2008 WTA Tour Championships | |
---|---|
Date | 4–9 November |
Edition | 38th (singles) / 33rd (doubles) |
Location | Doha, Qatar |
Venue | Khalifa International Tennis Complex |
Champions | |
Singles | |
Venus Williams | |
Doubles | |
Cara Black / Liezel Huber |
The 2008 WTA Tour Championships (also known as the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Championships for sponsorship reasons) 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.
Venus Williams defeated Vera Zvonareva, 6–7(5–7), 6–0, 6–2.
Cara Black / Liezel Huber defeated Květa Peschke / Rennae Stubbs, 6–1, 7–5.
The top eight players and the top four doubles teams in the 2008 WTA Tour will qualify for the Championships. Two more players will also come to Doha as reserves. Should any player withdraw, they will enter the tournament.
# | Players | Points | Tournaments | Date qualified |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Jelena Janković (SRB) | 4,786 | 30 July | |
2 | Dinara Safina (RUS) | 3,823 | 4 September | |
3 | Serena Williams (USA) | 3,681 | 13 | 4 September |
4 | Elena Dementieva (RUS) | 3,400 | 18 September | |
5 | Ana Ivanovic (SRB) | 3,353 | 18 | 30 July |
6 | Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) | 2,627 | 17 October | |
7 | Vera Zvonareva (RUS) | 2,626 | 25 October | |
8 | Venus Williams (USA) | 2,524 | 25 October |
On 30 July, Jelena Janković and Ana Ivanovic became the first two players to qualify for the year-end championships. [1]
Following a surging 2007, Janković started the year at the Hopman Cup where she partnered with Novak Djokovic to reach the final, losing out to United States' Serena Williams and Mardy Fish. [2] She reached the semifinals of the Australian Open a few weeks after falling to Maria Sharapova, the eventual champion [3] where she beat Serena Williams en route in the quarterfinals. In February and March, she reached a lone final at the Sony Ericsson Open losing to Serena Williams 1–6, 7–5, 3–6. She further reached two semifinals and two quarterfinals. In the clay season, Janković won the Italian Open for the second straight year against surprise finalist Alizé Cornet who was an 18-year-old qualifier. At the French Open, she reached her third straight major semifinal but fell in three grueling sets to once again the eventual champion in Ana Ivanovic, a match that decided the new World No. 1.
Janković then headed straight to Wimbledon where she lost to Tamarine Tanasugarn in the fourth round. Janković eventually became the 18th female No. 1, replacing compatriot Ivanovic on August 11. [4] At the Beijing Olympics, she lost to eventual silver medalist Dinara Safina in the quarterfinals. At the US Open, Janković beat Elena Dementieva in the final four to reach her first Grand Slam final but lost to Serena Williams. In the fall season, she won three consecutive tournaments at the China Open, the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix and the Kremlin Cup justifying her return to the top spot.
Ana Ivanovic began the 2008 season by reaching the finals of the Australian Open where she lost to Maria Sharapova in straight sets. She then managed to win her sixth title and third Tier I title in Indian Wells, beating Jelena Janković and Svetlana Kuznetsova in the semifinals and finals respectively. Following a mediocre pre-French Open season where she failed to defend her title in Berlin, she entered Roland Garros as the second seed and favourite. She lived up to that expectation by winning her first Grand Slam (and her only to date) and becoming the first Serbian to reach the No. 1 spot, virtue of beating compatriot Janković in the semifinals. [5] She defeated first-time Grand Slam finalist Dinara Safina 6–4, 6–3. In her first tournament as the new world No. 1 at Wimbledon, she was upset in the third round by Chinese wildcard Zheng Jie. Following a disappointing Wimbledon campaign, she suffered an injury-marred US Open Series as she withdrew from Los Angeles and the Olympics, which Ivanovic described as "one of the worst moments in my career". She played only one tournament which was at the Rogers Cup and was eliminated in the third round. As the top seed for the US Open, she suffered for the second straight major a loss to a player ranked outside the top 100 in French qualifier Julie Coin. She returned to form in October by winning the indoor tournament in Linz as well as reach the semifinals at the Kremlin Cup.
On 4 September, Serena Williams and Dinara Safina were announced as the third and fourth qualifiers for the Championships. [6]
Serena Williams started the year at the Hopman Cup where she teamed up with Mardy Fish to win it for the US. At the Australian Open, she made the quarterfinals losing to Jelena Janković.
On 18 September, Elena Dementieva became the fifth qualifier for the Championships. [7]
On 17 October, by reaching the quarterfinals at the Kremlin Cup, Svetlana Kuznetsova was confirmed as the sixth qualifier. [8]
On 25 October, the final two spots were taken by Vera Zvonareva and Venus Williams. [9]
In doubles, team Cara Black and Liezel Huber qualified with convincing lead with more than 6,000 points, while other three teams all failed to collect even a half of that number of points, with all of them being around 2,000.
Players in gold have qualified for Doha. Players in brown withdrawn. The low-ranked players in blue after them would be played as alternates in Doha.
Rank | Player | Grand Slam | Tier I | Best Other | Total points | Tourn | ||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AUS | FRA | WIM | USO | DOH | IW | MIA | CHA | BER | ITA | CAN | TOK | MOS | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ||||
1 | Jelena Janković | SF 450 | SF 450 | R16 140 | F 700 | QF 110 | SF 210 | F 350 | QF 110 | QF 110 | W 430 | QF 110 | QF 110 | W 430 | W 300 | W 275 | SF 125 | SF 125 | 4,786 | 21 | ||
2 | Dinara Safina | R128 2 | F 700 | R32 90 | SF 450 | R16 60 | R32 40 | QF 125 | R32 35 | W 430 | A 0 | W 430 | W 430 | SF 195 | W 275 | S 245 | F 100 | QF 75 | QF 35 | 3,823 | 20 | |
3 | Serena Williams | QF 250 | R32 90 | F 700 | W 1000 | A 0 | A 0 | W 500 | W 430 | QF 110 | QF 110 | A 0 | A 0 | A 0 | W 275 | SF 125 | QF 90 | R16 1 | 3,681 | 12 | ||
4 | Elena Dementieva | R16 140 | QF 250 | SF 450 | SF 450 | A 0 | A 0 | QF 125 | SF 195 | F 300 | A 0 | R32 1 | QF 110 | SF 195 | G 353 | W 275 | W 165 | SF 125 | F 100 | QF 75 | 3,400 | 18 |
5 | Ana Ivanovic | F 700 | W 1000 | R32 90 | R64 60 | R16 60 | W 465 | R32 45 | A 0 | SF 195 | R32 1 | R16 60 | R16 1 | R16 1 | W 275 | SF 125 | SF 125 | QF 70 | QF 70 | 3,353 | 17 | |
6 | Vera Zvonareva | R128 2 | R16 140 | R64 60 | R64 60 | F 300 | QF 115 | SF 225 | F 300 | A 0 | R16 60 | R32 1 | A 0 | F 300 | B 175 | F 190 | W 140 | SF 125 | W 115 | F 80 | 2,626 | 24 |
7 | Svetlana Kuznetsova | R32 90 | SF 450 | R16 140 | R32 90 | R16 60 | F 325 | SF 225 | A 0 | R16 60 | R16 60 | QF 110 | F 300 | QF 110 | F 190 | F 190 | F 190 | R16 1 | R64 1 | 2,623 | 18 | |
8 | Venus Williams | QF 250 | R32 90 | W 1000 | QF 250 | R16 60 | A 0 | QF 125 | A 0 | A 0 | QF 110 | A 0 | A 0 | R32 1 | W 275 | SF 140 | SF 125 | QF 90 | R32 1 | 2,522 | 13 | |
9 | Maria Sharapova | W 1000 | R16 140 | R64 60 | A 0 | W 430 | SF 210 | A 0 | QF 110 | A 0 | SF 195 | R16 60 | A 0 | A 0 | W 275 | 2,515 | 9 | |||||
10 | Agnieszka Radwańska | QF 250 | R16 140 | QF 250 | R16 140 | SF 195 | QF 115 | R64 1 | R32 35 | R16 60 | R16 60 | A 0 | QF 110 | A 0 | W 275 | W 140 | SF 125 | W 115 | SF 50 | R16 40 | 2,256 | 23 |
11 | Nadia Petrova | R16 140 | R32 90 | QF 250 | R32 90 | R64 1 | A 0 | R64 1 | A 0 | R32 35 | R64 1 | R16 60 | SF 195 | QF 110 | F 215 | F 190 | W 140 | W 140 | QF 70 | QF 70 | 1,914 | 24 |
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. She had even greater success at major events in doubles, winning the 2007 US Open with Nathalie Dechy. She also won the Olympic silver medal in women's singles at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
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.
The 2007 WTA Tour Championships, officially Sony Ericsson Championships, is the thirty seventh season-ending WTA Tour Championships, the annual tennis tournament for the eight best female tennis players in singles, and four teams in doubles, on the 2007 WTA Tour. It was held from 6 November though 11 November 2007, in Madrid, Spain.
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.
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.
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, and she became the first Russian to win the title. She did not lose a set during the tournament or face a tiebreak in any set. It was Ivanovic's second runner-up finish in as many major finals, though she would win the French Open a few months later.
Defending champion Venus Williams defeated her sister Serena Williams in the final, 7–5, 6–4 to win the ladies' singles tennis title at the 2008 Wimbledon Championships. It was her fifth Wimbledon title and seventh major singles title overall. She won the title without losing a set, the second time she did so at a major.
The 2008 Qatar Telecom German Open was a women's tennis event that was played from 5 May to 11 May 2008. It was one of two Tier I events that took place on red clay in the build-up to the second Grand Slam of the year, the French Open. It was played at the Rot-Weiss Tennis Club in the German capital of Berlin. The tournaments offered a total prize fund of US$1,300,000 across all rounds.
The 2009 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour was the 37th season since the founding of the Women's Tennis Association. It commenced on January 5, 2009, and concluded on November 8, 2009, after 56 events.
Venus Williams defeated Vera Zvonareva in the final, 6–7(5–7), 6–0, 6–2 to win the singles tennis title at the 2008 WTA Tour Championships. It was her first Tour Finals title.
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.
Jelena Janković is a Serbian former world No. 1 tennis player. Janković reached the top ranking before her career-best major performance, a runner-up finish at the 2008 US Open. Janković won 15 WTA Tour singles titles and two doubles titles, with career highlights including the 2007 Wimbledon mixed-doubles title partnering Jamie Murray.
Elena Dementieva defeated Maria Sharapova in the final, 6–4, 6–3 to win the women's singles tennis title at the 2009 Canadian Open.
Maria Sharapova won the singles tennis title at the 2009 Pan Pacific Open after Jelena Janković retired from the final with a wrist injury, with the scoreline at 5–2.
Svetlana Kuznetsova defeated Agnieszka Radwańska in the final, 6–2, 6–4 to win the women's singles tennis title at the 2009 China Open. It was her second China Open title.
The 2010 WTA Tour Championships was held in Doha, Qatar from October 26 to October 31. It was the third and final time that the Khalifa International Tennis Complex hosted the WTA Tour Year-End Singles and Doubles Championships. In 2011 the competition will move to Istanbul, Turkey.
María José Martínez Sánchez defeated Jelena Janković in the final, 7–6(7–5), 7–5 to win the women's singles tennis title at the 2010 Italian Open. Martínez Sánchez was unseeded in the main draw.
Serena Williams's 2008 tennis season officially began at the 2008 Australian Open. Williams finished the year ranked world no. 2, finishing in the top 5 for the first time since 2003. She also won her 9th slam at the US Open.
Results and statistics from Maria Sharapova's 2008 tennis season.