• What the Deuce

Princess Caroline out to silence her critics

Caroline Wozniacki has doubled the contents of her trophy cabinet this season © Getty Images

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• Profile: Caroline Wozniacki

The never-ending debate will resurface this week after Caroline Wozniacki dethroned Serena Williams as world No. 1.

Wozniacki becomes the fifth woman to be crowned No. 1 without having won a grand slam title - Kim Clijsters with the dubious claim to have been the first - but she has since gone on to claim three US Open title victories and her victory as an unranked wildcard last year sealed her place in the history books.

Questions will no doubt be raised as to whether Wozniacki deserves the No. 1 ranking without having won a major title, and there is no doubt that she will never be considered a 'true great' until, like Andy Murray, she claims that elusive first grand slam.

But she has rightfully earned the claim to be the most consistent performer on the women's tour, playing week in, week out and winning titles. Her victory over Vera Zvonareva in Beijing on Monday sealed her sixth title of the year - and her fourth in five tournaments. But the one blot on her copybook is the US Open - where she was top seed and favourite for victory at Flushing Meadows - and that remains the sticking point for tennis purists.

There will undoubtedly be calls for the rankings points to be reconsidered and for grand slams to be weighted more heavily, but few will argue that Wozniacki is the best player in the world at the moment. Injuries to the Williams sisters and Justine Henin have made her job easier, but she can only beat the players on the other side of the net, and a 24 wins from her last 25 matches is a record to rival Rafael Nadal.

While many will call for greater weighting for grand slam success, there is a real case to reward consistent performances over a single impressive fortnight. While Wozniacki's six titles has seen her rise to the top of the women's rankings, Serena Williams, the woman she replaced as No. 1 has played a grand total of six tournaments this season.

The case of French Open champion Francesca Schiavone is a prime example. Ranked No. 17 at Roland Garros, the Italian produced a stunning run of seven matches to become the first Italian woman to win a Grand Slam, and was catapulted into the top ten for the first time in her career.

Francesca Schiavone was the first Italian woman to win a grand slam © Getty Images

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Take nothing away from Schiavone - wins over Wozniacki, Elena Dementieva and Sam Stosur were well deserved, but the rankings should look to reward consistent performers as well as one-hit wonders. Since her victory in Paris, Schiavone has lost her opening matches in four out of eight tournaments and has only once made it past the quarter-finals.

Wozniacki is on a roll, and even a knee injury couldn't stop her in Beijing, and she looks in no danger of slowing down just yet. With both Venus and Serena Williams unlikely to be playing in the year-end championships in Doha, the event is Wozniacki's to lose. Strongest on the hard courts, victory would cap off an impressive season and further consolidate her position as the top player in women's tennis.

But even more crucial is how she starts next season. The Dane had a slow start to 2010, with back-to-back defeats to Na Li in Australia. It wasn't until the spring hard-court swing in the United States that Wozniacki began to find her rhythm, until an ankle injury hampered her clay-court challenge.

With Serena Williams and Henin out of action at Flushing Meadows, Wozniacki will be kicking herself for not capitalising on a golden opportunity, but if she is to maintain her impressive assault on the old guard, she needs a strong showing at the Australian Open.

Having doubled the contents of her trophy cabinet this season, she can rightfully hold the claim as world No. 1 - a position she is likely to take into the year-end rankings, but to prove herself as the best player in the world, the Dane needs to silence any doubters with victory in Melbourne.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.