Moving to the top

Venus Williams officially ascends to No. 1 in world

LONDON (Reuters) -- Reigning Wimbledon and U.S. Open champion Venus Williams was confirmed as the new world number one on Monday following the official release of this week's WTA singles rankings.

The 21-year-old American becomes only the 10th woman to hold the prestigious mantle since the inception of computer rankings in November 1975, replacing compatriot Jennifer Capriati who has held the top spot for a total of nine weeks to date.

"Right now, it's just been great getting there, but it's another thing staying there. So I just have to be dedicated and more than anything, keep enjoying the game," said Williams.

Williams is the first African-American, man or woman, to reach the top spot on either the ATP's or WTA's computer rankings, although former greats such as Althea Gibson and Arthur Ashe were also regarded as the best in the world during stages of their careers.

We're No. 1 Women's No.1s since computer rankings started in Nov. 1975: Player  Weeks  Steffi Graf  378    Martina Navratilova  331    Chris Evert  262    Martina Hingis  209    Monica Seles  178    Lindsay Davenport  37    Tracey Austin  22    A. Sanchez-Vicario  12    Jennifer Capriati  9    Venus Williams  1

"It would be foolish to forget Althea Gibson. She was the first. And more than anything, I just feel proud to represent America in my sport," Williams said.

Williams, leading the Tour this year with three titles at Gold Coast, Paris and Antwerp, reached the semifinals at Dubai last week, the end of a two-month stretch on the road. She plans to celebrate once she returns home to Florida.

"I think my special plan would be just to get home. It's been a long time on the road. I think I'm just looking forward to getting home and getting some rest with my family.

"At this point, I am the best player in the world, so that's exciting and it's going to be mine at least a week."

Williams says her goal of being number one was initially borne out of her parents' encouragement, with her father Richard telling a young Venus and sister Serena they would be tennis champions one day.

"Being number one was firstly my parents' dream, but it soon became mine too, so reaching it was great not only for me, but for them too.

"I was just being the daughter of a proud father. And more than anything, I think he knew he put the work in...We were listening to him, and that's why he had the confidence to say that myself and Serena would be Grand Slam champions.

"Right now, we are some of the best players in the game, I guess, in history, and I just think that I give a lot of credit to my dad for that."

 

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