Serena William's decision to again skip the
Indian Wells event could cost her the No. 1 ranking this week.
Former world No. 1
Jelena Jankovic was upset 6-4, 6-4 by
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia on Saturday, clearing the way for Russian
Dinara Safina to take the ranking for the first time if she can reach the Indian Wells final.
Serena and
Venus Williams have skipped the top-tier Indian Wells event since 2001 due to what they perceived as a racist incident on the word of their father.
Jankovic reached the WTA Tour's top ranking last year despite failing to win a career-first Grand Slam title, and now Safina could do the same. Safina was a runner-up at the
Australian Open this year, and a runner-up at the
French Open in 2008.
Serena Williams decimated Safina 6-0, 6-2 in January in the Aussie Open final. The Williams sisters have combined to win the last three Grand Slam titles.
