2009 WTA Tour

2009 WTA Tour
Serena Williams finished the year as world No. 1 for the second time in her career. She won three tournaments during the season, including two majors at the Australian Open and the Wimbledon Championships, as well as the WTA Tour Championships.
Details
DurationJanuary 3 – November 2, 2009
Edition39th
Tournaments55
CategoriesGrand Slam (4)
WTA Championships (2)
WTA Premier Mandatory (4)
WTA Premier 5 (5)
WTA Premier (10)
WTA International tournaments (30)
Achievements (singles)
Most tournament titlesBelarus Victoria Azarenka
Russia Elena Dementieva
Russia Svetlana Kuznetsova
Russia Dinara Safina
United States Serena Williams
Denmark Caroline Wozniacki (3)
Most tournament finalsRussia Dinara Safina
Denmark Caroline Wozniacki (8)
Prize money leaderUnited States Serena Williams
(US$6,545,586)
Points leaderUnited States Serena Williams (9,075)
Awards
Player of the yearUnited States Serena Williams
Doubles team of the yearUnited States Serena Williams
United States Venus Williams
Most improved
player of the year
Belgium Yanina Wickmayer
Newcomer of the yearUnited States Melanie Oudin
Comeback
player of the year
Belgium Kim Clijsters
2008
2010
Grand Slam champions of 2009: Australian Open and Wimbledon titlist Serena Williams (top/bottom left), French Open winner Svetlana Kuznetsova (top right), and US Open champion Kim Clijsters.

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.

Serena Williams and Dinara Safina engaged in a battle for the year-end No. 1 ranking, with Williams eventually coming out on top after winning the WTA Tour Championships. She won two Grand Slam titles during the year. Safina ascended to No. 1 in April and held it for much of the rest of the season. Svetlana Kuznetsova, Caroline Wozniacki and Elena Dementieva also enjoyed successful years in 2009.

Jelena Janković also battled with inconsistent results, falling from No. 1 in January to No. 8 by November.

Kim Clijsters returned to competitive tennis in August after giving birth to her daughter, and won the US Open title. Maria Sharapova made her comeback in May, having missed all tournaments since the summer of 2008, and rose back into the top 20.

Former world No. 1 Amélie Mauresmo announced her retirement at the end of the season, while Ai Sugiyama and Nathalie Dechy were among other notable players who retired during the year.