The air went out of the WTA balloon shortly after the US Open, when Serena Williams announced that she would play no more tour events until the WTA Finals in Singapore. The decision all but conceded the prized year-end No. 1 ranking to the woman who deposed Williams at the top, No. 1 ranked Angelique Kerber.Now the balloon is inflated again, and dancing in the breeze, thanks to Kerbers failure to clamp down on her rivals in the weeks since the US Open.Had Kerber improved upon her solid but unspectacular results of last year this fall, she would be in position to clinch the top spot for 2016 before the start of Singapore. It was a reasonable assignment for a newly empowered player who took a quantum leap in 2016, winning two Grand Slam events. But Kerber faltered. Shes now involved in a two-person race with a rival whos still relaxing back home.Kerber will lose ground (95 points) when the rankings are issued Monday, because she was beaten one round sooner this year than last in Beijing. She will have 8,390 points, a lead of 1,340 points. The undefeated winner of the WTA finals earns 1500 points, so Williams clearly will have a shot to displace Kerber because she has no points to defend, while Kerber can add points but also has some coming off as the weeks end.As of now, Kerber could lose the coveted top ranking on the last day of the WTA season. In fact, right now she could only lose it on the final day of play in Singapore, as Williams would need to make at least the final to regain No. 1.Stranger things have happened. Remember, this is Serena Williams we are talking about.In fairness, Kerber hasnt found much favor with the draw gods this fall. She took a bruising, three-set third-round loss against Petra Kvitova in Wuhan just as the Czech was roaring back from her recent slump. In Beijing, Kerber was knocked out in the third round as well, this time by emerging giant killer No. 19 Elina Svitolina. The erratic but dangerous 22-year-old Ukrainian also bounced Williams from the Olympic Games a couple of months ago.Williams certainly has faced challenges comparable to this one. You can be sure Kerber is already hearing footsteps, and thats not going to make her life any easier at the final tournament on her schedule next week in Hong Kong. She was a finalist there last year, so shell have to win the event outright in order to add insurance points to her ranking.Kerber can add 100 points if she wins Hong Kong, which will also feature Venus Williams, Caroline Wozniacki, Sam Stosur and Alize Cornet. Anything less than a final for Kerber and she loses points with Williams gaining some precious breathing room.The current ranking system can actually give players a delayed reward for poor performances. Kerber has never made it out of the round-robin portion of the WTA Finals in three trips (shes won just two single matches). Last year, she won one match and will be defending just 370 points.No matter how you cut it, Williams has very little wiggle room -- but there is room after the latest turn of events in Beijing.Williams decision to return for the WTA Finals always seemed more like a tour-related obligation rather than a legacy-building opportunity. Had Kerber clinched the top ranking, Williams might have gone into the finals relaxed and happy to hit a few balls and pick up a kings ransom in prize money. After all, she left the tour in order to get healthy for 2017, not to train like mad to make a final push at Singapore. Its also clear that Williams has been enjoying life, as her Twitter feed and videos -- like the most recent one of her salsa dancing -- confirm.But if she goes into the WTA Finals with a chance to win back the No. 1 ranking, the vibe in Singapore changes. The tournament will matter. Whether Williams likes it or not, Singapore becomes the third potential showdown on a big stage with Kerber. Then the question becomes, how prepared is Williams?Thats where the difference in their WTA Finals records might come into play. Williams is 29-6 (five titles), while is just Kerber, 2-7. 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The four All-Star teams will play for $100,000 in prize money during TSNs annual skins game, airing live this weekend on TSN from The Fenlands Banff Recreation Centre. NEW YORK -- Serena Williams has hit a wheelbarrow load of balls into the near and far reaches of Arthur Ashe Stadium following victories over the years, always targeting specific individuals in the crowd. She had never managed to get a ball into the intended hands until Tuesday night, following her dazzling 6-3, 6-3 win over Ekaterina Makarova?in the first round of the US Open.It was that kind of night for Williams.I usually pick someone out, she said of the postmatch ritual after her win. They never, never get the ball. Although today, the first time I picked someone out, the guy actually got the ball. That was exciting.Also exciting: Williams performance as she sallies forth in an attempt to move ahead of Steffi Graf and become the first player in the Open era to win 23 Grand Slam singles titles.The match with Makarova was promoted as a stern test of Williams skill and nerve at a seemingly critical juncture in her career. She turned it into a comprehensive statement of her enduring superiority and verve.Williams display of firepower lit up the night sky in Flushing, Queens. She rained down a dozen aces and so many unreturnable serves that only 44 percent of her deliveries became points. Not bad work for a woman whos been suffering a lack of match play because of a sore right shoulder. In fact, her impressive demonstration was the fruit of a workaround mandated by her tender shoulder. In having to pick her spots rather than blast away, she proved that while speed kills, placement tortures.Williams was particularly pleased because in her prematch practice session, her deliveries were flying like wild geese.I didnt hit them as hard as I normally hit them, she said of the 105 and 110 mph aces. I just went for more placement. I didnt go for the big 120s, just the regular.The regular, devastating, down-the-T and out-wide serves that leave even a doubles expert like Makarova, whos a good returner by definition, feeling as if her shoes had grown roots.This also was one of those matches in which Williams seemed to embrace a game plan with more components than a desire to serve bigg and let the groundstrokes rip.dddddddddddd Williams did most of her damage by opening up the court until she could find Makarovas left-handed forehand, which is as lethal but also as unstable as C-4 explosive. Williams broke down that part of Makarovas game consistently.I definitely feel like Im more tactical now, Williams said. But I still have that raw I dont care what is your best shot, Im just going to play my best shot and lets play tennis attitude. I still have that. But I definitely play with a little more tactics.Thats a champions pride speaking. But Williams turns 35 in September. She has injuries, large and small. They demand concessions, one of which inevitably is a greater reliance on strategy and tactics. She had no pressing need to work a Plan B on Tuesday, but her willingness to do it on a night when her movement was outstanding just made her that much tougher.Its all I could do with a shoulder injury, was movement, she said. I couldnt hit any balls [leading up to the tournament]. I wanted to stay fit, so ... I guess that kind of helped me out a little bit.Williams is a great champion, so she bears great champions burdens. Every question she answers leads to more questions because more is never enough, and in her case never will be until she finally decides to set aside her rackets for good.The question now is, what can she do to keep this up? The great obstacle for players in their waning years is that they lack the intensity and innate drive of youngsters. They come up flat more frequently. Its the most natural process in the world.Williams tries to avoid that pitfall by telling herself how much better she can be. She said, I think I can improve a lot. I think I can get a lot better. I feel like theres much, much more I can do. Thats the only thing I can do is do that.A better Williams than we saw on Tuesday night is nearly unimaginable. But making the unimaginable real has been this womans stock in trade for a long time now. ' ' '