Serena (left) and elder sister Venus (right), five in the world but who also reached number one seven years ago, currently hold three of the four Grand Slams and could clinch a family sweep at Roland Garros in June.
--PHOTO: REUTERS
PARIS - MARIA Sharapova smiles down from billboards across the globe, endorses blue-chip businesses and commands over six million Internet search results every day.
Sadly for the WTA Tour, the world's highest-profile, and biggest earning sportswoman, has been nursing a shoulder injury since August.
With the Russian sidelined, Justine Henin in retirement and two Serbs who suffer vertigo anywhere near the rankings summit, one Miami newspaper last week suggested the WTA should now be rebranded the 'Williams Tennis Association'.
It was only slightly tongue in cheek.
Ten years after Serena Williams won the first of her 10 Grand Slam titles, the American, still only 27, is number one in the world, a position she first occupied in 2002.
She may have hobbled to defeat in the Miami final against the improving Victoria Azarenka, but the feeling persists that the women's game struggles to supply the sparks generated by Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer's epic confrontations.
Serena and elder sister Venus, number five in the world but who also reached number one seven years ago, currently hold three of the four Grand Slams and could clinch a family sweep at Roland Garros in June.
With 74 titles and almost US$50 million(S$75 million) in prize money between them, the sisters can afford to be virtually part-time players. Serena has played just five tournaments in 2009, winning 21 matches to three defeats; one of those was against her sister.
Venus has appeared at only four events, with a 15-2 match record. Even one of the two losses was a family affair as Serena evened up their lifetime head-to-heads at 10-10 in the Miami semi-finals. Worryingly for her rivals, Serena sees herself playing on for some time to come.
While the Williams sisters counter-attack against pretenders, three-time Grand Slam title-winner Sharapova continues to recover from shoulder injury.
Her absence from the US Open, Olympics as well this year's Australian Open, which Serena captured in a desperately poor final against Dinara Safina, has seen her ranking slump to 30. However, it hasn't dented the 21-year-old's earning power or the importance of her to the future well-being of the tour. From endorsements, Sharapova, who is not expected to be back in competition until the Rome claycourt event in May, is believed to earn around US$30 million; her on court earnings total a relatively modest US$10.2 million. -- AFP
