Jelena Jankovic, who started 2009 as world number one, but only squeezed into the WTA Championships as the eighth and last qualifier, believes a drastic weight loss programme has helped her cause.

The Serbian is also convinced her mother Snezana's improved health, after a worrying scare during the claycourt season, is also a factor behind her more optimistic outlook.

"I'm much skinnier than I used to be. I maybe had seven to ten kilos more than I have now," said the 24-year-old.

Just to emphasise the point, Jankovic arrived at a news conference here on the eve of the WTA Championships, dressed in a short, black dress and wearing high heels, rather than her contemporaries' standard choice of tracksuit and training shoes.

In the lobby of the players' hotel in this gas-rich, conservative Gulf State, she certainly stood out from the crowd.

"I felt really slow on the court. I lost my speed. Nowadays, if you don't move well, it's tough to compete against the best players, men or women.

"That was a learning experience. I finished 2008 as the No. 1 player in the world. I won three tournaments in a row at the end and made it here to the semis.

"My goal was to be even better than I was, to be stronger and fitter. I learned that I cannot be so muscular. I need to be explosive on the court."

Jankovic has also suffered her share of personal misery in 2009, with her mother's illness and then losing her grandmother during the US Open.

"You realize there are more important things in life than tennis, and tennis is just a game," she said.

"Then you realize that you don't need to take it so seriously. You don't go down on yourself when you lose, don't get so disappointed like I used to before. I just try to enjoy it as much as I can."