1. Serena Williams (USA)
- Match record (singles): 50-12
- Singles Titles: 3
- Prize money: $6,545,586 (All-time WTA Record)
Serena Williams made the tennis headlines in 2009 but not always for the right reasons. Whilst her infamous outburst at the US Open and the furore it created will not be forgotten, 2009 should be remembered for the year that the younger Williams sister reasserted her dominance at the major events in a style reminiscent of her 2002/2003 Serena Slam.
Her trophy tally for the year may have only been three, but they were all at the important events. Williams collected a fourth Australian Open crown, a third title at Wimbledon and a second title at the year-end Sony Ericsson Championships making for the most impressive trophy collection of 2009. It also meant that she claimed the year-end number one ranking for the first time since 2002.
/Generic/World%20News/2009.12.16_SerenaWilliams-AustralianOpen-TH.jpg)
Williams has 11 career Grand Slam singles titles – just one less than Billie Jean King on the all-time list.
In January the American was twice fiercely challenged on the way to the title in Melbourne. Rising star Victoria Azarenka out-hit Williams for a set in the fourth round before being forced to retire down 2-4 in the second due to heat exhaustion. With the Rod Laver arena turning into a cauldron of fierce heat Svetlana Kuznetsova won the first set 7-5 in the quarter finals. The extreme conditions forced the closure of the roof and although the Russian served for the match at 5-4 in the second set, Williams displayed her characteristic fighting qualities to roar back and win 5-7 7-5 6-1.
Williams follows Steffi Graf, Monica Seles and Martina Hingis as the fourth woman in the Open Era to win four Australian titles.
Having comfortably dispatched Elena Dementieva in the semi-finals, Serena faced Dinara Safina for the title with the winner assured of the number one ranking. In a performance similar to her 2007 demolition of Maria Sharapova; the America out-muscled Safina with a devastating performance of power tennis to triumph 6-0 6-3.
Williams has only lost three of fourteen Grand Slam finals: 2001 US Open to Venus Williams, 2004 Wimbledon to Sharapova and 2008 Wimbledon to V.Williams.
A knee injury affected Williams in her loss to Azarenka in the final of Miami, thus preventing her from winning a record sixth title there. The injury contributed to three successive losses on European clay in Marbella, Rome and Madrid. However, she rebounded well at Roland Garros reaching the last eight, before going down 7-6 5-7 7-5 to eventual Champion Kuznetsova.
Williams won her sole French Open title in 2002, one of three clay court titles she has won from a total of 35 career singles titles.
Williams was seeded second at Wimbledon and cruised through to her sixth semi-final without conceding a set. Facing her in the last four was determined Olympic Champion Dementieva and the two players treated the packed Centre Court to the longest semi-final of the Open Era in a pulsating two hour and forty nine minute battle.
With Williams serving at 4-5 in the decider the Russian was one point away from her first Wimbledon final.The American saved the match point by cutting off an attempted pass with a winning backhand volley. She went on to seal a gripping 6-7(4-7) 7-5 8-6 victory.
Heading into the semi-final Williams had lost three of her last four meetings with Dementieva, including a three set quarter final defeat at the Beijing Olympics.
Williams claimed her first Wimbledon title in six years with a hard hitting 7-6(7-3)6-2 victory over elder sister and five-time Champion Venus. It was her sixth win in eight Grand Slam finals between the pair and denied Venus a third straight title.
/Generic/World%20News/2009.12.16_Williams-Wimbledon09trophy-TH.jpg)
Between them the sisters have won eight of the last ten singles titles at the All England Club.
Serena went on to lose to Sam Stosur, Sybille Bammer and Dementieva on US hard courts in the run up to the US Open. But in New York she cruised into the quarter-finals where she beat in-form Flavia Pennetta 6-4 6-3 to set up a semi-final clash with comeback queen and 2005 US Open Champion Kim Clijsters.
Much has been written about Serena’s explosion of anger over the foot fault which subsequently ended the match but this has overshadowed what a tremendous tennis match the two women produced. Full of explosive hitting off the ground, it made for an amazing spectacle that the Belgian was just edging when it came to perhaps, premature end. (Serena was subsequently given a $175,000 fine and three year suspended ban from the tournament as a result of her behaviour.)
Serena now leads Clijsters 7-2 in their head-to-head series.
After the US Open, Williams lost to Petrova in the third round of the China Open but gained sufficient points to surpass Safina once again to regain the number one ranking. The pair switched places again and headed to the Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha knowing that whoever progressed further would achieve the year-end top spot.
In Qatar Williams was at her combative best and defeated Kuznetsova, her sister (saving a match point) and Dementieva to top her group. After Safina withdrew from the event due to injury Serena was assured of ending the year in pole position. A weary Caroline Wozniacki retired against the American in the semi-finals before the sisters faced each other again in the final. With a tremendous display of serving Serena repeated her round robin victory over her elder sister to win 6-2 7-6(7-4).
It was a second year-end title for the 28 year-old having first taken the crown in 2001.
It was a terrific end to a brilliant year for Williams. She also finished the year ranked a career high third in doubles (with Venus) after winning three of the four Grand Slam doubles titles. There really was no doubting as to who was the dominant force in women’s tennis in 2009.
2. Kim Clijsters (BEL)
- Match record (singles): 13-3
- Singles Titles: 1
- Prize money: $1,632,560
When the All England Lawn Tennis Club invited Kim Clijsters to play in an exhibition event to christen the new Centre Court roof little did they know what a major effect this decision would have on the world of professional tennis in 2009.
By the time the Belgian joined Steffi Graf, Andre Agassi and Tim Henman under the roof on May 17th she had already made the decision to return to the tour and had commenced full training to launch a comeback during the American hard court season leading up to the US Open.
/Generic/World%20News/2009.12.16_ClijstersatopeningofWimbledonroof-TH.jpg)
In the two years since her retirement in May 2007 she had got married and given birth to her daughter Jada. Settled and happy she had shown no signs of returning to the game and yet suddenly, and unexpectedly, training for the exhibition had reignited her passion for tennis and helped her rediscover her competitive drive.
Between 1997 and 2007 Clijsters amassed a 427-104 singles record.
Her much anticipated competitive return came in Cincinnati and straight away it was as if she had never left the tour. Victories over top twenty opponents Marion Bartoli and Patty Schnyder were backed up with a three-set win over French Open Champion Svetlana Kuznetsova to reach the quarter finals. It took a powerful performance from world number one Dinara Safina to take down the unranked wildcard 6-2 7-5.
Clijsters claimed 11 US hard court titles during the first stage of her career.
Clijsters’ second tournament was in Toronto where she beat qualifier Elena Baltacha and battled past world number nine Victoria Azarenka before falling 7-5 in the third set to Jelena Jankovic. It was evident heading into her first Grand Slam in two and a half years that the 26 year-old would be the most dangerous floater in the draw.
The popular Belgian had not played at Flushing Meadows since beating Mary Pierce in the 2005 final but picked up where she left off, sweeping into the last 16 with another victory over Bartoli. There she came face to face with two-time Champion Venus Williams and the pair treated the crowd to an electrifying see-saw encounter with Clijsters emerging triumphant 6-0 0-6 6-4.
Clijsters has now cut Williams’ head-to-head advantage to 6-5 and has won the last three meetings between the pair.
After comfortably beating Li Na in the quarter finals, Clijsters brilliantly came through 6-4 7-5 in the controversial semi-final against defending champion Serena Williams. She became the first ever player to beat both Williams sisters in the same tournament on two occasions – having also achieved the feat at the 2002 WTA Championships. Suddenly she was into her third US Open final in only her third tournament in 27 months.
Clijsters reached five Grand Slam singles finals before her retirement: 2001 Roland Garros (lost to Capriati), 2003 Roland Garros (lost to Henin), 2003 US Open (lost to Henin), 2004 Australian Open (lost to Henin) and 2005 US Open (beat Pierce).
Danish ninth seed Caroline Wozniacki was across the net and competed well in her first major final but it was Clijsters who dominated, buoyed by massive crowd support. After an hour and thirty three minutes the Belgian sealed an incredible 7-5 6-3 victory with a decisive overhead – her 36th winner of the match. As well as clinching her second Grand Slam title, she became the first mother to win a major title since Evonne Goolagong won Wimbledon in 1980.
/Generic/World%20News/2009.12.16_Clijsters-USOpen09_TH.jpg)
Clijsters joined 2001 Wimbledon Champion Goran Ivanisevic as the only wild card entries to have won Grand Slam singles titles.
After the US Open Clijsters re-entered the rankings in the top 20 but made just one further tour appearance falling to Schnyder in the second round of Luxembourg. It will be fascinating to see how she fares in 2010 with a slightly fuller schedule.
Certainly her stunning comeback was one of the best stories across all sports in 2009. While Monica Seles, Andre Agassi and Jennifer Capriati all manufactured hugely successful comebacks; none had achieved Clijsters’ spectacular immediate Grand Slam success.
3. Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS)
- Match record (singles): 43-16
- Singles Titles: 3
- Prize money: $3,658,841
Five years had passed since Svetlana Kuznetsova burst through at the very top of the game by unexpectedly winning the US Open title as a nineteen year-old in 2004. In the intervening years she had maintained a strong presence in the top ten without adding major titles; her best efforts being runner up finishes at the 2006 French Open and 2007 US Open – falling both times in straight sets to Justine Henin.
Kuznetsova first reached her career high ranking of 2 on September 10th 2007.
Kuznetsova successfully rid herself of the ‘one slam wonder’ tag in 2009 by winning the French Open title at Roland Garros. Seeded seventh, the Russian put in a typically solid performance in the final to overcome nervy compatriot Dinara Safina 6-4 6-2. En route to the final the 23 year-old had survived consecutive three set battles against Agnieszka Radwanska, Serena Williams and Sam Stosur.
/Generic/World%20News/2009.12.16_Svetlana%20Kuznetsova_FrenchOpen09-TH.jpg)
Kuznetsova waited four and a half years between Grand Slam titles, in recent years only Mary Pierce has waited longer with over five years between her 1995 Australian Open title and 2000 French Open title.
The Russian had hit top form on the European clay earlier in the spring by winning the inaugural Stuttgart indoor clay title beating Safina in the final. This ended a title drought dating back to New Haven in August 2007 and before the win she had fallen in her previous six finals. She then reached her second consecutive final at the Italian Open in Rome where Safina turned the tables to win 6-3 6-2.
Heading into 2010 Kuznetsova narrowly trails Safina 6-8 in their head to head series.
In October Kuznetsova won her third title of 2009 by beating Radwanska in the final of the Premier event in Beijing. This was the Russian’s 12th career WTA tour singles title and was her second title from four finals in the Chinese capital.
In her other Grand Slam appearances the Russian was three points from defeating Serena Williams in the Australian Open quarter finals Melbourne when serving ahead 7-5 5-4, only to fall 6-1 in the decider. At Wimbledon she was upset in the third round by the promising teenager Sabine Lisicki and in New York she was edged out on final set tie-break by Caroline Wozniacki in the fourth round.
Kuznetsova has reached two quarter finals in Melbourne and three at Wimbledon but has yet to progress to semi-final at either Slam.
The Russian ended the year with her fifth appearance at the end of year Championships in six years. In the round robin she narrowly fell to both the Williams sisters before beating compatriot Elena Dementieva, however this was not enough to see her through to the semi-finals for the first time.
4. Dinara Safina (RUS)
- Match record (singles): 55-16
- Singles Titles: 3
- Prize money: $4,310,218
In April Dinara Safina became the 19th player to become number one since the WTA computerised rankings began in 1975. In total she spent 26 weeks in the top spot during the year, reflecting the success she enjoyed for much of 2009.
Safina and her brother Marat Safin – who retired at the end of 2009 – are the first Brother and Sister to both achieve the number one singles ranking.
The Russian began the year by reaching her second Grand Slam final at the Australian Open in January. Seeded third, she saved two match points against Alize Cornet in the fourth round and battled past the resurgent Jelena Dokic 6-4 4-6 6-4 in the quarter finals before defeating compatriot Vera Zvonareva in the last four.
With the number one ranking on the line in the final against Serena Williams; Safina failed to produce her best tennis and only won three games against a rampant Williams.
Safina had lost 6-4 6-3 to Ana Ivanovic in her first Grand Slam final at Roland Garros in 2008.
After claiming the top spot in April; Safina hit top form on the European clay finishing runner up to Kuznetsova in Stuttgart. She went on to claim back-to-back Tier 1 titles at the Italian Open and Madrid including a win over Kuznetsova in the final in Rome. She entered Roland Garros in a strong position to win her first Grand Slam title.
Safina was in red-hot form on the clay in the early rounds in Paris dropping just five games en route to the quarter finals. In the last eight she was strongly challenged by Belarusian Victoria Azarenka but recovered to win 1-6 6-4 6-2 before brushing past surprise semi-finalist Dominika Cibulkova to reach her second consecutive final in the French capital.
In 1994 Mary Pierce set the Open Era record of only losing four games in reaching the French Open quarter finals.
/Generic/World%20News/2009.12.16_Dinara%20Safina-AustralianOpen-TH%20.jpg)
The form Safina displayed in her first six matches deserted her against Kuznetsova as she appeared overawed by nerves and failed to produce anywhere near her best tennis in the final. The final ended limply on a double fault as Safina tasted defeat for the third time in as many major finals.
Safina will hope to emulate Chris Evert who lost her first three Grand Slam finals before claiming a total of 18 major singles titles.
The Russian rebounded to produce a career best performance at Wimbledon by reaching the semi-finals for the first time, having never progressed beyond the third round in six previous visits on her least favourite surface. However, in the last four she suffered the heaviest ever Grand Slam defeat for a number one ranked player as five-time Champion Venus Williams destroyed her 6-1 6-0.
The second half of the year was less stellar for Safina as she struggled with a back injury, badly affecting her serve which helped contribute to a number of losses to much lower ranked opposition. She did, however, win the title in Portoroz and reach the final at Cincinnati leading into the US Open.
Safina has a career singles finals record of 12 won and 12 lost.
At the end of the year she qualified for her second consecutive Sony Ericsson Championships but had to retire due to her injured back after two games of her first round robin match with Jelena Jankovic. She was forced to withdraw from the event, thus ending her hopes of clinching the year-end number one ranking.
5. Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)
- Match record (singles): 67-24
- Singles Titles: 3
- Prize money: $2,371,550
The 2006 Wimbledon Junior Champion had a real breakthrough year as her smile, blonde ponytail and determined baseline game became a familiar sight at the latter stages of most tournaments.
The highlight of her year was reaching the final of the US Open, becoming the first Danish player in the Open Era to reach a major singles final. Heading into New York the teenager had not passed the fourth round of a Grand Slam, but comfortably surpassed this at Flushing Meadows dropping just one set in six matches.
In a fourth round night match the nineteen year old withstood a storming opening set from French Open Champion Svetlana Kuznetsova to win 2-6 7-6(7-5) 7-6(7-3) in front of a packed Arthur Ashe stadium. It was her first victory over a top ten opponent in a major championship.
Wozniacki’s previous best Grand Slam performances were reaching the fourth round at the Australian Open and US Open in 2008 and Wimbledon this year.
Facing 2005 Champion Kim Clijsters in the final; the teenager put in a valiant effort in the biggest match of her career. The Dane led 4-2 in the first set and led 30-love when serving for the set at 5-4 before the Belgian roared back to win an entertaining match 7-5 6-3.
/Generic/World%20News/2009-12-16_Caroline%20Wozniacki-USOpenfinal09-TH%20.jpg)
Wozniacki reached seven further finals in 2009, more than any other player on the WTA tour, and proved her versatility by having success on all surfaces. She won titles in Ponte Vedra Beach (clay), at the AEGON International in Eastbourne (grass) and at New Haven (hard).
The Dane has now won six WTA tour singles titles and two doubles titles.
Her ninety one singles matches were the most played on tour during the year and sixty seven wins were also the most achieved by any player.
Wozniacki qualified for the Sony Ericsson Championships for the first time and made a tremendous impression coming through two epic matches against Victoria Azarenka and Vera Zvonareva to reach the semi-finals. Once there, understandably drained, she was forced to retire against eventual champion Serena Williams when trailing by a set. It will surely not be the last time she appears at the prestigious tournament.
The Dane achieved her career high ranking of 4 on October 26th, where she finished the year. She had begun the year at No.12 and made her Top 10 debut in May before spending the rest of the year amongst the elite and is poised to move higher in 2010.
Read the ATP review of the year