Monday, November 30, 2020

2020 Backspin Awards: A Tale of Two Seasons

From the top players to Backspin's personal "MVP's" and the performances and matches of the year, as well as an additional collection of lists and honors that put a final cap on the 2020 season that was...



=TABLE OF CONTENTS=

1. 2020 Ms.Backspin
2. Regional Honors
3. Backspin Award Winners
4. "MVP" list
5. Top Performances
6. Matches of the Year
7. Comeback Matches of the Year
8. Upset Matches of the Year
9. And...





Many of 2020's Backspin Awards are seperated into Pre-Shutdown and Restart categories, but "Ms.Backspin" demands an all-encompassing recount for the purposes of maintaining the traditions of democracy...

1. Sofia Kenin, USA - Kenin problem-solved her way to her maiden slam title on the hard courts of the Australian Open, but her Restart drive to the Roland Garros final on the terre battue (hardly her favorite or best surface) may have, in an odd way, been the Bannerette's "most impressive" result of the entire season that legitimately solidified her "Player of the Year" bona fides. Her #4 finish (up from #14 in '19) was the biggest climb of any Top 10 player, and her 16-2 mark (including a win over #1 Barty in the AO semis) in majors topped the tour.



2. Naomi Osaka, JPN - already a two-time slam champ and former #1, Osaka found her off-court voice at the heart of the U.S.'s protest-filled summer, emerging as the tour's leading "equality activist" in a year in which the anniversary of the Original 9 was celebrated. Playing the role of "Messenger," Osaka (unintentionally) led a one-day boycott of the Western & Southern Open at Flushing Meadows, then walked onto court before every match of the U.S. Open while donning a different mask, with each bearing the name of a Black victim of police violence. She brought seven masks with her to NYC, and ended up using them all on her way to her second U.S. title run and her second straight #3 finish in the season-ending rankings.



3. Simona Halep, ROU - though her inability to win her second Roland Garros title (she was the #1 seed) prevented her from a third #1 season in four years, the #2-ranked Romanian's seventh straight Top 4 finish was once again the very picture of the sort of consistency that has been the hallmark of her career. Halep's three titles tied for the tour lead, while she led the tour in win percentage (23-3 - 88.5%), and posted her eighth career SF+ result (AO) at a major. Her career-best 17-match win streak was the longest on tour in seven years (and the second-longest non-Serena run since '08), and her active streak of Top 10 rankings weeks (up to 342 come the end of '20) has cracked the Top 8 in WTA history.




4. Iga Swiatek, POL - it's likely that no one was as good in 2020 as the 19-year old was during the two weeks of Roland Garros this fall, when Swiatek matter-of-factly (but without a doubt) cruised to her maiden slam (and tour) title, defeating two (Halep/4th, Kenin/F) of the season's final Top 4 while becoming the first woman to win in Paris without dropping a set other than Justine Henin (2006-07) since 1994, as well as Poland's first singles slam winner ever.







5. Timea Babos/Kristina Mladenovic, HUN/FRA - Babos & Mladenovic didn't win the most matches and/or titles, or finish atop the "2020 rankings," but their 15-1 mark included title runs at two of the three biggest events of the year. The longtime friends combined to claim their third and fourth slams together in Melbourne and Paris, with only a U.S. Open forced withdrawal (due to Mladenovic's suddenly-enforced COVID quarantine) standing between them and a possible three-pronged Grand Slam. Their only on-court loss came in a match TB in the Doha semis.



6. Hsieh Su-wei/Barbora Strycova, TPE/CZE - their 23-2 record and #1 and #2 rankings say (almost) all about the veteran, late-combining pair's work in 2020. What it leaves out is that, after winning Wimbledon in '19, they didn't add to their major haul this season, a campaign that included a tour-best four titles (three consecutively, including a pre-shutdown "Desert Double" in Dubai & Doha, followed by a Restart win in Rome seven months later) and a streak of appearances in six straight finals dating back to last year's season-ending WTAF.

7. Yui Kamiji, JPN - while the pandemic-altered ranking system prevented Kamiji from overtaking Diede de Groot for wheelchair #1, the former top-ranked Japanese star picked up four of the six slam titles contested in '20. She won the Australian Open and Roland Garros singles after de Groot had been surprisingly upset (she fell to the Dutch woman in the U.S. Open final), giving her eight WS majors in her career, and teamed again with longtime doubles partner Jordanne Whiley to win AO/US crowns. Kamiji's 24 combined slam titles in her career stand behind only WC legend Esther Vergeer.

8. Aryna Sabalenka, BLR - her furious two-straight-title rush to climb into the Top 10 in the season's closing days, securing her first such final ranking, put a triumphant exclamation point on the end of Sabalenka's campaign. Her three titles tied with Halep for the tour lead, and her s/d sweep in Ostrava (she's the lone player ranked in the Top 10 in both disciplines) was the only on tour in 2020. Her 1r-2r-3r slam results this season left much to be desired, but her September naming of Anton Dubrov as coach seems to have stoked her confidence (proving she's moved on from her split w/ former coach Dmitry Tursunov) and set the Belarusian up in '21 and, maybe, her best chance yet to finally make her major breakthrough happen.



9. Elena Rybakina, KAZ - the Kazakh was *the* revelation of the pre-shutdown schedule, reaching four finals (winning one) in the first two months of the season and climbing into the Top 20. Rybakina was rusty in the Restart, but nonetheless reached a fifth final while failing to burnish (3r-2r-2r in '20) her grand slam resume (4-5 career W/L). Still, she led the tour in aces, finals and semifinals while going 29-10.

10. Victoria Azarenka, BLR - after multiple years of grief (a custody battle, pre-COVID travel retrictions and *many* horrific draws) since becoming a mother, Azarenka finally became a force again on the WTA tour. She came roaring into the Restart playing with a lighter emotional touch (while still maintaining her game's edge), winning the Cincy/NYC title (her first in four years), reaching the U.S. Open final (her first in seven), Rome QF and Ostrava final while compiling an 18-5 mark (8-3 vs. the Top 25) and rising to #13. It's Vika's best finish since 2016, and just her second Top 20 year since the thick of her heyday in '13.




11. Jennifer Brady, USA - Brady, feeding off her work with coach Michael Geserer, completely reshaped the scope of her career in '20. After getting her first career #1 win (Barty/Brisbane) in January, she posted a trio of semifinals (including at the U.S. Open), claimed her maiden title (Lexington) during her Restart burst and climbed into the Top 25 for the first time.

12. Elise Mertens, BEL - maybe the most underrated season on the board, as the Belgian led the tour in match wins (34), reached two finals, the Cincinnati/NYC semis, U.S. Open QF and AO Round of 16. Mertens was the only player in '20 to reach hard court, clay, outdoor and indoor finals. She failed to win a singles title for the first time since 2016 (she was the only one of nine players with multiple singles final appearances to go title-less), but won the Ostrava doubles with Sabalenka, and her final week Linz WS runner-up result (to Sabalenka) got her into the season-ending Top 20 to go along with her Top 10 doubles finish.



13. Garbine Muguruza, ESP - Muguruza, with new coach Conchita Martinez in her corner, rediscovered her old form with an 11-1 start that included a spot in the Australian Open final (after three Top 10 wins). She was 16-3 before the shutdown, while her rusty Restart effort nonetheless included a Rome semifinal. After nearly falling out of the Top 40 in '19, the Spaniard returned to the Top 15.

14. Serena Williams, USA - Williams won her first post-motherhood title in Auckland and completed what would be a spectacular season for almost any *other* 39-year old tennis player. It included going 17-5, reaching the U.S. Open semis and finishing at #11. But what remains of Serena's career is about getting slam #24, and that didn't happen. Auckland was her *only* final, she didn't advance to the Round of 16 in other two majors (and w/d with an Achilles injury in Paris, ending her streak of thirteen straight seasons with a slam final appearance), recorded zero Top 10 wins (a first since '06, and just the second time since 1996) and lost her Top 10 season-ending ranking (it would have been #17, just two off Navratilova's record) with Sabalenka's eleventh hour run in Linz. The 2020 season was a "yeah-but" campaign if there ever was one, but the "ticking clock" is getting louder.




15. Elina Svitolina, UKR - Svitolina's numbers look good: 15-5, two titles and a Roland Garros QF to finish at #5, her fourth straight Top 6 season. But many of those numbers are deceiving, as her two wins (both Int'l events) were her smallest since '17, while all five of her losses were straight sets duds in which she didn't win more than six total games (including in Paris vs. #131 Nadia Podoroska, when the Ukrainian was the seeded-favorite remaining in the draw, and joined by two qualifiers and two unseeded players in her half). Still, she improved her career WTA final mark to 15-3 (11-1 since the start of '17), and 21-5 in pro events dating back to 2010. Svitolina's consecutive week streak in the Top 10 win stand at nearly 170 at the start of '21, behind only Halep and Pliskova amongst active runs.



16. Diede de Groot, NED - only de Groot could have a season in which she won both singles and doubles wheelchair slam titles, and reached four of the six major 2020 finals, and yet it's viewed as a horrible disappointment. But those are the breaks a year after the dominant Dutch player won seven of eight slams titles (she was a set away from a sweep), as well as both singles and doubles Masters events to end '19. This year began with de Groot's mentor, Esther Vergeer, having gotten a cancer diagnosis, then de Groot herself was upset in the 1st Round in Melbourne by slam first-timer Zhu Zhenzhen. The shutdown meant de Groot didn't play again, aside from the late summer Dutch National Championships (where she won the WS, and lost the WD final), until the U.S. Open. Even while battling her DF-heavy serve (an issue all year), she defeated Yui Kamiji in the final to win her third straight crown at Flushing Meadows. In Paris, she was upset in the semis by Momoko Ohtani, but rallied to win the WD w/ Aniek Van Koot (after she'd reached the AO/US WD finals). Still, the shutdown rankings and cancellation of the Masters events allowed de Groot to hold onto her #1 ranking, while the postponement of the Paralympics will (hopefully) provide her with the opportunity to get her serve right in time to challenge (in '21 in Tokyo, if all goes according to plan) for the only major WC titles she's yet to win.

17. Ash Barty, AUS - she finished #1 for a second straight season, albeit with a basket-full of shutdown-related asterisks that are topped off by the fact that Barty was just 11-3 on the season and didn't play after February. Still, the Aussie *was* off to a good start before the world stopped, including winning a Week 2 title in Adelaide, going 9-2 vs. the Top 50 overall, becoming the first Australian to reach the AO semis since 1984, and reaching the Doha final four.




18. Yui Kamiji/Jordanne Whiley, JPN/GBR - after finally reuniting last year following Whiley's motherhood break, the duo claimed two (AO/US) of the three wheelchair doubles slam crowns (#10 & #11 in their partnership), but came up just short in Paris (a loss in the RG final to de Groot/Van Koot) of a full-season sweep. Kamiji & Whiley won a WC doubles Grand Slam in 2014. Meanwhile, as Kamiji won a pair of singles slams, Whiley finally made her belated U.S. Open return (she'd missed out due to pregnancy, the Paralympics and her too-low return ranking a year ago) after having claimed her lone slam singles title in NYC in '15.



19. Petra Kvitova, CZE - Kvitova's active (and ninth all-time) best streak of seasons with a title ended with her first crown-free year since 2010, but the Czech's '20 campaign was still one of her most consistent. In her lone final run in Dubai, she notched her sixth career #1 win (def. Barty/SF), had QF-4r-SF slam results (even with just three majors, her 12 match wins were her most in a season since '12), reached her first Roland Garros semi in eight years and had her first multiple-QF+ ledger in the majors since that same '12 season. 20-6 overall, Kvitova's #8 finish is her eighth career Top 10 year in the last decade, and (w/ Sharapova's retirement) she trails only Serena (16 years) and Venus (14) amongst active WTA players.

20. Nadia Podoroska, ARG - the biggest season-long climber in the Top 100 (#255 to #47) became the first South American representative to reach a slam singles semi since 2004, the first qualifier (as #131) to do so at a major since 1999, and the first *ever* at Roland Garros. Podoroska did it in just her second slam MD appearance, knocking off #5 Elina Svitolina in the QF for her maiden career Top 10 win. Podoroska was a super-impressive (especially in '20) 43-8 on all levels this season, and was 24-5 during the Restart alone.







Kiki Bertens (NED), Diede de Groot/Aniek Van Koot (NED/NED), Ons Jabeur (TUN), Desirae Krawczyk (USA), Barbora Krejcikova (CZE), Nicole Melichar/Xu Yifan (USA/CHN), Kveta Peschke/Demi Schuurs (CZE/NED), Tsvetana Pironkova (BUL), Karolina Pliskova (CZE), Arantxa Rus/Tamara Zidansek (NED/SLO), Maria Sakkari (GRE), Laura Siegemund/Vera Zvonereva (GER/RUS), Luisa Stefani (BRA)


=2020 TOP PLAYERS=
PRE-SHUTDOWN RESTART
1. Kenin 1. Osaka
2. Hsieh/Strycova 2. Swiatek
3. Halep 3. Azarenka
4. Rybakina 4. Kamiji
5. Muguruza 5. Halep
6. Babos/Mladenovic 6. Babos/Mladenovic
7. S.Williams 7. Brady
8. Sabalenka 8. Sabalenka
9. Barty 9. Kenin
10. Ka.Pliskova 10. Mertens




2001 Jennifer Capriati / USA
2002 Serena Williams / USA
2003 Justine Henin-Hardenne / BEL
2004 Maria Sharapova / RUS
2005 Kim Clijsters / BEL
2006 Amelie Mauresmo / FRA
2007 Justine Henin / BEL
2008 Cara Black & Liezel Huber / ZIM-USA
2009 Italian Fed Cup Team
2010 Francesca Schiavone / ITA
2011 Petra Kvitova / CZE
2012 Serena Williams / USA
2013 Serena Williams / USA
2014 Czech Republic Fed Cup Team
2015 Martina Hingis & Sania Mirza / SUI-IND
2016 Angelique Kerber / GER
2017 Latisha Chan & Martina Hingis / TPE-SUI
2018 Simona Halep / ROU
2019 Ash Barty / AUS
2020 Sofia Kenin / USA


=YEARLY "Ms. Backspin" Top 10's=
[2001]
1. Jennifer Capriati, USA
2. Lindsay Davenport, USA
3. Venus Williams, USA
4t. Kim Clijsters, BEL
4t. Justine Henin, BEL
6. Martina Hingis, SUI
7. Jelena Dokic, AUS
8. Amelie Mauresmo, FRA
9. Serena Williams, USA
10. Monica Seles, USA
[2002]
1. Serena Williams, USA
2. Venus Williams, USA
3. Jennifer Capriati, USA
4. Kim Clijsters, BEL
5. Anna Smashnova, ISR
6. Daniela Hantuchova, SVK
7. Monica Seles, USA
8. Justine Henin, BEL
9. Jelena Dokic, AUS
10. Paola Suarez, ARG
[2003]
1. Justine Henin-Hardenne, BEL
2. Serena Williams, USA
3. Kim Clijsters, BEL
4t. Anastasia Myskina, RUS
4t. Elena Dementieva, RUS
6. Amelie Mauresmo, FRA
7. Maria Sharapova, RUS
8. Ai Sugiyama, JPN
9t. Virginia Ruano Pascual, ESP
9t. Paola Suarez, ARG
[2004]
1. Maria Sharapova, RUS
2. Lindsay Davenport, USA
3. Anastasia Myskina, RUS
4. Amelie Mauresmo, FRA
5. Justine Henin-Hardenne, BEL
6. Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
7. Virginia Ruano Pascual/Paola Suarez, ESP/ARG
8. Elena Dementieva, RUS
9. Serena Williams, USA
10. Vera Zvonareva, RUS
[2005]
1. Kim Clijsters, BEL
2. Lindsay Davenport, USA
3. Mary Pierce, FRA
4. Justine Henin-Hardenne, BEL
5. Serena Williams & Venus Williams, USA/USA
6. Maria Sharapova, RUS
7. Amelie Mauresmo, FRA
8. Cara Black, ZIM
9. Patty Schnyder, SUI
10. Nadia Petrova, RUS
[2006]
1. Amelie Mauresmo, FRA
2. Justine Henin-Hardenne, BEL
3. Maria Sharapova, RUS
4. Nadia Petrova, RUS
5. Lisa Raymond/Samantha Stosur, USA/AUS
6. ITA Fed Cup Team
7. Martina Hingis, SUI
8. Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
9. Kim Clijsters, BEL
10. Nicole Vaidisova, CZE
[2007]
1. Justine Henin, BEL
2. Jelena Jankovic, SRB
3. Venus Williams, USA
4. Cara Black/Liezel Huber, ZIM/USA
5. Serena Williams, USA
6. Ana Ivanovic, SRB
7. Anna Chakvetadze, RUS
8. Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
9. Maria Sharapova, RUS
10. Lisa Raymond/Samantha Stosur, USA/AUS
[2008]
1. Cara Black/Liezel Huber, ZIM/USA
2. Serena Williams, USA
3. Jelena Jankovic, SRB
4. Maria Sharapova, RUS
5. Venus Williams, USA
6. Dinara Safina, RUS
7. Ana Ivanovic, SRB
8. RUS Fed Cup Team
9. Elena Dementieva, RUS
10. Vera Zvonareva, RUS
[2009]
1. ITA Fed Cup Team
2. Serena Williams, USA
3. Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
4. Serena Williams/Venus Williams, USA/USA
5. Nuria Llagostera-Vives/Maria Jose Martinez-Sanchez, ESP/ESP
6. Dinara Safina, RUS
7. Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
8. Kim Clijsters, BEL
9. USA Fed Cup Team
10. Elena Dementieva, RUS
[2010]
1. Francesca Schiavone, ITA
2. Kim Clijsters, BEL
3. Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
4. Serena Williams, USA
5. Gisela Dulko/Flavia Pennetta, ARG/ITA
6. ITA Fed Cup Team
7. Vera Zvonareva, RUS
8. Samantha Stosur, AUS
9. Vania King/Yaroslava Shvedova, USA/KAZ
10. USA Fed Cup Team
[2011]
1. Petra Kvitova, CZE
2. Li Na, CHN
3. Liezel Huber, USA
4. Kveta Peschke/Katarina Srebotnik, CZE/SLO
5. Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
6. Liezel Huber/Lisa Raymond, USA/USA
7. Samantha Stosur, AUS
8. CZE Fed Cup Team
9. Victoria Azarenka, BLR
10. Kim Clijsters, BEL
[2012]
1. Serena Williams, USA
2. Victoria Azarenka, BLR
3. Maria Sharapova, RUS
4. Sara Errani/Roberta Vinci, ITA/ITA
5. Agnieszka Radwanska, POL
6. Sara Errani, ITA
7. CZE Fed Cup Team
8. Angelique Kerber, GER
9. Petra Kvitova, CZE
10. Serena Williams/Venus Williams, USA/USA
[2013]
1. Serena Williams, USA
2. Victoria Azarenka, BLR
3. Simona Halep, ROU
4. Hsieh Su-Wei/Peng Shuai, TPE/CHN
5. ITA Fed Cup Team
6. Roberta Vinci, ITA
7. Maria Sharapova, RUS
8. Marion Bartoli, FRA
9. Sara Errani/Roberta Vinci, ITA/ITA
10. Ekaterina Makarova/Elena Vesnina, RUS/RUS
[2014]
1. CZE Fed Cup Team
2. Serena Williams, USA
3. Maria Sharapova, RUS
4. Petra Kvitova, CZE
5. Sara Errani/Roberta Vinci, ITA/ITA
6. Simona Halep, ROU
7. Li Na, CHN
8. Genie Bouchard, CAN
9. Ana Ivanovic, SRB
10. Peng Shuai, CHN
[2015]
1. Martina Hingis/Sania Mirza, SUI/IND
2. Serena Williams, USA
3. CZE Fed Cup Team
4. Angelique Kerber, GER
5. Simona Halep, ROU
6. Garbine Muguruza, ESP
7. Timea Bacsinszky, SUI
8. Bethanie Mattek-Sands/Lucie Safarova, USA/CZE
9. Maria Sharapova, RUS
10. Karolina Pliskova, CZE
[2016]
1. Angelique Kerber, GER
2. CZE Fed Cup Team
3. Caroline Garcia/Kristina Mladenovic, FRA/FRA
4. Serena Williams, USA
5. Bethanie Mattek-Sands/Lucie Safarova, USA/CZE
6. Martina Hingis/Sania Mirza, SUI/IND
7. Ekaterina Makarova/Elena Vesnina, RUS/RUS
8. Karolina Pliskova, CZE
9. FRA Fed Cup Team
10. Garbine Muguruza, ESP
[2017]
1. Latisha Chan & Martina Hingis, TPE/SUI
2. Alona Ostapenko, LAT
3. Garbine Muguruza, ESP
4. Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
5. Simona Halep, ROU
6. Elina Svitolina, UKR
7. Venus Williams, USA
8. Bethanie Mattek-Sands & Lucie Safarova, USA/CZE
9. Caroline Garcia, FRA
10t. USA Fed Cup Team
10t. CoCo Vandeweghe, USA
[2018]
1. Simona Halep, ROU
2. Naomi Osaka, JPN
3. Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
4. Angelique Kerber, GER
5. Petra Kvitova, CZE
6. CZE Fed Cup Team
7. Kiki Bertens, NED
8. Diede de Groot, NED (WC)
9. Sloane Stephens, USA
10. Elina Svitolina, UKR
[2019]
1. Ash Barty, AUS
2. Bianca Andreescu, CAN
3. Diede de Groot, NED (WC)
4. Elise Mertens/Ayrna Sabalenka, BEL/BLR
5. Timea Babos/Kristina Mladenovic, HUN/FRA
6. Naomi Osaka, JPN
7. Hsieh Su-wei/Barbora Strycova, TPE/CZE
8. Simona Halep, ROU
9. French Fed Cup Team
10. Serena Williams, USA







==NORTH AMERICAN & ATLANTIC REGION==
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Sofia Kenin, USA
RUNNER-UP: Jennifer Brady, USA
JUNIOR: Robin Montgomery, USA
DOUBLES: Nicole Melichar, USA
DOUBLES RU: Gaby Dabrowski, CAN
IMPROVED: Jennifer Brady, USA and Leylah Fernandez, CAN
WHEELCHAIR: Dana Mathewson, USA
FINALLY!: a Mexican (Renata Zarazua) in a slam main draw
KEEP AN EYE ON...: the return of Bianca Andreescu in '21
=MARKET WATCH=
BUY: Katrina Scott (USA) and Ann Li (USA)
SELL: Venus Williams (USA) and Sloane Stephens (USA)
HOLD: Serena's quest for #24, and CoCo Vandeweghe (USA)

==SOUTH & CENTRAL AMERICAN REGION==
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Nadia Podoroska, ARG
RUNNER-UP: Luisa Stefani, BRA
JUNIOR: Dana Guzman, PER
DOUBLES: Luisa Stefani, BRA
DOUBLES RU: Alexa Guarachi, CHI
IMPROVED: Nadia Podoroska, ARG and Maria Carle, ARG
WHEELCHAIR: Angelica Bernal, COL
FINALLY!: a South American slam breakthrough (Podoroska to RG semis as qualifier)
KEEP AN EYE ON...: the long-overdue "new momentum" of women's tennis in Argentina
=MARKET WATCH=
BUY: Maria Camila Osorio Serrano (COL) and Ingrid Gamarra Martins (BRA)
SELL: Charlotte Roemer (ECU)
HOLD: Beatriz Haddad Maia (BRA)...and hope 2020's ITF comeback carries over

==ASIA/PACIFIC REGION==
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Naomi Osaka, JPN
RUNNER-UP: Elena Rybakina, KAZ
JUNIOR: Alexandra Eala, PHI and Priska Madelyn Nugroho, INA
DOUBLES: Hsieh Su-wei, TPE
DOUBLES RU: Xu Yifan, CHN
IMPROVED: Elena Rybakina, KAZ and Zhu Zhenzhen, CHN (WC)
WHEELCHAIR: Yui Kamiji, JPN
FINALLY!: an Aussie AO semifinalist (Ash Barty) for the first time since '84
KEEP AN EYE ON...: a possible Olympic/Paralympic singles Gold medal sweep in Tokyo by Osaka and Kamiji
=MARKET WATCH=
BUY: Zheng Qinwen (CHN) and Momoko Ohtani (JPN) [WC]
SELL: Luksika Kumkhum (THA)
HOLD: Dasha Gavrilova (AUS) and Samantha Stosur (AUS)

==AFRICA/MIDDLE EAST/MEDITERRANEAN/CAUCASUS REGION==
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Maria Sakkari, GRE
RUNNER-UP: Ons Jabeur, TUN
JUNIOR: Michaela Laki, GRE
DOUBLES: Oksana Kalashnikova, GEO
DOUBLES RU: Ekaterine Gorgodze, GEO
IMPROVED: Mayar Sherif, EGY
WHEELCHAIR: KG Montjane, RSA
FINALLY!: Sherif is first player representing Egypt in a slam singles MD (RG)
KEEP AN EYE ON...: Sherif possibly becoming the first Egyptian WTA finalist and/or titlist (singles or doubles)
=MARKET WATCH=
BUY: Sandra Samir (EGY)
SELL: Sofia Shapatava (GEO)
HOLD: Cagla Buyukakcay (TUR)

==RUSSIA & EASTERN EUROPEAN REGION==
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Simona Halep, ROU
RUNNERS-UP: Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
JUNIOR: Polina Kudermetova, RUS and Alina Charaeva, RUS
DOUBLES: Vera Zvonareva, RUS
DOUBLES RU: Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
IMPROVED: Varvara Gracheva, RUS and Marta Kostyuk, UKR
WHEELCHAIR: Viktoriia Lvova, RUS
FINALLY!: Sabalenka's first Top 10 singles season; Victoria Azarenka's first slam final since '13
KEEP AN EYE ON...: Sabalenka finally having her slam breakthrough result (or joining Smashnova and Medina Garrigues as the only players in WTA history with 10+ titles and no QF in a major - she has 8 titles); Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (12 titles) becoming the only player in WTA history with 13+ titles and no slam SF result
=MARKET WATCH=
BUY: Kamilla Rakhimova (RUS), Oksana Selekhmeteva (RUS) and Kamilla Bartone (LAT)
SELL: Mihaela Buzarnescu (ROU)
HOLD: Dasha Kasatkina (RUS) and Anastasia Potapova (RUS)

==WESTERN EUROPEAN REGION==
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Iga Swiatek, POL
RUNNER-UP: Elise Mertens, BEL and Garbine Muguruza, ESP
JUNIORS: Elsa Jacquemot, FRA and Victoria Jimenez Kastinseva, AND
DOUBLES: Timea Babos/Kristina Mladenovic, HUN/FRA
DOUBLES RU: Barbora Strycova, CZE
IMPROVED: Iga Swiatek, POL, Barbora Krejcikova, CZE (singles) and Martina Trevisan, ITA
WHEELCHAIR: Diede de Groot, NED
KEEP AN EYE ON...: The New Dane in Town (Clara Tauson); the Battle for French #1 (Ferro vs. Garcia vs. Mladenovic vs. Cornet?)
=MARKET WATCH=
BUY: the Fruhvirtova sisters (Linda & Brenda, CZE), Elisabetta Cocciaretto (ITA) and Kaja Juvan (SLO)
SELL: Kim Clijsters (BEL), Johanna Konta (GBR) and the slam title hopes of Karolina Pliskova (CZE) (even w/ "Big Sascha" aboard, at least for a while, in '21)
HOLD: Viktoria Kuzmova (SVK), Sara Errani (ITA) and Angelique Kerber (GER) [for one more slam year]




**YEARLY REGIONAL PLAYER-OF-THE-YEAR WINNERS**
==NORTH AMERICAN & ATLANTIC REGION==
2008 Serena Williams, USA
2009 Serena Williams, USA
2010 Serena Williams, USA
2011 Serena Williams, USA
2012 Serena Williams, USA
2013 Serena Williams, USA
2014 Serena Williams, USA
2015 Serena Williams, USA
2016 Serena Williams, USA
2017 Venus Williams, USA
2018 Sloane Stephens, USA
2019 Bianca Andreescu, CAN
2020 Sofia Kenin, USA

==SOUTH & CENTRAL AMERICAN REGION==
2008 Gisela Dulko, ARG
2009 Gisela Dulko, ARG
2010 Gisela Dulko, ARG
2011 Gisela Dulko, ARG
2012 Paula Ormaechea, ARG
2013 Paula Ormaechea, ARG
2014 Paula Ormaechea, ARG
2015 Teliana Pereira, BRA
2016 Mariana Duque, COL
2017 Beatriz Haddad, BRA
2018 Mariana Duque, COL
2019 Beatriz Haddad, BRA
2020 Nadia Podoroska, ARG

==ASIA/PACIFIC REGION==
2008 Zheng Jie, CHN
2009 Samantha Stosur, AUS
2010 Samantha Stosur, AUS
2011 Li Na, CHN
2012 Li Na, CHN
2013 Li Na, CHN
2014 Li Na, CHN
2015 Sania Mirza, IND
2016 Sania Mirza, IND
2017 Latisha Chan, TPE
2018 Naomi Osaka, JPN
2019 Ash Barty, AUS
2020 Naomi Osaka, JPN

==AFRICA/MIDDLE EAST/MEDITERRANEAN/CAUCASUS REGION==
2008 Cara Black, ZIM
2009 Shahar Peer, ISR
2010 Shahar Peer, ISR
2011 Chanelle Scheepers, RSA
2012 Chanelle Scheepers, RSA
2013 Cara Black, ZIM
2014 Cara Black, ZIM
2015 Ons Jabeur, TUN
2016 Cagla Buyukakcay, TUR
2017 Maria Sakkari, GRE
2018 Maria Sakkari, GRE
2019 Maria Sakkari, GRE
2020 Maria Sakkari, GRE

==EUROPE==
[Non-Russian Europe, 2008-12]
2008 Jelena Jankovic, SRB
2009 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
2010 Francesca Schiavone, ITA
2011 Petra Kvitova, CZE
2012 Victoria Azarenka, BLR
[Russia, 2008-15]
2008 Dinara Safina
2009 Svetlana Kuznetsova
2010 Vera Zvonareva
2011 Maria Sharapova
2012 Maria Sharapova
2013 Maria Sharapova
2014 Maria Sharapova
2015 Maria Sharapova
[Non-Russian Eastern Europe, 2013-15]
2013 Victoria Azarenka, BLR
2014 Simona Halep, ROU
2015 Simona Halep, ROU
***
[RUSSIA & EASTERN EUROPEAN REGION]
2016 Ekaterina Makarova & Elena Vesnina, RUS/RUS
2017 Alona Ostapenko, LAT
2018 Simona Halep, ROU
2019 Simona Halep, ROU
2020 Simona Halep, ROU
[WESTERN EUROPEAN REGION]
2013 Aga Radwanska, POL
2014 Petra Kvitova, CZE
2015 Martina Hingis, SUI
2016 Angelique Kerber, GER
2017 Garbine Muguruza, ESP
2018 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
2019 Karolina Pliskova, CZE
2020 Iga Swiatek, POL



=2020 TOP REGIONAL PLAYERS=
REGION PRE-SHUTDOWN RESTART
N.A. Kenin, USA Brady, USA
S.A. Podoroska, ARG Podoroska, ARG
A/P Rybakina, KAZ Osaka, JPN
AFR+ Jabeur, TUN Sakkari, GRE
E.E. Halep, ROU Azarenka, BLR
W.E. Muguruza, ESP Swiatek, POL










=RISERS=
PRE-SHUTDOWN RESTART
1. Aryna Sabalenka, BLR 1. Jennifer Brady, USA
2. Ash Barty, AUS 2. Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
3. Ons Jabeur, TUN 3. Sofia Kenin, USA
4. Ekaterina Alexandrova, RUS 4. Elise Mertens, BEL
5. Wang Qiang, CHN 5. Nadia Podoroska, ARG
6. Jessica Pegula, USA 6. Elina Svitolina, UKR
7. Jennifer Brady, USA 7. Maria Sakkari, GRE
8. Elina Svitolina, UKR 8. Fiona Ferro, FRA
9. Magda Linette, POL 9. Danielle Collins, USA
10. Maria Sakkari, GRE 10. Ekaterina Alexandrova, RUS


=SURPRISES=
PRE-SHUTDOWN RESTART
1. Renata Zarazua, MEX 1. Nadia Podoroska, ARG
2. Leonie Kung, SUI 2. Martina Trevisan, ITA
3. Zhu Zhenzhen, CHN (WC) 3. Renata Zarazua, MEX
4. Anna-Lena Friedsam, GER 4. Mayar Sherif, EGY
5. Storm Sanders, AUS 5. Barbora Krejcikova, CZE
6. Arantxa Rus, NED 6. Patricia Maria Tig, ROU
7. Jaqueline Cristian, ROU 7. Jessica Pegula, USA
8. L-I.Paar/J.Wachaczyk, ROU/GER 8. Sara Sorribes Tormo, ESP
9. Zhu Lin, CHN 9. Astra Sharma, AUS
10. Greet Minnen, BEL 10. Jasmine Paolini, ITA


=VETERANS=
PRE-SHUTDOWN RESTART
1. Hsieh/Strycova, TPE/CZE 1. Victoria Azarenka, BLR
2. Simona Halep, ROU 2. Simona Halep, ROU
3. Serena Williams, USA 3. Tsvetana Pironkova, BUL
4. Karolina Pliskova, CZE 4. Laura Siegemund, GER
5. Kiki Bertens, NED 5. Petra Kvitova, CZE
6. Heather Watson, GBR 6. Serena Williams, USA
7. Petra Kvitova, CZE 7. Alize Cornet, FRA
8. Petra Martic, CRO 8. Petra Martic, CRO
9. Anastasia Rodionova, AUS 9. Kiki Bertens, NED
10. Kateryna Bondarenko, UKR 10. Zhang Shuai, CHN


=COMEBACKS=
PRE-SHUTDOWN RESTART
1. Garbine Muguruza, ESP 1. Victoria Azarenka, BLR
2. Heather Watson, GBR 2. Tsvetana Pironkova, BUL
3. Anna-Lena Friedsam, GER 3. Laura Siegemund, GER
4. Alona Ostapenko, LAT 4. Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, SVK
5. Oceane Dodin, FRA 5. Genie Bouchard, CAN
6. CiCi Bellis, USA 6. Shelby Rogers, USA
7. Sania Mirza, IND 7. CiCi Bellis, USA
8. Olga Govortsova, BLR 8. Alona Ostapenko, LAT
9. Kateryna Bondarenko, UKR 9. Sara Errani, ITA
10. Patricia Maria Tig, ROU 10. Oceane Dodin, FRA


=FRESH FACES=
PRE-SHUTDOWN RESTART
1. Elena Rybakina, KAZ 1. Iga Swiatek, POL
2. Leylah Fernandez, CAN 2. Clara Tauson, DEN
3. Marie Bouzkova, CZE 3. Leylah Fernandez, CAN
4. Leonie Kung, SUI 4. Clara Burel, FRA
5. Coco Gauff, USA 5. Coco Gauff, USA
6. Iga Swiatek, POL 6. Paula Badosa, ESP
7. Wang Xiyu, CHN 7. Varvara Gracheva, RUS
8. Veronika Kudermetova, RUS 8. Ann Li, USA
9. Liudmila Samsonova, RUS 9. Kaja Juvan, SLO
10. Gauff/McNally, USA/USA 10. Veronika Kudermetova, RUS


=DOUBLES=
PRE-SHUTDOWN RESTART
1. Hsieh/Strycova, TPE/CZE 1. Babos/Mladenovic, HUN/FRA
2. Babos/Mladenovic, HUN/FRA 2. Hsieh/Strycova, TPE/CZE
3. Krejcikova/Siniakova, CZE/CZE 3. Siegemund/Zvonareva, GER/RUS
4. Barbora Krejcikova, CZE 4. Peschke/Schuurs, CZE/NED
5. Muhammad/Townsend, USA/USA 5. Rus/Zidansek, NED/SLO
6. Melichar/Xu, USA/CHN 6. Carter/Stefani, USA/BRA
7. N.Kichenok/Mirza, UKR/IND 7. Mertens/Sabalenka, BEL/BLR
8. Gauff/McNally, USA/USA 8. Guarachi/Krawczyk, CHI/USA
9. Krawczyk/Olmos, USA/MEX 9. Meilchar/Xu, USA/CHN
10. K.Bondarenko/Fichman, UKR/CAN 10. Melichar/Schuurs, USA/NED


=JUNIORS=
PRE-SHUTDOWN RESTART
1. Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva, AND 1. Elsa Jacquemot, FRA
2. Weronika Baszak, POL 2. Zheng Qinwen, CHN
3. Alexandra Vecic, GER 3. Robin Montgomery, USA
4. Bai Zhuoxuan, CHN 4. Matilda Mutavdzic, GBR
5. Polina Kudermetova, RUS 5. Alina Charaeva, RUS
6. Robin Montgomery, USA 6. Charaeva/Selekhmeteva, RUS/RUS
7. Diana Shnaider, RUS 7. Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva, AND
8. Romana Cisovska, SVK 8. Alvisi/Pigato, ITA/ITA
9. Elvina Kalieva, USA 9. Sarah Hamner, USA
10. Matilde Paoletti, ITA 10. Ashley Krueger, USA
HM- Kristina Dmitruk, BLR HM- Brenda Fruhvirtova, CZE


=ITF TOUR=
PRE-SHUTDOWN RESTART
1. Irina-Camelia Begu, ROU 1. Beatriz Haddad Maia, BRA
2. Olga Govortsova, BLR 2. Mayar Sherif, EGY
3. Shelby Rogers, USA 3. Cici Bellis, USA
4. Nadia Podoroska, ARG 4. Georgina Garcia Perez, ESP
5. Marta Kostyuk, UKR 5. Zheng Qinwen, CHN
6. Ingrid Gamarra Martins, BRA 6. Ann Li, USA
7. Mayar Sherif, EGY 7. Federica Di Sarra, ITA
8. Aleksandra Krunic, SRB (WD) 8. Kaia Kanepi, EST
9. Sandra Samir, EGY 9. Maria Carle, ARG
10. Maddison Inglis, AUS 10. Sara Sorribes Tormo, ESP


=NCAA (pre-shutdown)=
PLAYER/NATION SCHOOL
1. Ashley Lahey, USA Pepperdine
2. Estela Perez-Somarriba, ESP Miami (Fla.)
3. Alexa Graham, USA North Carolina
4. Anna Turati, ITA Texas
5. Sara Daavettila, USA North Carolina


=WHEELCHAIR=
PRE-SHUTDOWN RESTART
1. Yui Kamiji, JPN 1. Yui Kamiji, JPN
2. Kamiji/Whiley, JPN/GBR 2. Diede de Groot, NED
3. Jordanne Whiley, GBR 3. Kamiji/Whiley, JPN/GBR
4. Aniek Van Koot, NED 4. Momoko Ohtani, JPN
5. Zhu Zhenzhen, CHN 5. de Groot/Van Koot, NED/NED


=DOWN=
PRE-SHUTDOWN RESTART
1. Sloane Stephens, USA 1. Karolina Pliskova, CZE
2. Diede de Groot, NED (WC) 2. Sloane Stephens, USA
3. Venus Williams, USA 3. Venus Williams, USA
4. Naomi Osaka, JPN 4. Kristina Mladenovic, FRA (WS)
5. Caroline Garcia, FRA 5. Johanna Konta, GBR


=MOST IMPROVED=
PRE-SHUTDOWN RESTART
1. Ons Jabeur, TUN 1. Jennifer Brady, USA
2. Leylah Fernandez, CAN 2. Nadia Podoroska, ARG
3. Jennifer Brady, USA 3. Iga Swiatek, POL
4. Jaqueline Cristian, ROU 4. Martina Trevisan, ITA
5. Leonie Kung, SUI 5. Barbora Krejcikova, CZE
6. Kaja Juvan, SLO 6. Leylah Fernandez, CAN
7. Carter/Stefani, USA/BRA 7. Ann Li, USA
8. C.Dolehide/M.Sanchez, USA/USA 8. Kaja Juvan, SLO
9. Ann Li, USA 9. Elisabetta Cocciaretto, ITA
10. Paula Badosa, ESP 10. Sara Sorribes Tormo, ESP
HM- Usue Arconada, USA HM- Momoko Ohtani, JPN (WC)


=COACH=
PRE-SHUTDOWN RESTART
1. Conchita Martinez (Muguruza) 1. Michael Geserer (Brady)
2. Stefano Vukov (Rybakina) 2. Piotr Sierzputowski & Daria Abramowicz (Swiatek)
3. Alex Kenin (S.Kenin) 3. Dorian Descloix (Azarenka)
4. Michael Geserer (Brady) 4. Anton Dubrov (Sabalenka)
5. Othmane Garma (Jabeur) 5. Juan Pablo Guzman (Podoroska)
HM- Tom Hill (Sakkari) & Cori Gauff (Co.Gauff) HM- Silvia Soler Espinosa (Sorribes Tormo)


=FED CUP PLAYERS=
QUALIFYING ROUND ZONES
1. Aliaksandra Sasnovich, BLR 1. Dayana Yastremska, UKR
2. Alona Ostapenko, LAT (L) 2. Krunic/Stojanovic, SRB
3. Carla Suarez-Navarro, ESP 3. Elisabetta Cocciaretto, ITA
4. Kiki Bertens, NED (L) 4. Anett Kontaveit, EST (L)
5. Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, SVK 5. Iga Swiatek, POL
6. Jil Teichmann, SUI
7. Ekaterina Alexandrova, RUS
8. Sara Sorribes Tormo, ESP
9. Elise Mertens, BEL
10. Kirsten Flipkens, BEL


=FED CUP CAPTAINS=
QUALIFYING ROUND ZONES
1. Igor Andreev, RUS 1. Tathiana Garbin, ITA
2. Anabel Medina-Garrigues, ESP 2. Tatjana Jecmenica, SRB
3. Kathy Rinaldi, USA 3. Agustin Moreno, MEX
4. Adrian Zguns, LAT (L) 4. Marina Erakovic, NZL
5. Tatiana Poutchek, BLR 5. Mikhail Filima, UKR










**HARD COURT PLAYER OF THE YEAR WINNERS**
2004 Lindsay Davenport, USA
2005 Kim Clijsters, BEL
2006 Maria Sharapova, RUS
2007 Justine Henin, BEL
2008 Serena Williams, USA
2009 Elena Dementieva, RUS
2010 Kim Clijsters, BEL
2011 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
2012 Victoria Azarenka, BLR
2013 Serena Williams, USA
2014 Serena Williams, USA
2015 Serena Williams, USA
2016 Angelique Kerber, GER
2017 Elina Svitolina, UKR
2018 Naomi Osaka, JPN
2019 Bianca Andreescu, CAN
2020a Sofia Kenin, USA
2020b Naomi Osaka, JPN

**CLAY COURT PLAYER OF THE YEAR WINNERS**
2004 Amelie Mauresmo, FRA
2005 Justine Henin-Hardenne, BEL
2006 Nadia Petrova, RUS
2007 Justine Henin, BEL
2008 Dinara Safina, RUS
2009 Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
2010 Samantha Stosur, AUS
2011 Li Na, CHN
2012 Maria Sharapova, RUS
2013 Serena Williams, USA
2014 Maria Sharapova, RUS
2015 Angelique Kerber, GER
2016 Caroline Garcia/Kristina Mladenovic, FRA/FRA
2017 Simona Halep, ROU
2018 Simona Halep, ROU
2019 Ash Barty, AUS
2020 Iga Swiatek, POL

**GRASS COURT PLAYER OF THE YEAR WINNERS**
2004 Maria Sharapova, RUS
2005 Venus Williams, USA
2006 Amelie Mauresmo, FRA
2007 Venus Williams, USA
2008 Venus Williams, USA
2009 Serena Williams, USA
2010 Serena Williams, USA
2011 Petra Kvitova, CZE
2012 Serena Williams, USA
2013 Marion Bartoli, FRA
2014 Petra Kvitova, CZE
2015 Serena Williams, USA
2016 Serena Williams, USA
2017 Garbine Muguruza, ESP
2018 Angelique Kerber, GER
2019 Simona Halep, ROU
2020 -

**INDOOR PLAYER OF THE YEAR WINNERS**
2004 Anastasia Myskina, RUS
2005 Mary Pierce, FRA
2006 Maria Sharapova, RUS
2007 Justine Henin, BEL
2008 Jelena Jankovic, SRB
2009 Amelie Mauresmo, FRA
2010 Ana Ivanovic, SRB
2011 Petra Kvitova, CZE
2012 Angelique Kerber, GER
2013 Serena Williams, USA
2014 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, RUS
2015 Aga Radwanska, POL
2016 Dominika Cibulkova, SVK
2017 Julia Goerges, GER
2018 Elina Svitolina, UKR
2019 Timea Babos/Kristina Mladenovic, HUN/FRA
2020a Kiki Bertens, NED
2020b Aryna Sabalenka, BLR

**WHEELCHAIR PLAYER OF THE YEAR WINNERS**
2014 Yui Kamiji/Jordanne Whiley, JPN/GBR
2015 Jiske Griffioen, NED
2016 Jiske Griffioen, NED
2017 Yui Kamiji, JPN
2018 Diede de Groot, NED
2019 Diede de Groot, NED
2020a Yui Kamiji, JPN
2020b Yui Kamiji, JPN

*"RISING PLAYER" WINNERS*
2002 Daniela Hantuchova, SVK
2003 Elena Dementieva, RUS
2004 Maria Sharapova, RUS & Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
2005 Anna-Lena Groenefeld, GER
2006 Nadia Petrova, RUS
2007 Jelena Jankovic, SRB & Ana Ivanovic, SRB
2008 Dinara Safina, RUS
2009 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
2010 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
2011 Victoria Azarenka, BLR
2012 Aga Radwanska, POL
2013 Simona Halep, ROU
2014 Simona Halep, ROU & Genie Bouchard, CAN
2015 Garbine Muguruza, ESP
2016 Karolina Pliskova, CZE
2017 Caroline Garcia, FRA
2018 Naomi Osaka, JPN
2019 Sofia Kenin, USA
2020a Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
2020b Jennifer Brady, USA

*"FRESH FACE" WINNERS*
2002 Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
2003 Maria Sharapova, RUS
2004 Tatiana Golovin, FRA
2005 Nicole Vaidisova, CZE
2006 Nicole Vaidisova, CZE
2007 Agnes Szavay, HUN
2008 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
2009 Victoria Azarenka, BLR
2010 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, RUS
2011 Monica Niculescu, ROU
2012 Laura Robson, GBR
2013 Sloane Stephens, USA & Genie Bouchard, CAN
2014 Belinda Bencic, SUI
2015 Belinda Bencic, SUI
2016 Dasha Kasatkina, RUS
2017 Alona Ostapenko, LAT
2018 Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
2019 Bianca Andreescu, CAN
2020a Elena Rybakina, KAZ
2020b Iga Swiatek, POL

*JUNIOR/"NextGen" WINNERS*
2002 Vera Zvonareva, RUS
2003 Vera Dushevina, RUS
2004 Maria Kirilenko, RUS & Nicole Vaidisova, CZE
2005 Ana Ivanovic, SRB
2006 Olga Puchkova, RUS
2007 Tamira Paszek, AUT
2008 Michelle Larcher de Brito, POR & Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, RUS
2009 Melanie Oudin, USA
2010 Alisa Kleybanova, RUS
2011 Caroline Garcia, FRA
2012 Taylor Townsend/Genie Bouchard, USA/CAN
2013 Belinda Bencic, SUI
2014 CiCi Bellis, USA
2015 Dalma Galfi, HUN
2016 Kayla Day, USA
2017 Claire Liu, USA
2018 Wang Xiyu, CHN
2019 Coco Gauff, USA
2020a Victoria Jimenez Kastinseva, AND
2020b Elsa Jacquemot, FRA

*NCAA PLAYER*
2015 Jamie Loeb, USA (North Carolina)
2016 Danielle Collins, USA (Virginia)
2017 Francesca Di Lorenzo, USA (Ohio State)
2018 Astra Sharma, AUS (Vanderbilt)
2019 Estela Perez-Somarriba, ESP (Miami)
2020 Ashley Lahey, USA (North Carolina)

*"SURPRISE" WINNERS*
2002 Anna Smashnova, ISR
2003 Anca Barna, GER
2004 Claudine Schaul, LUX
2005 Samantha Stosur, AUS
2006 Severine Bremond, FRA
2007 Sybille Bammer, AUT
2008 Aleksandra Wozniak, CAN
2009 Yanina Wickmayer, BEL
2010 Vania King/Yaroslava Shvedova, USA/KAZ
2011 Galina Voskoboeva, KAZ
2012 Sara Errani, ITA
2013 Karin Knapp, ITA
2014 Tereza Smitkova, CZE
2015 Johanna Konta, GBR
2016 NED Fed Cup Team
2017 BLR Fed Cup Team
2018 Mihaela Buzarnescu, ROU
2019 Jil Teichmann, SUI
2020a Renata Zarazua, MEX
2020b Nadia Podoroska, ARG

*"VETERAN" WINNERS*
2002 Monica Seles, USA
2003 Ai Sugiyama, JPN
2004 Lindsay Davenport, USA
2005 Lindsay Davenport, USA
2006 Martina Hingis, SUI
2007 Venus Williams, USA
2008 Cara Black/Liezel Huber, ZIM/USA
2009 Serena Williams, USA
2010 Francesca Schiavone, ITA
2011 Li Na, CHN
2012 Serena Williams, USA
2013 Serena Williams, USA
2014 Serena Williams, USA
2015 Serena Williams, USA
2016 Angelique Kerber, GER
2017 Venus Williams, USA
2018 Angelique Kerber, GER
2019 Simona Halep, ROU
2020a Hsieh Su-wei/Barbora Strycova, TPE/CZE
2020b Victoria Azarenka, BLR

*"COMEBACK" WINNERS*
2002 Chanda Rubin, USA
2003 Lina Krasnoroutskaya, RUS
2004 Mary Pierce, FRA
2005 Venus Williams, USA
2006 Martina Hingis, SUI
2007 Serena Williams/Venus Williams, USA/USA
2008 Flavia Pennetta, ITA
2009 Kim Clijsters, BEL
2010 Justine Henin, BEL
2011 Sabine Lisicki, GER
2012 Hsieh Su-wei, TPE
2013 Jelena Jankovic, SRB
2014 Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, CRO
2015 Russian Fed Cup Team
2016 Dominika Cibulkova, SVK
2017 Petra Kvitova, CZE
2018 Serena Williams, USA
2019 Johanna Konta, GBR
2020a Garbine Muguruza, ESP
2020b Victoria Azarenka, BLR

*"MOST IMPROVED PLAYER" WINNERS*
2003 Francesca Schiavone, ITA
2004 Alicia Molik, AUS
2005 Kveta Peschke, CZE
2006 Jelena Jankovic, SRB
2007 Marion Bartoli, FRA
2008 Vera Zvonareva, RUS
2009 Samantha Stosur, AUS
2010 Kaia Kanepi, EST
2011 Aga Radwanska, POL
2012 Varvara Lepchenko, USA
2013 Julia Glushko, ISR and Alison Riske, USA
2014 Alize Cornet, FRA
2015 Dasha Gavrilova, RUS/AUS
2016 Monica Puig, PUR
2017 Maria Sakkari, GRE and Beatriz Haddad Maia, BRA
2018 Kiki Bertens, NED and Wang Qiang, CHN
2019 Karolina Muchova, CZE
2020a Ons Jabeur, TUN
2020b Jennifer Brady, USA

*"DOWN" WINNERS*
2002 Meghann Shaughnessy, USA
2003 Daniela Hantuchova, SVK
2004 Jelena Dokic, SRB
2005 Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
2006 Serena Williams/Venus Williams, USA/USA
2007 Maria Sharapova, RUS
2008 Nicole Vaidisova, CZE
2009 Ana Ivanovic, SRB
2010 Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
2011 Venus Williams, USA
2012 Vera Zvonareva, RUS
2013 Nadia Petrova, RUS
2014 Victoria Azarenka, BLR
2015 Genie Bouchard, CAN
2016 Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, SVK
2017 Angelique Kerber, GER
2018 CoCo Vandeweghe, USA
2019 Dasha Kasatkina, RUS
2020a Sloane Stephens, USA
2020b Karolina Pliskova, CZE

*"DOUBLES" WINNERS*
2003 Martina Navratilova, USA
2004 Virginia Ruano Pascual, ESP
2005 Cara Black, ZIM
2006 Lisa Raymond, USA
2007 Cara Black/Liezel Huber, ZIM/USA
2008 Cara Black/Liezel Huber, ZIM/USA
2009 Nuria Llagostera-Vives/MJ. Martinez-Sanchez, ESP/ESP
2010 Gisela Dulko, ARG
2011 Liezel Huber, USA
2012 Sara Errani/Roberta Vinci, ITA/ITA
2013 Kristina Mladenovic, FRA
2014 Sara Errani/Roberta Vinci, ITA/ITA
2015 Martina Hingis, SUI
2016 Caroline Garcia/Kristina Mladenovic, FRA/FRA
2017 Latisha Chan/Martina Hingis, TPE/SUI
2018 Demi Schuurs, NED
2019 Elise Mertens/Aryna Sabalenka, BEL/BLR
2020a Hsieh Su-wei/Barbora Strycova, TPE/CZE
2020b Timea Babos/Kristina Mladenovic, HUN/FRA

*"TEAM OF THE YEAR" WINNERS*
2003 Virginia Ruano Pascual/Paola Suarez, ESP/ARG
2004 Virginia Ruano Pascual/Paola Suarez, ESP/ARG
2005 Serena Williams/Venus Williams, USA/USA
2006 Lisa Raymond/Samantha Stosur, USA/AUS
2007 Cara Black/Liezel Huber, ZIM/USA
2008 Cara Black/Liezel Huber, ZIM/USA
2009 Italian Fed Cup Team
2010 Gisela Dulko/Flavia Pennetta, ARG/ITA
2011 Kveta Peschke/Katarina Srebotnik, CZE/SLO
2012 Czech Republic Fed Cup Team
2013 Hsieh Su-Wei/Peng Shuai, TPE/CHN
2014 Czech Republic Fed Cup Team
2015 Czech Republic Fed Cup Team
2016 Czech Republic Fed Cup Team
2017 U.S. Fed Cup Team
2018 Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova, CZE/CZE
2019 French Fed Cup Team
2020 New York Empire [WTT]

*"ITF PLAYER OF THE YEAR" WINNERS*
2008 Anna-Lena Groenefeld, GER
2009 Barbora Zahlavova-Strycova, CZE
2010 Mathilde Johansson, FRA
2011 Casey Dellacqua, AUS
2012 Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor, ESP
2013 Reka-Luca Jani, HUN
2014 Denisa Allertova, CZE
2015 Dasha Kasatkina, RUS
2016 Isabella Shinikova, BUL
2017 Mihaela Buzarnescu, ROU
2018 Viktoria Kuzmova, SVK
2019 Arantxa Rus, NED
2020a Irina-Camelia Begu, ROU
2020b Beatriz Haddad Maia, BRA

*"FED CUP PLAYER OF THE YEAR" WINNERS*
2005 Elena Dementieva, RUS
2006 Francesca Schiavone, ITA
2007 Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
2008 Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
2009 Flavia Pennetta, ITA
2010 Flavia Pennetta, ITA
2011 Petra Kvitova, CZE
2012 Petra Kvitova, CZE
2013 Roberta Vinci, ITA
2014 Petra Kvitova, CZE
2015 Karolina Pliskova, CZE
2016 Caroline Garcia, FRA*
2017 CoCo Vandeweghe, USA
2018 Petra Kvitova, CZE
2019 Ash Barty, AUS*
2020 [qualifying] Aliaksandra Sasnovich, BLR*
2020 [zones] Dayana Yastremska, UKR*
--
* - non-championship team

*"FED CUP CAPTAIN OF THE YEAR" WINNERS*
2015 Amelie Mauresmo, FRA*
2016 Paul Haarhuis, NED*
2017 Kathy Rinaldi, USA
2018 Kathy Rinaldi, USA*
2019 Julien Benneteau, FRA
2020 [qualifying] Igor Andreev, RUS*
2020 [zones] Tathiana Garbin, ITA*
--
* - non-championship team

*"COACH OF THE YEAR" WINNERS*
2018 Sascha Bajin (Osaka)
2019 Sylvain Bruneau (Andreescu) and Dimitri Zavialoff (Konta)
2020a Conchita Martinez (Muguruza)
2020b Michael Geserer (Brady)








In a 2020 season in which tennis *wasn't* played for longer than it actually *was*, the personal Backspin list of "most valuable" people, notions, trends and absences includes, amongst other things, a player who didn't play a single match, a title that never came... and a woman who's been dead for eighty-two years.

Hey, it's 2020... you're not allowed to be surprised.


1. Tennis in the Time of Coronavirus


...a shutdown. A Restart. Empty arenas. Masked champions. And a season that, despite all its flaws, was more "complete" than it seemed like it'd ever possibly be in the spring.
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2. "The Vikaissance" (pssst... it was real)


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3. Suzanne Lenglen




The nine-post, "Suzanne Lenglen Month" (Part I & II) drama -- starring La Divine, Papa, Helen Wills, Charles Pyle and Bill Tilden -- passed the time when the tennis was lacking.
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4. The Church of Simona

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5. "The Messenger" Takes Queens


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6. "The Kenin Way"

If there was a problem. Yo, she'd solve it. Check out the hook while her papa resolves it. Ice ice baby.

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7. Garbi & Conchita: Great Together

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8. The Re-emergence of Yui; Diede's Great Stumbles (and significant triumphs)

The most interesting on-court goings-on of the 2020 season may have taken place on the wheelchair tour.

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9. "The Pironkova Effect"

Like she never left.

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10. Waiting for Bianca

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11. Release the Rybakina

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12. "New Dane on the Block"


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13. Aryna!!!

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14. Sharapova & Wozniacki Goodbyes

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15. Invincible Iga

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16. Oh Nadia!

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17. The First (or first in a while)... Gang

Renata Zarazua, Mayar Sherif, Ons Jabeur, Iga Swiatek, etc.

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18. To 24 or Not to 24, That is the Question

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19. 2+2=5

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20. Aleksandra "The Bracelet" Krunic Strikes Again

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(Dis?)Honorable Mention - The Future... was Only a Day, Anyway?

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kosova-font

Lockdown Dasha Gavrilova...




**Past "BACKSPIN MVP" Top 3's**
[2012]
1st - "The Radwanska"
2nd - Victoria Azarenka
3rd - "Carl & Carla"
[All-Time Backspin MVP - 2012]
1st - Kim Clijsters
2nd - Justine Henin
3rd - Jelena Jankovic
[2013]
1st - Serena Williams & Vika Azarenka
2nd - "The Radwanska"
3rd - "Citizen Anna"
[2014]
1st - Team Genie and/vs. Team Sloane
2nd - 2004 Revisited (Russian Revolution)
3rd - Captain/Coach Amelie Mauresmo
[2015]
1st - "Being Simona Halep"
2nd - Maria Sharapova's Instagram account
3rd - "The (Almost) Grand Slam" (Serena Williams)
[2016]
1st - Halep & "The Cliffs of Simona"
2nd - Free Maria Sharapova
3rd - "La Petit Taureau" Week
[2017]
1st - "Latvian Thunder"
2nd - "In Rinaldi We Trust"
3rd - Karmic Kiki & the Pastry Queen Named Caro
[2018]
1st - "Si-mo-na! Si-mo-na!": The Triumph of the Resilient Romanian
2nd - "The Great Wave of Osaka" and the rise of Generation PDQ
3rd - Serena vs. "Serena": the irrational notion of an "ideal" great, combined with double-standards, rose-colored glasses, grandstanding, a loss of minds, reality and the clarity of life = a living, imperfect, reliably human icon for the ages (aka "Serena is still Serena")
[2019]
1st - "Bianca, of the North" (Andreescu)
2nd - The Wonderful Horrible Season of Elina Svitolina
3rd - The Ash Barty Way










#1 - THE ROMANIAN DESERT FOX
...Simona Halep's remarkable title run in Dubai resembled one of her celebrated string of (win or lose) performances at majors. Playing without coach Darren Cahill for the week, Halep proved that the self-sufficiency she displayed at last year's Wimbledon still resided within her in spades. Maybe even stronger than before. Battling through Ons Jabeur in a epic three-setter in her opening match (after losing a 4-1 3rd set lead and losing on 3 MP attempts, she saved a MP and won in a deciding TB), Halep picked up steam by defeating Aryna Sabalenka in three, and dominating Jennifer Brady before finally problem solving her way through new WTA "superweapon" Elena Rybakina in another classic three-set affair in a final played in front a pre-pandemic lockdown throng of (or course) raucous Romanian fans chanting "Si-mo-na!" After it was over, Halep sunk to her back the court, "pretty dead" but the winner of her 20th career tour title.

View this post on Instagram

When you win your 20th title ???? @ddftennis

A post shared by WTA (@wta) on

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#2 - KENIN WINS AUSTRALIAN OPEN
...the Bannerette defeated prodigy Coco Gauff (4r), world #1 Ash Barty (SF) and two-time slam champ Garbine Muguruza (F) to become the latest Generation PDQ slam champ to win in her first major final appearance (following in the footsteps of Ostapenko, Osaka, Barty and Andreescu).
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#3 - RYBAKINA BREAKS OUT
...Russian-born Kazakh Elena Rybakina blasted out of the starting gates into the 2020 season, reaching the finals of her first two events of the season in Shenzhen and Hobart. After losing in Week 1, Rybakina's fourth tour final in seven months saw her defeat Zhang Shuai to claim her second career title.



Before the tennis tour had shutdown in March, Rybakina had already reached *two more* finals, falling in championship matches to Kiki Bertens (Saint Petersburg) and Dubai (Simona Halep). In the latter event, the Kazakh recorded two Top 10 wins en route, over AO champ Sofia Kenin and #3 Karolina Pliskova (her biggest career win). She was a combined 21-4 when the pandemic lockdowns hit.
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HM - SERENA'S FIRST TITLE IN THREE YEARS
...in Auckland, Williams' 73rd career title (claimed in now *four* different decades) was her first since her Australian Open run while pregnant in 2017. She becomes the fourth oldest singles champion in tour history, while also teaming with the soon-to-retire Caroline Wozniacki to reach the doubles final in the event.

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The home crowd hasn't had a great deal to cheer when it's come to singles action in the long history of the Acapulco event. From 2001-19, Mexican women went a combined 5-26 in MD action, with just one player (in 2007) reaching as deep as the QF in the draw. They'd gone just 1-10 since 2013. But the player who'd registered that "1" -- Renata Zarazúa def. Kristyna Pliskova two years ago -- changed all that this year.



Ranked #270, Zarazúa took her wild card as the only home player in the MD and ran with it. After the 22-year old's monumental upset of #1-seeded Sloane Stephens in the 1st Round, she ralled from 6-4/4-2 down to defeat Katie Volynets to reach her first career QF (the first Mexican to accomplish the feat in a tour-level event in thirteen years). But Zarazúa wasn't finished. A win over Tamara Zidansek made her the first woman from Mexico to reach a WTA SF since 1993 (Angelica Gavaldon in San Juan), and the first to ever do so in tournament history.


#1 - THE DESERT DOUBLE
...Hsieh Su-wei & Barbora Strycova's blistering start to 2020 (17-1, 3 titles and with both women occupying the WD #1 rankings) was highlighted by their sweep of the titles in Dubai and Doha, the first by a duo since Liezel Huber/Lisa Raymond in 2012.

In Dubai, after reaching the final without dropping a set, they outlasted Krejcikova/Sai.Zheng and defended their title with a 10-5 match tie-break to become the first multi-title team of the season. A week later in Doha, the veteran pair won a 12-10 match TB over Krejcikova/Siniakova in the semis, then another (at 10-2) over Dabrowski/Ostapenko in the final, their fifth straight dating back to last season.

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#2 - THE DOUBLES QUEEN OF MEXICO
...in Acapulco, Giuliana Olmos became the firt player from Mexico to win a tour title *in* Mexico. Two years ago in Monterrey, Olmos became the first player from the nation to reach a WTA final in the Open era; and last season she followed up by reaching the Acapulco final, as well. Then later in the summer, in Nottingham, she became the first to win a tour title (alongside Desirae Krawczyk) before reaching yet another final (this time w/ Alexa Guarachi) in Guangzhou in the fall.

This time she got to celebrate in front of the home fans, taking the title with Krawczyk with a win in the final over K.Bondarenko/Fichman.

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#3 - DOWN UNDER DOMINANCE
...Timea Babos & Kristina Mladenovic became the first duo to take the Australian Open crown without dropping a set since 2004, giving them two titles in three years in Melbourne. Since reuniting as regular WD partners in '18, the win gave them a third of the titles at the last nine majors *and* two WTAF crowns. And they weren't finished winning slams in '20, either.
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HM - WELCOME BACK, SANIA
...in Hobart, Sania Mirza returned for the first time since exiting the tour over two years ago (Oct.'17) while pregnant with her first child. Teaming with Nadia Kichenok, the duo won a pair of 3rd set TB (vs. Kalashnikova/Kato and King/McHale) and then defeated Peng Shuai & Zhang Shuai in a straight sets final. It's Kichenok's fifth tour crown, while Mirza's 42nd (the most amongst active tour players, in her 62nd final) is her first since taking Brisbane three years ago alongside Bethanie Mattek-Sands.

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THE ARRIVAL OF THE ANDORRAN
...at age 14, Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva became tiny Andorra's first junior slam champ at the Australian Open. VJK saved 3 MP vs. Italy's Melania Delai in the 3rd Round, then won in three over #2 seed Robin Montgomery (QF) and Weronika Baszak in the final, rallying from a set down to get the win. The European microstate has a population of 77,000.






#1 - UNDEFEATED, UNTIED AND UNDENIABLY INVINCIBLE
...19-year old Iga Swiatek swept through Roland Garros without dropping a set, a first in Paris since '07, to become Poland's first slam singles champion. Unseeded and ranked #54, Swiatek posted wins over a former RG champ (Halep/4r), the reigning AO champ (Kenin/F), and two recent RG finailsts (Vondrousova/1r and Bouchard/3r) while never losing more than five games in any single match. She is the fourth straight maiden slam winner in Paris, as well as the first teen champ since '97 (Majoli), the youngest since '92 (Seles), and just the second unseeded winner (Ostapenko '17) to lift the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen in the Open era.

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#2 - A NEW YORK (& Osaka) STATE OF MIND
...on the heels of taking a leading role in the tour's reaction to equal rights protests in the U.S., including igniting a one-day boycott at the Western & Southern Open (CIN) at NYC, Naomi Osaka proceeded to win her way to her third slam title, and second in three years at the U.S. Open. Winning a trio of three-setters -- vs. Marta Kostyuk, Jennifer Brady and Victoria Azarenka in the final, where she was point away from a 6-1/3-0 deficit -- Osaka walked onto the court before each match wearing a mask bearing the name of a different individual who'd been killed during altercations with police in the U.S..

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#3 - THE VERISIMILITUDE OF VIKA: COMEBACK EDITION
...after waiting for so many years for a Victoria Azarenka renaissance, it finally happened in the middle of a worldwide pandemic at a displaced event (the Western & Southern Open, moved from Cincinnati to Flushing Meadows) in which she claimed her biggest (and first) title in four and a half years via a walkover in the final. After a win over #15 seed Donna Vekic (5 games allowed), Azarenka knocked off Pastries Caroline Garcia and Alize Cornet in straight sets, then did the same to Ons Jabeur. After the tournament "pause" enacted following Naomi Osaka's initial SF boycott following the unrest related to the Jacob Blake shooting in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Azarenka came back from a set down to defeat #8-seeded Johanna Konta in three to reach her first final since Monterrey in April of last year. On the morning of the final, Azarenka learned that Osaka, who'd won her delayed semi, was pulling out with a hamstring injury hours after learning she'd drawn the evening slot on Night 1 of the U.S. Open on the following Monday.

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#4 - THE FINISH OF A LIFETIME
...Aryna Sabalenka's '20 season ended with the Belarusian going undefeated in the WTA's final two events, with her picking up *three* titles. In Ostrava, she was the only player this season to sweep a tournament's singles & doubles crowns, coming back from a 6-0/4-0 QF deficit vs. Sara Sorribes Tormo to not lose another set all week, defeating Jennifer Brady and Victoria Azarenka to take the singles. She then teamed with Elise Mertens to win the doubles. A few weeks later in Linz, Sabalenka extended her singles winning streak to nine (13 w/ WD), defeating Mertens in the final for her third title run of the year. Her week saw her rise one spot in the rankings, bumping Serena Williams out of the Top 10, and finish a season in the Top 10 for the first time in her career. Sabalenka had finished at #11 in both 2018 and '19.

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#5 - BANNERETTE BRADY BRINGS THE HEAT
...a week into the Restart, Jennifer Brady dominated the Lexington event that was highlighted by the appearance of Serena Williams, which saw the most attention come when the Williams sisters met for the 31st time, and was likely expected by most to be claimed by Coco Gauff once the "big names" dropped off. But Brady, who fine-tuned her game by going undefeated in nineteen (!!) exhibition matches during the shutdown, was the player who didn't lose a set all week, averaged just five games lost in her five matches and dropped serve just three times overall in her string of victories over Heather Watson, Magda Linette, Marie Bouzkova, the aforementioned Gauff and Jil Teichmann in the final, the first of Brady's career on the tour level. Her win isn't only her maiden in WTA competition, it's Brady's first singles crown of any kind (she fell in a 125 Series final last year) since 2016.

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HM - VI-VA SI-MO-NA!
...in winning her first Italian Open title in Rome (after RU finishes in 2017-18), Simona Halep extended her winning streak to 14 (10-0 in the Restart) as she dropped just one set all week against the likes of Dayana Yastremska, Yulia Putintseva, Garbine Muguruza and fellow finalist Karolina Pliskova (two of whom -- Putintseva and Pliskova -- retired in the 2nd set). The Romanian's winning streak would reach a career-best 17 matches before she was stunned by Iga Swiatek in the Round of 16 at Roland Garros.

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#1 - PARISIAN QUEENS
...having already won the opening major of the year in Melbourne, Timea Babos & Kristina Mladenovic closed out the slam season with another in Paris, picking up their fourth slam crown as a duo while becoming the first repeat Roland Garros champs since 2008-09 (Medina-Garriges/Ruano Pascual) with their straight sets win in the final over Guarachi/Krawczyk.

As 2020 ends, Babos/Mladenovic have won four majors since the start of 2018, and three of the last six slam events contested.
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#2 - THE TITLE SEVEN MONTHS -- and a worldwide pandemic -- IN THE MAKING
...the late-in-career pairing of Hsieh Su-wei & Barbora Strycova has proven to be a gem. In the Restart, the pair picked up in Rome where they'd left off seven months earlier in Doha by winning their third straight '20 crown, and fourth on the year, as they advanced to their fifth final in their first five events this season (plus a sixth to end '19 at the WTAF).

Though they stood at 21-1 on the season after Rome, with their only loss coming in the AO final, the world's doubles #1 and #2 failed to pick up their second slam crown as a pair in the final '20 major in Paris, falling in the 3rd Round to Guarachi/Krawczyk.

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#3 - THE UNEXPECTED CHAMPS
...in their first pairing ever, veterans Laura Siegemund & Vera Zvonareva combined to claim a surprise U.S. Open title, the first women's doubles slam ever for Siegemund and the first since 2012 for Zvonareva. The duo upset #2-seeded Mertens/Sabalenka in the QF, then #3 Melichar/Xu in the final.

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#4 - CINCY SUCCESS IN THE (EVEN BIGGER) CITY
...at the transplanted Western & Southern Open (moved from Ohio to NYC), after opening with a 10-5 match tie-break win over Kalashnikova/Kudryavtseva, Kveta Peschke & Demi Schuurs won seven consecutive sets, handling defending champs Hradecka/Klepac in the semis, before being forced to another match TB in the final against Melichar/Xu. They won it 10-4, giving Peschke (at 45, again topping herself as the oldest tour title winner in recent years) her 35th career title (in 77 finals over a 22-year stretch) and Schuurs her 11th.
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#5 - UNDER-THE-RADAR RESTART SUCCESS
...in the season's final event in Linz, Arantxa Rus & Tamara Zidansek combined to claim their second title in the Restart, adding the indoor hardcourt crown to the clay court win they had in Palermo. In Palermo, the pair saw off the all-Italian team of Cocciaretto/Trevisan to take the title, while Linz saw them defeat top-seeded Hradecka/Siniakova in the final.

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#1 - PASTRY #1, Pt.Trois
...Elsa Jacquemot won the the Roland Garros girls singles title, becoming the first home grown Pastry to win in Paris since 2009 (Kristina Mladenovic). Jacquemot dropped no sets en route to the final, then defeated Russian Alina Charaeva in three to take the crown and assume the junior #1 ranking. French teens -- Clara Burel and Diane Parry -- have topped the girls rankings the last two seasons.

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#2 - THE ITALIANS: THE NEXT GENERATION
...the unseeded all-Italian pair of Eleonora Alvisi & Lisa Pigato stormed through the Roland Garros draw, knocking off the #3 (1r), #2 (SF) and #5 seeds while surviving three match-TB finishes to become Italian duo to win the girls doubles in Paris since 1999 (Pennetta/Vinci).

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==TOP PERFORMANCE==
2003 Justine Henin-Hardenne (U.S. Open)
2004 Maria Sharapova (Wimbledon)
2005 Kim Clijsters (North American hardcourts)
2006 Maria Sharapova (U.S. Open)
2007 Justine Henin (U.S. Open)
2008 Venus Williams (Wimbledon)
2009 Serena Williams (Wimbledon)
2010 Serena Williams (Wimbledon)
2011 Petra Kvitova (Wimbledon)
2012 Serena Williams (Olympics)
2013 Serena Wiliams (Roland Garros)
2014 Petra Kvitova (Wimbledon)
2015 Belinda Bencic (Toronto)
2016 Monica Puig (Olympics)
2017 Alona Ostapenko (Roland Garros)
2018 Naomi Osaka (U.S. Open)
2019 Simona Halep (Wimbledon)
2020 Iga Swiatek (Roland Garros)







1. Dubai Final - Simona Halep def. Elena Rybakina
...3-6/6-3/7-6(5). A whale of a match. Faced with the task of figuring out how to attack/survive Rybakina's big game, Halep scurried around the court for nearly two and a half hours, but eventually found a way to prevail.

Rybakina's hard-to-read serves were a problem for Halep all match long, but it was the Romanian's inability to put away a basic shot that cost her the 1st set. After leading 40/15, she failed to end a rally with a forehand at the net, then dumped another forehand into the net on her next shot. She dropped serve and Rybakina grabbed a break lead at 4-2. Serving at 5-3, the Kazakh saved a BP with an ace and finally served out the set on SP #3 in a game that saw her control the action with two aces, two DF and two volleys (one successful to claim a point, one not).



In the 2nd, Halep led 3-1 while winning eight straight points. After turning away two BP in game #6, Rybakina broke to get things back on serve at 4-3. But, in a 10-minute game, Halep outlasted the Kazakh in perhaps the key game in the match, retaking a break lead by converting on BP #4 to take a 5-3 lead and then serving out the set.

Halep's first serve had continual issues throughout the 3rd set. Two DF in game #4 handed Rybakina a break lead at 3-1. But Rybakina's own DF put her down 15/40 a game later, leading to Halep getting things back on serve. At 4-4, the Kazakh began her service game with a DF, but ultimately held thanks to a backhand reach volley that she essentially blocked back over the net with just the frame of her racket.



At 5-5, Halep leveled the game at 30/30 with one of several forehand passes down the line that helped her overtake Rybakina in the 3rd. While Rybakina's admirable ability to pull off of her big shots just enough to offer her opponents unexpected variety -- making her normal hard groundstrokes even more effective because of the additional options to think about on the other side of the net -- perhaps offers the key to her quick '20 start vs. a variety of differently-skilled opponents and a bear to handle no matter the situation, her otherwise admirable willingness to move forward toward the net often cost her vs. Halep in this match as it offered the Romanian a chance to line up a handful of crucial passing shots that prevented the match from ever truly getting out of her reach.

Halep broke to take a 6-5 lead, only to see Rybakina's second net cord dribbler in a matter of minutes put her down love/30 a game later. Another forehand pass down the line leveled the game, but the Kazakh reached BP with a clean backhand winner, and she got a second BP chance with a return winner. Rybakina whacked a slow Halep second serve that resulted in an error from the Romanian, and she got the break back to force a deciding TB.

Rybakina's return winner gave her a mini-break lead at 4-3, and she led 5-4 with a successfully overturned line call (Halep's deep shot had landed long). After exchanging 6-3 sets, the two were tied 5-5 in the TB, as the match was about as even as possible. Halep reached MP at 6-5, as chants of "Si-mon-na! Si-mo-na!" echoed throughout the stadium, and Rybakina's long backhand finally allowed Halep to celebrate a 7-5 TB win. As if she'd just won a major, she went to the court and was soon spread eagle on her back, staring up into the night sky before clenching her fists and celebrating a truly Herculean effort to take down the 20-year old.



Afterward, the smiling Romanian used the sort of language she often does (sort of) after winning such a match. "I'm pretty dead," she said. But alive *enough* to win one of the the matches of the year.
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2. Dubai 2nd Rd. - Simona Halep def. Ons Jabeur
...1-6/6-2/7-6(7). In a match-long display of shotmaking and will in front of vociferous fans of both players, Halep rebounded from losing the 1st set by upping her aggression in the 2nd. The result was a 3-0 lead as she won the set 6-2. She held another 3-0 edge in the 3rd, and led 4-1. Jabeur closed the gap, and saw Halep two points from the win at 5-4, before seeming to turn the match in her favor. The Tunisian grabbed the lead and served for the match at 6-5, only to be broken at love. Halep raced to a 6-3 lead in the TB. She saw her second MP (converted) overturned via replay, then Jabeur fired an ace to close to 6-5. On MP #3, Halep just missed on an ace of her own, and a point later Jabeur suddenly found herself at MP (something Halep later said she didn't realize). But back-to-back forehand errors from Jabeur handed the Romanian a lifeline, and she held on tight, quickly converting MP #4 and the never losing again the rest of the week.
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3. Acapulco Final - Heather Watson def. Leylah Fernandez
...6-3/6-7(8)/6-1. Up a set and a break, Watson saw her lead slip away in the 2nd. LAF held two SP on the Brit's serve at 5-4, then two more at 6-5, but Watson buckled down to hold and got things to a TB. She held quadruple MP at 6-2, and then had a 5th MP at 8-7 before Fernandez converted on her own 6th SP to win 10-8 and force a 3rd set. After an in-between set break, Watson came out showing no signs of frustration after having lost her lead, and maintained her calm when, serving at 5-1, she failed to convert MP #7, #8 and #9 and even saw the Canadian teen hold a BP. Finally, MP #10 proved to be the charm as Watson added an Acapulco title to the win she got in Mexico in Monterrey back in 2016.

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4. Brisbane SF - Karolina Pliskova def. Naomi Osaka
...6-7(10)/7-6(3)/6-2. Both players hit 50+ winners (Osaka 53, Pliskova 52), had 15+ aces (16, 15), and saved numerous BP (6/9, 12/13) and MP (2, 1) over the course of the battle, leaving Osaka (who'd saved 2 SP -- via an ace and service winner -- while winning the 1st set) frustrated at herself for maybe not hitting her serve on MP hard enough (then thinking about it the rest of the match in a 3rd set she'd rather not have had to play) and Pliskova so energized that she was able to ride the high into the final, where she slugged her way to a successful title defense vs. Madison Keys.

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5. Australian Open SF - Garbine Muguruza def. Simona Halep
...7-6(8)/7-5. Muguruza reaches her first slam final in two and a half years, raising her game in the closing stages of both the 1st and 2nd sets to defeat Halep, who'd entered having not lost a set all tournament. It was a groundstroke exhibition filled with countless hard-hitting (and very loud) rallies. After breaking Muguruza when she'd served for the 1st at 5-4, Halep held two SP at 6-5. In the TB, the two exchanged SP as both reeled off points streaks. Muruguza had two SP, then Halep had her third and fourth of the set. Finally, Muguruza converted on her fourth SP. In the 2nd, she staged an unrelenting comeback after trailing 5-3 and with Halep serving at 5-4 to become the first Spaniard to reach the AO final since 1998 (her coach, Conchita Martinez).
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1. Roland Garros 1st Rd. - Clara Tauson def. Jennifer Brady
...6-4/3-6/9-7. So, in Paris on Tuesday, it was almost as if the Tennis Gods collectively clapped their hands and said, "Out with one Dane, in with the next. Wait'll the mortals get a load of *this*!" 17-year old Tauson, a junior slam champ (AO) just last year, made her maiden outing in the main draw of a major one to remember on Day 3, perhaps producing the most awesome one-match debut on the big stage... well, ever?



Granted, while there are surely others of note buried in the annals of tennis history, and there's one recent memorable example that comes to mind that would definitely be in the same conversation -- Coco Gauff's win over Venus Williams in the 15-year old's slam debut at last year's Wimbledon -- what Tauson showed on Court Simonne-Mathieu against reigning U.S. Open semifinalist and #21-seeded Jennifer Brady, in a match as good as its especially beautiful setting, was something special.

Amazingly, with time having seemingly been warped (and tied in a knot) due to the pandemic and tennis/life shutdown in the months that followed, it'd only been *eight months* since Denmark's lone grand slam singles champion and former #1 Caroline Wozniacki retired from the sport in Melbourne, closing out what will eventually be honored as a Hall of Fame career. Tauson was always seen as the heir apparent to Caro as her nation's standard bearer in the women's game, but it's not likely many expected such a big stage introduction to the sporting masses, especially if they maybe hadn't yet noticed her slowly beginning to emerge from Wozniacki's shadow since the start of the year. But that's what happened this fall in Paris.

Having recently climbed into the Top 200, Tauson had only played in one tour-level main draw match before qualifying to set up her 1st Round RG appointment, had played just three Top 100 players in her career and her best win was over then-#136 Anna-Lena Friedsam in the 2nd Round of a $25K challenger in February. So facing Brady was a big step up, and the kid handled it brilliantly.

Against the big-hitting Bannerette, whose form three weeks earlier wouldn't have shocked anyone to have been accompanied with *her* winning the U.S. Open crown rather than the player who (barely) beat her (Naomi Osaka), Tauson was shoulder-to-shoulder throughout, didn't blink in the big moments (well, maybe *one* sorta-kinda), and kept up with Brady's power with equally stinging shots of her own, as well as moving her oppenent around the court with lobs and drop shots. It was part Bianca Andreescu and part, well, Wozniacki herself. It wasn't a case of an off-form Brady, either. Brady played well, but was still ultimately *out*-played.

Having held an early 3-1 edge in the 1st set, the Dane saw Brady get things back on serve. But a late break of the former UCLA star gave Tauson the set at 6-4. Brady grabbed the early break lead in the 2nd at 3-1, and held it to win 6-3 and knot the match.

Brady seemed to have finally seized control in the 3rd, leading 4-2. But she couldn't escape Tauson, who didn't hold back, never played it "safe" and instead went for her shots with aggressive forehands, moves toward the net and several lob/drop shot combos that kept the scrambling Brady on the end of a tether. Essentially, the teenager played the sort of hybrid game that so many, for oh so long, wished to see from Wozniacki, who *eventually* decided to "go there" long enough to forever change how her career would be perceived by the "Numbers Guys" of history, grabbing her long awaited slam crown to go, before she left out the back door.

Tauson broke back and got the 3rd set to 4-3, then held as the score was tied at 5-5. To Brady's credit, she carved out opportunites to end the proceedings, holding two MP on the Dane's serve at 6-5 but being unable to put them away due to the teenager's refusal to buckle under the pressure of the moment.

Holding for 6-6, Tauson broke Brady's serve and soon found herself up 40/15 at 7-6. On her third MP chance, she easily raced to a Brady drop shot, but tried to be a little too fine with her response (she seemed to have anticipated the shot quickly enough to have time to whack the ball for a winner) and didn't get the ball over the net.

But rather than dwell on a lost opportunity, Tauson dug in. She saved one BP, but saw Brady display a series of remarkable defensive gets of her blasted groundstrokes until the Dane finally missed, breaking to tie the score again at 7-7.

Finally, in game #15, Tauson broke on her third BP chance and had another opportunity to serve out the match. After going up 30/love, she saved a BP with a glorious, spinning-to-get-the-maximum-effort-behind-the-shot, rally-ending forehand down the line. On her fifth MP of the day, Tauson put in a big serve that Brady couldn't get back over the net, ending the exciting (but still remarkably tidy due to its high level of play) match in a bit under 3:00.



The new kid is alright... and another Danish tennis tale has officially begun.
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2. U.S. Open SF - Victoria Azarenka def. Serena Williams
...1-6/6-3/6-3. In a match-up that brought back memories of their early 2010's clashes in the U.S. final (the Belarusian had served for the title in the '12 final vs. Serena), Williams dominated the set before the intense Azarenka's return game finally began to carve out opportunities in the subsequent set and prevented a Williams runaway. After Williams injured her Achilles early in the 3rd, and returned from a medical time-out to be broken, and was soon down 3-0 as it was Azarenka who seized control down the stretch to record just her fifth win (and first in a major) in twenty-three often-close career match-ups, reaching her first slam final in seven years.
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3. Roland Garros 3rd Rd. - Caroline Garcia def. Elise Mertens
...1-6/6-4/7-5. After having begged off playing on Chatrier early in her career, Garcia rose to the occasion on the big stage in Paris. With rain closing down play on the outside courts while she played on... yes, on *Chatrier*... Garcia had one of her finest, if not *the* finest slam moment of her singles career against #16-seeded Belgian Elise Mertens.

After dropping the 1st set to the Waffle, Garcia pulled off what was the key break of the match when she took a 5-4 lead, then held to even the match. What followed was a case of the 26-year old Pastry -- in front of a small but very invested crowd in the oddly open-but-intimate setting -- seizing the momentum, the moment *and* the match with some superior serving and aggressive tactics.

Garcia carried over her late 2nd set run by taking a 2-0 lead in the deciding set. With Mertens getting off to a slow start, the French woman led 3-1. Mertens rebounded to keep on Garcia's heels, but had a hard time carving into the Pastry's serve. In the 3rd set alone, Garcia fired off four aces and 18 winners, had a 79% first serve percentage and won 8 of 13 points at the net.

Serving at 5-4 for her third Round of 16 appearance in Paris in four years, Garcia blasted a 113-mph ace (her fastest of the day) to take a 30/15 lead. A rally-ending crosscourt forehand winner gave her a MP. But winning isn't always easy. Garcia failed to convert that MP, nor two others in the game. After being broken for 5-5, though, Garcia rose to the moment. Moving Mertens from corner to corner, the Pastry came in to the net and put away a high backhand volley to break and have another chance to serve out the match.

At 30/30, Garcia tried to be a touch too fine on a volley attempt and short-armed her shot, taking just enough pace off the ball to allow Mertens to race across the baseline and get back a high reply. An out of position Garcia stretched for an awkward high volley, but pushed the ball long to fall down BP. She saved it with a series of deep shots brushing up against the lines to secure a rally one point later.

Now with a touch of momentum back on her side, Garcia soon had her fourth MP. She badly flied a forehand, but was hardly bowed by the miss. Instead, she took a deep breath, stepped up to the baseline, and fired a 114-mph ace to give herself a fifth MP. Which she promptly double-faulted away with just her second DF of the match.

But the French woman *still* refused to let the moment go. After sliding in a wide ace to reach MP for a sixth time, Garcia finally saw a Mertens backhand go long to give the Pastry the affirming victory.

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4. Roland Garros 1st Rd. - Garbine Muguruza def. Tamara Zidansek
...7-5/4-6/8-6. #83 Zidansek, seeking her first career RG win (Muguruza came in at 27-6) with a big forehand that could handle the heavy playing conditions of this autumn-in-Paris major, actually matched up quite well with the two-time slam champ. With both women dressed in black from head to toe, Zidansek took a 3-0 lead in the 1st before Muguruza found her footing and won four straight games. Serving for the set at 5-4, Muguruza was broken. But rather than break a racket, she went back to work, got another break advantage instead, and then served out the set at 7-5.

Playing with blisters on her right middle finger (for which she took a medical timeout), Muguruza dropped the 2nd set 6-4 and again fell behind 3-0 in the 3rd. In years past, Muguruza might have lost the set 6-0 or 6-1, crumbling under the pressure of expectation and distress, but *this* Muguruza, first glimpsed pre-shutdown in Melbourne, broke back for 3-2 and then engaged in a tug-of-war with Zidansek to see who could finally pull the other over the line. In game #6, Muguruza saved break points to hold for 3-3, then Zidansek saved multiple BP to do the same a game later. Muguruza, down 4-5, held to stay in the match, then saw Zidansek save BPs in game #11, forcing the Spaniard to again hold to stay in the match.

Knotted at 6-6, Muguruza finally cashed in the key BP opportunity to grab the lead in the set, then held to close out the win in 3:01.
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5. U.S. Open SF - Naomi Osaka def. Jennifer Brady
...7-6(1)/3-6/6-3. A big-hitting, top-serving, rock-solid affair that was technically sound, even if the match did lack the sort of "big moment" drama that many ascribed to it at the time. Brady dropped the 1st in a 7-1 TB despite having never had her serve broken in the set, ultimately rueing her inability to take advantage of several of Osaka's second serves. The Bannerette got the early break of Osaka in the 2nd and held it throughout to force a deciding 3rd, where the more big match-experienced Osaka raised her game to a level to which Brady did not follow.
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HM- U.S. Open 4th Rd. - Shelby Rogers def. Petra Kvitova
...7-6(5)/3-6/7-6(6). Rogers claimed the 1st set after having lost an early break lead and being forced to hold from 4-5 and 5-6 down to force a TB. She won it 7-5, then again had to fight against fate in the 3rd after the Czech had knotted the score. Down 4-5, Rogers saved three MP to hold, then forced a TB. There, Kvitova led 5-3, served at 6-5 and DF'd on her fourth MP chance. Two points later, Roger prevailed.
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kosova-font


$25K Figueira da Foz, POR Final - Georgina Garcia Perez def. Beatriz Haddad Maia
...6-7(10)/7-5/6-4. Winning in 4:06 (!!), GGP saves three 2nd set MP, and battled back from a 4-2 3rd set deficit, ending Haddad's nine-match circuit winning streak (unbowed, the Brazilian would win her next 13) to take the title.



==MATCH OF THE YEAR==
2005 Aust. Open SF - Serena Williams d. Maria Sharapova
2006 Aust. Open SF - Justine Henin-H. d. Maria Sharapova
2007 Los Angeles SF - Ana Ivanovic d. Jelena Jankovic
2008 U.S. Open Final - Serena Williams d. Venus Williams
2009 Wimbledon SF - Serena Williams d. Elena Dementieva
2010 Brisbane Final - Kim Clijsters d. Justine Henin
2011 Aust. Open 4th - Francesca Schiavone d. Svetlana Kuznetsova
2012 Miami 4th - Victoria Azarenka d. Dominika Cibulkova
2013 Cincinnati Final - Victoria Azarenka d. Serena Williams
2014 Indian Wells QF - Aga Radwanska d. Jelena Jankovic
2015 R.Garros 2nd - Francesca Schiavone d. Svetlana Kuznetsova
2016 Wimbledon 4th - Dominika Cibulkova d. Aga Radwanska
2017 Madrid 2nd - Genie Bouchard d. Maria Sharapova
2018 Aust. Open SF - Simona Halep d. Angelique Kerber
2019 Indian Wells Final - Bianca Andreescu d. Angelique Kerber
2020 Roland Garros 1st Rd. - Clara Tauson d. Jennifer Brady








1. Acapulco 1st Rd. - Kaja Juvan def. Venus Williams
...4-6/7-6(4)/6-2. 19-year old qualifier Juvan (#125) posted the biggest win of her career over Williams, saving seven MP in the 2nd set (after Venus had rallied from 4-2 down to take the 1st) and handing the future Hall of Famer her fourth straight defeat.

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2. Australian Open 2nd Rd. - Caroline Wozniacki def. Dayana Yastremska
...7-5/7-5. The Dane's final victory (barring a future tour comeback, that is), and what a memorable one it was. Against the #23 seed, the retiring Wozniacki fell down a double-break at 5-1 in the 1st before winning six straight games to take the set, then faced a double-break deficit again in the 2nd, as well. With Yastremska serving down 4-5, the Ukrainian (as has become her pattern in tight matches) took a medical timeout before returning to action, then saved three MP in game #10. Wozniacki finally won MP #6 two games later, allowing her career to be extended for one more match.

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3. Australian Open Girls 3rd Rd. - Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva def. Melania Delai
...3-6/7-6(7)/7-6(7) The Andorran 14-year old saves three MP, then goes on to become her nation's first junior slam champ.
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HM- Saint Petersburg 2nd Rd. - Elena Rybakina def. Fiona Ferro 6-3/6-4
Saint Petersburg QF - Elena Rybakina def. Oceane Dodin 6-7(5)/7-5/6-2
...never let it be said that Rybakina has to have perfect conditions and a smooth road to have success. The Kazakh rallied from 1-3 and 0-3 down in the 1st and 2nd sets, respectively, against Ferro, then battled back from two MP down vs. another Pastry in Dodin a round later. As she did at nearly every pre-shutdown event she played in 2020, Rybakina reached the final.
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1. Roland Garros 2nd Rd. - Kiki Bertens def. Sara Errani
...7-6(5)/3-6/9-7. The Match. The Myth. Bertens vs. Errani.



What to make of the match on Court 14 between #5 Kiki Bertens and qualifier Sara Errani? Both are former Top 5 players (one is still in the Top 10), one is a former Roland Garros finalist (Errani '12) and the other a semifinalist (Bertens '16). The story of what happened on the court between them in the 2nd Round of this year's event will be a tale told second, third and fourth hand -- sometimes in long form and others in short -- for years.

First off, this was the *winner* after the match:



As for (some of) the rest...

Errani held a 5-0 head-to-head edge over the Dutch woman, but that didn't prevent Bertens from scrambling from a 4-2 deficit in the 1st set to win a tie-break. Errani won the 2nd set to force a 3rd, when things got really hairy on the scoreboard.

In the meantime, the match went forth while Errani's ability to toss the ball to serve often left her completely. At one time, she missed *six* tosses in a row. In the 1st set, at 6-5, she failed on two straight and lost a point, then aborted a third attempt. So instead she served underhanded, and lost the point. She got a warning from the umpire after two bad toss attempts, and served underhanded again. Errani pulled it out in the tie-break, as well.

Oh, but that wasn't all.

As things went along, Bertens was dragging herself around the court while severely cramping, doubling over in pain, yet sometimes was able to burst toward Errani's drop shots. Such instances caused the Italian to shoot Bertens the evil eye, not "buying it" for second, even though it was clear that if Bertens were "faking" she should immediately be entered in the race for the Academy Awards (she won't be because she wasn't faking... and, you know, she won't be, anyway). At some point, Errani's exultations began to echo throughout the grounds, and she began to mock Bertens' twisting reactions to pain.

On the scoreboard in the 3rd set, the two woman combined for *ten* consecutive breaks of serve. Errani took a break lead *five* different times, and served for the match *three* times. She held a MP at 5-4. Finally, Bertens mercifully held for 8-7. Serving, Errani fell behind love/40, then saved three MP to get to deuce. On MP #4, Bertens leaped to put away a backhand volley winner that ended the match, giving her a victory in 3:11.

Bertens collapsed on the court, convulsively sobbing as an infuriated Errani quickly grabbed her gear, gave a curt nod (but no racket tap, as she'd already packed it away in the bag slung over her shoulder) as she raced past Bertens, who hadn't even yet walked hobbled to the changeover area. As she exited, Errani bellowed "Vaffanculo!!!!" for everyone in Paris (and maybe Italy, too) to hear.

(It's an Italian word that everyone today learned means exactly what you think it means, either "f*** you!" or "f*** off!" or "Go f*** yourself!"... take your pick.)



As Bertens squirmed in the chair (and Errani was likely thinking other curse words elsewhere, maybe in one of those 24 other languages that Kiki Mladenovic knows), her thigh was quickly treated by a trainer. Eventually, she was given a wheelchair and, after screaming in pain after sitting down, she was carried off on her shield finally wheeled off the battlefield terre battue, her new-found legend story complete for future generations.

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2. U.S. Open 2nd Rd. - Varvara Gracheva def. Kristina Mladenovic
...1-6/7-6(2)/6-0. On Day 3 in New York, the Gracheva Train steadfastly kept on schedule... even after seeing the young Russian fall behind 6-1/5-1 and face four match points.

The 20-year old came into Flushing Meadows just 1-8 in her last nine, but when the lights came on at the U.S. Open, she was ready.



After having just cracked the Top 100 in March before the tennis tour went "poof!" against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, Gracheva was at #102 when she made her career slam MD debut against Spain's Paula Badosa (#94) two days prior to this match. After taking the 1st set, Gracheva fell behind 5-3 in the 2nd, but staved off three SP and went on to close out the match in straight sets, 6-4/7-5. The experience of not accepting her fate (playin a 3rd set) would prove beneficial vs. the Pastry.

Against #30-seed Mladenovic, who'd breezed through her 1st Round match even while dealing with being relegated to a "second bubble" on the USTA grounds due to having had contact with COVID-positive Frenchman Benoit Paire (which would eventually cause her to be pulled from the doubles days later as updated local quarantine rules went into effect, then held "prisoner" while she carved notched in her complimentary room's bed post in between periods of lamenting her fate on social media), Gracheva looked to have about nine toes out the door. She trailed 6-1/5-1, and saw the Pastry hold four MP up 5-2 in the set.

Whether she knew Mladenovic's history or not, Gracheva had her right where she wanted her. Or that'll be the official story from here on out. For all the varied talents of the Frenchwoman, Mladenovic can be inconsistent and is sometimes a bit of a head-case on the court over long stretches, with negative momentum crashing her confidence and potentially leading to some pretty horrible results (remember the 15-match losing streak in 2017-18?). Perhaps it's why her most triumphant moments have come in doubles and Fed Cup, where the nearly constant support system allows her to better spread her wings and soar. Needless to say, once Gracheva got into *this* match, the momentum quickly turned her way.

With Mladenovic's first serve numbers cratering (she hit just 43% in the 2nd set), Gracheva never gave up. As more of her shots found the mark, Mladenovic's numbers went the other way. 5-1 turned into 5-5, and the set soon went to a tie-break. Gracheva led 5-0, and won 7-2 with a forehand pass down the line to knot the match.

Rather than find her footing again, Mladenovic slipped all the way down the mountain the 3rd while her opponent kept her foot on the gas. The Russian led 5-0. With Mladenovic serving in game #6, Kiki took a 40/15 lead and seemed to at least be about to avoid a New York City bagel. But Gracheva fought back (again), and a Mladenovic double-fault brought the game to deuce. After having saved four MP in the 2nd set, Gracheva persevered and won on her own fourth MP in the 3rd, firing a backhand down the line to finally close out the Pastry's 12-minute game to win at love.

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3. Ostrava 2nd Rd. - Aryna Sabalenka def. Coco Gauff
...1-6/7-5/7-6(2). Sabalenka's rollercoaster week began with her overcoming a double-break deficit in the 3rd set to defeat Gauff, avenging her early Restart loss to the teenager in Lexington.

Ostrava QF - Aryna Sabalenka def. Sara Sorribes Tormo
...0-6/6-4/6-0. Later, Sabalenka trailed Sorribes 6-0/4-0, with points for 5-0, but somehow managed to climb out of the deep hole. After her escape, she never lost the rest of 2020, winning the singles and doubles titles in Ostrava, then taking another singles crown in Linz to close out the season.
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4. Prague Q3 - Mayar Sherif def. Leonie Küng
...4-6/6-4/6-3 Sherif made Egyptian tennis history with her qualifying run in Prague, coming back from 6-4/3-1 down vs. Küng to reach her first tour-level MD. Soon after, she'd become the first representing her nation to win a slam match (in qualifying) and then play in a major MD (at RG).

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5. $25K Orlando, FLA Final - Rasheeda McAdoo/Alycia Parks def. Jamie Loeb/Erin Routliffe
...4-6/6-1 (11-9). McAdoo/Parks trailed 9-4 in the deciding match TB, saving 5 MP while sweeping the final seven points of the match to take the title. 19-year old Parks also claimed the singles, taking home her first pro title in both disciplines.
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HM- U.S. Open 3rd Rd. - Karolina Muchova def. Sorana Cirstea
...6-3/2-6/7-6(7). Against #20-seed Muchova, Cirstea seemed to take control of the match multiple times. She raced to a 4-0 lead in the 2nd and leveled the match by taking the set. In the 3rd, she led 4-2 and served for the match at 5-4. Broken, she still managed to push the Czech into a deciding tie-break, where Cirstea opened with a mini-break and then held her serves to lead 3-0. Another win on Muchova's serve gave her a 4-0 edge. But she then immediately dropped both her service points.

Still, a forehand pass down the line gave Cirstea a 5-3 edge, and her vigorous fist shakes in the direction of her inner circle off the court seemed to signal that this time she *wouldn't* succumb to an inability to fully reverse an in-match slide. She reached triple MP at 6-3. And then it all fell apart. After taking the first two MP, Muchova followed a deep forehand shot into the net and put away a volley to tie the breaker at 6-6. After being unable to claim her own first MP, Muchova got another at 8-7. That was when Cirstea couldn't handle the Czech's big serve, giving Muchvoa a win that put her into her first U.S. Open Round of 16.
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1. Australian Open Wheelchair QF - Zhu Zhenzhen def. Diede de Groot
...6-7(3)/6-3/7-5. Making her slam debut (as the first CHN player ever in WC competition at a major), Zhu upset dominant world #1 de Groot in her opening match. Giving de Groot all she could handle, Zhu pushed the Dutch player to all corners of the court to retrieve her hard groudstokes. The game of the champ, who came within one set of sweeping all four singles *and* doubles slam titles in '19, was uncharacteristically sloppy (18 DF, 46 UE) in her season debut, yet still nearly clawed all the way back from a double-break deficit in the 3rd. Zhu served for the match at 5-2 and 5-4, only to see de Groot save six MP while evening the set score at 5-5. But again, though she held 3 GP to take the 3rd set lead, de Groot couldn't avoid the UE that caused her to drop serve again in game #11. Zhu served out the match, converting on her ninth MP.



De Groot had appeared in the last twenty slam singles/doubles finals.
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2. Brisbane 1st Rd. - Liudmila Samsonova def. Sloane Stephens
...6-4/2-6/6-3. Last season, Stephens suffered defeats at the hands of players ranked #172 (Haddad), #153 (Kuznetsova), #127 (Kalinskaya), #109 (Voegele), #91 (Bouzkova), #70 (Peterson) and #62 (Maria). She opened 2020 with a loss to the world #129.

Adelaide 1st Rd. - Arina Rodionova def. Sloane Stephens
...6-2/6-2. Stephens followed up with another defeat at the hands of the world #201, her worst loss since 2011. At the AO, Stephens lost her 1st Round match after having served for the win in the 2nd set.

Acapulco 1st Rd. - Renata Zarazúa def. Sloane Stephens
...6-4/6-2. Wins by Mexican players in the Acapulco singles have been few and far between in recent years, but #270 Zarazúa's Cinderella run began with a bang and got progressively historic. She eventually became the first MEX player to reach a tour SF in 27 years.



Stephens would go on to lose to players ranked #126, #120, #84 and #87 while finishing at 4-11.
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3. Australian Open 2nd Rd. - CiCi Bellis def. Karolina Muchova
...6-4/6-4. At #600 and playing with a protected ranking after missing 20 months while undergoing four arm surgeries, the former junior #1 and '17 WTA Newcomer of the year added to her list of slam upsets (Cibulkova in her '14 debut at the U.S. Open at age 15, then Kiki Bertens in New York two years later) by knocking out #20-seeded Muchova to record her first slam MD win since the '17 Roland Garros.

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1. Roland Garros 2nd Rd. - Martina Trevisan def. Coco Gauff
...4-6/6-2/7-5. The 26-year old, #159-ranked Italian qualifier's Cinderella QF run in Paris began with an upset of the 16-year old, with Trevisan getting a break of serve to end the match.

Roland Garros 3rd Rd. - Martina Trevisan def. Maria Sakkari
...1-6/7-6(6)/6-3. Having revealed her long battle with an eating disorder as a teenager after her father was diagnosed with a degenerative disease, Trevisan's triumphant story grew legs a round later as she saved two MP en route to staging a comeback nighttime win over #20-seeded Sakkari.



After having dropped the 1st set, Trevisan had taken a 3-0 lead in the 2nd, and served at 5-2, holding a SP before being broken. She held another SP on Sakkari's serve a game later (the Greek saved it), then served for the set again at 5-4. The Italian was broken again, but two games later did manage to hold while serving to stay in the match down 5-6, forcing a TB. There, she staved off two Sakkari MP from 6-4, then converted her own third SP to win the breaker 8-6.

The two exchanged breaks early in the 3rd, but it was Trevisan who then surged ahead, jumping out to a 4-1 lead. Serving a 5-3, the Italian stared down a BP, but finally put away the win on her third MP chance.

Roland Garros 4th Rd. - Martina Trevisan def. Kiki Bertens
...6-4/6-4. The journey *still* wasn't over.



A week earlier, Trevisan had never won a main draw slam match (and had played just one, in Melbourne this year), and was just 1-16 (def. a #68-ranked Parmentier in a '16 challenger event) vs. players ranked in the Top 100. Flashforward to the second Sunday of the '20 Roland Garros, and the previously unheralded Italian had run off *four* straight victories over players ranked in the Top 75, en route to her own Top 100 breakthrough and a berth in the QF in Paris.

Facing Bertens, a former RG semifinalist who battled through cramping to defeat Trevisan's countrywoman Sara Errani in the 2nd Round at this RG, the Italian burst out to a 5-1 lead in the 1st set. Bertens pulled herself back into the contest, closing to 5-4, and in game #10 she held a GP to knot the score. But Trevison swept the final three points of the game to get the break and claim the set, taking the advantange by coming out on top in a 16-shot rally.

In the 2nd set, another Trevisan led (3-0) was erased by Bertens (3-3), and the Dutch woman held a 15/40 edge on the Italian's serve to finally take her first lead. But Trevisan saved three BP to hold, then immediately broke Bertens at love to go up 5-3. Bertens got the break of serve to stay alive, but then slipped into a love/40 hole in her own service game. On her second MP, Trevisan floated a perfectly-executed lob over Bertens to end the match and complete what was probably, tennis landscape-wise, a much bigger upset than the simple act of the on-the-rise Swiatek taking out #1-seed Halep on the same day.

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2. Roland Garros SF - Momoko Ohtani def. Diede de Groot
...7-5/6-4. De Groot suffers her second stunning slam upset loss of 2020, falling to the Japanese #2 (behind Yui Kamiji, who'd win the all-Japan final) while committing 9 DF and winning just 36% of her first serve points (and 25% of her second).

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3. Roland Garros QF - Nadia Podoroska def. Elina Svitolina
...6-2/6-4. While #3-seeded Svitolina has a long history of squandering her potential moment in the slam spotlight, the fact was that the Argentine qualifier *took* the moment from her in their RG quarterfinal match-up.



Participating in just her second career slam MD (four years after she played in her first), Podoroska was facing a Top 20 player for the first time in her career. But if you'd watched this QF without any previous knowledge of the two players, you'd have thought it was the Argentine who sported the high ranking, expectations, and glowing non-slam WTA resume. She was as cool as the first week's weather in France, and far more thoughtful in her approach than Svitolina. Armed with an authoritative forehand and a sneaky drop shot off the same wing that she seemed to know the perfect moment to employ (though she did get a bit eyes-bigger-than-her-stomach with the shot late down the stretch in the 2nd set), Podoroska came up as big in the moment as Svitolina did small.

With the Chatrier roof opened and the wind stretching out the flags atop the stadium, Podoroska and Svitolina exchanged breaks early in the 1st set, but it soon became clear that the newcomer was the one on her game. She broke back for a 3-1 lead. At 4-1, she already had eleven winners. With the Ukrainian's serve failing on an almost epic level, Podoroska claimed her fifth straight game and served for the set at 5-1. She got within two points of the hold, but Svitolina managed to reach BP and Podorosta sent a short ball wide with a forehand reply to give her opponent a touch of what should have been hope. But then Svitolina dropped serve yet again in lightning-quick fashion, being broken at love with the final two points coming via a DF and easy return winner.

Svitolina never held serve in the set, and won just 13% (!!) of her first serves (2/15), 50% on her second, and won just seven *total* points on serve. Podoroska dominated the winners stats (17-2) and was 4-for-4 on BP chances.

Podoroska held at love to open the 2nd, and led 30/love in game #3, but when she hurried in her forehand reply off a short ball it ignited a brief stretch of errors off her racket that allowed Svitolina to stay in the contest. The Argentine's errors essentially broke herself that game, as she fell behind 2-1. It was the second of six consecutive breaks of serve in the set, during which Podoroska improved her BP chance numbers to 6-for-6, then broke Svitolina for the seventh time in the match to level the score at 4-4.

Finally, Podoroska got the important hold of serve she was seeking. A game later, with the Argentine's forehand forcing Svitolina to chase down multiple well-struck balls and just get them back over the net to stay in the really, the Ukrainian's weak netted backhand gave Podoroska a MP. She didn't convert it, but quickly got another chance. On MP #2, a 27-shot rally that went Svitolina's way when Podoroska came forward to the net but attempted a drop shot rather than blast a forehand through the down-the-line opening available to her.

The Argentine quickly course-corrected a few moments later, though, when she had her third MP opportunity. Again she came forward. Again she had an opening for a forehand winner. But this time she took it. Not messing around any longer, Podoroska fired her signature shot of the day past Svitolina to end the match, winning 6-2/6-4 to become the first Argentine in sixteen years to reach a slam semifinal, the first qualifier to reach a slam SF since 1999, and the first to ever do so in Paris.

As she flung her racket into the air above her head, Podoroska's career took flight. As it came down, it more resembled Svitolina's in such major moments.

===============================================
4. Lexington QF - Shelby Rogers def. Serena Williams
...1-6/6-4/7-6(5). After winning the 1st set in just twenty-six minutes, Williams was bested by her countrywoman, who became Serena's first conqueror ranked outside the Top 100 in eight years (Virginie Razzano in her huge RG upset in '12). It was the first Top 10 win for Rogers in three years.

===============================================
5. U.S. Open 2nd Rd. - Tsvetana Pironkova def. Garbine Muguruza
...7-5/6-3. Some things never change... even after a three-year retirement.



Muguruza led 3-1, and served at 5-4. But she was broken. And, well, then the "Pironkova Effect" began to take hold. Muguruza soon found herself down 5-6. Serving to force a tie-break, Muguruza fought off a break point/set point, but then saw the back-after-three-years-away Pironkova get another chance after she fired a forehand that bounced off the net cord and popped over the approaching Spaniard... and landed inside the baseline behind her.

Pironkova eventually converted on her third BP/SP, winning the set 7-5 with a backhand down the line. That's when Muguruza threw her racket across the court, then retrieved in and produced one of *the* great racket destruction scenes of recent vintage. It brought to mind Aga Radwanska's now-famous disappearing racket head act... though Garbi had to help along the situation to produce the same effect.



Pironkova got the upset over the the #10 seed, then followed up with another over #18 Donna Vekic, her 13th career win over a seed in her slam career (during which the Bulgarian, a Wimbledon semifinalist in 2010, has never been seeded higher than #32). In the QF, she pushed #3 Serena Williams to three sets.
===============================================
HM- Roland Garros 1st Rd. - Kaja Juvan def. Angelique Kerber
...6-3/6-3. The 19-year old Slovenian gets her third career slam MD victory (one each at RG, WI and the US over the last two seasons) with an upset of #18-seeded Kerber, who fell in the 1st Round of a major for the third time in her last six appearances.
===============================================


kosova-font

That's a wrap!

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 1:42 AM 

9 Comments:

Blogger colt13 said...

No more Saturday starts for Madrid. Making events bigger in this economy is a good thing.

Pretty packed for half a season.

Svitolina at 15, Barty 17, and Pliskova unranked? Can't argue with any of those.

Would have Jabeur over Sakkari.

Have Halep as Ms. Backspin, with Kenin a close second.

Like that the list is not just singles players.

Stat of the Week- 32- Singles losses in 2016 for Kristina Mladenovic.

Since Thanksgiving just passed, why not go for a turkey of a stat? The mythic 30 loss season. This means that not only did you have a bad season, you grossly overplayed.

Now in fairness, I should mention that overall, she had a good year, reaching the then Fed Cup final, plus winning Doubles Team of the Year with Caroline Garcia, reaching 8 finals, winning 4. All 8 were Premier level or higher.

30 loss seasons are not common, but more likely found with players grinding on the ITF circuit. Former University of Florida player Julia Cohen doubled down, no, tripled, no quadrupled down, losing 36,39, 37, and 37 again from 2010-13.

Cohen started 2010 ranked at 208 and won more matches than she lost the first two years. Her third year is when she made her miraculous run to the Baku final, reaching her career high of 97 the next week.

Her 4 year run ended with her rank at 177.

One thing that makes it easier to do there is losing in slam qualifying. You do that, then play the second week of a slam, then enter a WTA event the week after one, and that takes care of 12 weeks.

That leads me back to Mladenovic, who did this the pure way. Starting the year at 29, and ending it at 42, she was neither high enough to reach the year end round robin events, nor low enough to play qualifying. Hence, there was one loss in every event she played- 29 WTA events, plus one loss in each Fed Cup round.

Finishing the year at 31-32, she had a bizarre season with these stats:

12 first match losses.

6 wins vs higher ranked players- #8 Bencic, #12 Bacsinszky, #22 Errani, #32 Vandeweghe, #37 Jankovic, #38 Gavrilova.

Slams- 3rd-3rd-1st-2nd.

Reached 1 final on hard, 1 final on grass, plus a SF on clay in which she took a WC. Was ranked 29th, but added late.

Lost to:
1-LL, 2 WC, 4 Q.

With 61 WTA events that season, there were only 39 weeks where events could be entered, so that doesn't count second week of a slam, which Mladenovic didn't reach. 2 of those were Fed Cup only, and 2 were year end events. So she played 32 of the 37 weeks she was eligible.

Quiz Time!

Julia Cohen played one year at Florida, but was never an All American. Which former Florida All American won the most WTA singles titles?

A. Jill Hetherington
B. Lauren Embree
C. Lisa Raymond
D. Jill Craybas


Interlude- AO will probably be pushed back, so why not watch a happy Olympian in Sally McClellan(Pearson), in a now 12 year old interview.



Answer!

The is one obvious no, and that is (B)Embree. A member of Florida's Championship teams in 2011 and 2012, she won no WTA titles. A teammate of Danielle Collins in 2013, she eventually transitioned into coaching, and now is their assistant coach.

Next one out is (D)Craybas, as she only won 1 title. Her college claim to fame is that not only did she win a team title for Florida in 1996, she also did so for Texas in 1993.

The most accomplished Canadian in history, (A)Hetherington did her WTA damage in doubles, winning 14 titles. Like Craybas, she also won 1 singles title.

That leaves (C)Raymond. Known more for her 79 doubles titles, the member of Florida's 1992 Championship team won 4 titles. Reaching the Memphis final 3 years in a row, she won the first two, with Quebec City and Birmingham as her other two.

Mon Nov 30, 06:50:00 AM EST  
Blogger colt13 said...

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1515984931876892

Sally Pearson link sticks this time.

Mon Nov 30, 06:52:00 AM EST  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

And I pretty much skipped all of the Fed Cup stuff (save for a few awards, and a Bracelet nod). ;)

Yeah, Jabeur/Sakkari was really close. If Jabeur had won a title, I'd probably have gone with her. Sakkari got that Serena win the Restart, so maybe that was the "tie-breaker."

It'll be interesting to see if Sascha has any impact on Pliskova's slam chances. Pliskova has been shedding a lot of coaches of late, and some of the shine has left Bajin, too. I wouldn't call their teaming a "most anticipated" nominee for '21, but it's surely intriguing for a lot of reasons... even if it's for their partnership being included in the preseason "over/under" predictions for how long it actually lasts.

Ah, a rare time when I'm holding back on Halep, then. ;) (If she'd won RG...)

I take pride in including the wheelchair athletes now in the PoY listings, as well. De Groot came really close to being Ms.B last year.

Quiz: went with Raymond, since we tend to forget her singles career before she became a doubles specialist. Maybe a Hall of Famer soon, and she's fortunate to come up this year with a list of fellow nominees who are mostly not "definite" ins.

Great Pearson reaction (at first, there was a touch of Andreescu after winning the U.S. Open... then she turned the knob to "ll"). :)

Mon Nov 30, 12:26:00 PM EST  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

Yawn... another year, yet another marketing campaign. After the last one was so "successful" that it's been discarded after a year and a half (and for half *that* time they weren't even playing tennis).

Granted, "#WTA For the Game" is part of a larger rebranding that includes categorizing events into a different system (like the ATP's) -- maybe this one will stick? -- and a new logo (I actually kind of like it -- it's nice to see a figure in the logo again... although it is an interesting take to have a *serving* player be part of the logo, when 3/4 or more of the players on tour have a hard time holding serve), but the marketing campaign seems about as unoriginal as the last one, and even the first-off tweets seem almost exactly like the "#It Takes" ridiculousness.

Basically, rather that #ItTakes... courage, or the fans, or desire. It's now #FortheGame... and for courage, and for the fans, and with desire. We'll see if they do anything different with this one, but it seems like a whole lot more of the boring same.

At least we know who to blame for it, though (I don't remember the tour saying last time). It's a design agency called Landor Australia.

It shouldn't be so difficult to come up with an original slogan or idea to promote the most successful women's sport with the most recognizable female athletes in the world, especially one which produces so many new stories each and every year (even *this* crazy one). This rehashed campaign, like all the rest, will be forgotten by the time the AO is played, whenever that is.

Oh, well... someone will get a new chance by the end of 2022, I suspect.

Wed Dec 02, 11:31:00 AM EST  
Blogger Diane said...

I don't think they're still using it, but I loved the LPGA's "It's Different Out Here" campaign. It featured the players as distinct personalities, and it was often funny.

Wed Dec 02, 11:59:00 AM EST  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

Exactly, that sort of thing (or, as I mentioned the last time, something that treads on the old ESPN SportsCenter-type ads) is the way things need to go if they don't want to have to do *another* campaign in a year or so (which they will). This "new" (haha) thing won't appeal to anyone no already paying attention, and will bore everyone who already is.

And to unveil it two weeks *after* the end of a season, with at least over a month without any tennis to be played (and with no real start date yet for '21) is "the usual" when it comes to shortsighted decisions by the tour marketing arm.

They seem to want to market the game, have no idea how, and even worse have no idea how to make the effort entertaining... which if done successfully would, in turn, market the game.

This column is really spot on. (Psst... guess who the WTA had in the 2012 marketing effort. You're gonna die when you're reminded!)

Also, this tweet pointed out a campaign for the 2008 WTA Championships/WTAF that is the sort of way to go for an *entire* campaign that would be fun.

Wed Dec 02, 03:39:00 PM EST  
Blogger Diane said...

One blogger called the current campaign attempt a "cut and paste" presentation, and I thought that summed it up pretty well

Thu Dec 03, 11:15:00 AM EST  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

Yeah, the *last* campaign was just so bad that it made you a bit angry at the attempt. This one, after a necessary immediate reaction, elicits indifference more than ire. Not exactly the reaction you want from this sort of thing.

Of course, that doesn't mean there won't be a few Carl Talks on the matter. :)

Sat Dec 05, 01:07:00 PM EST  
Blogger Diane said...

I'm always down with Carl Talks!

Mon Dec 07, 11:13:00 PM EST  

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