Safina Retires, Handing Serena Year-End #1 Ranking

Dinara Safina finished two games of her match with Jelena Jankovic at the Year-End Championships in Doha, Qata before retiring due to a back injury, a result which handed back Serena Williams the World #1 ranking without the two having to compete against each other.

"My body just gave up," the 23-year-old Safina told reporters after her hopes of becoming the first Russian to finish a year as world number one ended.

"I did everything possible to play here. I went yesterday to put injections, cortisone, but I could not handle this pain any more."

It was a sad end to the season for Safina, who spent 25 weeks at the top of the rankings but whose lack of grand slam titles, compared to the 11 of Williams, left many questioning her suitability for the No.1 spot.

"I think I should have taken a break after the U.S. Open but I was chasing this number one, so I was fighting with my body. God knows? Maybe I had to stop after the U.S. Open."

The withdrawal of Safina, who will be replaced by compatriot Vera Zvonareva in White Group, has left a void in the tournament that has already been struggling to attract fans to the Khalifa Tennis Centre on the shores of the Persian Gulf.

Serena opened her tournament with a 7-6(6) 7-5 win over 2009 French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova and will face her sister Venus Williams tonight in a match that means much more to defending champion Venus who if she loses will most likely be eliminated, than the new World #1.