"Next year the ranking system is going to be a little bit different and it might help quality over quantity."

The words of Venus Williams after she completed the WTA Tour's season with victory at the Sony Ericsson Championships on Sunday.

It's a good point and the change may help Williams who, on the evidence of the past week, has as good a chance as anyone of taking a firm grip on a world number one spot which has looked up for grabs for some time.

In an attempt to cut down injuries and burn-out to their star players, the WTA wants those at the top to play less in 2009 but also ensure they do turn at the top-level events.

Heavier fines and even suspensions have been threatened for those who don't fall in line when the Tour's 'Roadmap' plan comes into effect in January.

The fact that the top-10 players must now play four mandatory events (Indian Wells and Miami, plus new events in Madrid and Beijing), plus at least six more from the 'Premier' tier looks likely to increase Williams' chances of climbing the rankings. Overall, commitments are down from 13 tournaments to 10.

A maximum of 16 events can now count towards the ranking - a reduction of two - and that will hinder the likes of Jelena Jankovic who has played a hectic schedule over the past two seasons.

So looking ahead, who does look well primed to take control of the women's game in 2009?

This year's retirement of Justine Henin - the undisputed number one at the time of her shock announcement - has left a power vacuum at the top and since then Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic, Serena Williams and now Jankovic have all had brief spells at the summit.

Given her displays in Doha, Venus will fancy her chances.

Significantly it was a win achieved on a hardcourt - the most popular surface on the year-long tour - but one on which Williams has not performed at her best in recent years.

You have to go back to the 2001 US Open to find her last Grand Slam success on this surface, while it's now almost six years since she was last in a major final away from Wimbledon.

January's Australian Open will be big for Venus, the older of the sisters but the one who has suffered less with injuries.

A perceived lack of motivation has appeared to be her problem but if she is serious about her tennis, she has shown what she can achieve both in Doha and at Wimbledon over the past two summers.

For a player who has won seven Grand Slam titles, the fact that she's spent just 11 weeks of her career as world number one - the last of those in July 2002 - helps prove how little tennis she's actually played.

Her commitment will therefore be a key to her chances, whereas sister Serena's hopes of returning to the top will largely hinge on her body's ability to hold itself together.

Like her sibling, Serena has proved that when she's fully fit and in the zone, she's better than anyone. This year's US Open being a case in point.

With her powerful shot-making ability and dogged determination, she'd be the player I want fighting in my corner if my life depended on it, but that doesn't mean she'll be number one in 12 months' time.

Her New York win briefly took her to the top of the rankings but if she is to dominate the game as she did in 2002-03, then staying fit - something she was unable to do in Doha - is crucial.

The current incumbent, Jankovic, looks like a bit of a stop-gap.

She has a very solid, but not spectacular, game which has produced consistent results so crucial to the rankings.

However, with more emphasis now being placed on the biggest events, she could slip a little.

She's one of a rare breed who have hit top spot before winning a Grand Slam and history shows such players have rarely gone on to dominate. Kim Clijsters and Amelie Mauresmo would be two good but not great players who spring to mind.

Of the other contenders, Maria Sharapova is, like Serena, another who is beginning to look like she will constantly struggle to stay 100 per cent fit, while a longer list can be made of those for whom mental doubts appear the biggest hurdle.

Ivanovic seemed to make a big breakthrough when winning this year's French Open but ever since seems to have suffered a hangover - perhaps due to the fact that she is now the hunted rather than the hunter.

The experienced Elena Dementieva has improved her infamous serve this year but it's still a weakness, while Dinara Safina and Vera Zvonareva's volatility - the latter showing her's against Venus on Sunday - remains a serious problem for any athlete wanting to reign at the top of their sport.

With so many doubts, it just goes to show that the women's game really is wide open right now, so perhaps 2009 will be the year of a new brigade arriving on the scene.

It will be hard for anyone aside from those already mentioned to make the leap to the top in the next 12 months but those looking most likely to make a sustained challenge are teenagers Agnieszka Radwanska and Caroline Wozniacki.

Former Junior Wimbledon champions both, the pair won six titles between them in 2008 and will now look to make the move into the true elite.

Radwanska in particular looks to have an excellent game off the ground and if she can beef up her serve, she'll be a threat to those currently ranked above her.

However, she's one for the future.

In the meantime, I wouldn't be surprised to be sitting her next year with the Williams sisters still prominent and a true successor to Henin still absent.

Who do you think will be the star of 2009? And can anyone dominate the tour like Henin did last season? Send your feedback to: tennisfeedback@sportinglife.com and we'll publish some of your views.