• What the Deuce

Does Serena deserve to be No. 1?

Serena Williams has not played since her victory at Wimbledon in July © Getty Images

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When Dinara Safina was crowned world No. 1 for the first time in April 2009, Serena Williams, the woman she replaced, was outspoken in her criticism.

"We all know who the real No. 1 is," Williams said. "Quite frankly, I'm the best in the world."

Safina was the fourth woman to become No. 1 without having won a Grand Slam - after Kim Clijsters, Amelie Mauresmo and Jelena Jankovic. Mauresmo went on to win two grand slam titles; Clijsters has won the US Open three times. But in three grand slam final appearances, Safina has failed to win once.

A lower back injury has seen Safina slide at a terrifying rate down the rankings this season, but is her tag as the 'worst No. 1 in history' a bit unfair?

Having picked up titles in Los Angeles, Montreal and Tokyo towards the end of the previous season, Safina was the losing finalist in Sydney and Melbourne. Ironically it was Williams' shock defeat to Klara Zakopalova in Marbella that handed Safina the No. 1 spot. Safina then went on to consolidate her position with back-to-back wins on the clay in Stuttgart, Rome and Madrid before reaching the final at Roland Garros for a second consecutive year.

Williams' gripe was that she felt the ranking points were not weighted heavily enough in favour of the grand slam tournaments - although it is something that is clearly working in her favour this year. What The Deuce has no intention of starting a debate on a potential restructure of the rankings system - that can be left for another day - but does a player who only plays the four major tournaments a season deserve to be considered the best player in the world?

Williams has played just six tournaments this year - compare that to world No. 2 Caroline Wozniacki who makes her 20th appearance of the year at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo this week.

Obviously if Williams was fully fit, she would have played more matches, but her injury problems seem to conveniently heal in time for the big tournaments. There is no doubting her injury if she was willing to miss her home grand slam, allowing arch-rival and defending champion Clijsters to retain her title.

The fact that Williams is still No. 1 having played just six tournaments this season speaks volumes - her two wins came at the Australian Open and Wimbledon. She is the calibre of player who can afford to miss two months of the season and win a grand slam in her first tournament back, but that may be as a result of a lack of consistency at the top of the women's game.

Williams enjoyed London Fashion Week in the presence of Andy Murray © Getty Images

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In the absence of any tennis, Williams has been filling her time with appearances at London Fashion Week and at an NFL game on Sunday.

But the question is, how much longer can she hang on to her No. 1 status? Wins in Tokyo and Beijing could see Wozniacki crowned No. 1 for the first time.

But regardless of how good Williams is at the top of her game, with just six events under her belt, albeit with two grand slam titles, and having pulled out of Tokyo and the mandatory event in Beijing, she does not deserve to end the year at No. 1.

Williams' frequent absences are damaging for the women's game - fans part with their hard-earned money to watch the best players in the world in action at tournaments around the world, and with no disrespect to the Aravane Rezais and Nadia Petrovas of this world, they want to see the big-name players.

While the top players rightly concentrate on grand slam events, they are obliged to show up at the mandatory Masters and Premier events and have a duty to the ATP and WTA, as well as their sponsors, to travel the world to build the growing tennis audience. What if Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal decided to only play a handful of tournaments each season?

Nadal's record in Masters series events speaks for itself - his attitude to tennis has not changed since he started out as a teenager. While he has to manage his schedule to avoid serious injury, he has a burning desire to win every match he plays, which is more than can be said for Williams.

If Wozniacki, Clijsters and her other rivals pick up ranking points in the coming weeks, Williams may suddenly make a miraculous recovery to play in the Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha at the end of October in an attempt to preserve her year-end No. 1 status.

She insists she is committed to playing for the USA in the Fed Cup final at the beginning of November, but whether she will keep to her promise - having withdrawn from previous ties at the 11th hour - remains to be seen.

But what is clear is that Williams' love for the game is not as strong as it once was, and plays if and when she feels the need to. A brand new world No. 1 in the shape of the young, talented Wozniacki could be exactly what the women's game needs.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.