Serena Williams returns to #1 on Monday

At last, the best female tennis player in the world will actually be ranked number one again.

Serena Williams, reigning Wimbledon, US Open, Olympic and WTA champion, will reclaim the number one ranking on Monday. At 31, she becomes the oldest top-ranked player in history beating the previous record set by Chris Evert back in 1985 who was 30 years and 11 months when she was last number one.

Despite being upset in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open last month, Serena gained enough points to achieve the top spot when she beat Maria Sharapova today in the semifinals of the Qatar Open.

She replaces Victoria Azarenka as number one, the player she faces in Sunday’s final.

Williams is clearly the best player of her generation with five Australian Opens, five Wimbledons, four US Opens and one French Open title on her resume but her practice of player fewer tournaments than her peers has kept her from the number one ranking for long stretches even during the years she has dominated.

She first reached number one back in summer of 2002 and most recently held the ranking in fall of 2010.