2011 Regional Honors

The 2011 Backspin Awards are almost here, so consider this something of a mini-preview... region by region.

==NORTH AMERICA==
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Serena Williams, USA
POY (RUNNER-UP): Liezel Huber, USA
RISER: Christina McHale, USA
SURPRISE: Raquel Kops-Jones/Abigail Spears, USA
VETERAN: Lisa Raymond, USA
FRESH FACE: Irina Falconi, USA
COMEBACK: Melanie Oudin, USA (Mixed Doubles)
DOWN: Venus Williams, USA
JUNIOR: Monica Puig, PUR
DOUBLES: Liezel Huber, USA
TEAM: Liezel Huber/Lisa Raymond/ USA
ITF PLAYER: Aleksandra Wozniak, CAN
IMPROVED: Vania King, USA
UNDERRATED: Ximena Hermoso, MEX
PERFORMANCE: Serena Williams wins 18 of 18 matches on North American hard courts to reach the U.S. Open final
NATION TO WATCH: Puerto Rico
COMEBACK NATION: United States: The Next Generation
WORRIED NATION: Canada (in tour-level singles)

==SOUTH AMERICA==
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Gisela Dulko, ARG
POY (RUNNER-UP): Florencia Molinero, ARG
RISER: Veronica Cepede Royg, PAR
SURPRISE: Andrea Koch-Benvenuto, CHI
VETERAN: Catalina Castano, COL
FRESH FACE: Yuliana Lizarazo, COL
COMEBACK: Maria-Fernanda Alves, BRA
DOWN: Gabriela Paz, VEN
JUNIOR: Montserrat Gonzalez, PAR
DOUBLES: Gisela Dulko, ARG
TEAM: Maria Irigoyen/Florencia Molinero, ARG (Pan-Am Games)
ITF PLAYER: Andrea Benitez, ARG
IMPROVED: Adriana Perez, VEN
UNDERRATED: Paula Ormaechea, ARG
PERFORMANCE: Gisela Dulko wins first slam doubles crown at Australian Open
NATION TO WATCH: Paraguay
COMEBACK NATION: Brazil
WORRIED NATION: Colombia (if Mariana Duque-Marino doesn't pan out)

==ASIA/PACIFIC==
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Li Na, CHN
POY (RUNNER-UP): Samantha Stosur, AUS
RISER: Peng Shuai, CHN
SURPRISE: Galina Voskoboeva, KAZ
VETERANS: Zheng Jie, CHN & Kimiko Date-Krumm, JPN
FRESH FACES: Misaki Doi, JPN & Ayumi Morita, JPN
COMEBACK: Jelena Dokic, AUS
DOWN: Jessica Moore, AUS
JUNIOR: Ashleigh Barty, AUS
DOUBLES: Yaroslava Shvedova, KAZ
TEAM: Australian Junior Fed Cup Team
ITF PLAYER(s): Casey Dellacqua, AUS (singles) & Casey Dellacqua/Olivia Rogowska, AUS/AUS (doubles)
IMPROVED: Marina Erakovic, NZL
UNDERRATED: Zhang Shuai, CHN
PERFORMANCE: Li Na wins Roland Garros, becomes first Asian slam singles champion
NATIONS TO WATCH: China & Japan
COMEBACK NATION: Australia
WORRIED NATION: Taiwan

==AFRICA/MIDDLE EAST==
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Chanelle Scheepers, RSA
POY (RUNNER-UP): Shahar Peer, ISR
RISER: Nadia Lalami, MAR
SURPRISE: Surina de Beer, RSA
VETERAN: Natalie Grandin, RSA
FRESH FACE: Chanel Simmonds, RSA
COMEBACK: Julia Glushko, ISR
DOWN: Cara Black, ZIM
JUNIOR: Ons Jabeur, TUN
DOUBLES: Natalie Grandin, RSA
TEAM: Hulya Esen/Lutfiye Esen, TUR
ITF PLAYER: Deniz Khazaniuk, ISR
IMPROVED: Ofri Lankri, ISR
UNDERRATED: Fatima El Allami, MAR
PERFORMANCE: Chanelle Scheepers wins Guangzhou, is first South African tour singles champ since 2003
NATION TO WATCH: Morocco
COMEBACK NATION: South Africa
WORRIED NATION: Israel

==RUSSIA==
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Maria Sharapova
POY (RUNNER-UP): Vera Zvonareva
RISER: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
SURPRISE: Vesna Dolonts
VETERAN: Nadia Petrova
FRESH FACES: Ksenia Pervak & Evgeniya Rodina
COMEBACK: Russian Fed Cup Team
DOWN: Svetlana Kuznetsova
JUNIOR: Irina Khromacheva
DOUBLES: Elena Vesnina
TEAM: Russian Fed Cup Team
ITF PLAYER: Yulia Putintseva
IMPROVED: Vitalia Diatchenko
UNDERRATED: Maria Kirilenko
PERFORMANCE: Maria Sharapova wins title on the red clay of Rome

==REST OF EUROPE==
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Petra Kvitova, CZE
POY (RUNNER-UP): Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
RISERS: Victoria Azarenka, BLR & Andrea Petkovic, GER
SURPRISE: Angelique Kerber, GER
VETERAN: Kim Clijsters, BEL (in Australia) & Marion Bartoli, FRA (elsewhere)
FRESH FACE: Monica Niculescu, ROU
COMEBACK: Sabine Lisicki, GER
DOWN: Italian Fed Cup Team
JUNIOR: Caroline Garcia, FRA
DOUBLES: Katarina Srebotnik, SLO
TEAM: Kveta Peschke/Katarina Srebotnik, CZE/SLO
ITF PLAYER: Irina-Camelia Begu, ROU
IMPROVED: Agnieszka Radwanska, POL
UNDERRATED: Roberta Vinci, ITA
PERFORMANCE: Peta Kvitova blasts through Maria Sharapova to win Wimbledon final
NATION TO WATCH: Romania
COMEBACK NATIONS: Czech Republic & Germany
WORRIED NATION: Serbia





Looking to "buy stock" in a few players for 2012? Getting cold feet and thinking you should "sell" your holdings in one of those past investments, or having a gut feeling that you should hold onto them with the hope that more dividends are soon to come? Here are a few WTA "market tips"... take them to heart at your own peril.

=BUY=
NORTH AMERICA: Sloane Stephens/USA & Madison Keys/USA
...if you haven't done so already, it'd be smart to jump in early on these long-range investments

SOUTH AMERICA: Florencia Molinero/ARG
...in the event of a Dulko debacle, Molinero is the best Argentinian player left on the big board. (A tip only for serious market players who want to cover all the angles.)

ASIA/PACIFIC: Ashleigh Barty/AUS & Noppawan Lertcheewakarn/THA
...conveniently forget that bad Jessica Moore purchase of a few years ago and take a shot on the latest Aussie junior star. Meanwhile, the former junior #1 from Thailand's quarterly earnings have picked up nicely as '11 as gone along.

AFRICA/MIDDLE EAST: Chanel Simmonds/RSA & Ons Jabeur/TUN
...the best young players who've gone public

RUSSIA: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
...still "on the cusp" of something big. You've probably already picked up shares in AP's future... but now's the time to try to snap up as many more as you can before the price goes WAY up.

REST OF EUROPE: Dominika Cibulkova/SVK, Kaia Kanepi/EST & Agnieszka Radwanska/POL
...finally performing up to expectations, finally looking healthy after an up-and-down stretch, and finally running more smoothly after an overdue internal reorganization in the boardroom

=SELL=
NORTH AMERICA: Venus Williams/USA
...a brand name possibly well past its prime. It might be best to cut your losses and liquidate all holdings as quickly as possible.

SOUTH AMERICA: Mariana Duque-Marino/COL
...after a quick start, long-term prospects don't look as bright as they might have once appeared. Still might have a virtual monopoly in Colombia, though, so a "hold" might be just as smart.

ASIA/PACIFIC: Li Na/CHN
...never a consistent quarterly performer, and now carrying around an awful lot of expectant investers, too. Might not be worth the money in '12.

AFRICA/MIDDLE EAST: Shahar Peer/ISR
...earnings seemed to have peaked early-on

RUSSIA: Dinara Safina
...get rid of everything in this one now to get back as much of your original investment as you can, then maybe buy back in when prices go even LOWER in a few months

REST OF EUROPE: Kim Clijsters/BEL
...company likely to go belly-up be the end of the next year. Fire sale time!

=HOLD=
NORTH AMERICA: Serena Williams/USA, Rebecca Marino/CAN & Alison Riske/USA
...never, ever, sell stock in Serena. After a slow start that put them "in the red" in '11, Marino & Riske's futures have recently started to look capable of being "in the black" again.

SOUTH AMERICA: Gisela Dulko/ARG (in singles)
...it's always tempting to believe the consistent competitor will emerge. Of course, I always say that at this time of the year. If your heart is still in it, hold. If not, sell.

ASIA/PACIFIC: Jelena Dokic/AUS, Jarmila Gajdosova/AUS & Sania Mirza/IND
...all have been the subject of stories played out in the media, but the talent remains. Hold onto your shares until they close up shop.

AFRICA/MIDDLE EAST: Cara Black/ZIM
...the "golden days" success won't likely ever be replicated, but not yet a "sell now or else" candidate

RUSSIA: Maria Sharapova & Alisa Kleybanova
...because your buy-in price was so high it'd be crazy to bail now, and because it's the right thing to do.

REST OF EUROPE: Petra Kvitova/CZE, Caroline Wozniacki/DEN & Marion Bartoli/FRA (as future slam champions)
...a no-brainer, an it's-still-too-early-to-give-up situation (a year from now, that might change, though), and a "found money" prospect that you bought a while back when you had more money for extraneous purchases, but that one day might turn out to produce an I-found-a-Monet-at-a-yard-sale moment.


Part 1 of the Backspin Awards arrive soon. All for now.