Title up for grabs at this year's WTA Championships

When the Sony Ericsson WTA Championships kick off in Doha on Nov. 4, an unpredictable year in women's tennis will turn another page.
 
At the very least, one of the tour's elite eight who will compete — current No. 1 Jelena Jankovic, Roland Garros champion Ana Ivanovic, U.S. Open champion Serena Williams, Wimbledon champion Venus Williams, No. 2 Dinara Safina, Olympic singles gold medalist Elena Dementieva, former U.S. Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova and the revived Russian veteran Vera Zvonareva — will emerge with decent momentum heading into 2009.
 
 
But there is no dominant player, and it's highly unlikely that a leading lady will emerge from a pretty even pack.
 
"Regardless of what happens, 2008 is going to be more known as the year that someone retired at No. 1. That's the defining moment of women's tennis this year," former U.S. Open finalist and ESPN analyst Pam Shriver told FOXSports.com.
 
Shriver is referring to the stunning retirement of Justine Henin in May, which sent the tour off its axis. There have been plenty of standout performances this season, but no player has performed at a consistently ethereal level, which is why a non-Grand Slam winner like Jankovic will end the year in the top spot.
 
That's happened before, when Belgian Kim Clijsters reached No. 1 almost two years before winning her sole major at the 2005 U.S. Open, and Amelie Mauresmo became No. 1 in late 2004, about a year and half before she captured her first Slam at the 2006 U.S. Open.
 
Both women competed a ton back then, which is one of the reasons why Jankovic has emerged as the tour leader. She's played 22 tournaments to date, which is more than any other of the word's top eight (Zvonareva has played 25, but is ranked below No. 6 Maria Sharapova, who has been out since August with a tear in her right rotator cuff).
 
Jankovic has had a very good year, capturing four titles, reaching the U.S. Open final and the semifinals of the Australian and French Opens. While Sharapova rehabbed for months, Serena Williams skipped most of the fall season, Venus Williams wasn't a tremendous factor off grass and Ivanovic sputtered badly post-Paris, and Jankovic went deep time and time again.
 
"I think that Jankovic is a most deserving No. 1 when you think about the entire year," Shriver said. "It would be fitting if she won the Championships and ended a historic and bizarre year. If you look at quality of her finals and at how well she played at the U.S. Open, even though she didn't win it, I think people now think that she is going to win one."
 
What's been particularly strange is that none of 2008's Grand Slam winners had dominant seasons. Aussie Open champ Sharapova was on a great run until she re-injured her right shoulder in March, which completely submarined her season. She hasn't played since August.
 
 
A couple of weeks after Henin retired, Ivanovic seized the No. 1 ranking by winning her maiden Grand Slam title in Paris, and then she didn't even reach a final until late October, when she won Linz.
 
Venus Williams won her fifth Wimbledon title in July, but has only been able to take one other crown, and at the age of 28 is clearly no longer in the place where she can win event after event.
 
On a great day, Serena can bully almost anyone, but it took her nine months of hard work to win her sole major, and even she admits threat the field has become harder to plow through over the years.
 
"Everyone has had their moments, but no one has been dominant," Shriver said.
 
Safina and Dementieva have had their big moments, too. Dementieva won her version of a major — the Olympics — while Safina reached the French Open final and won four other titles.
 
"During the second half, Safina looked like a No. 1," Shriver said. "But I like to see that second year standing the test of time. I think she has ability, but I want to see how her body and mind holds up and if it does, she'll be right there."
 
While there are some who think that Dementieva's problematic serve will always fall apart at the Slams, she's ranked No. 5 and is knocking at the door again. Shriver believes she could eventually gain the top spot.
 
"Can you imagine two years ago if we said that Jankovic could be No. 1? I think Dementieva's attitude and competitiveness is one of the more underrated parts of tennis. She looks like the ultimate pro. Through weaknesses, year after year, she's put up consistent numbers and this year she's crept up a notch or two. In the next 18 months, I would say that Dementieva and Jankovic will for sure be winning their first majors."
 
Serena is the biggest question mark entering the tournament. Since she won the Open, she has played only once — in Stuttgart, where she fell in the first round to Na Li. The 27-year-old then pulled out of Moscow with a left knee injury, but some 10 days later, was seen surfing in Hawaii with her rapper boyfriend, Common.
 
"When you think about the journey she's had since the Serena Slam (Williams won four majors in a row between 2002-2003), its been quite a journey, with people critiquing her and questioning her commitment," Shriver said. "After winning the Open, maybe she found the tank empty. That's been the Williams sisters' pattern, but it has stood the test of time.
 
"It's like the Williamses go into a little bit of hibernation and then come back out ready to roll again. The longer you've been around, the end of the year gets harder, especially this year, which was an Olympic year. The last three months — you have to want to be in the trenches and put on your pro hat and support the tour. This is not the glory time. The Championships is always a big deal, but it's not a major."
 
While there could be arguments made for every player in the field needing to win the tournament to solidify her year, it's unlikely that the proceedings will be a harbinger of things to come. Other than the frequency of players getting injured, no clear pattern emerged in 2008 except for the unpredictability of who belongs in which ranking position. Next year could be the same — four different winners at the Slams and a Slam-less No. 1.
 
Domination may just be passé.