters’ success by saying they both overwhelm their opponents through uncanny power instead of skill and mocked their immersion into fashion, music and movies. –terry shropshire