It has been a poor year for the Women’s Tennis Association reaching its conclusion this week in Doha.

The eight top ranked players have come together to play in the Sony Ericsson Championships, so far, none of the players have hit their peak this year, even though the US$4.55 million dollar event will produce the world number one.

Competing in the event are the Williams sisters, and only one other Grand Slam champion, Svetlana Kuznetsova who won this year’s French Open.

The Williams sisters both boast a winning record at this event, while Kuznetsova has won only 2 of her previous 12 matches at the Championships. Other competitors include Elena Dementieva who has only managed to win 5 of her past 20 tournaments, and Dinara Safina who is still to win at the highly sought after tournament.

Serena Williams is the clear favourite at 5/2 on and you can get 15/2 on her sister Venus. Not a bad price considering she is the defending champion in Doha after winning it last year, demolishing the opposition despite lacking form throughout the tournament. She has an amazing win rate here, winning 9 and only losing twice.

So far during the Asian tour, the sisters have failed to dazzle, however it’s not unusual to see them saving the best for the big events. You have to be sure, before you make a bet on Serena as to whether she classes this as one of those big events. The big difference however at this year’s event is that the number one ranking is at stake and with the opportunity to claim the season finale top spot should prove enough motivation as at Wimbledon she was heard to criticise the system that ranked Safina ahead of her back in July.