(UPDATED) Serena sets it straight, defeats Venus for second Sony Ericsson Championship

So can we all agree on who deserves the keys to the WTA Penthouse now?

Serena Williams set the record straight in a dominating performance in Doha capping the year off in grand style by winning the year-end Sony Ericsson Championships, her first since her title-run back in 2001. She beat sister Venus 6-2, 7-6 (4) in the final, inflicting a second loss on the older Williams and defending champ this week and fourth consecutive going back to their semifinal showdown in Miami earlier this year. Their H2H now stands at 13-10 in the 28-year old's favor. Oh, she also bagged $1.55 million for her efforts. Nice.

It seems ReRe was determined to make a statement this week and answer the critics who believed she wasn't deserving of the top-ranking, even with 2 majors under her belt this season, because she hadn't won a tourney outside the majors since Charleston '08. She went 5-0 in her matches and secured the year-end No.1 ranking after Dinara Safina withdrew. The 11-time Grand Slammer even made reference to the criticism saying afterwards saying,

I haven't won a tournament that wasn't a Grand Slam in a while, so that was even more exciting. My losing streak in [other] tournaments is over.

TRUTH. It just goes to show you no matter how many smaller tourneys a baller grabs, the mentally toughest win the biggest prizes in tennis and get to write the history.

Congrats to you, ReRe, and thank you for finally righting the rankings ship.

UPDATE: ...AND she broke the single-season record for prize winnings racking up $6.5 million and besting previous record holder Justine Henin who topped out at $5.5 million in 2007. Nothing more needs to be said on this subject. Case closed.

(Photo: Getty)