2010 Women’s Tennis In Review

The 2010 WTA season began like 2009 ended, with a former world number 1 player coming out of retirement into the headlines.   This time, Justine Henin returned to the court expecting to challenge for more Grand Slam success.  In the very first event, Brisbane, Henin came in as a wildcard and advanced all the way to the final.  Fittingly, she would face the 2009 comeback story, Kim Clijsters.  Though Clijsters, the number 1 seed, would win in three sets, Henin let the field know she was still a force to be reckoned with.

Elena Dementieva won the first Premier level event, in Sydney, defeating Serena Williams.  Serena would come storming back, winning the year’s first Grand Slam, the Australian Open.  Again, wildcard Henin was in the final.  Dementieva would win the next Premier event, the GDF Suez Open.  It would turn out to be the final title of her career.  Two of the top servers would regain their form in the early season.  Venus Williams would win 2 titles in February and Maria Sharapova would return to the top, winning in Memphis.  Another former number 1, Jelena Jankovic, would win her only title of the year at Indian Wells.

New faces would appear in the spring.  Samantha Stosur made

the finals at the Premier level Family Circle Cup and Porche Tennis Grand Prix, winning in Charleston.  Stosur wasn’t finished, as she played her way to the final at Roland Garros, only to lose at the hands of Francesca Schiavone.  It was Schiavone’s first Grand Slam title.

Serena Williams would again dominate at Wimbledon, her 13th Grand Slam victory.  Her season would soon end, however, with a foot injury requiring at least 2 surgeries.

In the battle of blondes with loud grunts, Victoria Azarenka defeated Maria Sharapova at the Bank of the West Classic, but the blonde who ruled the summer was Caroline Wozniacki.  Wozniacki would win 5 titles during the summer, 6 for the season, on her way up the rankings charts.   Wozniacki would end the year ranked number 1 in the world, the first Scandinavian woman to do so.

Ana Ivanovic, former number 1 player who had fallen all the way out of the top-50, finished the year strong with wins at Linz and Bali.  Ivanovic returned to the top-20 in the year-end rankings.

Kim Clijsters finished the year as she began, with another Grand Slam win at the US Open and the year-end WTA Championships.

Italy won it’s third Fed Cup title in five years in a repeat of last year’s final against the U.S.