Serena Williams remains the “queen” of women’s tennis but don’t be surprised if she’s no longer number one by the end of the year, Martina Navratilova said yesterday.
Speaking in Singapore to promote this year’s WTA Finals, the 59-year-old Czech said she was pleased to see stronger competition in the women’s game. “Right now there is competition but not quite rivalry yet. But certainly, a lot of players are stepping on Serena’s heels for the year,” Navratilova said.
“It’s not a foregone conclusion. The last couple of years by now, we pretty much knew Serena would end up world number one at the end of the year but this year it’s up in the air. It’s going to be difficult for her to keep that cushion but at the same time, she’s still the queen.”
Williams has not won a tournament since her triumph at Cincinnati in August. Navratilova, an 18-time major champion, said that Williams was under added pressure after last year’s scintillating run, when she won three Grand Slam titles.
“The gap has gotten smaller and it may keep getting smaller because Serena won so many Grand Slams last year. She has a lot of points to defend. She’s not exactly floundering, it’s just the standard that she has set is so high, it’s hard to live up to that. You cannot write her off, (it’s) way too soon for that,” Navratilova added.
Last year, the 34-year-old American came within two matches of a calendar-year Grand Slam, falling to Roberta Vinci in the US Open semi-finals.  This year, she lost to Angelique Kerber in the Australian Open final, to Victoria Azarenka in the Indian Wells final and in the fourth round at Miami to Svetlana Kuznetsova.
Her current form notwithstanding, Navratilova has backed Williams as she looks to reach the all-time record of the most career singles Grand Slam trophies. Williams has won 21 majors, one shy of Steffi Graf’s career total and three behind Margaret Court’s all-time record. “It’s all becoming about Grand Slams now and that seems to be the only measuring stick that anybody cares about,” Navratilova said. “Every time she plays a Grand Slam, she’s got a chance to do it... Chances are it will happen, whether she can get to 24, that’s a long way away.”

Federer signs up for Madrid Masters
Seventeen-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer will continue his preparation for the French Open next month by taking part in the Madrid Masters next week, tournament officials confirmed yesterday.
“The Madrid Open can count upon the presence of Roger Federer,” said a statement on the tournament’s website. “Federer is one of the best tennis players in history and Madrid is a special place for him,” said tournament director Manolo Santana. “We are delighted to be able to once again count on his presence at the Caja Magica.”
The world number three had initially planned to skip the fourth Masters series event of the season to reserve his energy for the three remaining Grand Slams and Rio Olympics later in the year.
However, the Swiss’s plans have changed having missed nearly three months of the season due to knee surgery, including the Masters series events in Indian Wells and Miami.
Federer will be joined in the Spanish capital by world number one Novak Djokovic, defending champion Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal fresh from his wins in Monte Carlo and Barcelona. The 34-year-old is a three-time winner in Madrid having claimed the title in 2006, 2009 and 2012.