Sony Ericsson WTA Tour : 2005


2005: Season In Review

Season 2005 was an historic one for women's tennis. The WTA Tour became the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour as part of a landmark $88-million, six-year deal, which saw the mobile communications giant assume worldwide title sponsorship of the women's professional c

On-court, the 2005 season had one constant theme, that being the continuous return to prominence of several former Grand Slam champions and world No.1s. From the battle for the top ranking to the Williams and Belgian dominance at the majors, 2005 was clearly the year of the comeback player. Below is a look at the highlights of 2005, arguably the most successful season in Tour history.
After lengthy injury lay-offs in 2003 and up-and-down performances in 2004, there was doubt as to whether the Williams sisters would again compete at the top level of women's tennis, but those doubts were silenced in 2005, as both tasted Grand Slam glory and featured in the world's Top 10 for much of the season. Serena was the first to strike, capturing her second career Australian Open title (seventh major overall), defeating Nadia Petrova, Amélie Mauresmo and Maria Sharapova en route to the final, then beating Lindsay Davenport.

Venus turned on the heat at Wimbledon, capturing her third title there (fifth major overall), defeating Mary Pierce and Sharapova en route to the final before outlasting Davenport in what turned out to be the longest ladies' singles final in the event's history. Both sisters saved match points en route to their respective titles, with Serena saving three against Sharapova and Venus fending off one with a screaming inside-out backhand winner against Davenport.

Davenport, Mauresmo, Pierce end year on high notes
Three of the Tour's most experienced players played some of their best tennis towards the end of the 2005 season, and will likely head into 2006 with aspirations of Grand Slam success, beginning with Lindsay Davenport, who not only reached two major finals this year (Australian Open, Wimbledon), but also captured six titles, three of which came in the fall season after the US Open.

Also stepping it up late in the year was Amélie Mauresmo, who went for nearly six months without a title before winning two in a row in the last two weeks of the year, including at this past week's seasonending Tour Championships. Finally, there was the 2005 renaissance of Mary Pierce. Pierce also reached two major finals, at Roland Garros and the US Open, and claimed two Tier I titles as well. All three women finished the year ranked in the Top 5, with Davenport claiming the year-end No.1 for a fourth time, Mauresmo finishing at No.3 and Pierce matching her career-high No.5 finish.
Young stars continue to emerge, set sights on 2006
There are four teenagers featuring in the season-ending Top 20 rankings, the most successful clearly being Russian sensation Maria Sharapova, who finishes at No.4. Despite the lack of a major title, Sharapova was a prime example of consistency in 2005, reaching the quarterfinals or better at all 15 events she contested, including reaching the semifinals at three of the four Grand Slams, and falling to the eventual champion at all four. She also became the first-ever Russian to ascend to the No.1 ranking, doing so between late August and October, holding the top spot for a total of seven non-consecutive weeks before surrendering it to Davenport.

Other emerging stars featuring in the year-end Top 100 include Nicole Vaidisova (winner of three titles in 2005), Ana Ivanovic (one title, Roland Garros quarterfinals), Dinara Safina (two titles), and several others, including Tatiana Golovin, Maria Kirilenko, Sania Mirza, Sesil Karatantcheva, Peng Shuai and Michaella Krajicek.



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