2009 Regional Honors

The 2009 Backspin Awards are still a week away, so consider this something of a mini-preview... region by region.

==NORTH AMERICA==
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Serena Williams, USA
POY (RUNNER-UP): Venus Williams, USA
RISER: Aleksandra Wozniak, CAN
SURPRISE: Vania King, USA
VETERAN: Liezel Huber, USA
FRESH FACE: Melanie Oudin, USA
COMEBACK: Alexa Glatch, USA
DOWN: Mashona Washington, USA
ITF PLAYER: Valerie Tetreault, CAN
UNDERRATED: Carly Gullickson, USA
DOUBLES: Serena Williams/Venus Williams, USA
JUNIOR: Sloane Stephens, USA

==SOUTH AMERICA==
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Gisela Dulko, ARG
POY (RUNNER-UP): Mailen Auroux, ARG
RISER: Gabriela Paz, VEN
SURPRISE: Bianca Botto, PER
VETERAN: Rossana de los Rios, PER
FRESH FACE: Veronica Cepede Royg, PAR
COMEBACK: Catalina Castano, COL
DOWN: Mariana Duque Marino, COL
ITF PLAYER: Meilen Auroux, ARG
UNDERRATED: Maria Irigoyen, ARG
DOUBLES: Gisela Dulko, ARG
JUNIOR: Camila Silva, CHI

==ASIA/PACIFIC==
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Samantha Stosur, AUS
POY (RUNNER-UP): Li Na, CHN
RISER: Hsieh Su-Wei/Peng Shuai, TPE/CHN
SURPRISE: Zhang Shuai, CHN
VETERAN: Kimiko Date-Krumm, JPN
FRESH FACE: Chang Kai-Chen, TPE
COMEBACK: Jelena Dokic, AUS
DOWN: Chan Yung-Jan/Chuang Chia-Jung, TPE
ITF PLAYER: Sacha Jones, NZL
UNDERRATED: Yaroslava Shvedova, KAZ
DOUBLES: Samantha Stosur/Rennae Stubbs, AUS
JUNIOR: Noppawan Lertcheewakarn, THA

==AFRICA/MIDDLE EAST==
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Shahar Peer, ISR
POY (RUNNER-UP): Cara Black, ZIM
RISER: Pemra Ozgen, TUR
SURPRISE: Cagla Buyukakcay, TUR
VETERAN: Cara Black, ZIM
FRESH FACE: Ons Jabeur, TUN
COMEBACK: Shahar Peer, ISR
DOWN: Natalie Grandin, RSA
ITF PLAYER: Chanelle Scheepers, RSA
UNDERRATED: Chanelle Scheepers, RSA
DOUBLES: Cara Black, ZIM
JUNIOR: Chanel Simmonds, RSA

==RUSSIA==
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Svetlana Kuznetsova
POY (RUNNER-UP): Dinara Safina
RISER: Vera Zvonareva
SURPRISE: Elena Vesnina
VETERAN: Elena Dementieva
FRESH FACE: Ekaterina Makarova
COMEBACK: Maria Sharapova
DOWN: Anna Chakvetadze
ITF PLAYER: Regina Kulikova
UNDERRATED: Vera Dushevina
DOUBLES: Alisa Kleybanova
JUNIOR: Ksenia Pervak

==REST OF EUROPE==
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
POY (RUNNER-UP): Flavia Pennetta, ITA
RISER: Yanina Wickmayer, BEL
SURPRISE: Melinda Czink, HUN
VETERAN: Francesca Schiavone, ITA
FRESH FACE: Victoria Azarenka, BLR
COMEBACK: Kim Clijsters, BEL
DOWN: Ana Ivanovic, SRB
ITF PLAYER: Alexandra Dulgheru, ROU
UNDERRATED: Petra Kvitova, CZE
DOUBLES: Nuria Llagostera-Vives/Maria Jose Martinez-Sanchez, ESP
JUNIOR: Kristina Mladenovic, FRA



Hey, it's never too early to look ahead to next year. Two months from the kickoff of the 2010 season, the upcoming campaigns of which players would seem to be the most intriguing? Well, here are a few to watch...


Justine Henin & Kim Clijsters, BEL: Make no mistake, their '10 results will not only be judged against the field and their respective pasts, but also in comparison to one another. If Henin opens with a huge trip Down Under in January, will Clijsters' will wane? If Clijsters carries over her Open success to Melbourne, surely no one will wonder if Henin might lose HER comeback desire. Ah, a year of Backspin "back to the future" fun awaits.
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Sabine Lisicki, GER: if she can stay on the court, might a Top 10 run be in her near future?
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Melanie Oudin, USA: So far, the U.S. Open letdown has been in full effect. Next year, the pressure to improve even more will be still greater. Can she be continue to be as tough as she was this summer?
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Victoria Azarenka, BLR: In 2009, the A-Train both arrived on schedule and derailed at times throughout the season. Early in the season, she won her first title but literally couldn't take the heat in Melbourne. At the end of the season, she secured her Top 10 ranking but went out in the Doha heat with cramps. In between, at times, she looked like the next big WTA star, then imploded in a crash of anger and broken rackets at others. Which will she be in 2010?
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Yanina Wickmayer, BEL: Is the WTA big enough for THREE Belgians in the Top 15? How about the Top 10?
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Maria Sharapova, RUS: Back for a full season, with her serve on her side... maybe. If so, 2010 is going to be a great, wild ride for all.
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Urszula Radwanska, POL: By the end of next season, could Agnieszka be feeling Urszula's breath on the back of her neck when it comes to determining who's the best player in the family?
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Laura Robson & Heather Watson, GBR: There's safety in numbers, and England now has TWO young stars to root for. But which is going to have the brightest future?
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Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, RUS: Back-to-back late-season wins over Venus could mark the end of Pavlyuchenkova's apprenticeship and the beginning of the title-winning phase of her pro career.
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Sarah Gronert, GER: If she starts playing in and advancing through tour qualifiying rounds, might the whole controversy about Gronert's participation be sparked yet again?
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Klaudia Jans & Alicja Rosolska, POL: In their mid-twenties and one of the most regular, day-in-and-day-out teams on the tour, their results keep getting better.
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Chelsey Gullickson, USA: Will the Georgia Bulldog sophomore star carry over her in-season success and win the NCAA women's singles championship in 2010?
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Looking to "buy stock" in a few players for 2010? Getting cold feet and thinking you should "sell" your holdings in one of those past investments? Here are a few WTA "market tips"... take them to heart at your own peril.

=BUY=
NORTH AMERICA: Madison Keys, USA
...she's got a thunderous serve as a weapon, and she's still only 14.

SOUTH AMERICA: Roxane Vaisemberg/BRA & Veronica Cepede Royg, PAR
...there aren't many young South Americans winning ITF titles these days, but Vaisemberg (20) and Cepede Royg (17) did in '09.

ASIA/PACIFIC: Chang Kai-Chen, TPE
...her late-season win over Safina was just one of the name-dropping moments that's pushed the 18-year old to the cusp of the Top 100.

AFRICA/MIDDLE EAST: Shahar Peer, ISR
...with Dubai and the slump behind her, Peer should be ready to rock-n-roll again next season.

RUSSIA: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
...next stop: Top 20.

REST OF EUROPE: Sabine Lisicki, GER
...please stay healthy, please stay healthy, please stay healthy.

=SELL=
NORTH AMERICA: Lisa Raymond, USA
...time catches up with everyone eventually.

SOUTH AMERICA: Rossana de los Rios, PAR
...well, I had to pick someone, and DLR pulled the short straw.

ASIA/PACIFIC: Rennae Stubbs, AUS
...TV is calling, though she might be able to balance the two for a little while longer (of course, that's exactly what I said a year ago, and while she DID go title-less for the first time since 1991, Stubbs was still a Top 5 doubles player in '09).

AFRICA/MIDDLE EAST: Tzipora Obziler, ISR
...yeah, I know she's already retired. So, unless she's got a little Kimiko in her, your nest egg might be in danger if you held on to your Obziler stock for too long.

RUSSIA: Dinara Safina
...2009 was probably the best chance she's ever going to have to win a slam (ditto for Jelena Jankovic).

REST OF EUROPE: Kim Clijsters, BEL
...after she won the Open in '05, she didn't seem to really care if she won another slam. After winning her first in KC II, might the same happen? I know I won't be investing any money in the possibility that that WON'T be the case again.

=HAVE A LITTLE FAITH IN THE INVESTMENT=
NORTH AMERICA: Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA
...2009 was a year of change for newlywed Bethanie. Maybe after getting her bearings, she can finally go about trying to win that first WTA singles title in 2010.

SOUTH AMERICA: Betina Jozami, ARG
...she'll forget about blowing that Fed Cup match against Oudin. Some day.

ASIA/PACIFIC: Marina Erakovic/NZL & Casey Dellacqua/AUS
...after their promising careers were interrupted by injuries this season, it'll be a case of going back to the grind in '10.

AFRICA/MIDDLE EAST: Julia Glushko, ISR
...she looked promising in '08, but her coach made more news complaining about Gronert than his charge did on the court in '09.

RUSSIA: Nadia Petrova
...there are still some big moments left in those aching bones yet. Hopefully.

REST OF EUROPE: Agnes Szavay, HUN
...a series of bad days and bad draws forestalled the Valkyrie's seemingly-accomplished '09 return to form. In 2010, maybe Szavay will be able to maintain her momentum all season long.

All for now.



2009 SEASON REVIEW/OFFSEASON EDITIONS OF WTA BACKSPIN:
...Revolving Doors - 2010 WTA Guide Preview
...2009 Regional Honors & '10 All-Intriguing Team and Market Tips
...The Decade's Best: Top 25 Players & Final Awards
...Backspin Awards (coming soon)
...Ms. Backspin (coming soon)
...WTA Yearbook (coming soon)
...BACKSPIN "WHAT IF?" SPECIAL (featuring "Anna Kournikova") (this offseason)
...ITF Backspin (every Monday throughout November & December)
...2010 Preview Series (in December)

Read more...

Wk.42- And 2009's "Ms.Backspin"-to-Be is...?

Umm, sorry about the bait-and-switch, but the official "Ms.Backspin" unveiling is still a couple of weeks away. Of course, that doesn't mean the nominations aren't in.

With just three major events -- the Season-Ending Championships this week in Doha, the ironically-named "Touraments of Champions" next week in Bali, as well as the Fed Cup final -- left in the 2009 WTA season, determining this season's "Ms.Backspin" partially comes down to, as it often does, how much weight is given to a player's performance in the slams and the "regular" tour schedule. Last year, without a dominant player in the wake of Justine Henin's then-retirement, I went with the most dominant 2008 force in the women's game -- the doubles team of Cara Black and Liezel Huber -- and ultimately loved the choice.

The duo aren't in the running this year. In fact, with the season's most powerful doubles team, Serena and Venus Williams, only playing in the slams (they won three, though) in '09, no doubles team can even sniff a Ms. Backspin nomination this year. In the end, when throwing in ALL the season's singles slam champions just for the purpose of discussion, there are STILL only five nominees in the mix.

Here they are:

=Ms. Backspin '09 NOMINEES=
Dinara Safina/RUS
...the current #1 (again), but maybe not for long, Safina's regular-tour domination gives her a good argument for Ms.B honors. But her slam flameouts are a HUGE demerit, and even her season-long consistency has taken a tremendous hit since the U.S. Open, as she was part of a record a #1 never wants to touch --- that of being the victim in the biggest ranking upset of a top-ranked woman in WTA history when she lost to #226 Zhang Shuai a few weeks ago. Truthfully, she'd need a dominant SEC championship to even be considered. And even that probably wouldn't be enough.

Serena Williams/USA
...she won two singles slams titles and three doubles slams in 2009, but her virtual no-show in the latter stages of events the rest of the season (her RU in Miami was only other final) puts her candidacy in question. "All-or-nothing" should not be in Ms.Backspin's vocabulary. She could very well end the year at #1, and a SEC title (or two) would be a huge feather in her Ms.Backspin cap. She probably SHOULD win this, but I'm still not sure she's got the award by the throat. Umm, was that a poor choice of words? (Whether it was or not, though, that "little incident" at the U.S. Open has no tangible bearing one way or the other on this year's honor.)

Fed Cup champions
...a year after having co-Ms.Backpin winners for the first time, this would be a case of doubling the previous pleasure. And, to be honest, I'm liking the idea of that. Either the Italian or American teams would be worthy honorees. The Italians, led by the likes of Flavia Pennetta and Francesca Schiavone, have burned a path through past FC champions en route to next week's final, taking out both France (5-0) and Russia (4-1) -- the only FC champions other than the Italians since 2003 -- with ease to earn a chance at a second Cup in four years (in the team's third final during the span). Meanwhile, first-year coach Mary Joe Fernandez's American team has been a true Cinderella all season long, advancing against long odds with seeming "B" team lineups and FC neophytes being called upon to win huge do-or-die matches. A win in the final, even if the Williams Sisters take part, would be a monumentally unexpected outcome. Plus, honoring an American FC championship team would allow for the likes of players with names like Oudin, Glatch and Huber (who'd actually "defend" half of the Ms.B crown) to share the crowded spotlight. Yep, no matter who wins, I'm liking the idea of this more and more with every second.

Svetlana Kuznetsova/RUS
...she had a nice "comeback" season with her title at Roland Garros, but it'll have to end there.

Kim Clijsters/BEL
...puh-leeze. Kudos on the Open, but one win does not a Ms.Backpin make.

(CLANG...CRASH!!!)

What was that, you ask? Why, that was the sound of the fabled Clijsters/Backspin "slate" flying out the window of the offices at Backspin HQ and smashing into a hundred pieces on the sidewalk below. I HAVE to toss it out now before things gets worse. You see, since Clijsters won the U.S. Open I haven't gotten a SINGLE Backspin pick correct this 4th Quarter.

Coincidence? I don't think so.

Then, Clijsters returns to the tour last week in Luxembourg for the first time since her win in New York. In a show of support for the slate (and supposed logic), of course, I picked her to win. What does she do? She loses in the 2nd Round to Patty Schnyder... the same Patty she handled in straight sets in her second match back this summer in Cincinnati following her two-year retirement. Thus, I'm through with paying that maid's service bill that's been plopped on my desk the last few months, as I've tried ever-so-hard to keep the slate clean. Without a buffer, there's no pulling of virtual punches from here on out.

[BACKSPIN'S WTA RULE OF LIFE #1: Never trust a Clijsters.]

Words to live by, I'd say. On a related note, we now have a port of arrival for La Petit Taureau II... Week 1 in Brisbane next January. Bring it on, indeed.

Now, where was I? Oh, yeah... "Ms.Backspin" is coming soon, too.

*WEEK 42 CHAMPIONS*

MOSCOW, RUSSIA (Premier $1m/hard indoor)
S: Francesca Schiavone def. Olga Govortsova 6-3/6-0
D: Kirilenko/Petrova d. Kondratieva/Zakopalova

LUXEMBOURG, LUXEMBOURG (Int'l $220K/hard indoor)
S: Timea Bacsinszky def. Sabine Lisicki 6-2/7-5
D: Benesova/Zahlavova Strycova d. Uhlirova/Voracova


PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Francesca Schiavone/ITA
...the thirteenth time was a charm for Schiavone, as she left that unruly camel back in Osaka and won her second career tour title in Moscow, improving her overall record in finals to 2-11 and raising a singles trophy for the first time since taking Bad Gastein in 2007. Along the way, she got wins over Nuria Llagostera-Vives, Monica Niculescu, Maria Kirilenko, Alona Bondarenko and Olga Govortsova in the final.
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RISERS: Sabine Lisicki/GER & Maria Kirilenko/RUS
...it seems like forever since Lisicki was actually healthy, but she finally was last week in Luxembourg. Reaching her first final since winning in Charleston, the just-turned-20 year old German knocked off Iveta Benesova, Polona Hercog, Patty Schnyder and Shahar Peer en route. Meanwhile, Moscow native Kirilenko had a pretty productive week in her home town. In singles, she got wins over Agnieszka Radwanska (assuring A-Rad would miss the SEC) and Aleksandra Wozniak. Later, she won the doubles title with Nadia Petrova.
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SURPRISES: Olga Govortsova/BLR & Tsvetana Pironkova/BUL
...Victoria Azarenka was the Belarusian who opened the season with great results (winning her first WTA title in Week 1), but it's her countrywoman Govortsova who managed to close out the WTA's regular schedule with her second career appearance in a tour final. (Sure, Azarenka plays this week in Doha, but her recent results don't make one feel very confident predicting anything resembling a similar end to HER '09.) '08 Memphis runner-up Govortsova, 21, reached the Moscow final after wins over Ksenia Pervak, Maria Jose Martinez-Sanchez, Vera Dushevina and Alisa Kleybanova. Also in Moscow, Pironkova showed once again why she's one of the most perplexing players on tour. Just as capable of losing in the 1st Round as she is of upsetting a Top 10er in any given round, the Bulgarian was a virtual Russian-Killer-not-named-Oudin as she qualified (she got a win over Alla Kudryavtseva) and took down both Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and #1-seed Vera Zvonareva (love-and two, even though she was playing for a spot in the SEC) in the main draw. It's a great result for Pironkova, but it ultimately raises more questions about her than it answers.
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VETERAN: Patty Schnyder/SUI
...maybe we shouldn't write off Sneaky Patty just yet. Who knows whether or not she's been thinking of retirement lately, but if she has been maybe her week in Luxembourg will edge her in a particular direction. After the lackluster season Schnyder's had, it's certainly hard to not be at least a little encouraged by wins over Petra Kvitova and Kim Clijsters.
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FRESH FACES: Timea Bacsinszky/SUI & Yulia Putintseva/RUS
...20-year old Bacsinszky got wins over a bevy of veterans in the early going in Luxembourg, taking out Julie Coin, Roberta Vinci and Katarina Srebotnik. Then, in the latter rounds, she upset younger counterparts Yanina Wickmayer (reaching her first tour final) and Sabine Lisicki (to claim her maiden title) and end her tour season on a glorious note. Hingis isn't coming back, while Schnyder is a question mark... but Switzerland's time on the WTA stage isn't over. Meanwhile, 14-year old Hordette Putintseva, who was ripping through the junior circuit a few months ago, put on something of a mini-show in the qualifying rounds in Luxembourg. She got wins over Stefanie Voegele (another Swiss Miss) and Claudine Schaul before losing to Kirsten Flipkens.
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DOWN: Caroline Wozniacki/DEN & Kim Clijsters/BEL
...the whole Wozniacki/Kremer issue seems so much a tempest in a tea pot. Yes, it DOES look odd when Wozniacki retires from a match while leading 7-5/5-0, but to have the tennis "integrity police" investigating the match for any possible "hinkyness" and betting irregularities seems to almost be an insult to Wozniacki's intelligence, as well as that of any tennis fan who has followed her over the past few years. Essentially, believing there to be any wrongdoing here (C-Woz injured her hamstring, and didn't want to risk her SEC role this week by playing in the next match, so she said she retired to allow crowd favorite Anne Kremer to advance) is assuming one or both of two things: that either C-Woz is as dumb as a box of Slazenger's ("throwing" a match by retiring at 7-5/5-0 would be like Caroline running naked through an Odense church service and not expecting anyone to notice), or that she's the perpetrator of the most brilliant sports con on record, expertly putting forth a charming persona so she could get away with a most blatant sports "fix" while she laughs with evil glee in the shadows of the lockerroom about how she fooled everyone. Wozniacki has said that she likes to learn off the court -- even hinting that she might attend Yale -- because it makes her feel smarter, but I don't think she's an evil, pinky-to-the-mouth genius. No, it was really more a case of her being too nice and honest for her own good, not only stepping aside for Kremer's benefit, but admitting it afterward. Not the way to go, Caroline.

[BACKSPIN'S RULE OF WTA LIFE #2: In tennis, never let your better angels win out when they're in competition with good judgment. Perception isn't reality... but try convincing SOME PEOPLE that.]

Maybe Caroline should have sought out friend Sorana Cirstea and simply kissed the girl. After all, the "I Kissed a Girl" defense worked out pretty well for Richard Gasquet.

Then, there's Clijsters. She defeated Schnyder 6-2/7-5 in Cincinnati, but after proving her worth in NYC, she lost to her in Luxembourg. So, is THIS a return to form of the OLD Kim? You know, the player who made a habit of crumbling under the pressure of expectation. Clijsters wasn't expected to win the Open, but she did. For the first time in her comeback, she was SUPPOSED to win Luxembourg. She lost in the 2nd Round. In 2005, after winning at Flushing Meadows, Clijsters seemed sated and never came close to winning another slam before she retired. Has she already reached that point in KC 2? We'll see. But it's possible we've already seen the best that Clijsters has to give.
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ITF PLAYER: Pauline Parmentier/FRA
...Parmentier, maybe the most anonymous player to win two WTA titles in the two seasons prior to this one, has slipped out of the Top 100 over the course of 2009. But she DID manage to show some fight back potential last week, taking the $50K Saint Raphael title in France, defeating Sandra Zahlavova 7-6/6-2 in the final.
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JUNIOR STAR: Kristina Mladenovic/FRA
...#2-ranked world junior Mladenovic, this year's Girls Roland Garros champ, won the Osaka Mayor's Cup World Super Junior event, taking out world #4 Timea Babos 7-6/6-3 in the final.
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1. Lux 1st Rd - Kremer d. Wozniacki
...5-7/0-5 ret. Kremer got by due to the kindness of strangers... twice. First, when she entered the draw as a lucky loser when Melanie Oudin pulled out with an illness, then when an injured C-Woz retired one game away from victory to avoid having to so out with a walkover in the next round, preserving her health for Doha and giving Luxembourg's Own Kremer a free pass to the 2nd Round. If any bets were made because of possible changeover talk of a Wozniacki retirement between the Dane and her father, as has been speculated, well, then, what better reason than that to finally turn off those intrusive-and-unnecessary microphones during said tour-instituted meetings? From here, it would seem like the idea of C-Woz "throwing" a match would be akin to thinking Clijsters is the antichrist.

(pause)

Ummm, well, maybe that's not the BEST analogy.

(He said, keeping open ALL possibilites for 2010.)
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2. Lux 2nd Rd - Schnyder d. Clijsters
...6-4/3-6/7-6. Patty ends on a high note. Kim... well, we've got all of next season (probably, but I guess that's up to KC) to see if this means anything.
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3. Lux 1st Rd - Srebotnik d. Groenefeld
...7-5/6-3. These two won a doubles titles together last week. Showing she didn't need ALG to succeed, Srebotnik beat her here and reached the Luxembourg doubles SF with Meghann Shaughnessy in Luxembourg. The Slovenian reached the singles QF, too, notching her best result since her comeback from injury, setting her up for a resurgent '10 (remember, Srebotnik won a classic match against Henin just weeks before the Belgian's '08 retirement, and defeated Serena earlier that season).
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4. Mos 1st Rd - Jankovic d. Shvedova
...6-4/5-7/6-1. Shvedova upset Jankovic at the U.S. Open. Jelena got some measure of revenge, then got one more victory, enough to edge-out Vera Zvonareva by 5 points for the #8 slot in the Season-Ending Championships.
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5. Lux 1st Rd - Niculescu d. Cirstea
...3-0 ret. The past few months haven't been very good for Sorana. Maybe she should call Katy Perry?
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6. $10K Antalya-Belek Final - Cristina Dinu d. Anna Orlik
...6-4/6-3. The 16-year old Romanian adds her name to the increasing number of Swarmettes-to-watch.
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7. Mos 1st Rd - Szavay d. Pennetta
...4-6/0-3 ret. Hmmm, maybe the "integrity police" should investigate this one. See, Caroline, you CAN be a bit smarter about these things. [BACKSPIN'S WTA RULE OF LIFE #3: If you can, retire two games earlier.]
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8. Lux 2nd Rd - Srebotnik d. Kremer
...2-6/6-4/6-0. Why not check out this one, too? I mean, that love 3rd set seems "mighty suspicious" to me, you know. [BACKSPIN'S WTA RULE OF LIFE #4: If you live by the kindness of strangers, be prepared to die by the lack of it in the next round.]
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9. Lux QF - Wickmayer d. Flipkens
...7-6/4-6/6-1. An all-Belgian match WITHOUT you-know-who? Why is that not surprising?
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10. Lux Doub QF - Benesova/Zahlavova-Strycova d. Clijsters/Flipkens
...3-6/6-3/10-5. I plead the Fifth Amendment.
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HM- Moscow F - Schiavone d. Govortsova 6-3/6-0
Lux F - Bacsinszky d. Lisicki 6-2/7-5
... Oh, yeah. They played finals in Moscow and Luxembourg, too.
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**2009 FIRST-TIME CHAMPS - BY NATION**
2...Germany (Lisicki/Petkovic)
1...Australia (Stosur)
1...Belarus (Azarenka)
1...Belgium (Wickmayer)
1...Czech Republic (Kvitova)
1...France (Rezai)
1...Hungary (Czink)
1...Romania (Dulgheru)
1...Russia (Dushevina)
1...Slovak Republic (Rybarikova)
1...Spain (Martinez-Sanchez)
1...SWITZERLAND (BACSINSZKY)

**2009 FIRST-TIME FINALISTS - BY NATION**
2...Romania (Dulgheru/Olaru)
2...Russia (Makarova/Vesnina)
1...Germany (Petkovic)
1...Italy (Brianti)
1...Slovak Republic (Rybarikova)
1...Spain (Suarez-Navarro)
1...SWITZERLAND (BACSISZKY)

**MOST 2009 WTA SF**
10...Dinara Safina (8-2)
10...Elena Dementieva (3-6 +W)
9...Caroline Wozniacki (8-1)
8...Serena Williams (3-4 +L)
8...Flavia Pennetta (3-5)
6...Venus Williams (4-2)
6...Marion Bartoli (3-3)
5...Svetlana Kuznetsova (4-1)
5...Victoria Azarenka (3-2)
5...FRANCESCA SCHIAVONE (3-2)
5...YANINA WICKMAYER (3-2)
5...SHAHAR PEER (2-3)

**CONSECUTIVE WTA FINALS**
4...Dinara Safina (May, 2-2)
2...Elena Dementieva (January, 2-0)
2...Venus Williams (February, 2-0)
2...Flavia Pennetta (July/August, 2-0)
2...Shahar Peer (September, 2-0)
2...Caroline Wozniacki (April, 1-1)
2...Svetlana Kuznetsova (May, 1-1)
2...Caroline Wozniacki (August/September, 1-1)
2...FRANCESCA SCHIAVONE (OCTOBER, 1-1)
2...Dinara Safina (January/February, 0-2)
2...Ekaterina Makarova (May, 0-2)

**OLDEST 2009 CHAMPIONS**
38y,11m,30d - Kimiko Date-Krumm, JPN (Seoul)
32y,1m - Tamarine Tanasugarn, THA ('s-Hertogenbosch)
29y,2m,3w - Sybille Bammer, AUT (Prague)
29y,7m,1w - Amelie Mauresmo, FRA (Paris)
29y,4m - FRANCESCA SCHIAVONE, ITA (MOSCOW)
28y,8m,2w - Venus Williams, USA (Acapulco)
28y,8m,1w - Venus Williams, USA (Dubai)

**MOST DIFFERENT 2009 CHAMPIONS - NATIONS**
6 - RUS (Dementieva/Dushevina/Kuznetsova/Safina/Sharapova/Zvonareva)
3 - FRA (Bartoli/Mauresmo/Rezai)
3 - ITA (PENNETTA/SCHIAVONE/VINCI)





SEASON-ENDING CHAMPIONSHIPS (Doha, Qatar - hard outdoor)
08 Singles Final: V.Williams d. Zvonareva
08 Doubles Final: Black/Huber d. Peschke/Stubbs
=============================
=Round Robin=
*WHITE GROUP*
(1)Safina (2-1)
(4)Wozniacki (1-2)
(6)Azarenka (1-2)
(8)Jelena Jankovic (2-1)
*MAROON GROUP*
(2)S.Williams (2-1)
(3)Kuznetsova (1-2)
(5)Dementieva (2-1)
(7)V.Williams (1-2)

=SF=
Dementieva d. Jankovic
S.Williams d. Safina
=FINAL=
Dementieva d. S.Williams

=DOUBLES FINAL=
Williams/Williams d. Black/Huber

...#1 gets decided (on the computer, but not necessarily in the "Ms. Backspin" race).


All for now.



NEXT: 2009 Regional Honors (w/ '10 All-Intriguing Line-up & Market Tips) and "Top 25 Players of the Decade - #6-10"

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The Decade's Best: Players #11-15

Backspin's "Decade's Best" countdown of the top players of the 2000's continues today, with a look at the five players who just missed out on being in the final Top 10. Hence, for the most part, numbers 11-through-15 include women who accomplished many great things during the past decade, but simply don't have enough "oomph" behind them to be in the mix when the discussion comes around to the "best" individual player (i.e. predominantly-singles champion) from 2000-09.

Save for one, who is likely the most accomplished active singles player to have never won a grand slam, these five women are mostly known for their doubles play. Still, though, a few have more significant singles pasts than many might realize, as time and faulty memories long-ago pushed aside such "forgotten" realities in favor of the "more tangible" championship-level doubles results they consistently put up throughout the last ten seasons (and, in most cases, nearly ten more in the 1990's).

In the end, all of these players will likely be underrated in the eyes of history once their careers have long since been concluded. Over time, they'll be well-known, as their names litter the WTA's history books, but they're fall short of anything approaching the "legendary" status of many of the players in the final Top 10. Of course, that doesn't mean they shouldn't be honored and given their rightful place in the heirarchy of the sport:

So, in an attempt to do so, here are Players #11-15:

#15 - Elena Dementieva, RUS


Though she ranks on the bottom rung of this particular five-player ladder, Dementieva is the one woman who isn't somewhat "anonymous" to semi-casual followers of the sport. And that says a great deal about what she HAS managed to accomplish in her career, even while playing most of it with a serve that at times seemed to be something MORE than a simple liability. Still, that ugly serve, which she's only in recent seasons found a way to improve and turn into a sometimes-weapon, is probably THE reason why she's arguably the best women's player in the world to so far still be missing a grand slam singles championship. Nonethless, the two-time slam finalist ('04 Roland Garros & U.S. Open) and Olympic Gold ('08) and Silver ('04) Medalist with the crisp groundstrokes that have traditionally been the envy of most of the women on tour is without question one of the top players of the decade.

It took Dementieva until age 21 (in 2003) to finally win her first career tour singles title, as I had come to refer to her in this space as "Punch-Drunk" because of her propensity to take the 1st set against lesser-ranked opponents only to stumble around and ultimately squander the match, but she's since become a regular WTA titlist. Morphing into "Punch-Sober," she's now won fourteen titles (second on the all-time Russian list behind Maria Sharapova) and is ending the decade with four consecutive multiple-title seasons, the longest current streak on tour. A Top 20 player since 2000, she's been a year-end Top 10er every year except one ('07) since 2003. After having reached a career-high #4 ranking on the back on her two slam runner-up results in '04, she returned to the spot in '08 before bettering it in '09 (#3). Still in pursuit of that elusive slam championship, her RU's have been joined by an additional four slam SF, three QF and ten 4th Round results over the years. In 2009, she narrowly missed a third slam final appearance when she failed to convert match point in the Wimbledon semis against eventual champion Serena Williams in one of the classic matches of the 2000's.

While not a regular doubles participant, Dementieva has had her share of success outside of singles, as well. She's won six tour titles, including a Season-Ending Championships title in '02 (with Janette Husarova), and slam Doubles RU results at the '02 and '05 U.S. Open. In 2003, she reached a career-high doubles rank of #5.

When Dementieva faced Anastasia Myskina in the Roland Garros final in '04, it was the first time two Russians faced off for a slam crown (Dementieva faced another countrywoman, Svetlana Kuznetsova, in the U.S. Open final that summer, too). It was fitting that Dementieva participated in both historic matches, considering she's appeared in more all-Russian tour finals (11) than any other Hordette. Her six wins in those matches also tops the list. So, that she's missing a slam singles title on her resume will remain a sore point, even if Dementieva forever holds to her initial belief that her Olympic Gold in Beijing last year was as good or better than winning an actual slam title. I'm sure she was sincere when she said it... but, if given the opportunity in the future, it's more than likely that she might reconsider, too.

Unlike the rest of the players ranked #11-15, whose careers are either over or in their twilight, Punch-Sober still has some unfinished business. And with her ground strokes still amongst the best in the game, and her serve no longer the worst, she might just get that opportunity yet. Having surpassed 500 career match wins in '09, reached the Australian Open and Wimbledon semifinals, and won the U.S. Open Series, Dementieva's game is still more than slam-worthy. At times, she's played the best tennis of her life over the past year-plus, and even though the closing of her "viable" championship window is within sight at age 28, she still has time to put a grand slam topper on her just-one-win-away-from Hall of Fame-worthy career. It won't be easy... but such challenges haven't prevented Dementieva from great achievements in the past, so why should such a thing stop her now?

#14 - Rennae Stubbs, AUS


Over the course of her now twenty three-year career (she played doubles in her first pro event in 1986), Stubbs has managed to copy a player archetype rarely seen on the women's tour these days. While super-successful doubles-only players have been common on the ATP circuit for ages, in the current day and age, the Aussie's nearly decade-long status as such makes her a rare bird on the WTA tour. A doubles-exclusive player since 2001, Stubbs has put together one of the most consistently successful doubles careers in WTA history.

A Top 10er since 1998, Stubbs briefly held the #1 ranking along with longtime partner Lisa Raymond for three weeks in 2000. She never returned to the top spot, but she never stopped winning, either. In all, she's claimed 59 career doubles titles (12th all-time), 39 coming in the 2000's. A six-time slam champ (four Doubles titles from 2000-04, and two Mixed crowns in 2000-01), she became the first woman in the Open era to win both the Australian Open Doubles and Mixed titles in the same same year when she did so in Melbourne in '00. In 2001, she added a Season-Ending Championship win, and has been a part of the Doubles runner-up team four other times over the five-year stretch from 2004-08. Teaming with some of the other best doubles players of her era (Raymond, Cara Black, Kveta Peschke & Samantha Stosur), Stubbs has been -- and still is -- in the mix for titles nearly every time she's taken the court for more than a decade.

Stubbs DID dabble in singles early in her career. She won two ITF singles titles and reached the WTA-level Quebec City SF in 1995. But her 5-19 slam singles record made it apparent that she was never going to become a great individual star in the sport. She knew where her talent lied, and she intelligently played to it. Her last slam main draw match was in 1998, and it's hard to describe her chosen career path as anything but a brilliant decision. Right now, even without a tour title thus far in '09 (for the first time since 1991), Stubbs is still a Top 5-ranked doubles player at age 38, with a runner-up result at Wimbledon and U.S. Open SF (both with Stosur) under her belt this season, as well as a World Team Tennis title as a member of the Washington Kastles.

No matter how much longer she sticks on tour, the Aussie is poised to be around the sport in one capacity for quite a bit longer. Not one to be without an opinion over the years, Stubbs is already moonlighting as a television tennis commentator and it looks as if she's once again making a picture-perfect career decision.

#12 (tie) - Virginia Ruano Pascual, ESP & Paola Suarez, ARG


Make no mistake, if not for Ruano Pascual and Suarez's doubles results with each other, neither would be making an appearance on this list. But as the most accomplished, "regular" doubles team (in other words, not named Williams) of the decade, they more than earned their way here.

Together, the pair won eight slam titles (all from 2001-05), fourth on the all-time Open era list for a duo, behind the pairings of Navratilova/Shriver, G.Fernandez/Zverera and Williams/Williams. VRP/Suarez won four Roland Garros titles over a five-year stretch, three straight U.S. Open titles (2002-04) and one Australian Open ('04). In 2004, they won all three. They never claimed a Wimbledon crown, but they finished as runners-up on three occasions. In 2003, they won the Season-Ending Championship, and were named Doubles Team of the Year by the WTA tour from 2002-04. In all, they teamed for 32 titles. Suarez won 44 in her career, 34 in the 2000's; while Ruano Pascual has so far won 42, with 38 coming this decade.

Argentine Suarez held the #1 doubles ranking for a total of nineteen months from 2002-04, sharing the spot with VRP for three weeks. Spain's Ruano Pascual ended up holding the top spot for sixteen consecutive months from 2004-05, the fifth-longest streak since the WTA first began computing doubles rankings in 1984. While Suarez never won a slam with another partner, VRP has done so three times. She won the '01 Roland Garros Mixed with Tomas Carbonell, and has claimed the last two Roland Garros Doubles championships with Anabel Medina-Garrigues.

In singles, Suarez was the better player. Reaching a career-high of #9 in 2004, she finished in the year-end Top 20 twice during the decade (2003-04). Three of her four career singles titles came during the 2000's, as did a Roland Garros SF result in '04 and three other slam QF from 2002-04. Ruano Pascual's career high singles rank has been #28 (in 1999), but she managed to maintain a Top 100 ranking for all but one season from 1995-07. She won one tour singles title in Tashkent in '03 (she had two other RU results in the 1990's), and had a slam QF at the Australian Open in '03 (she was also a RG quarterfinalist in '95).

Both Suarez and Ruano Pascual are Olympic Medalists. Suarez won the 2004 Doubles Bronze with Patricia Tarabini, while VRP is a two-time Silver Medalist, having finished on the medal stand with both Conchita Martinez ('04) and Medina-Garrigues ('08).

Suarez underwent hip surgery in 2005, then returned a season later. She won five Doubles titles the next two seasons before retiring in '07. None of the title were won with Ruano Pascual. Meanwhile, VRP is still around. At age 36, she's a Top 10 doubles player and added Wimbledon Doubles and Mixed SF results this season to go along with the title at Roland Garros that awarded her with her eleventh career slam championship.

#11 - Lisa Raymond, USA


Raymond, in my humble opinion, is the most underrated women's player of the past fifteen years.

While her serve-and-volley style making her a legitimate singles threat earlier in her career, history will note the American for her doubles success. A Top 20 doubles player since 1994, she was a year-end Top 10er from 1998-08. Her 68 career tour doubles titles (53 of which came during the 2000's) put her in a tie for eighth place on the all-time list. Raymond's longtime partnerships with Rennae Stubbs and Samantha Stosur produced six slam titles, three Season-Ending Championship crowns and seven other slam runner-up results from 2000-08. She's won four additional Mixed Doubles slam titles, two coming this decade ('02 U.S. Open & '03 RG). First reaching the doubles #1 ranking in 2000, Raymond grabbed the spot four times in her career and held the position for a total of 117 weeks, the third-longest time at the top in WTA history.

Before she turned pro, Raymond was a singles star in college at the University of Florida. As a Gator, she became the first woman to win three collegiate grand slams in a single season in 1991-92, and was the NCAA women's champion in 1992 and 1993. During her WTA career, she won four singles titles (three in the 2000's, along with three more RU) and reached a career-high of #15 in 1997. Her two slam QF results came at Wimbledon ('00) and the Australian Open (in 2004, when she upset Venus Williams), and she reached six additional 4th Rounds in her career. Not surprisingly, her serve-and-volley style worked best on the grass of the All-England Club, as she sported a 24-14 career mark, though may be best remembered for her failure to complete another slam upset of Venus despite leading their '06 2nd Round match 7-6/5-2. Raymond ended her singles career following the 2007 season.

Just this month, Raymond teamed with Chuang Chia-Jung for a WTA title in Osaka, making the Taiwanese player the ninth different woman with which she's claimed a tour championship. It was the first title of the season for the 36-year old American, making her the oldest doubles champ of '09 and running her consecutive seasons with a title streak to seventeen. The win moved her back into the Top 20, as well, making it possible that she could end the season there for a sixteenth straight year.

NEXT: #6-10




1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11. Lisa Raymond, USA
12t. Virginia Ruano Pascual, ESP
12t. Paola Suarez, ARG
14. Rennae Stubbs, AUS
15. Elena Dementieva, RUS
16. Martina Hingis, SUI
17. Liezel Huber, RSA/USA
18. Mary Pierce, FRA
19. Dinara Safina, RUS
20. Daniela Hantuchova, SVK
21. Ana Ivanovic, SRB
22. Jelena Jankovic, SRB
23. Ai Sugiyama, JPN
24. Anastasia Myskina, RUS
25. Patty Schnyder, SUI
HONORABLE MENTION- Martina Navratilova, USA

Here are the remaining 10 players on the countdown list:

Cara Black
Jennifer Capriati
Kim Clijsters
Lindsay Davenport
Justine Henin
Svetlana Kuznetsova
Amelie Mauresmo
Maria Sharapova
Serena Williams
Venus Williams

*BACKSPIN'S 2000-09 HONOR ROLL, #27-113*
Nicole Arendt
Shinobu Asagoe
Victoria Azarenka
Sybille Bammer
Marion Bartoli
Daja Bedanova
Alona Bondarenko
Kateryna Bondarenko
Kristie Boogert
Elena Bovina
Severine Bremond
Els Callens
Anna Chakvetadze
Chan Yung-Jan
Chuang Chia-Jung
Dominika Cibulkova
Sorana Cirstea
Amanda Coetzer
Eleni Daniilidou
Nathalie Dechy
Casey Dellacqua
Mariaan de Swardt
Jelena Dokic
Silvia Farina Elia
Clarisa Fernandez
Tatiana Golovin
Anna-Lena Groenefeld
Carly Gullickson
Julie Halard-Decugis
Anke Huber
Janette Husarova
Kaia Kanepi
Sesil Karatantcheva
Vania King
Anna Kournikova
Michaella Krajicek
Lina Krasnoroutskaya
Li Na
Li Ting
Elena Likhovtseva
Sabine Lisicki
Petra Mandula
Marta Marrero
Conchita Martinez
Anabel Medina-Garrigues
Sania Mirza
Alicia Molik
Corina Morariu
Miriam Oremans
Melanie Oudin
Shahar Peer
Flavia Pennetta
Tatiana Perebiynis
Kveta Peschke
Nadia Petrova
Kimberly Po-Messerli
Agnieszka Radwanska
Anastasia Rodionova
Chanda Rubin
Lucie Safarova
Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario
Mara Santangelo
Barbara Schett
Francesca Schiavone
Monica Seles
Magui Serna
Antonella Serra-Zanetti
Meghann Shaughnessy
Anna Smashnova
Karolina Sprem
Katarina Srebnotnik
Samantha Stosur
Carla Suarez-Navarro
Sun Tiantian
Agnes Szavay
Tamarine Tanasugarn
Patricia Tarabini
Nathalie Tauziat
Nicole Vaidisova
Dominique van Roost
Elena Vesnina
Yanina Wickmayer
Caroline Wozniacki
Yan Zi
Zheng Jie
Fabiola Zuluaga
Vera Zvonareva

All for now.



"DECADE'S BEST" SERIES:
...Players of the 2000's: Nomination List, Australian Open 2000-09, Roland Garros 2000-09, Wimbledon 2000-09, U.S. Open 2000-09, Players #21-25, Players #16-20

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Wk.41- The Road to Osaka

Remember the old "Road..." pictures that starred Bob Hope, Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour? (Yeah, yeah. I know. Just go along with me here for a moment.)



Anyway, as Samantha Stosur moved into the singles final in Osaka this weekend, if the tournament was one of those "Road..." movies, and if history was to hold to form once again, the moment where the camel spits in Slingin' Sammy's eye was about to arrive.

(Dear readers, I know what you're thinking. What the heck was a camel doing in Osaka? Well, trust me, it's better to just not ask. You turn over one rock, you know, and you never know what's going to come out.)

Only this is, it didn't. Which says a great deal about the domestication of camels in Japan, as well as Stosur's long road to get to her long-awaited triumph in Osaka, which ended up playing host to her first-ever career tour singles title when she knocked off Francesca Schiavone 7-5/6-1 in the final.

You see, a few years ago Stosur could have settled down into a nice groove and accepted a not-unlucky fate. Heading into her mid-twenties she seemed to have the game for singles success, but it hadn't really come her way. Still, she was one of the best doubles players in the world. Like fellow Aussie Rennae Stubbs before her, she could have taken that role and run with it into her mid-to-late thirties. After all, she'd already become the #1-ranked doubles player in the world in 2006, while her career singles high was a good-but-not-great #27.

Then came 2007.

A viral illness cost her nearly half the season, helped to end her sixty-one straight-week run atop the doubles rankings, and one wonders whether her time away from the court might also have caused her to reasses her career priorities. For, when she returned, Stosur decided it was time to take a larger interest in her singles before time and opportunity got away from her.

(Sometimes when you turn over a rock, you find a gold coin... or maybe a fossil. Sometimes you even see a juicy bug-eyed bug -- yeah, I know that's redundant -- go scurrying for cover. Of course, I suppose it depends on your point of view whether or not a newly-discovered wiggly-wiggly is a GOOD thing.)

Of course, no good thing comes easy.

(Insert own Barack Obama/Nobel Peace Prize joke here.)

Stosur, Singles Star, has often had a hard time overcoming herself over the past season and a half. In Tokyo last year, she couldn't convert three set points against Aleksandra Wozniak and lost. In Los Angeles, she blew a 5-1 2nd set lead and four set ponts against Victoria Azarenka. At Wimbledon, Stosur led 3-6/6-0/3-0 with points for 4-0 against Nicole Vaidisova, but her nerves produced enough errors to allow the Czech back into the match and escape with a win. Things didn't start off so well in 2009, either. In Sydney, Stosur tossed in double-faults on multiple match points against Serena Williams and lost. Then at the Australian Open, she served at 5-3 in the 1st set against Elena Dementieva. The Russian won 7-6/6-4.

(Now, that's what I call a hump... I mean, bump... in the road. Get it? Hump. Camel? Oh, well.

But somewhere along the path that ultimately led to Osaka, Stosur learned the ways of the road. Confidence is a funny thing.

In Fed Cup play, Stosur came back from a set and 5-2 down against Tamarine Tanasugarn, winning eleven straight games to take the match. Then, a year after her loss to Vaidisova there, she went to Wimbledon and defeated Tatjana Malek after trailing 6-4 and a break, then 3-0 in a 2nd set tie-break and 3-0 in the 3rd. Nestled around those matches were wins over both of the players in contention for 2009's year-end #1, Dinara Safina (Miami) and Serena (Stanford). She reached the Top 20 for the first time after Roland Garros, and still managed to back up her longtime doubles credentials by reaching the Wimbledon Doubles final (with Stubbs).

But after reaching and losing the Los Angeles final, there was reason to wonder whether or not Stosur would ever surpass her final singles hurdle. She came to Osaka with a less-than-sterling 0-5 record in tour finals.

(Bazinga! That's where the camel metaphor comes in! See, the road was almost as long as the one to Osaka... but it was worth it. Well, maybe. Kind of.)

The sixth final turned out to be the charm for Stosur, just as the ninth one had been for Schiavone back in 2007. 2009 was supposed to be the year that Stosur finally burst through the WTA singles title door and, with time dwindling before another long trophy-less offseason, Osaka proved to be the ideal destination. "It's the perfect way to finish my year in singles," the Aussie, at a new career singles high of #13 today, said Sunday. "My next goal is to reach the Top 10, for which I would need to play like today, every day."

Who says you can't have it all?

(What the- ? Hey, what happened, Francesca? Oh. How 'bout that. Bad camel. Would you like a towel, or maybe some popcorn?)

*WEEK 41 CHAMPIONS*

LINZ, AUSTRIA (Int'l $220K/hard court indoor)
S: Yanina Wickmayer def. Petra Kvitova 6-3/6-4
D: Groenefeld/Srebotnik d. Jans/Rosolska

OSAKA, JAPAN (Int'l $220K/hard court outdoor)
S: Samantha Stosur def. Francesca Schiavone 7-5/6-1
D: Chuang/Raymond d. Scheepers/Spears


PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Samantha Stosur/AUS
...Stosur's road THROUGH Osaka included wins over soon-to-be-retiring Akiko Morigami, Jill Craybas, Caroline Wozniacki and Francesca Schiavone. All in all, excluding C-Woz, a pretty veteran-laden path. Hmmm, could Melbourne soon be the host of a grand slam "Sheila party" that includes Sam, Jelena, Alicia AND Casey coming home with legitimate prospects and/or good memories?
=============================
RISERS: Yanina Wickmayer/BEL & Petra Kvitova/CZE
...two days before her 20th birthday, Wickmayer showed those people who'd never heard of her when she reached the U.S. Open semifinals that she's not a one-tournament wonder. Linz wins over Timea Bacsinszky, Alexandra Dulgheru, Sara Errani, Flavia Pennetta and Petra Kvitova gave her her second title of the season and moved her into the Top 20 for the first time in her career. Wow, could there be THREE Belgians in the Top 10/15 next season? Meanwhile, Kvitova's quest for her own second title of '09 came to an when she faced Wickmayer. Still, victories over Andrea Petkovic, Iveta Benesova, Carla Suarez-Navarro and Agnieszka Radwanska still provided a nice late-season result (it was her first SF-or-better result since she won Hobart in January) that will send her into the offseason with a good feeling, plus a desire for more.
=============================
SURPRISE: Sania Mirza/IND
...Mirza seems to have settled her life, tennis and self, or maybe just quieted some of her critics with her recent marriage (which might have the same effect on her tennis mindset? Whatever the reason behind it, the Indian Princess has quietly put together a fine under-the-radar comeback. Remember, she hasn't won a WTA singles title since 2005, and earlier this year had dropped out of the Top 100. But 2009 has seen her reach a final in Pattaya, two SF (in Birmingham, then last week in Osaka after she upset Shahar Peer & Marion Bartoli), win an $50K ITF challenger, claim two doubles titles and her first slam crown (Australian Open Mixed Doubles). She's working her way back up the rankings, and all those billions of Sania fans can finally get excited again (just not TOO excited, I guess... since we know all the unfortunate things that happened the last time).
=============================
VETERANS: Lisa Raymond/USA & Katarina Srebotnik/SLO
...the comeback theme continued in doubles last week. Raymond, one of the all-time great doubles players (and still waiting to see her name appear on the Backspin "Top 25 Players of the Decade" list), won the Osaka doubles with Chuang Chia-Jung this weekend. It was her first title since taking New Haven last season with Nadia Petrova, and moved the former doubles #1 back into the Top 20. She's now tied for eighth on the all-time doubles title list with 68 tour championships, and at 36 is the oldest doubles champ on tour in '09. Of note, Chuang has seemingly been a doubles drifter this year, with her long-time partnership with Chan Yung-Jan apparently kaput. Maybe Chuang/Raymond will allow both players to become regular names-to-drop again. Meanwhile, Katarina Srebotnik's bumpy, longer-than-expected road back from injury finally produced its first title in Linz as the Slovenian and Anna-Lena Groenefeld won the doubles. It was her first tour title since taking the Moscow doubles at this time last year. Interestingly, these two are slated to play each other in singles in the 1st Round in Luxembourg this week.
=============================
FRESH FACES: Lyudmyla & Nadiya Kichenok/UKR


...oh, my. It's another pair of sisters. And this time... they're Ukrainian twins (both born on July 20, 1992). In the $10K ITF challenger in Kharkiv, Ukraine, the sisters met in the final to decide the singles champion. 17-year old Lyudmyla defeated 17-year old Nadiya 6-7/6-3/6-2. But, more "importantly," WE have another couple of siblings to talk about.
=============================
DOWN: Sorana Cirstea/ROU
...Cirstea lost in the 1st Round in Linz to Julia Goerges, three-and-three. While super-talented, the Romanian seems to be getting used to these early exits, though. This was her fifth straight loss going back to when she was defeated by best friend Wozniacki at the U.S. Open, losing in Seoul (Groenefeld), Tokyo (Bartoli, three-and-love) and Beijing (Zvonareva, one-and-two) before last week. She next faces fellow Swarmette Monica Niculescu in Moscow.
=============================
ITF PLAYER: Sofia Arvidsson/SWE
...Sweden's Arvidsson won the $50K hard court challenger in Joue-les-tours, France, preventing Jelena Dokic from winning back-to-back ITF events by taking down the Aussie in a 6-2/7-6 final. It's her second ITF title this season, and sixteenth of her career (she has one WTA crown).
=============================
JUNIOR STAR: Eugenie Brouchard/CAN
...the 15-year old Montreal native, the #76-ranked junior in the world, won the Pan-American Closed ITF Championship event in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She defeated Ester Goldfeld 6-7/6-3/7-6 in the final... but maybe her most impressive accomplishment might be her official ITF site bio. There, under her "interests," she simply lists sleeping, eating, shopping and reading. Obviously, she's a well-rounded woman.
=============================


1. Osaka SF - Stosur d. Wozniacki
...6-0/4-6/6-4. C-Woz had won twelve straight semifinal matches (and is now 8-1 on the season).
=============================
2. Osaka Final - Stosur d. Schiavone
...7-5/6-1. Schiavone is 1-11 in career WTA singles finals. Meanwhile, Australia is now the nineteenth different nation to produce a tour singles champion in '09.
=============================
3. Osaka Doubles Final - Chuang/Raymond d. Scheepers/Spears
...6-3/6-4. This was Chuang's thirteenth career doubles title, and her third with three different partners this season.
=============================
4. Linz Final - Wickmayer d. Kvitova
...6-3/6-4. Yes, that sound you heard on Sunday WAS Pam Shriver's head popping off. Maybe Yanina can hang it from her rear view mirror (although I'm not sure the laws of the road in Belgium will allow that sort of thing... but maybe the authorities will make an exception).
=============================
5. $25K Port Pirie Final - Sacha Jones d. Alicia Molik
...3-6/6-1/7-5. These two are having quite the round robin of matches Down Under this fall. Again, though, the 18-year old Kiwi emerged with yet another '09 title (her fourth).
=============================
6. Osaka 1st Rd. - Craybas d. Date-Krumm
...6-2/2-6/6-4. Craybas just keeps going and going and going, never seeing the need to have to retire and then return to the court.
=============================
7. Luxembourg Q - Robson d. Goerges
...6-3/6-2. This might be Robson's best win as a pro. Alas, she lost in the final qualifying round to Maria Elena Camerin today.
=============================
8. $10K Cleveland Final - Jamie Hampton d. Kyle S. McPhillips
...6-4/6-1. In a matchup of two American teens, 19-year old Hampton (who also won the doubles) eclipsed 15-year old McPhillips. And, no, I've never heard of a girl named "Kyle," either.
=============================


**2009 WTA FINALS**
8...Dinara Safina (3-5)
8...Caroline Wozniacki (3-5)
4...Svetlana Kuznetsova (3-1)
4...Elena Dementieva (3-1)
4...Venus Williams (2-2)
3...Victoria Azarenka (3-0)
3...Serena Williams (2-1)
3...Flavia Pennetta (2-1)
3...YANINA WICKMAYER (2-1)
3...Marion Bartoli (2-1)
3...Jelena Jankovic (2-1)

**2009 FIRST-TIME CHAMPIONS**
RECENT TOTALS: 2006=11, 2007=13, 2008=6, 2009=12
[oldest]
26...Maria Jose Martinez-Sanchez, ESP (#66, Bogota)
26...Melinda Czink, HUN (#52, Quebec City)
25...SAMANTHA STOSUR, AUS (#15, Osaka)
[youngest]
18...Petra Kvitova, CZE (#49, Hobart)

**2009 WTA FINALS - MOST SURFACES**
4...Caroline Wozniacki (grass/green clay/red clay/hard)
3...Venus Williams (grass/hard/red clay)
3...YANINA WICKMAYER (GRASS/RED CLAY/HARD)

**DEFEATED TOP SEED & DEFENDING CHAMP, WON TITLE**
Miami - Victoria Azarenka (def. S.Williams/Final)
Quebec City - Melinda Czink (def. Petrova/QF)
Seoul - Kimiko Date-Krumm (def. Hantuchova/QF & Kirilenko/SF)
OSAKA - SAMANTHA STOSUR (def. WOZNIACKI/SF)

**WINLESS IN MULTIPLE 2009 FINALS**
Sara Errani, ITA (0-2)
Lucie Hradecka, CZE (0-2)
Li Na, CHN (0-2)
Ekaterina Makarova, RUS (0-2)
Virginie Razzano, FRA (0-2)
FRANCESCA SCHIAVONE, ITA (0-2)
Elena Vesnina, RUS (0-2)

**2009 WTA TITLES AS TEENAGERS**
3...Caroline Wozniacki, DEN (youngest: Ponte Vedra Beach, April)
3...Victoria Azarenka, BLR
2...YANINA WICKMAYER, BEL
1...Alexandra Dulgheru, ROU
1...Petra Kvitova, CZE
1...Sabine Lisicki, GER

**WILD CARDS IN 2009 FINALS**
Anabel Medina-Garrigues (#1 seed) - Fes - def. Makarova
Yanina Wickmayer - 's-Hertogenbosch - lost to Tanasugarn
Patty Schnyder (#1 seed) - Budapest - lost to Szavay
Kim Clijsters - U.S. Open - def. Wozniacki
YANINA WICKMAYER (#3 SEED) - LINZ - def. Kvitova

**ALL-TIME CAREER DOUBLES TITLES**
177...Martina Navratilova
112...Rosie Casals
106...Pam Shriver
101...Billie Jean King
80...Natasha Zvereva
76...Jana Novotna
69...Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario
68...LISA RAYMOND
68...Gigi Fernandez
68...Helena Sukova

**OLDEST 2009 DOUBLES CHAMPIONS**
36 - LISA RAYMOND, USA (OSAKA w/ CHUANG)
33 - Ai Sugiyama, JPN (Eastbourne w/ Amanmuradova)
32 - Liezel Huber, USA (Paris/Dubai/Madrid/Birmingham/Cincinnati w/ Black)

**TWO CAREER SINGLES TITLES - ACTIVE**
[most recent title]
Sybille Bammer, AUT [2009=1]
Sara Errani, ITA [2008]
Tatiana Golovin, FRA [2007]
Anne Kremer, LUX [2000]
Li Na, CHN [2008]
Nuria Llagostera-Vives, ESP [2008]
Mirjana Lucic, CRO [1998]
Maria Jose Martinez-Sanchez, ESP [2009=2]
Pauline Parmentier, FRA [2008]
Virginie Razzano, FRA [2007]
Roberta Vinci, ITA [2009=1]
YANINA WICKMAYER, BEL [2009=2]
Klara Zakopalova, CZE [2005]

**2009 BACKSPIN "FIRST-TITLE" PREDICTIONS (January)**
GOLD: won title in '09
-
Victoria Azarenka, BLR
Dominika Cibulkova, SVK
Karin Knapp, ITA
Mariya Koryttseva, UKR
Petra Kvitova, CZE
Sabine Lisicki, GER
Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, RUS
Peng Shuai, CHN
Samantha Stosur, AUS
Yanina Wickmayer, BEL





MOSCOW, RUSSIA (Premier $1m/hard indoor)
08 Final: Jankovic d. Zvonareva
09 Top Seeds: Zvonareva/Jankovic
=============================
=SF=
Petrova d. Wozniak
Jankovic d. Pennetta
=FINAL=
Petrova d. Jankovic

...man, remember when the Kremlin Cup was a REALLY big tournament? The new WTA schedule has really knocked it down a few pegs. Umm, happy 20th anniversary. (But, hey, at least the event still exists, which is more than can be said for some other previously "important" get-togethers.) Oh, well. What a great result this would be for Nadia. Yep, after all else has failed this quarter, I'm now reduced to predicting "heartwarming" results.


LUXEMBOURG, LUXEMBOURG (Int'l $220K/hard indoor)
08 Final: Dementieva d. Wozniacki
09 Top Seeds: Wozniacki/Clijsters
=============================
=SF=
Wozniacki d. Wickmayer
Clijsters d. Peer
=FINAL=
Clijsters d. Wozniacki

...this one has a decided U.S. Open feel (New York/New York, Luxembourg/Luxembourg... coincidence?), wouldn't you say? There's the chance for a repeat of three of the four Open semifinalists, as well as both finalists. Wozniacki even has the chance to take down Melanie Oudin again, only this time it's in the 1st Round rather than the QF (and the American hasn't exactly been riding nearly as high as she was in Flushing Meadows, either). Unless C-Woz is finally ready to play through a full five matches here, it's hard to see anyone but Clijsters winning the title. Of course, this WILL be her first tournament in more than a month, not to mention she's now EXPECTED to win. Let's see if KC-2 continues its forward motion.


All for now, as I have a ticked-off camel to water.



NEXT: The "Top 25 Players of the Decade - #11-15" and 2009 Regional Honors

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The Decade's Best: Players #16-20

It's time for the second edition of Backspin's "Decade's Best" countdown of the top players of the 2000's. And, truth be told, ranking the group of women between #16-20 was a pretty prickly endeavor.

I mean, how do you rightly measure success with expectation?

All these women arrive on the scene with definitive accomplishments, but most didn't have as much success in the 2000's as many might have wished/expected they would. Some came up the WTA ladder as teen phenoms, only to meet unexpected and/or unforeseen road blocks along the way that came to define their careers. Some of the obstacles were of their own doing, while some came from "outside forces." While the talent of these women has never been questioned, SOMETHING has prevented them from ranking higher on this list. Still, they're here at least partly because of their versatility, as all won slam doubles titles during the decade, though they're mostly (save for one unquestioned doubles specialist) known for their success in singles.

With that, here are Players #16-20:

#20 - Daniela Hantuchova, SVK


Early in the decade, Hantuchova was thought to be the "next big thing" in women's tennis. The talk was so rampant that I, as is often the case it seems, could take it no longer and sarcastically dubbed the Slovak "Wonder Girl" since so many seemed to want to instill her with seemingly superhuman powers. Thing is, she DID have an overabundance of talent. Specifically, a well-working serve, great hands at the net, a desire to be #1 and enough early success to make one think she just might pull it off. In 2002-03, she won her maiden title at the Tier I Indian Wells event, led the Slovak Republic to a Fed Cup title (winning a 3:21 match against Conchita Martinez in the final), advanced to the QF of three consecutive slams and reached the Top 5 in both singles and doubles while still a teenager. Ah, but there was the rub. As happens too often, notably because of the success of mature-beyond-their years players like Chris Evert and Steffi Graf, nobody factored in whether or not such a young player could handle so much pressure so soon. It turned out that Hantuchova couldn't. Entranced by off-court opportunties that left her unfocused, poor coaching decisions that set her game adrift, emotional on-court breakdowns that sent up danger signs, and a string of tabloidy stories about her alarming weight loss (complete with concentration camp-reminiscent photos of her during practice sessions) that caused everyone to fear for her health, Hantuchova "went away" as a major contender almost as quickly as she'd risen to the level. But, unlike so many young players who go through such troubles, she never fell completely off the charts. Instead, she hovered around #20-40 from 2003-06, playing on and achieving (especially in doubles), but not nearly as extravagantly as many had expected her to succeed. As Hantuchova has matured, though, she's managed to reclaim some portion of her "lost" career. A longtime dangerous presence on tour, she claimed Indian Wells again in 2007 (she hadn't won another tournament in the five-year span since her first I.W. title), then won her third career crown later that season and finished in the Top 10 for the first time since 2002. I probably have her a little high on this list based on her overall career accomplishments, but her versatility and numerous unique triumphs (such as a Mixed Doubles career slam that was completed when she won all four slam titles, with four different ATP partners, from 2001-05) inched her up the rankings. At 26, Hantuchova still might have a successful singles return-to-relevance in her, too. She finally reached her first career slam SF at the Australian Open in 2008, and she's always a threat to pull a big upset on a good day.

#19 - Dinara Safina, RUS


As of today, it's easy to define Safina by what she hasn't done -- won a slam, or even been competitive in the latter stages of majors after having often battled through match points in multiple matches to get there. Still, what Safina HAS accomplished is hard to discount, especially over the last two seasons (kicking off when she ended Justine Henin's first career with a defeat in Berlin in the spring of '08) in which she's been a dominant force pretty much everyone EXCEPT in slam finals. As stupid a concept as it might be, if slam titles were to be discounted, Safina has arguably been the most successful Russian in a decade defined by the Hordettes' rise to power. Of all her countrywomen who've won tour titles, she was the youngest when she won her first (just a few months past 16 when she claimed Sopot in '02) and her twelve career titles tie her for third on the all-time Russian list. She reached three slam singles finals in 2008-09, was the U.S. Open Doubles champion in 2007, took the Silver Medal in the Beijing Olympics, was the first player to ever defeat three different reigning #1-ranked players in a single season (2008), won the '08 U.S. Open Series, has ranked in the Top 20 since 2005, spent more weeks at #1 (currently 25) than the likes of top-ranked players named Austin, Clijsters, Capriati, Sharapova, Sanchez-Vicario and V.Williams, and has a good chance to be the year-end #1 for 2009. Still in her prime at 23, Safina has time to remove her big-match mental block and use the famed Safin family anger for good, filling the hole in her resume by capturing that elusive slam crown. Although, with the return of Clijsters and Henin, as well as the coming-of-age of yet another teen brigade, she may ultimately find that '09 might have been her best chance to do so.

#18 - Mary Pierce, FRA


Pierce might be the most difficult player to rank on this list. As she so often was throughout her playing days, she remains an enigma (even today, as she hovers around the "retirement" issue). Based on her advanced billing and early expectations, Pierce's results were many times disappointing, but when she was "on" her powerful groundstrokes could make up for her mediocre court coverage. And when that happened, she was a bear to defeat. You just never knew which Pierce you were going to get. Nonetheless, she still managed to carve out a Hall of Fame-worthy career for herself in the long run. The bulk of Pierce's major accomplishments came in the 1990's. She won the Australian Open when she was barely 20, was a Top 20 player from 1992-99, and a year-end Top 10er five times in that decade. Her health and effectiveness were spotty and inconsistent in the 2000's' but, as usual, she was always capable of making a huge mark. She won five tour titles in the 2000's (completing a career surface slam in '04 by winning on the grass in the Netherlands), was crowned Roland Garros champ in '00 (she's the only French woman to win the tournament in the last forty-one years), and reached the finals of RG, the U.S. Open and the WTA Championships in 2005 en route to reaching a career-high rank of #3. In 2000, she won the Roland Garros Doubles title and reached a career-high doubles ranking (also #3), but then proceded to win just one other doubles title the rest of her career. Of course, such enigmatic results probably should have been expected from a player who was born in Canada, raised in the U.S., and played under the French flag, along the way managing to survive one of the early bad cases of "tennis dad syndrome" as her father Jim was banned from all WTA tournaments and the two became estranged after accusations of his abusive behavior became public. In Linz in 2006, the then 31-year old Pierce suffered a knee injury that seemed to mark the end of her career. Still, she's never officially retired, and even recently there was talk of her desire to play once more at Roland Garros in 2010. More than likely, though, Pierce's career will have to stand on its own two feet, as is.

#17 - Liezel Huber, RSA/USA


The player formerly known as Liezel Horn has been one of the most successful doubles specialists this decade, teaming with Cara Black in recent years to form the most dominant regular doubles team in the sport (the pair were Backpsin's "co-Ms. Backspin" winners in '08). Her current reign as the co-#1 doubles player in the world (with Black) stands at twenty-three months, the third-longest consecutive month streak atop the rankings in WTA history (behind Martina Navratilova's forty-one months, and Black's current streak of twenty-seven). A past South African Olympian, Huber switched citizenship and represented the United States in Beijing in 2008. The five titles won so far in '09 by the Black/Huber team give Huber 39 doubles titles this decade, including four slams and the 2007-08 WTA Championships crown, as well as a Mixed championship at the U.S. Open earlier this season. In 2009, as the veteran leader of the American Fed Cup team, Huber has arguably been the leading force in pushing the inexperienced-but-scrappy U.S. contingent to a surprise appearance in the FC final next month. Off the court, Huber has been honored multiple times for her expansive charitable work.

#16 - Martina Hingis, SUI


A smiling-as-she-twisted-the-knife-deeper teenaged Hingis, named for Martina Navratilova, took the WTA by storm in the late 1990's, rising to #1 just one week after her sixteenth birthday in 1996 with a crafty, intelligent game that relied on touch and strategy. From 1997-99, the Swiss Miss won five slam titles and reached four more finals over the course of twelve slam events. We didn't know it at the time, but when the calendar rolled over to 2000, the sport's top female player would never win another slam singles crown, even though she was only 19 years old at the time. Hingis' last of 209 weeks at #1 (4th all-time) didn't come until October '01, though, as she managed to hold onto her top ranking for most of almost three full seasons without winning a slam (just as today, the fretting and squawking was thunderous, and calls to change the ranking system were abundant). But even before she officially "abdicated her throne," Hingis had been passed by the rising (literal) power brokers who came to dominate the sport in the 2000's. The last champion of a different era, Hingis could never find a way around the hard-hitting, physically imposing players that pretty much made her game obsolete. Or did it? Not long after, Justine Henin proved that a lack of stature need not be a limiting characteristic, yet Hingis never could solve the riddle. Just as she'd never learned to lose, and was thunderstruck when she started to do so (specifically, the summer of '99, when she had her emotional meltdown after her Roland Garros final loss to Graf, then was ousted in the 1st Round of Wimbledon by Jelena Dokic), she never really tried to rebound, rebuild or redefine her game in order to compete in the "new world" of WTA tennis, either. It just wasn't her style, and she knew it. Still, while no longer the player of prominance she once was, she was able to remain a factor in the 2000's. She finished '00 at #1 and stayed in the Top 10 from 2001-02, reaching the Australian Open final in 2000-02 (giving her six straight appearances back to '97) and playing in four additional slam SF from 2000-01. Battling injuries (but maybe more frustrated by losing, as much as anything), Hingis announced her retirement in 2003, and remained on the sidelines for three seasons before finally mounting a comeback in 2006. She reached three more slam QF, and finished 2006-07 at #7 and #19, respectively. After winning fourteen singles titles from 2000-02, she won three more in her second tour stint. Her eleven doubles titles in the decade included two slam crowns (with Anna Kournikova and Mary Pierce) and a WTA Championship (Kournikova). In November 2007, Hingis retired once again rather than fight a two-year ban after a positive cocaine test that she vehemently denied (of note, the miniscule amount of drugs in her system were apparently less than the amount of cocaine that Richard Gasquet tested positive for earlier this season, and Gasquet's suspenson was ultimately overturned after his story that he'd kissed a drug-using woman at a Miami night club was accepted as valid). The ban recently came to an end, but there's been no word from Hingis about possibly making yet another comeback. Although, as she was recently a contestant on the British version of "Dancing with the Stars," she IS likely in decent enough shape to consider such an option.

NEXT: #11-15




1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16. Martina Hingis, SUI
17. Liezel Huber, RSA/USA
18. Mary Pierce, FRA
19. Dinara Safina, RUS
20. Daniela Hantuchova, SVK
21. Ana Ivanovic, SRB
22. Jelena Jankovic, SRB
23. Ai Sugiyama, JPN
24. Anastasia Myskina, RUS
25. Patty Schnyder, SUI
HONORABLE MENTION- Martina Navratilova, USA

Here are the remaining 15 players on the countdown list:

Cara Black
Jennifer Capriati
Kim Clijsters
Lindsay Davenport
Elena Dementieva
Justine Henin
Svetlana Kuznetsova
Amelie Mauresmo
Lisa Raymond
Virginia Ruano-Pascual
Maria Sharapova
Rennae Stubbs
Paola Suarez
Serena Williams
Venus Williams

*BACKSPIN'S 2000-09 HONOR ROLL, #27-113*
Nicole Arendt
Shinobu Asagoe
Victoria Azarenka
Sybille Bammer
Marion Bartoli
Daja Bedanova
Alona Bondarenko
Kateryna Bondarenko
Kristie Boogert
Elena Bovina
Severine Bremond
Els Callens
Anna Chakvetadze
Chan Yung-Jan
Chuang Chia-Jung
Dominika Cibulkova
Sorana Cirstea
Amanda Coetzer
Eleni Daniilidou
Nathalie Dechy
Casey Dellacqua
Mariaan de Swardt
Jelena Dokic
Silvia Farina Elia
Clarisa Fernandez
Tatiana Golovin
Anna-Lena Groenefeld
Carly Gullickson
Julie Halard-Decugis
Anke Huber
Janette Husarova
Kaia Kanepi
Sesil Karatantcheva
Vania King
Anna Kournikova
Michaella Krajicek
Lina Krasnoroutskaya
Li Na
Li Ting
Elena Likhovtseva
Sabine Lisicki
Petra Mandula
Marta Marrero
Conchita Martinez
Anabel Medina-Garrigues
Sania Mirza
Alicia Molik
Corina Morariu
Miriam Oremans
Melanie Oudin
Shahar Peer
Flavia Pennetta
Tatiana Perebiynis
Kveta Peschke
Nadia Petrova
Kimberly Po-Messerli
Agnieszka Radwanska
Anastasia Rodionova
Chanda Rubin
Lucie Safarova
Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario
Mara Santangelo
Barbara Schett
Francesca Schiavone
Monica Seles
Magui Serna
Antonella Serra-Zanetti
Meghann Shaughnessy
Anna Smashnova
Karolina Sprem
Katarina Srebnotnik
Samantha Stosur
Carla Suarez-Navarro
Sun Tiantian
Agnes Szavay
Tamarine Tanasugarn
Patricia Tarabini
Nathalie Tauziat
Nicole Vaidisova
Dominique van Roost
Elena Vesnina
Yanina Wickmayer
Caroline Wozniacki
Yan Zi
Zheng Jie
Fabiola Zuluaga
Vera Zvonareva

All for now.



"DECADE'S BEST" SERIES:
...Players of the 2000's: Nomination List, Australian Open 2000-09, Roland Garros 2000-09, Wimbledon 2000-09, U.S. Open 2000-09, Players #21-25

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