Serena and doubles team of Sara and Roberta finish 2014 at No.1

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Williams earns WTA Year-End No.1 Singles Ranking, presented by Dubai Duty Free for fourth time in career
The Italian doubles team of Errani/Vinci claim WTA Year-End No.1 Doubles Ranking, presented by Dubai Duty Free for third consecutive year

The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) yesterday announced that American Serena Williams has secured the 2014 WTA Year-End World No.1 Singles Ranking, presented by Dubai Duty Free while the Italiian doubles team of Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci have claimed the WTA Year-End World No.1 Doubles Ranking, presented by Dubai Duty Free. “Dubai Duty Free congratulates Serena, Sara and Roberta on reaching once again the No.1 spot in singles and doubles of the 2014 WTA Year-End Rankings,” said Salah Tahlak, Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications at Dubai Duty Free. “We are delighted to present the Year-End No.1 trophies to these players, which signifies their outstanding results in 2014. We are a proud partner of the WTA and look forward to welcoming Serena, Sara and Roberta back to Dubai in 2015.”

Williams secures year-end no.1 for fourth year in career

Williams’ season has been highlighted by capturing six singles titles, including one Grand Slam (US Open) while also lifting the trophy at Brisbane International, the Miami Open, the Internazionali BNL d’Italia (Rome), the Bank of the West Classic (Stanford) and the Western & Southern Open (Cincinnati). As a result, Williams finished atop the Road to Singapore Leaderboard earning the top seed at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. Williams has held the WTA World No. 1 ranking since February 18, 2013, and she will extend her current stay at No.1 to at least 97 weeks bringing her total weeks at No.1 to 221 (as of week of December 28, 2014), the fourth longest streak in WTA history. The 33-year-old American is the oldest player to ever hold the No.1 ranking and currently sits fourth all-time for weeks at No.1 behind Steffi Graf (377 weeks), Martina Navratilova (332 weeks) and Chris Evert (260 weeks). Williams is just the fifth player since the inception of computer rankings in 1975 to finish four or more seasons at No.1, joining Steffi Graf (8 times), Martina Navratilova (7 times), Chris Evert (5 times) and Lindsay Davenport (4 times). “Serena continues to prove that she is one of the greatest athletes of all time and ending the year No.1 once again further solidifies her legacy,” said WTA Chairman & CEO Stacey Allaster. “The year-end No.1 ranking is earned through consistent excellence throughout the year – especially great results at major events. Serena’s US Open win and five WTA Premier titles has allowed her to stay at the top as the world’s greatest, an extremely deserving honor.”

Errani/Vinci secure year-end doubles no.1 for third straight year

For the third consecutive year, Errani and Vinci will finish the year as the top-ranked doubles team. They have enjoyed an incredible 2014 season capturing five titles, including two Grand Slam titles (Australian Open and Wimbledon) and three WTA Premier titles – the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix (Stuttgart), Mutua Madrid Open and Rogers Cup (Montréal). They also finished as runner-up at Roland Garros, Apia International (Sydney) and Internazionali BNL d’Italia (Rome). As a result, they finished the year atop the WTA Road to Singapore Leaderboard, qualifying for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals presented by SC Global as the top seed. First teaming up on a regular basis in 2010, Errani and Vinci have won 21 titles together, including completing a career Grand Slam with titles at Australian Open (2013, 2014), Roland Garros (2012), Wimbledon (2014) and US Open (2012). Errani and Vinci are the first doubles team to finish as WTA Year-End World No.1’s in three consecutive seasons since Cara Black and Liezel Huber achieved the feat from 2007 through 2009. Currently are ranked co-No.1 on the WTA Doubles Rankings. Vinci has held the No.1 ranking for 95 weeks (ranks 7th all-time), while Errani has held the top spot for 72 weeks (ranks 10th all-time) through and including week of the week of December 28, 2014. “Sara and Roberta have been the most dominant doubles team over the past three years,” said Allaster. “They are fan favorites around the world and continue to be terrific ambassadors for tennis and the WTA.”

Williams crushes Halep to win WTA Finals title

SINGAPORE, (Reuters) - Serena Williams of the United States crushed Romania’s Simona Halep 6-3 6-0 on Sunday to win the WTA Finals championship in Singapore. Williams avenged her loss to Halep in the group stage of the season-ending tournament to claim her fifth WTA championship, tied for second with Steffi Graf. Only Martina Navratilova, with eight titles, has won more. Halep shocked Williams 6-0 6-2 in the group stage of the event but was unable to reproduce that performance in the final as the world number one dictated terms from the outset.

Sania Mirza, Cara Black claim WTA Finals doubles title

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe’s Cara Black and Sania Mirza of India teamed up to win the doubles title at the WTA Finals in Singapore on Sunday. The pair easily beat the defending champions, Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Peng Shuai of China, 6-1 6-0, reeling off 12 games in a row after dropping the opening game. For Black, it was her third win in the elite event, and her first since she returned to the sport after taking time out to have a child. The 35-year-old doubles specialist previously won with Liezel Huber in 2007 and 2008. She and Mirza, who shared $500,000 for winning the title, only teamed up a year ago but are parting ways after the tournament. “Sania is in the prime of her career at the moment and I just said to her at the U.S. Open that I’m not too sure what I’m going to do next year and how much I’m going to play,” said Black. “I think it was fair for her to tell her to find somebody. I think she’s found a great partner. I wish them all the best.” Mirza, who captured her first WTA Finals title, will partner Hsieh in the future but said she was grateful to have played alongside Black. “To end this way, we couldn’t have asked for a better start or end. It kind of sums up our partnership,” Mirza said. “I’ve also found a great friend in her. Almost like an older sister to me. I’m the oldest in my family, so I learned a lot from her on and off the court.” It was also a bittersweet moment for Tsieh and Peng, who also played together for the last time. In addition to last year’s WTA Finals, they also joined forces to win the Wimbledon women’s doubles in 2013.