Dinara Mubinovna Safina is a Russian former world No. 1 tennis player. Safina was runner-up in singles at the 2008 French Open, 2009 Australian Open, and the 2009 French Open, falling to Ana Ivanovic, Serena Williams, and Svetlana Kuznetsova, respectively. She had success at Grand Slam events in women's doubles by winning the 2007 US Open with Nathalie Dechy. She also won the Olympic silver medal in women's singles at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Safina retired in 2014 after a lengthy absence from the tour since 2011 due to an ongoing back injury. She is the younger sister of former world No. 1 men's player Marat Safin. The brother–sister pair are the first to both achieve No. 1 rankings.
Daniela Hantuchová is a Slovak tennis commentator and retired player. She turned professional in 1999 and had her breakthrough year in 2002, when she won her first WTA Tour title at the Indian Wells Masters, defeating Martina Hingis in the final and becoming the lowest-ranked player to ever win the tournament. She also reached the quarterfinals of that year's Wimbledon Championships and US Open, ending the year in the top ten. She was part of the Slovak team that won the 2002 Fed Cup and the 2005 Hopman Cup.
Maria Sharapova defeated Justine Henin-Hardenne in the final, 6–4, 6–4 to win the women's singles tennis title at the 2006 US Open. It was her second major title. She lost just one set during the tournament. By reaching the final, Henin-Hardenne became the eighth woman to reach all four major finals in a calendar year.
The 2007 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour was the elite professional tennis circuit organized by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for the 2007 tennis season. The calendar comprises the Grand Slam tournaments, the WTA Tier I-IV Events, the Fed Cup and the year-end championships.
Serena Williams defeated Maria Sharapova in the final, 6–1, 6–2 to win the women's singles tennis title at the 2007 Australian Open. It was her third Australian Open singles title and her eighth major singles title overall. She became the first unseeded player to win the title since Christine O'Neil in 1978.
Two-time defending champion Justine Henin successfully defended her title, defeating Ana Ivanovic in the final, 6–1, 6–2 to win the women's singles tennis title at the 2007 French Open. She won the title without losing a set or facing a tiebreak in any set during the tournament for the second consecutive time. It was Henin's fourth French Open title overall. Ivanovic became the first Serbian representing Serbia to reach a major final.
The 2008 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 96th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 14 through 27 January 2008.
The 2008 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour was the elite professional tennis circuit organized by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for the 2008 tennis season. The 2008 WTA Tour calendar comprises the Grand Slam tournaments, the WTA Tier I-IV Events, the Fed Cup, the year-end championships, and the tennis event at the Beijing Summer Olympic Games.
The 2008 WTA Tour Championships was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 38th edition of the year-end singles championships, the 33rd edition of the year-end doubles championships, and is part of the 2008 WTA Tour. It took place at the Khalifa International Tennis Complex in Doha, Qatar, from 4 November through 9 November 2008.
Justine Henin defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final, 6–1, 6–3 to win the women's singles tennis title at the 2007 US Open. She did not lose a set during the tournament. It was her last major title and final US Open appearance.
Ana Ivanovic defeated Dinara Safina in the final, 6–4, 6–3 to win the women's singles tennis title at the 2008 French Open. It was her first and only major singles title. With the win, Ivanovic also became the world No. 1; Maria Sharapova, Jelena Janković and Svetlana Kuznetsova were also in contention for the top ranking. Ivanovic dropped only one set during the tournament, to Janković in the semifinals. This marked the last time Ivanovic would reach a major quarterfinal until the 2012 US Open.
This page covers all the important events in the sport of tennis in 2008. Primarily, it provides the results of notable tournaments throughout the year on both the ATP and WTA Tours, the Davis Cup, the Fed Cup and the Olympics.
Maria Sharapova defeated Ana Ivanovic in the final, 7–5, 6–3 to win the women's singles tennis title at the 2008 Australian Open. It was her third major singles title. She did not lose a set during the tournament or face a tiebreak in any set. Sharapova also became the first Russian woman to win the title. It was Ivanovic's second runner-up finish in as many major finals, though she would win the French Open a few months later.
Seven of the top ten women on the WTA Tour will be playing the Qatar Telecom German Open from May 5 to May 11 of 2008, including world number one Justine Henin. World number 3, Maria Sharapova, along with Venus Williams and Daniela Hantuchová, ranked 8th and 10th respectively, are the only top 10 players not participating.
Elena Viacheslavovna Dementieva is a Russian former professional tennis player. She won the singles gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, having previously won the silver medal at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. She won 16 WTA singles titles, reached the finals of the 2004 French Open and 2004 US Open and reached seven other Grand Slam semifinals. Dementieva was also part of the Russian team that won the 2005 Fed Cup. In doubles, she won the 2002 WTA Championships with Janette Husárová and was the runner-up in two US Open doubles finals – in 2002 with Husárová and in 2005 with Flavia Pennetta. Dementieva achieved a career-high ranking of world No. 3, which was accomplished on 6 April 2009. She announced her retirement on 29 October 2010, after her final match at the 2010 WTA Championships. Between 2003 and 2010, she only ended one year, in 2007, outside the top 10. She is considered to be one of the most talented players never to have won a Grand Slam tournament.
The 2009 WTA Tour Championships was held in Doha, Qatar from October 27 to November 1. It was the second time the Khalifa International Tennis Complex hosted the WTA Tour Year-End Singles and Doubles Championships.
Serena Williams defeated Dinara Safina in the final, 6–0, 6–3 to win the women's singles tennis title at the 2009 Australian Open. It was her fourth Australian Open singles title and her tenth major singles title overall. With the win, Williams regained the world No. 1 ranking.
This is a list of the main career statistics of retired Russian professional tennis player Dinara Safina. Throughout her career, Safina won twelve WTA Tour singles titles including three Tier I singles titles at the 2008 German Open, Rogers Cup and Pan Pacific Open, respectively; one Premier Mandatory singles title at the 2009 Madrid Open and one Premier 5 singles title at the 2009 Italian Open. She was also the runner-up at the 2008 French Open and the 2009 Australian Open and French Open as well as a silver medalist in singles at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Results and statistics from Maria Sharapova's 2006 tennis season.
Results and statistics from Maria Sharapova's 2008 tennis season.
Dinara Safina 
Cara Black / 
Liezel Huber 
