Teenager Maria Sharapova has put her plans for world domination on ice, the Russian saying she is not yet strong enough to carry if off.
The 18-year-old briefly reached world number one this year, but she failed to add to her sole Grand Slam title achieved last year at Wimbledon.
"I don't think I'm ready for it now," Sharapova said at the WTA Championships in Los Angeles on Wednesday.
"I think at some point I may be able to dominate, but honesty, I don't think I'm physically there yet and I don't want to go out there and say I am, when I'm really not."
Sharapova, now ranked three, said she would like to equal the feats of seven-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams or the five of Martina Hingis, although she described herself as still a work in progress.
"I grew a few centimeters this year and I'm still getting used to my height," said 6-foot-2-inch Sharapova, who stunned the tennis world by beating Serena in the 2004 Wimbledon final.
"But in the future, dominating is something I would like, but I'm still not where I need to be physically or with my game."
Sharapova earned a three-set victory over Patty Schynder on Monday in the elite-eight WTA Championships, but she will not grab the number one ranking even if she wins the tournament.
Current number one Lindsay Davenport and number two Kim Clijsters are battling it out for the year-end honour.
Although she failed to win one of the game's big four this year, falling in semi-finals to eventual champions Serena Williams in Australia, Venus Williams at Wimbledon and Clijsters at the US Open, she did win three titles.
"There were some matches this year where I lost a little concentration and focus and thought I played some stupid points," Sharapova said.
"But it's about being in those situations and learning from them and although I've played a lot of matches already in my life, I'm still pretty young and have a lot to learn. But I am learning and I think you can see that."
The Florida-based Russian's statistics are impressive, going 52-11 during the season, and had it not been for a right pectoral muscle injury that has dogged her since July, she may still be in the hunt for number one.
"There are times when I do get frustrated, but I don't let the frustrations take over me," she said.
"I try to be positive. There have been a lot of ups and downs this year, especially with the injuries where it's been one thing after another.
"But I've always continued to be tough, because all of my life I've fought for everything that I've had."
After winning Wimbledon in 2004, the attractive blonde cashed in on her success off the court and now earns an estimated $19 million a year, the vast majority of that in off court earnings.
But the Siberian-born Sharapova --- who went to the US at the age of eight with her father and coach Yuri -- says she is keeping her feet firmly on the ground.
She said the other day while walking down Beverly Hills' swank Rodeo drive, she felt completely out of place.
"That's not where I come from," she said. "I know I'm popular and I know people recognise me, but I don't relate to that lifestyle.
"I walk around there and shop, but I don't feel like this is me. That's not where I come from."
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