Serena Williams of the USA was voted the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour’s 2009 Player of the Year for the third time in her career. She was announced as the winner at the annual Player Awards during a special ceremony at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, Florida. It is ironic that Serena isn’t even playing the the Sony Ericsson Open this year due to injuries. Serena received the award previously for the 2002 and 2008 seasons.
(See other awards later in this article.)
Before stating all of Serena’s accomplishments which won her the award, I need to make a point. I hate to bring up a sore subject, but have the people who made the choice for Player of the Year forgotten about Serena’s outburst at the 2009 U.S. Open when she threatened a lineswoman who made a foot fault call on her during her Semifinal match against Kim Clijsters? That led to her losing the match, and receiving huge fines. Shouldn’t sportsmanship be part of the overall picture when choosing someone to be Player of the Year? In my opinion, Serena should have been withdrawn from consideration for any awards like the one she just received for at least a year. How are our upcoming young tennis players supposed to learn to conduct themselves well on the court when they have the model of Serena to follow, who in spite of poor sportsmanship, total lack of self-control, with a mouth to match, still wins Player of the Year? I don’t get it.
However, Serena was chosen for the award because of what is called a “stellar 2009 season,” winning two Grand Slam singles titles (the Australian Open and Wimbledon), the prestigious year-end Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha, and reaching the final of the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami. Additionally, she was a semifinalist at five more Tour events and recorded 14 wins over Top 10 opponents during the season. Williams finished 2009 as the top ranked singles player in the world, marking the fifth time in her career that she ascended to the pinnacle of the rankings.
Serena and Venus Williams won the Doubles Team of the Year award for their collective achievements in 2009, highlighted by winning four titles which included three Grand Slams (the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open) and the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford. The pair ended the year with a 24-2 win-loss record.
“2009 was one of the best seasons of my career and winning the Player of the Year award for the third time is a great achievement for me,” said Sony Ericsson WTA Tour World No.1 Serena Williams. “2009 will always be memorable for me not just for my singles accomplishments, but because Venus and I won four titles together and I am thrilled to be sharing the Doubles Team of the Year award with my sister.”
“I love playing doubles with Serena as we have so much fun on the court together,” said Sony Ericsson WTA Tour World No.5 Venus Williams. “At the beginning of the 2009 season Serena and I decided to put a lot of emphasis on doubles and I am thrilled that we were able to achieve so much together.”
Other awards: Yanina Wickmayer, a rising star from Belgium, won the Most Improved Player award after a breakthrough season highlighted by capturing her first two Tour titles – the Estoril Open and the Generali Ladies Linz – and reaching her first Grand Slam semifinal at the US Open (losing to Caroline Wozniacki). As a result of a great 2009 season, Wickmayer broke into the World Top 20 during the week of October 19th. Additionally, she reached the finals in both singles and doubles (with Michaella Krajicek) at the Ordina Open.
The Comeback Player of the Year award not surprisingly went to none other than Kim Clijsters also of Belgium. Clijsters made a sensational return to the Tour in August, reaching the quarterfinals of the Western & Southern Financial Group Women’s Open (Cincinnati) in her first tournament back from retirement. She then went on to reach the third round at the Rogers Cup (Toronto) prior to embarking on a memorable run at the US Open, winning her second Grand Slam singles title in only her third tournament back on Tour. Clijsters became the first wildcard in history, and the first mother since Evonne Goolagong’s Wimbledon triumph in 1980, to win a Grand Slam singles title.
In addition to winning the Comeback Player of the Year award, Clijsters was honored with her 7th Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award, recognizing her conduct, attitude and sense of fair play. No player in Tour history has won the Sportsmanship Award more times than Clijsters.
American Melanie Oudin picked up the Tour’s Newcomer of the Year Award. Oudin’s first Top 50 season was highlighted by a breakthrough performance at Wimbledon where, as a qualifier, she reached the fourth round, defeating former World No.1 Jelena Jankovic. At the US Open, Oudin reached the quarterfinals, defeating Elena Dementieva, Nadia Petrova and Maria Sharapova in successive three-set matches along the way. She rose to a career-high World No.42 during the week of September 28th.
The fans of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour voted online for their Favorite Singles and Doubles Players of the Year. Russia’s Elena Dementieva won the most votes for the Fan Favorite Singles Player of the Year while Serena and Venus Williams ran away with the Fan Favorite Doubles Team of the Year honors.
Additionally, the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour players voted on their favorite tournaments and chose the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells as their favorite Premier event and the Abierto Mexicano TELCEL presentado por HSBC in Acapulco as their favorite International event.
