17 Feb 2013

Serena number one again

7:33 am on 17 February 2013

Serena Williams has become the oldest woman to claim the world number one tennis ranking after reaching the Qatar Open semi-finals with a three-set victory over Petra Kvitova.

31-year-old Williams will take over from Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka as the world's best player when the rankings come out next week, returning to the top spot for the first time in over two years.

Chris Evert at 30 was the previous oldest world number one.

Williams will be the world number one for a 124th career week, a total only bettered by Steffi Graf (377), Martina Navratilova (332), Evert (260), Martina Hingis (209) and Monica Seles (178).