2008 Revolving Doors

With the Tennisrulz Awards voting getting closer and closer, and the season's best eight players (err, well, at least the eight players with the most points who are ALSO healthy enough to travel to Madrid to participate) ready to face off in the WTA Championships next week, it seems an appropriate time to wonder who'll soon be moving in and out of the WTA Official Guide for 2008 based on their results during the nearly-completed 2007 season.

It's a wonderful acknowledgement for the tour to bestow upon a player the honor of being officially listed as a "mover and shaker" at the beginning of the new year... and a tremendous blow for a player (and her fans) to be dropped from the ranks of "the current." So, who might be passing each other in the Guide's revolving doors in a few months time?

==WELCOME INSIDE?==

Agnes Szavay/HUN: the only current Top 20 player who's not already in the Guide, the Hungarian Valkyrie will be one of the young players expected to make a big move next season.


Tamira Paszek/AUT: a year late, considering the teenager actually won her first tour singles title in 2006
Chia-Jung Chuang/TPE: doubles partner Yung-Jan Chan is already listed, and now the other half of the '07 doubles revelations will take her spot at her side (or at least she'll be just a few pages away)

Alize Cornet/FRA: the youngest Pastry qualified at two slams this year, and reached the U.S. Open 3rd Round

Olga Govortsova/BLR: bring on the Belarussians!

Yaroslava Shvedova/RUS: it's difficult to recall because it happened back in February, but this Hordette won her first tour title this season
Greta Arn/GER: at age 28, Arn won her first, as well

Ioana-Raluca Olaru/ROU & Sorana Cirstea/ROU: Cirstea reached a final, Olaru went as far as the semis (and their inclusion would give the Romanians three listings)
Sara Errani/ITA & Karin Knapp/ITA: both Noodles reached three tour SF this season

*NOT QUITE*

Pauline Parmentier/FRA: she won a surprise first tour title, but it was late enough in the year that she might miss out (call it "Paszek Syndrome")
Mariya Koryttseva/RUS & Yvonne Meusburger/AUT: though they did reach the first tour singles finals of their careers
Dominika Cibulkova/SVK & Petra Cetkovska/CZE: a Slovak and Czech, both in-waiting

*THERE'S STILL TIME*
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova/RUS: we'll see in 2008 if she can accomplish enough in her first full season as a pro to make the Guide in 2009

*ONE MORE YEAR TO WAIT?*

Agnieszka Radwanska/POL: A-Rad's sister only had one QF on tour this season, but it might be too tempting to avoid making it three sets of siblings listed in the new Guide

*IN THE ON-DECK CIRCLE*
Sesil Karatantcheva/BUL: meanwhile, waiting in the wings

==SHOWN THE DOOR?==

Martina Hingis/SUI: although one wonders if her sudden retirement under the shadow of drug allegations might have occurred too late to excise her from the Guide's printing

Kim Clijsters/BEL: of course, she COULD pull a Davenport... but don't hold your breath
Anna Smashnova/ISR: her ten-or-more tour titles, but no slam QF "feat" is still her's alone
Jennifer Capriati/USA: it appears the time has come to give up the ghost

Karolina Sprem/CRO: she's fallen completely off the tour radar... and it's not because of miscounted points, either

Galina Voskoboeva/RUS: the Russian numbers have to be curtailed SOMEWHERE, right?

Clarisa Fernandez/ARG & Paola Suarez/ARG: well, unless the tour has a big heart

Martina Sucha/SVK, Hana Sromova/CZE, Julia Schruff/GER & Olga Savchuk/UKR: too many "S's", maybe?

Alberta Brianti/ITA & Kirsten Flipkens/BEL: the more interesting issue might be exactly how these two came to be included in the 2007 Guide to begin with

Olga Poutchkova/RUS: maybe the Guide jumped the gun a bit by including her before this season?

Anna-Lena Groenefeld/GER: oh, have a heart for Girl Friday... give her a year of probation

Jamea Jackson/USA: holding the slow rehab from hip surgery against the Georgia Peach, are we?

*HOLD ON JUST A MOMENT&
Mary Pierce/FRA & Anastasia Myskina/RUS: even after non-existent 2007 campaigns, it's not yet time to let go
Elena Bovina/RUS: still hoping against hope (and maybe reality?) for a comeback, though

But then again, who knows how these decisions are made.

All for now.



2007 SEASON REVIEW EDITIONS OF WTA BACKSPIN:
....Tennisrulz Awards nominations
...How Smart We Were / How Dumb We Were
...Intriguing Answers: Scratching an Itch
...2008 Revolving doors

STILL TO COME:
...Intriguing Answers: The Top 20 (and then some)
...2007 Backspin Awards
...2007 Ms. Backspin
...2007 WTA Yearbook