Opening Salvos

This year's WTA Finals could be one of the most interesting year-end championships we've seen in years -- with the most dominant player on Tour sitting out the postseason, nearly half the qualifiers making just their first appearance at this event, and each and every entrant showing a little vulnerability since the U.S. Open, it really is anybody's game. And with the first round robin matches in the books, we've gotten a glimpse of who might be most willing to take advantage of the opportunity.

Play kicked off Sunday with a rematch of the first shocking semi in New York this year -- eventual champion Flavia Pennetta, who at thirty-three has said this would be the last professional event of her career, hoped to repeat against top seed Simona Halep. Both have been below their best recently -- the Italian was upset by a qualifier in Tianjin and withdrew from the Moscow quarters with a foot injury, just after clinching her entry to Singapore, while the world #2 retired from the draw in Beijing after early losses in both Guangzhou and Wuhan. That could have presented an opportunity for Pennetta to pounce, but this time the Romanian was able to take charge, dropping just three games in the barely hour-long match. It was an important start for the favorite, who in her debut last year reached the final with a victory over Serena Williams in the early rounds. If she wants to go one better this time, she'll need to show her recent struggles were just a fluke and such a decisive win to start off may have done just that.

The second match in Singapore was just a little more challenging -- Maria Sharapova, by far the most experienced of the field, took on Aga Radwanska, who'd made a solid late-season push to qualify for her seventh appearance here. MaSha, who won this event an entire eleven years ago, started the year off strong, but a leg injury sustained during her Wimbledon semifinal lost forced her out of summer events and the U.S. Open -- when she finally did return to play in Wuhan, she retired in the third set of her opener with an arm ailment. The Pole meanwhile, who'd fallen as low as #15 in the world after a weak start to 2015, made a nice jump higher with a semi showing at the All England Club and titles in Tokyo and Tianjin. While she pulled out of Moscow last week, she seemed to have the momentum that could take her far at the Finals, but Sharapova may have stopped that. After dropping the first set the Russian roared back in the second and fought off a late surge from her opponent in the decider and, in the nearly three-hour match, Sharapova was the one left somewhat unexpectedly standing. But she'll have to regroup quick if she's going to keep up her streak -- with a match against a decidedly more rested Halep on Tuesday, she'll need every ounce of energy she's got.

Things were just as interesting in Monday's contests, where the first match-up in the White Group pitted two newbies against each other. Wimbledon finalist Garbiñe Muguruza faced off against Roland Garros runner-up Lucie Safarova, both of whom scored their best Major results this year, and both of whom are also playing the doubles event in Singapore. Here too though, there were some questions hanging above the players -- the Spaniard retired from the final in Wuhan, seemed to recover for a title in Beijing a week later, and then pulled out of Hong Kong. Safarova, meanwhile, has struggled a bit more -- the last woman to qualify for this event lost openers in Linz and Moscow, not to mention at the U.S. Open and now hasn't won a match since New Haven. And that gave Muguruza the opening she needed -- the twenty-two year old fired off ten aces and forced fifteen break opportunities -- and even though the Czech was able to keep things tight at the end, the second seed may have shaken off her debut nerves a bit better and be in the prime spot to power through from here.

The last round robin might have resulted in the only real surprise we've seen at the tournament so far. Relative veterans Petra Kvitova, the only one in this group to beat Serena Williams this year, and Angelique Kerber, who's very quietly picked up four titles in 2015, might have been two of the most closely matched opponents to open against each other -- all but one of their six previous meetings have gone three sets. Still Kvitova lost early in both Wuhan and Beijing and Kerber, after reaching the final in Hong Kong skipped out on Moscow, leaving her fate in qualifying for Singapore in other players' hands. But the sixth seed came out swinging in her opener, grabbing the first set without allowing a break opportunity. Though things were closer in the second, Kerber was able to stay more focused in the tiebreak, able to score her first win over the Czech in more than three years. The only player to have notched an upset, the German is actually at the top of her round robin group and if she keeps hitting the way she did Monday, she might just stay that way.

Of course there is still plenty more ball left before this year's final trophy is awarded. And while the ladies who opened their campaigns with a win are certainly at an early advantage, anything can still happen from here. And in just about a week one of these players might have just established herself as the one to beat in the new year.

On the Bubble

We've gotten to that time of year when players are looking to put in their last arguments to qualify for the year-end championships. And with Serena Williams withdrawing from the event in Singapore, perhaps the field is more wide open than its been in ages, so it's no surprise everyone still in contention -- even a couple new faces -- is fighting for those last available spots.

Lucie Safarova didn't do too much to strengthen her case this week, but she still might be in good shape to qualify for her first ever season-ender. Long among the second tier players in the sport, the veteran Czech had a breakthrough last year when she reached the Wimbledon semis. And in 2015 she scored her biggest title to date in Doha, scoring wins over Ekaterina Makarova and Victoria Azarenka in the process. Her real crowning achievement, though, came in Paris where she stunned two former titleists in Maria Sharapova and Ana Ivanovic on the way to her first Major final and even took a set off Serena in the championship match. She's slowed down a bit since then -- after a first round loss at the U.S. Open, she only got back on court this week in Linz and lost her opener to fellow Roland Garros standout Andreea Mitu. Still, at #7 on the year-end leaderboard with just a week of play left, she's in a solid spot -- after all she's already qualified for the doubles draw, winning crowns in Melbourne and France with Bethanie-Mattek Sands, so why not make the most out of her trip?

Angelique Kerber has a little more experience in postseason play, and is trying to wrap up her case for a third appearance at the WTA Finals this week. After a shocking first round loss in Melbourne and more than a few tough draws early in the year -- Victoria Azarenka in her Doha opener, Sam Stosur in Madrid -- she got herself back on track with some top-notch wins. She beat Maria Sharapova on her way to the Stuttgart title, and Aga Radwanska in Stanford. She's currently ranked #9 in the world, but with four Premier-level titles this year she leads the pack of bubble contenders, and her performance this week could seal her spot. The second seed in Hong Kong, she was tested early by former Grand Slam champion Francesca Schiavone in her first round, but scored an easy win over Kurumi Nara earlier today. Next up she'll face always tricky Caroline Garcia, but if she lives up to her potential she could not only walk away with this trophy but also make a return to the season finale. She missed the cut last year and has only won one match in her previous two appearances, but she's shown she's got the ability to cause a stir among the highest ranks and might just be able to turn around her luck this time.

There are actually more than a few ladies trying to make the Singapore cut in Tianjin this week, and their experience runs the gamut. Veteran Flavia Pennetta, who unexpectedly picked up her first and likely only Grand Slam trophy in New York last month, is on the verge of qualifying for her first year-end championships at the very twilight of her career. She lost her first round in China, but at #8 on the Road to Singapore, there's a chance she hasn't yet played her last match on Tour. Trying to usurp her position, though, is 2015 breakout star Karolina Pliskova, also looking for her WTA Finals debut. The young Czech rose to a career high #7 in the world just ahead of the U.S. Open, with wins over formerly top-ranked players like Victoria Azarenka and Ana Ivanovic and trips to five finals this year -- she picked up her fourth career title in Prague. She lost a little ground last week, dropping points she won in Linz last year, but she's alive and kicking in Tianjin and could make them up quickly. Aga Radwanska certainly rebounded herself -- after falling to a recent low #15 in the world over the summer, a title in Tokyo brought her back up into the top eight, and she's well in the running to make her seventh postseason appearance. She's lost just three games this week, and if she keep her play at this level, it might not be long before she seals the deal.

There's a lot at stake, after all, for the four ladies who have yet to make the year-end final -- of the four already there, three have been struggling with injuries and form in the last few months, and any one of these women could certainly pounce on that opening. And who knows when they'll get another opportunity to close out the year with a bang.

The Anti Anti-Climax

We were supposed to watch history happen this weekend at the U.S. Open. And with tickets to the ladies' final selling out before the men's for the first time in recent memory, it seemed clear most fans believed the one storyline everyone was chasing was inevitable. Serena Williams was going to win the calendar year Grand Slam, tie Steffi-Graf for an Open Era record twenty-two Major wins, and cement her place as the greatest women's tennis player in history.

Well things didn't go quite as we might have expected, but that doesn't mean we didn't see some amazing action during the closing days in New York. In fact, we may have seen a different kind of history made instead.

On the women's side of the draw, the drama got amped up during Friday's rain-delayed semifinals. It started when Flavia Pennetta, who's had some of her best results in Flushing Meadows, took the court against second seeded Simona Halep -- the heavy favorite had battled through some of her previous matches, needing three sets against both Sabine Lisicki and two-time runner-up Victoria Azarenka on her way to the Final Four. But the twenty-sixth seed had been tested too, taking out former champ Sam Stosur and Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova during her run too. And she was even more impressive against Halep, needing less than an hour to oust the heavy favorite and make her first ever Slam final.

Of course it was the second semi that really captured everyone's attention. Serena was taking on Roberta Vinci, a woman who'd never taken a set off her -- never even won more than four games in a set -- and who'd been mightily struggling with her singles career over the past eighteen months. The Italian was coming off first first Major quarterfinal win, having only made it that far two times before, but she hadn't really been challenged during her run in the Big Apple. With Genie Bouchard pulling out of their fourth round, she didn't face a single seed until Friday, and at just #43 in the world, few thought she had any chance against the most dominating top seed possible. But after squandering an early break and dropping the first set, Vinci didn't give up -- she grabbed a break again in the second and this time held on to force a decider, and then even came back from an early deficit in the third to nab the lead again. With the supreme underdog serving for the match at 5-4, most may have expected Williams to roar back under the pressure and obliterate her opponent, but somehow the Italian held at love to score the biggest win of her career and stop Serena's two match wins short of her goal.

By the time Saturday's final came around, I'm not sure anyone knew what to expect -- Pennetta and Vinci had a combined age of fifty-five and a combined ranking of sixty-nine. Not unlike last year's men's final, when two heavy favorites were both shockingly upset by relative underdogs, we were seeing two players who'd never contested a Major championship match. And nerves were high from the start -- Pennetta, the seeded and slightly more experienced of the pair, seemed a little shaky at the start, ceding an early break herself in the opening set. But she regained composure as the game went on, claiming the tiebreak and taking a two-break lead in the second before claiming the win over her good friend and countrywoman. And after what can only be described as the most surprising of Cinderella runs, the thirty-three year old -- incidentally, the oldest ever first time Slam winner -- surprised us again. Just before accepting the trophy, she announced she'd decided a month ago this would be the last match of her tennis career. Maybe that explains how she was able to hit so freely during the last two weeks, but whatever the driver behind her inspiring campaign in New York, there's certainly no better way to say good-bye than by putting up the very best performance of her career.

So maybe things didn't work out the way many might have wanted, but you can't deny how amazing the performances from these two women were over the past fortnight. And while something tells me we haven't heard the last from Serena as she starts back on her quest in the coming months, maybe what we saw the last few days proves there's hope for everyone out there to make history themselves.

And that it's never too late to pick up the biggest title of your career.

Slideshow: 2015 U.S. Open Women's Semifinalists

The Long Shots

Maybe we shouldn't be that surprised by what's gone down so far at the U.S. Open. After all over the past two years we've seen a slew of first-time finalists and even a couple new champions at the Majors. So it seems only fitting that the underdogs continue to thrive in New York. Sure, there's a lot more game to be played before anyone's crowned a champion, but if their performances so far are any indication, there's no reason they can't keep going.

Richard Gasquet is probably the most decorated among the men in this group -- he made a solid run to the semis here two years ago and even reached the final four at Wimbledon this season. He's still ranked outside the top ten, but with two titles and wins over the likes of Stan Wawrinka and Marin Cilic, he's playing much above his level. He's had a couple challenges so far in the Big Apple, being forced to five sets against upstart Thanasi Kokkinakis in his first round and dropping his opening set to Robin Haase a match later. But he's been on point in later rounds -- he needed less than ninety minutes to dispatch Bernard Tomic and late last night came back after losing the first set to Tomas Berdych to notch his seventh win over the sixth-seed. Next up for the Frenchman is Roger Federer, who he's only beaten twice in sixteen previous matches, but if he's feeling inspired he might just surprise us again.

Spain's Feliciano Lopez seems pretty inspired himself -- the eighteenth seed had been struggling a big ahead of the Open, failing to defend points during his traditionally strong grass court season, and falling a bit from his career-high #12 ranking in March. But he also notched his second straight win over compatriot Rafael Nadal and reached the quarters in Indian Wells. He was pushed to the limit early in New York, coming back against a retiring Mardy Fish in an emotional second round, but quickly proved himself against both Milos Raonic and, most recently, Fabio Fognini, who'd scored his own win over Nadal in the third round. Facing off against Novak Djokovic tonight, Feli's road forward certainly won't get any easier -- but the veteran likes the fight at these events and certainly won't give up now.

Of course the biggest -- recent -- surprise in the men's draw came last night when highly underrated Kevin Anderson took the court against Andy Murray. The South African has had trouble in the clutch throughout his career, picking up only two titles in ten finals before August. But he picked up his first trophy in over three years in Winston-Salem, climbing back to a #14 ranking. Despite an easy win over formerly red-hot Dominic Thiem, he was clearly the underdog versus Murray -- but that didn't seem to bother him. Anderson eked out the first set in a tiebreak and jumped out to an early lead before claiming the second. After he squandered a break in the third and the Scot rolled through the tiebreak, it seemed the 2012 champ was primed to pull off his second comeback of the tournament. But this time it was the fifteenth seed's turn to dominate a tiebreak -- blanking the heavy favorite in the fourth set, he claimed his first ever Major quarterfinal slot. And while his next opponent Stan Wawrinka is again the on-paper favorite, Anderson's won all of their last four meetings and might just have extra motivation to keep his streak going.

The ladies' draw also claims a couple surprising names among the quarterfinalists, but perhaps the best story is that of a woman who's actually claimed this title twice before. Venus Williams hasn't been much of a factor at the Majors in recent years, of course, ceding her claim to the big trophies to younger sister, but she's remained a dangerous force on Tour in spite of her lowered ranking. Now #23 in the world, she picked up a title to start the year in Auckland and notched top-ten victories over Aga Radwanska and Caroline Wozniacki this season. Something of an elder statesman at the Open -- her wins here came at the turn of the century -- she's handled threats from the upcoming generation of stars with little problem. After being pushed to three sets by both Monica Puig and Irina Falconi early, she thumped Toronto champ Belinda Bencic, in a way avenging her sibling's loss to the Swiss in the Rogers Cup semis. Of course she'll meet Serena in tonight's spotlight match, which seems fitting given what her sister is trying to do in New York. The younger Williams has dominated Venus over the last five years, of course, but the top seed was upset last year in Montreal, so we could be in for another stunner here. Whatever the outcome, though, it seems appropriate that this would be the stage for their latest -- but maybe not last -- battle.

Flavia Pennetta may not have as much metal to show for her efforts in New York, but that doesn't mean she hasn't had any success here. She reached her first -- and so far only -- Slam semi in New York two years ago and has now made the quarters in six of her last seven tries. She's been a little up-and-down in 2015, though -- the defending champion in Indian Wells did beat Maria Sharapova there this year, but she also fell in the first round at both the Australian Open and Wimbledon. She got a little bit of a break during her early rounds this fortnight -- last year's runner-up Caroline Wozniacki was upset for her by Petra Cetkovska, and she didn't have to meet a seed until yesterday. But she held tough against a seemingly rejuvenated Sam Stosur, winner here in 2011, and scored an upset of her own. Next up for the feisty Italian is fifth seed Petra Kvitova, who's riding a nice win streak of her own after picking up a title in New Haven -- but with a 3-3 record against the two-time Wimbledon champ, Pennetta might just be the one to end it.

But perhaps the greatest opportunity at this year's U.S. Open lies with unseeded Kristina Mladenovic, who never before made it out of a Major third round -- at least not in singles. A mixed doubles champion at both the Australian Open and Wimbledon, the Frenchwoman has had huge successes at the Slams -- at lesser tournaments too -- but has always seemed to have trouble following up one win with another, and without the follow through she's been relegated to a mediocre #40 ranking. But she's still a threat -- especially now that she's reached the quarterfinals. While she hasn't had to face a favorite quite as intimidating as she's had in the past, she did open with a win over 2004 champ Svetlana Kuznetsova and she took out last year's semifinalist Ekaterina Makarova on Sunday night. She's up next against a recently strong Roberta Vinci, another doubles specialist, but one she's never faced on the solo Tour. Mladenovic has certainly taken out bigger and better opponents in the past, and hopefully she'll be able to keep her cool when the stakes are so high. But with a chance to finally make a dent at the Majors, you'd have to assume she'll come out swinging as hard as she ever has before.

Of course, there's a big difference between the success any of these guys has seen and what they'll still need to do to make a real play for the titles. And with the very favorites still out in full force, their greatest challenges are yet to come. But perhaps one or more of them could cause a little more damage before their runs in New York are over. And after so many have already broken through at the Slams, why not add a couple more names to that list

Around the World

The ladies of the WTA were in action, literally, all across the globe this weekend -- with Fed Cup semis and World Group rounds taking place from Montreal to Sochi, Italy to Japan, and a full tournament going down in Bogota, there were few parts of the world who didn't get in on the game. And things got interesting all over the place.

In the higher stakes Fed Cup action -- where teams were playing for a spot in November's final -- the Czechs were aiming for their fourth run to the championship in five years, and they were quick to prove their worth. Underappreciated Lucie Safarova, got her team off to a strong lead, beating France's Caroline Garcia in three sets, and stalwart Petra Kvitova, playing her first matches since February, gave them some breathing room with a win over always tricky Kristina Mladenovic. She followed up with another defeat of Garcia, giving the Czechs an insurmountable lead and securing their place as a real force in the women's game.

Things did not go so smoothly in Russia, though -- playing against a tough German team, the four-time champions got off to a quick start with both Svetlana Kuznetsova and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova giving the home team an early edge. But Miami semifinalist Andrea Petkovic and a resurgent Angelique Kerber subbed in on Sunday to even the score and make the doubles rubber that much more important. But the Russians got momentum back on their side when it counted -- Pavs teamed up with defending U.S. Open doubles champ Elena Vesnina for a straight set win, sending their team back to the final. It'll be a rematch of the 2011 championship, and a chance for Russia to grab their first Fed Cup since 2008. And something tells me the way these two teams are playing, it's going to be a fight to the finish.

There was plenty of action in the consolation rounds this weekend, too, and a couple results that may surprise you. Italy, looking to get back into World Group action after losing to France in February, took on a tough U.S. team led, of course, by Serena Williams who hasn't lost a Tour-level match all year. Camila Giorgi put up a fight in the first set against the world #1 but ultimately fell short in the second. But Sara Errani, struggling a bit in recent months and back out of the top ten in her singles ranking, surprisingly trounced Lauren Davis, who was coming off a big win over Eugenie Bouchard a few weeks ago. The Italian even looked good against Serena in her reverse singles match, taking her first set off the multiple-Major champion since 2009. While the American did manage the win, Flavia Pennetta came out for the fourth rubber and leveled the score with an easy win over Christina McHale. She then paired with Errani in doubles, dropping just three games to Serena and Alison Riske, doling out Williams' first ever loss of any kind in Fed Cup. It's tough to tell whether that or the return to the top tier is more meaningful.

Things went down to the wire in Poland, too, but the big surprise there was not necessarily the result, but who was on court. Martina Hingis -- now both the youngest and oldest player to represent Switzerland -- took to the singles circuit for the first time since 2007 -- and though she lost both ties she played, one somewhat unexpectedly to Aga Radwanska, the other in a tight match against her sister Urszula, she may have given us a glimpse into what more we can expect from her this year. But the Hall of Famer was far from the only bright spot in this tie -- a surging Timea Bacsinszky rounded out the Swiss squad, beating both Radwanska sisters and scoring her third top-ten win of the year. She then teamed up with little-known Viktorija Golubic in doubles to close out the win, putting the Swiss back in World Group play for the first time since 2004.

And as exciting as the Fed Cup ties were this weekend, there was actual hardware being awarded in Colombia, and the ladies there really gave us something to talk about. Top seed Elina Svitolina looked on point in early goings, but ended up losing in straight sets in the semis, while Monica Puig, one of the standout youngsters from the 2014 season, fell a round earlier in the quarters. Both their vanquishers, though, made it all the way to Sunday's final -- now-world #56 Yaroslava Shvedova, reaching her first singles final since 2007 and triple-digit ranked Teliana Pereira, playing just her second WTA-level main draw of the year. But the Brazilian wasn't daunted by the task at hand -- having already defeated one-time French Open champ Francesca Schiavone in her opener, she went on to defeat Svitolina and then took out Shvedova, never dropping a set all week. The win, a milestone for the twenty-six year old workhorse, got her back into the top hundred, pushing her to a career high #81 in the world. It's still a long way off from the sport's elite, but might just serve notice to all those who face her this clay court season.

Making a Stand

There are plenty of favorites still alive and more than kicking in Indian Wells, but with many quarterfinal matches left to play you may notice a couple unexpected names in the mix. And these players haven't just sneaked through the draws this time -- they're pulling off the big upsets themselves.

Maybe we shouldn't be too surprised to see Feliciano Lopez standing -- the veteran Spaniard is coming off the best year of his career, having climbed to his highest ever ranking at the start of the month. He did struggle a bit during his early rounds in Melbourne, though, and was stunned by Victor Estrella Burgos in the Quito final. So maybe we didn't expect a big fight when he met an on-point Kei Nishikori -- who'd reached the final in Acapulco and won his third straight title in Memphis. But Feli scored his first win over the fifth seed in nearly two years on Wednesday to set up a quarterfinal clash against Andy Murray, a man who's beaten him in all nine of their previous meetings. Still he's scored more than a few wins over top ten players in the past year, so it's certainly not out of the question for him to keep his run going.

A little more impressive has been the performance of Bernard Tomic in the California desert. The one-time Wimbledon wunderkind had fallen way down the rankings in the years after, grabbing more headlines for his behavior off the court than on it and dropping briefly back into triple digits last year. He seems to have turned things back in his favor this season though -- he beat world #24 Philipp Kohlschreiber twice in a row in Australia and reached the semis in Delray. Just inside seeding territory at the BNP Paribas Open, he scored his first top-ten win since 2013, ending David Ferrer's eleven-match win streak in the third round. He's got a tough task ahead of him, of course, meeting top seed and defending champion Novak Djokovic next. But he might be able to put up a bigger fight than you'd think this time around.

The women's draw, not shockingly, has seen a few more upsets throughout, but the bottom half of the bracket boasts a foursome of ladies who many had started too -- or completely -- written off. Former Wimbledon finalist Sabine Lisicki had only managed one win all year long and saw her ranking fall from a high of #12 in the world a few years back to a less-than-stellar #30 now. But so far in Indian Wells, she's already taken out doubles specialist Roberta Vinci, Rio champ Sara Errani, and most recently a red-hot Caroline Garcia. For a spot in the semis, she'll meet defending champion Flavia Pennetta, who pulled of an impressive upset of Maria Sharapova on Tuesday night. She too needed the confidence boost -- her only notable win this year came over an also-struggling Angelique Kerber in Dubai, and with so much on the line at this event, she's under more pressure than most. Lisicki and Pennetta have never faced off before, but with both so hungry for the win, this could be a good one.

But we may see even more fireworks in the other quarter being contested today. Jelena Jankovic, who won the title here in 2010, was a disappointing 2-4 so fart this year and had dropped pretty soundly out of the top ten. She's been tested throughout her early matches, going three sets in each round so far, but pulled off a solid win over a now-higher ranked Madison Keys on Monday and followed up by avenging her first round U.S. Open loss to Belinda Bencic a day later. Even more impressive, though, has been the run of her next opponent, qualifier Lesia Tsurenko, ranked just #85 in the world. The Ukranian has taken sets off Angelique Kerber and Timea Bacsinszky this year, but hasn't done much of note during her career -- her biggest win to date may have come over then-#23 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova at the 2013 Australian Open. But she began her BNP Open campaign with a huge win over Antwerp champ Andrea Petkovic, held strong against an always tricky Alizé Cornet, and on Tuesday stunned sixth seed Eugenie Bouchard. This is by far her best result at a Tour-level event, and while she'll surely be the underdog in today's match, she's pulled off bigger and more impressive upsets before.

It's always great to see players persevering through some tough challenges -- and over the last few days in Indian Wells we've really gotten to see some surprising stars shine. Hopefully they'll be able to keep it up -- after all, the statements they make at an event this big could serve them well for many more months to come.

Look Who's Back!

The ladies have about half a round of play in the books at Indian Wells, but all eyes will be on one player this week.

Serena Williams makes her first appearance at the BNP Paribas Open since 2001 tomorrow, ending a fourteen year ban on a tournament she once vowed she would never play again.

You remember what happened -- after losing to Venus in the quarterfinals, Elena Dementieva made a comment about how Richard Williams is really the one who decides who wins the siblings' matches, and when the elder sister pulled out of the semi minutes before the start of the match, fans suspected something fishy. They booed Serena mercilessly during the final, allegedly slung racial slurs at her father and ultimately caused her to break down in the locker room. Serena was so traumatized by the experience she refused for years to return to the California desert.

But that changes in 2015. In a letter to Time Magazine this past February, she acknowledged how much things -- she, the fans, tennis itself -- have changed in the last decade and a half and that she was finally ready to come back.

She opens against Monica Niculescu in Friday's night match, and as the top seed and undisputed world #1, Serena will be the heavy favorite. She may have to shake off a few cobwebs of course -- we've seen how she can be a little off her game during early rounds before finally finding her groove, and this time more than ever nerves could play a factor. But she's won the title in Indian Wells twice -- including in 2001 when she withstood the jeers of the crowd to beat Kim Clijsters in the final -- and she's riding an eleven match win streak into the tournament. As with most events she enters -- this trophy is hers to lose.

Of course there are a few who may be a little less excited to see Serena return -- in Williams' absence, players like Daniela Hantuchova, Vera Zvonareva, Jelena Jankovic and, most recently, Flavia Pennetta have been able to thrive, notching some of the biggest wins of their respective careers. And 2013 champ Maria Sharapova, still unable to get the upper hand versus her long-time rival, may have to face her again in a final if she wants to reclaim this crown.

But while the road may be tougher for pretty much everyone entered in the draw, with Serena back, whoever does walk away with the title will know just how much she earned it.

The 2014 Tennis Spin Awards: The Ladies

After taking last year off, I'm back again with this season's crop of award winners. And with so many surprises, breakthroughs and struggles, there is certainly no shortage of contenders for my trophies. We've seen amazing things from everyone on Tour in 2014, whether they are long-time champions or brand new titleists, ranked at the top of the game or just emerging from the depths. And as the year wraps up, it's time to honor them all.

And so, the envelope, please...

Hottest Newcomer	Most Improved
One to Watch	Best Comeback
Greatest Letdown	Most Overlooked
Biggest Surprise	Gutsiest Win
Greatest Upset	Best Slam Match
Doubles Team of the Year	Player of the Year

---

Hottest Newcomer

The Runner-Up: Taylor Townsend

It's a little weird to think of Townsend as a "newcomer", since she grabbed most of her headlines two years ago while still on the Juniors circuit. She was the #1 ranked girl at the time, but the USTA said it wouldn't pay her entry into events until she lost weight and got into better shape, and the young American was denied a wildcard into the women's draw at the U.S. Open. But at just eighteen years of age, she's only just starting to spend meaningful time on the Big Girls' Tour and she's already off to a good start.

Starting the year ranked outside the top three hundred, she pushed eventual champion Flavia Pennetta to the limit in their Indian Wells second round and picked up a couple ITF titles early in the year. She took out Julia Goerges in Washington and Klara Koukalova in Cincinnati, but her biggest win came, surprisingly, at her Major main draw debut. On the clay of Roland Garros she was somehow the last American woman left standing, defeating Alizé Cornet to make the third round. She had a little bad luck at her next few Slams, losing this time to Koukalova at Wimbledon and then drawing mentor Serena Williams in New York. But now just outside the top hundred, she's sure to be more of a staple on the WTA in 2015. And if her early performances are any indication, it won't be long before she's a real force there too.

The Winner: Belinda Bencic

Another former Junior #1, the seventeen-year-old won both the French and Wimbledon Girls' titles last year, but was still flying way under the radar at the start of this season. In 2012 she picked up a couple ITF titles and played her first WTA-level match in Luxembourg, but she only reached the second round twice last year, ending the season at #212 in the world.

But Bencic put herself on the map early in 2014 -- after qualifying for the Australian Open, she stunned uber-veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm, a woman more than a quarter century her senior, in the first round and actually got a couple breaks off eventual champion Na Li a match later. In Charleston she beat Sara Errani, in Rome she took out Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, in May she became the youngest player in the top hundred. But her real coming out party was in New York, where she stunned Angelique Kerber and Jelena Jankovic on her way to the U.S. Open quarterfinals. The Swiss Miss ended the year with her first WTA final in Tianjin and climbed to #32 in the world, almost a tenth of where she started 2014.

Now a stone's throw from being seeded at the Major where she made her debut, pressure is going to be on for Bencic to live up to the high standards she set for herself in 2014. But by ending on such a high note, I doubt she's going to disappoint.

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Most Improved

The Runner-Up: Garbiñe Muguruza

If you hadn't heard of Garbiñe Muguruza before the start of the year you wouldn't be alone -- the twenty-one year old Spaniard had spent most of her time on the ITF circuit and only played a handful of Major main draws before 2014. She did, however, reach the fourth round in Miami two years ago, beating Flavia Pennetta and then-world #9 Vera Zvonareva in the process, and last year made the semis in Den Bosch before undergoing season-ending ankle surgery.

Boy, did she rebound from that, though -- ranked just sixty-fourth in the world, she had to qualify for Hobart, but she took out Kirsten Flipkens and Klara Koukalova on the way to her first career title. She followed up with a win over Caroline Wozniacki, making the fourth round in Australia, reached the semis in Marrakech and the final in Florianopolis. But her biggest win by far came on the clay of Paris where she stunned defending champion Serena Williams in the second round, and rode her momentum all the way to the quarterfinals.

The back half of the year was a little slower for Muguruza -- she lost both first round matches she played at Majors since -- but she did manage narrow wins over both Jelena Jankovic in Tokyo and Simona Halep in Wuhan. And at the Tournament of Champions in Sofia, she went 3-0 in the round robins before falling to eventual champion Andrea Petkovic in the semis. Finishing the year at #20 in the world, pressure will be on in the new season of course -- she'll have a lot of points to defend early -- but if she plays the way she's shown she can, there's no reason to believe this season was any kind of fluke.

The Winner: Genie Bouchard

In most cases when we're talking about the players who made the biggest jumps in the sport, we're lucky if they break the top twenty -- so often athletes who'd been middling in the triple digits or scoring wins on the ITF circuit finally notch a win or two on the Big Girls' Tour and maybe halve or even quarter their rankings. You don't expect them to break so soundly into the top ten and even qualify for the year-end championships.

But that's just what Genie Bouchard did. I admit I doubted her staying power at first -- she made the Australian Open semis mostly because all the seeds were eliminated for her. In fact her first four opponents carried an average rank of nearly two hundred. But she, unlike so many others, proved her worth, making two more Grand Slam final fours and one Major championship. For good measure she captured her first career title in Nürnberg and notched wins over six top-ten players, soaring from #144 at the start of 2013 to #7 now.

Of course, climbing the rankings is one thing -- staying there is the real battle, and we have yet to see if the twenty-year-old Canadian can continue to thrive year after year. She may not have had the best debut at the year-end championships in Singapore, but Bouchard's overall consistency this season makes me feel my initial apprehension was unwarranted. And I expect it won't be long before she's holding up a couple more and a few even bigger trophies of her own.

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One to Watch

While the contenders in the previous categories all grabbed some headlines during the year -- whether for some big upsets or some career-making breakthroughs, the ladies in this group all flew a bit under the radar in 2014. But that doesn't mean they aren't ultimately destined for big things -- and while not all of them were able to put their names on the record books this year, a few inspired performances may indicate we haven't yet seen the best of what they have to offer.

The Nominees

Twenty-two year old Shelby Rogers has been around a couple years, but never really became a staple on the WTA Tour early in her career. She started this year well out of the top hundred, too, needing wildcards to enter Indian Wells and Charleston, and only qualifying for her first main draw in Bad Gastein. But, boy, did she milk that entry for all it was worth -- ranked just #147 at the time she stunned three seeded players, including former French Open runner-up Sara Errani, to reach the final. She then went on to beat Aliz&eactue; Cornet in DC and Genie Bouchard in Montreal before making the semis in Quebec City. Just off her career high at #72 in the world now, the young American finished off her year at the Singapore Rising Stars event, and though she fell to eventual champion Monica Puig in the round robins, something tells me we're going to see a lot more from Rogers in the season to come.

Aleksandra Krunic is still ranked in the triple digits -- just barely -- but she arguably had a higher-profile year than her contemporary. Like Rogers she was mostly quiet in the first half of the year, failing to qualify for the French Open and Wimbledon, and she didn't get her first Tour-level win until July in Bucharest. But the young Serb stormed into the public eye after qualifying for the U.S. Open -- she started with an upset of Madison Keys in the second round, shocked All England champ Petra Kvitova a match laters, and then pushed former world #1 Victoria Azarenka to three sets before finally falling in the two-plus hour slugfest. She only scored one win after that, though, beating Caroline Garcia in their Moscow opener, but if she uses the off season to get her game in a little better shape, she could just make a splash as soon as 2015 kicks off.

The Winner: Ana Konjuh

Slightly more under the radar than these two is sixteen year old Ana Konjuh, who went from a ranking in the low two hundreds to a double digit player in the span of the year. The Junior champ at both the Australian and U.S. Opens in 2013, the young Croat opened this season with a win over Roberta Vinci in Auckland and qualified for the main draw in Melbourne with wins over three higher-ranked players. Though she spent most of the year on the ITF circuit, she did beat Yanina Wickmayer at Wimbledon and Elina Svitolina on her way to the semis in Istanbul. At an 125K event in Limoges, Konjuh finished the year with a win over Luxembourg champ Annika Beck and a run to the quarters. At #92 in the world now, she's still going to need to qualify or get wildcards for the big tourneys, but in a year's time I wouldn't be surprised to see her getting deep into the draws on the biggest of stages.

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Best Comeback

The Runner-Up: Caroline Wozniacki

The former #1 hadn't really let herself fall that far off the radar, but after dropping out of the top fifteen earlier this year, it sure looked like the young Dane had put her best days behind her. Caro had won six titles in both 2010 and 2011, but, whatever the reason, quickly lost her momentum. After the 2012 Australian Open she didn't make the second week of a Major in her next nine tries, losing in the opening round three times.

But she turned things around a big way after Wimbledon this year. She picked up a title in Istanbul, reached the quarters in Montreal and the semis in Cincinnati, taking a set off Serena Williams both times, then stunned the world by reaching her second U.S. Open final with a drubbing of former French Open runner-up Sara Errani and an upset over Maria Sharapova during her run. Qualifying for her first year-end championships in three years, she was the only one in the elite field to win all of her round robin matches, and she came within two points of finally beating Serena again in the semis. And if that wasn't enough, she flew halfway around the world and a week later ran the New York City Marathon in under 3:30. Her year-end ranking of #8 may not be much higher than where she started the year, but what she accomplished during the season means so much more.

The Winner: Barbora Zahlavova Strycova

Sure, Caro had an amazing year, and came very close to taking the award in this category. But the teeny Czech's ascent this year came so out of nowhere I had to give her the win. After all, with just one singles title in her first decade as a pro, a ranking that never got past the top forty, a middling Grand Slam record and far more success on the doubles circuit, I wasn't expecting too much from her after a six-month doping ban ended in April 2013.

And at first she did nothing much to contradict me. BZS picked up a couple ITF titles last year, but won just a handful of matches at WTA-level events, failing even to qualify for the 2013 U.S. Open. She started off this season a bit stronger though, reaching the quarters in Shenzhen, beating Francesca Schiavone in Florianopolis and taking out Roberta Vinci in Miami. But her real turnaround came when she hit the grass courts -- on the lawns of Birmingham she took out three seeds on her way to the final and at Wimbledon she stunned Elena Vesnina, Caroline Wozniacki and Na Li to reach her first ever Major quarter.

She easily could have slunk off into the shadows after that, but instead she took Genie Bouchard to three sets in their New York third round, upset Madison Keys in Wuhan and made her way to the final in Luxembourg. She finished the season at #25 in the world, not just as good as she was before her precipitous drop, but well, well ahead of her prior best. And something tells me she might be an even bigger force when the new season starts.

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Greatest Letdown

The Runner-Up: Sloane Stephens

It wasn't that long ago that the young American was one of the brightest stars on the U.S. tennis scene -- she kicked off her career-making 2013 season by stunning Serena Williams in the Melbourne quarters and followed up with a run to the fourth round in Paris and the final eight at Wimbledon. While she couldn't repeat against the top seed in New York that year, she did manage a win over Maria Sharapova in Cincinnati and finished the year at a career-high #12 in the world.

She seemed to suffer a bit of a sophomore slump this season -- while she did at least get to the fourth round in Melbourne and put up quite a fight against eventual champion Flavia Pennetta in Indian Wells, she also lost to players like world #134 Petra Cetkovska in Doha, #129 Mariana Duque-Mariño in Bogota and a back-from-injury #109 Maria Kirilenko at Wimbledon. Her best showings recently were a near-defeat of Jelena Jankovic in Montreal and a third round appearance in Cincinnati where she beat a higher-ranked Andrea Petkovic and an on-the-rise Barbora Zahlavova Strycova. Sloane ends the year at #36 and without a top-ten win all season. And after all the hype that's surrounded her early career, she's going to want to start next year off on a much different foot.

The Winner: Dominika Cibulkova

The diminutive Slovak has long been an also-ran in the world of tennis, pulling off wins over players like Caroline Wozniacki and Victoria Azarenka at Majors and even giving Serena Williams the scare of her life last year in Miami. But even after she won her first title in 2011, she often struggled with her form and would let important victories slip out of her reach.

But by the looks of things at the start of this year, it looked like things were about to change. Dominika Cibulkova was seeded just twentieth at the Australian Open, but breezed through her first three matches losing just nine games. She came back from a huge deficit against Maria Sharapova in the fourth round and then resumed her easy stride, picking off Simona Halep and Aga Radwanska in just over two hours total. She ultimately lost her first Grand Slam final to Na Li and had a rough couple weeks after that. But a break into the top ten, a runner-up spot in Kuala Lumpur, a title in Acapulco and solid showings in Indian Wells and Miami suggested she would be able to shake it off.

But then disaster struck -- since March, Cibulkova has lost ten opening round matches, including one notable defeat at the hands of a teenager named Cici Bellis, ranked in quadruple digits at the time, and her biggest win came over world #38 Coco Vandeweghe. All she had to do was win one match at her regular season-ending campaign in Moscow to snag an alternate spot in the year-end championships in Singapore, but she fell there too, this time to world #140 Vitalia Diatchenko. She did qualify for the Tournament of Champions in Sofia, but while she started off strong, some tight wins kept her from getting out of the round robins.

Hopefully it's not too late for the talented star -- it would be such a shame if she let her recent troubles get to her. But Domi's had trouble recouping from losses in the past, and if she doesn't come out of the gate swinging in 2015, she sure has a lot to lose.

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Most Overlooked

The Nominees

Poor Zarina Diyas finally got one of her matches at a Major broadcast in prime time and it was because everyone wanted to watch, not her, but a fifteen-year-old girl ranked #1208 in the world. But the young Kazakh had been quietly plodding away all year long -- she qualified for her first Major in Melbourne and made it to the third round, she took eventual finalist Dominika Cibulkova to three sets in the Kuala Lumpur quarters, beat former Wimbledon runner-up Vera Zvonareva to make the fourth round at the All England Club and had cut her ranking from #163 at the start of the year to top fifty by the time she played in New York. She even improved after that, pushing Angelique Kerber to a decider in Wuhan and reaching her first WTA-level final in Osaka. Now #33 in the world, she was even voted into the Rising Stars class at the year-end championships in Singapore. Those are all pretty solid accomplishments for a woman whose name most casual fans don't even know -- hopefully next year she can change that.

Karolina Pliskova may have done a little more to put her name on the map this year -- the 2010 Australian Open Girls' champ, long ranked in the low double-digits, finally broke into the top fifty when she scored three upsets, including a win over #1-seed Angelique Kerber, on her way to the Nürnberg final. She really kicked into high gear in the late summer though -- after shocking Ana Ivanovic in the U.S. Open second round, she reached the final in Hong Kong, picked up titles in Seoul and Linz and notched wins over Sam Stosur and Andrea Petkovic in Wuhan. She ends the season at a career high #24 in the world, ahead of big hitters like Svetlana Kuznetsova, Sabine Lisicki and Victoria Azarenka. She's still mostly an also-ran had the Majors though, but if she carries the momentum she piled up at the end of the year into the new season, you can bet we'll see her hanging around the second weeks of Slams pretty darn soon.

The Winner: Alison Riske

It's fairly easy to have missed most of the young-ish American's career -- born in the same year as Alizé Cornet, Caroline Wozniacki and Petra Kvitova, her resumé is quite a bit more sparse. She's had a little success on grass the last couple years, reaching the semis in Birmingham twice, notching wins over Tamira Paszek, Yanina Wickmayer and Sabine Lisicki all at the Aegon Classic. But despite a handful of ITF titles to her name, she never really amounted to much on the main Tour, topping out in the low double-digit rankings at the end of last year.

She finally seems to have gotten her footing this year though -- after beating Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in Hobart and Elena Vesnina in Melbourne, she finally cracked the top fifty. She beat Pavs again at Wimbledon, took out Flavia Pennetta in New Haven and upset Sara Errani in Wuhan. To finish off the season she rolled to her first career title at the inaugural Tianjin Open without dropping a set, defeating rising stars Saisai Zhang and Belinda Bencic in the process. She's still ranked a little under the radar, #43 in the world now, but that could be the perfect time for her to pounce -- just out of seeding range for the first big Major of the year, she could easily take a couple favorites by surprise and maybe just make a real name for herself on her own.

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Biggest Surprise

The Runner-Up: Na Li Retires

Maybe we should have expected this for some time -- the thirty-two year old had certainly toyed with the idea in the past -- but Na Li had quite a successful year to start 2014. She opened the season with a perfect 13-0 record, claiming a second straight title in Shenzhen and then picking up Grand Slam #2 in Melbourne. But then she skipped April with a knee injury, suffered an ignominious defeat in her Roland Garros first round and, after more knee problems in the wake of Wimbledon and a withdrawal from the U.S. Open, Li announced in September it was time to bow out of competition.

It was a shame, of course, for many reasons. Li was not only at the top of her game when she called it quits, but on top of almost everyone's -- she carried the second seed at Wimbledon, the last tournament she played, and was one of the few players who could perform consistently against the most intimidating contenders in the sport -- in the past year she'd beaten Victoria Azarenka, Aga Radwanska, Petra Kvitova and plenty others. She'd reached the semis in Indian Wells, the final in Miami, and while she hadn't notched a win over Serena Williams since 2008, she had given her trouble in their last few meetings and seemed primed to eventually upend the world #1 and maybe climb a spot up the rankings herself.

But what she did as a woman from China was arguably more important than anything she did on court. Playing for many years with her homeland's National Team, she had no control over her coaches and had to submit nearly two-thirds of her winnings to the country's tennis association. After much success on the ITF circuit, she quit the sport in 2003 But in 2008 she, and three other top women, fully broke ties with the formalized organization and elected to control their own careers, from picking and paying for their own coaches to planning their own schedules to retaining more than ninety percent of their prize money. Free from restrictions Li was really able to thrive, becoming the first Chinese Grand Slam finalist in 2011, a champion a couple months later, and a double-winner this past January.

And as her star rose, her personality shone too. She charmed fans, announcers and other players alike the more we got to know her. And when she announced she was leaving the sport, there was a social outpouring of sentiment from the likes of Serena Williams, Petra Kvitova, Caroline Wozniacki and many others. Her presence and power will certainly be missed on court, and with all she has accomplished in her fifteen years on Tour, you can't help but feel a little sad that we won't see more.

The Winner: Cornet Goes Unbeaten

If I'd asked you at the start of the year who you thought would have the best record against Serena Williams in 2014, what would you have said? A pre-injury Victoria Azarenka, probably? If you waited for a couple weeks of evidence before making a call, maybe you'd have guessed a returned-to-form Ana Ivanovic. Or maybe recent Grand Slam champions like Maria Sharapova or Petra Kvitova? And if you wanted to go out on a limb, why not pick a destined-for-greatness Simona Halep or even Genie Bouchard?

Would you ever in a million years have come up with Alizé Cornet?

I don't think many would have.

But in their three meetings this year, the diminutive Frenchwoman came away with an unprecedented 3-0 record. Sure, one of them came when Serena withdrew from their Wuhan opener, but one other did come at a Major -- Cornet's only win yet over a top ten player on the big stage. She had a little trouble following up on those wins though -- she only went any further at one of those tournaments, beating Kirsten Flipkens before falling in the China quaters -- but she did have success elsewhere, reaching finals in Dubai and Guangzhou and taking a title in Katowice. She didn't make it out of the round robins in Sofia and pulled out of a WTA 125K event in Limoges, but she ends the year at #19 in the world, her best showing since her breakthrough 2008 season. The real test, of course, will be if she can keep the momentum going in 2015 -- and if she can finally put a couple big wins together when and where the whole world is watching.

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Gutsiest Win

The Runner-Up: Caroline Garcia d. Jelena Jankovic, Bogotá Final

We should have known that Caroline Garcia could play on clay -- back in 2011, the then-eighteen year old had a set and a couple breaks on Maria Sharapova in their French Open second round, before ultimately losing in the third -- but this was the year when she really began to shine. She reached the semis in Acapulco and took a set off Serena Williams in Miami. Still she was a big underdog in the Bogotá final against defending champion and top seed Jelena Jankovic -- it was Garcia's first WTA-level championship match, while the Serb was playing for her fourteenth title. But Garcia wasn't intimidated -- in under eighty minutes she finished off her opponent, scoring the first top-ten win of her career. The confidence she got from that match propelled her to the quarters in Madrid, where she nearly took out Aga Radwanska for a spot in the semis, and helped her to a #37 ranking to end the year. She struggled a bit off the clay after that, but if she can develop her all-court game in 2015 expect her to climb even farther up the rankings in the months to come.

The Winner: Mirjana Lucic-Baroni d. Venus Williams, Québec City Final

In a sport where it's so easy to herald the accomplishments of youth, it's encouraging to see one of the best matches of the year contested by two players who went pro in the 1990s. But these two veterans have had markedly different career paths.

In 1997 Croatia's Lucic, fifteen years old at the time, played her first WTA-level event in her homeland's Bol -- and won it, taking out Amanda Coetzer and Corina Morariu in the process. A few weeks later at her second tournament in Strasbourg, she reached the final, ultimately losing to "little-known" Steffi Graf in the championship match. Her ranking peaked in 1998, though, at just #32 in the world, and by the next year she'd fallen back into triple digits. But she stormed back on the scene just before the turn of the century -- at Wimbledon that year she stunned nine-time Grand Slam champion Monica Seles in the third round, the previous year's runner-up Nathalie Tauziat in the quarters, and took Graf to three sets before finally succumbing in the semis. That was the last we'd hear from Lucic for a while, though -- amid allegations of abuse by her father, she had limited success the next couple years and largely took a break from the sport after 2003. Even when she did return, she spent most of her time on the ITF circuit and in qualifying rounds, only coming close to breaking back into double digits in 2010.

Venus, on the other hand, despite dealing with her own spate of injury and illness, has remained a stalwart force on Tour throughout her career. She's spent eleven weeks ranked at the top of the women's game early this century and picked up seven Grand Slam titles along the way. Even after hip problems marred her 2011 season and a diagnosis with Sjögren's Syndrome pushed her out of the top hundred later that year, she rebounded strong and hungry. This year alone she won title #45 in Dubai and stunned sister Serena in the Montreal semis, her first win over her sibling since 2009. At #19 in the world when they met in the Québec City final, as the top seed and with a 2-0 record against her opponent, she was the clear favorite. But Lucic would not cooperate.

The now-thirty two year old had already scored wins over Bojana Jovanovski and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova this year, and she was fresh off a huge upset of second-seeded Simona Halep at the U.S. Open -- she nearly got past world #14 Sara Errani to make the quarters, too. After beating Timea Babos and Julia Goerges in Canada, she really had nothing to lose in the final, and without dropping a set, she finished off the match in under an hour and a half. It was Lucic's first title since 1998 and, possibly, incredibly, her most significant win. She finishes the year at #60 in the world, by far her best ranking in fifteen years, but more importantly she's proven she can put a troubled past behind her and come out squarely on top.

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Greatest Upset

The Runner-Up: Timea Bacsinszky d. Maria Sharapova, Wuhan Third Round

Switzerland's Timea Bacsinszky was a top forty player at the beginning of the decade, beating Na Li in Miami back in 2010 and reaching the final in Bad Gastein a few months later. But a series of injuries -- foot and ankle problems that ultimately needed surgery -- really put her career on hold. She spent most of last year recovering on the ITF circuit, playing just one WTA-level main draw match in Luxembourg, and ended the season at #285 in the world.

She got back on Tour in a real way this year, beating Sam Stosur on her way to the Oeiras quarterfinals and scoring wins over Karolina Pliskova and Francesca Schiavone during the summer hardcourt season. Still, you probably never saw her performance in Wuhan coming. After scoring a win over U.S. Open semifinalist Ekaterina Makarova, she stunned then-world #4 Maria Sharapova in straight sets. It was her first top ten win in four years, but given where she was coming from, it might have been her most significant -- and the most inspiring. Bacsinszky finishes the season at #48 in the world, her best and most unlikely year-end ranking. And now that she's shown us what she's capable of, I wouldn't be surprised to see her climb even higher in 2015.

The Winner: Alisa Kleybanova d. Petra Kvitova, Stuttgart Second Round

It's been a rough, rough couple years for Alisa Kleybanova -- the one-time top twenty player was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2011 and, despite a courageous return to play the following year, hasn't really spent much time on the court since. She started this year with a bit of momentum though, reaching the third round in Doha and beating Garbiñe Muguruza on her way to the Sweet Sixteen in Indian Wells. Her most impressive win, though, came on the clay of Stuttgart where, still ranked out of the top hundred, she notched her first ever win over then-world #6 Petra Kvitova -- their previous two matches both went three sets in favor of the Czech -- and her first top ten victory in over three years. It would be the Russian's last win of the season, unfortunately -- she would undergo shoulder surgery after Wimbledon -- but it certainly shows that the twenty-five year old still has what it takes to really perform against the sport's elite. Hopefully she'll be able to recover even better the next time around.

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Best Slam Match

In years past I've limited these awards to best finals of the year, but so many great things happened throughout the Major draws this year, that it seemed wrong to focus only on the players who ultimately got through all the wreckage. After all, in many cases they couldn't have done it without the help of these guys.

The Runner-Up: Na Li d. Lucie Safarova, Australian Open Third Round

Na Li had reached the final in Melbourne twice before, but there was something about this year that made us all think it was finally her time. She was the #4 seed, coming off a repeat title in Shenzhen, and had nearly notched victory over Serena Williams in the WTA Finals championship match. Lucie Safarova had other plans, though -- the unheralded Czech was ranked just twenty-seventh in the world and had already gone three sets in her first two matches, but that didn't stop her from rolling through the first set in a quick half hour. She even had an opportunity to change history, earning a match point late in the second set, the only one Li would face during her eventual title run. Safarova actually won the exact same number of points as her opponent, ninety-nine total, and played a cleaner game with more winners and fewer errors. But Li pulled it out in the end and barely broke a sweat as she sailed to her second, and last, Grand Slam title. All was not lost for Safarova either -- though she wasn't able to pick up another title this season, she made her first Major semifinal at Wimbledon and also scored wins over Ana Ivanovic, Caroline Wozniacki and Angelique Kerber this year. Just off her career high ranking at #16 in the world, it's very possible we have yet to see the best she has to offer.

The Winner: Angelique Kerber d. Maria Sharapova, Wimbledon Fourth Round

Maria Sharapova was having a pretty good year -- after winning titles in Stuttgart and Madrid, the former world #1 did something I never thought she'd do -- she doubled up at a Major, and even more unlikely, at the one it'd taken her the longest to win. The fifth seed at Wimbledon, she'd become a favorite for the title once Serena lost during the first week, and she seemed happy to oblige, dropping just a handful of games during her early matches. Angelique Kerber, on the other hand, had already faced a couple tests at the All England Club, needing three sets to get through both Kirsten Flipkens and Heather Watson, and earlier in the year she'd lost championship matches to the likes of Tsvetana Pironkova and Madison Keys. She also had a 1-4 record against MaSha going into this match, her only win coming more than two years prior at the Paris Indoors. She was clearly the underdog.

But she didn't play like one during their nearly three-hour battle. The ninth seeded German traded breaks with the favorite in the opening set, narrowly winning the tiebreak to get the early lead. But Sharapova came back swinging, firing off eighteen winners to Kerber's ten in the second set and forcing a decider, bringing the momentum with her all the way. Kerber ultimately proved the more resilient, though -- though she squandered six match points, she was finally able to convert the seventh on the Russian's serve and closed out her biggest win at a Major. She did, unfortunately, lose a round later to eventual runner-up Genie Bouchard, but perhaps without her win the young Canadian would never have gotten out of the quarters. And if Kerber can repeat her performance a couple more times in the months that come, she might just put herself back on the rise again.

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Doubles Team of the Year

The Runner-Up: Cara Black and Sania Mirza

They might not have ended the year at #1 in the world and perhaps they only got as far as the semis at one Major this year, but the long-time doubles specialists certainly ended their season with a flourish -- and just in time. The two only paired up late last year, but they won titles together in Tokyo and Beijing, beating the top seeds at both events handily. It took a while to find their footing this season, but finally reached finals in Indian Wells and Stuttgart before picking up a trophy in Oeiras. Qualifying for their first year-end championships together -- Black had played ten before, Mirza was making her debut -- the pair saved match points in their first two matches, but really found their groove in the final. Against defending champions Su-Wei Hsieh and Shuai Peng they only lost the opening game, rattling off the next twelve to capture the crown in under an hour and claiming the third spot in the year-end rankings. Unfortunately it was the last match the team would play together -- thirty-five year old Black seems pretty close to retiring and told Mirza, with many more years left it seems, at the U.S. Open she should look for another partner. Interestingly, Hsieh and Peng also will uncouple next year, which could make for some interesting pairings in the new year. And might open the door for someone else...

The Winner: Flavia Pennetta and Martina Hingis

I get that this could be a little controversial since the pair only played in eight tournaments together this year and fell just short of qualifying for the year-end championships. But, man, did their success come from out of nowhere. Okay, that's not entirely true -- Pennetta was the winner of fifteen doubles crowns before this year, teaming with Gisela Dulko to take the 2010 WTA Championships and the 2011 Australian Open, and recent Hall-of-Famer Hingis, had a long and storied career before her first retirement and came out of her second one on a mission. She and Sabine Lisicki won a trophy in Miami, but once she teamed with the Italian mid-year, they both hit their stride. Unseeded they made the final in Eastbourne and at the U.S. Open, where they took out Black and Mirza in the semis. They rounded out the year with titles in Wuhan and Moscow, finishing the season as the ninth best team in the world. And if that's what they can do with ten fewer events than the #1 team in the world, imagine what they can do when they spend an entire year together.

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Player of the Year

The Runner-Up: Serena Williams

I know what you're thinking -- with the year-end #1 ranking, a field-leading seven titles during the season and a historic tied-for-fourth eighteenth Grand Slam trophy, there should be no dispute that the five-time season-ending champion is the player of the year. But while her accomplishments are certainly great, it should come as no surprise that she dominated the courts this year -- in fact, the bigger shock is that it took so long for her to hit her stride. Sure, this category isn't about the unexpected, but Serena's been so dominant for so long, I feel it's time for her to cede the award to someone else this time -- even if she doesn't cede anything on the court.

Serena, of course, had a stellar year -- though she stumbled a bit at the Majors early this season, once she made the final rounds of any event she was indomitable. She won all seven finals she played this year, and didn't drop a set in any one of them. And though she had some surprising losses along the way, she only raised her game against the best, going 12-1 versus top ten players. Players might know they have a shot against Williams these days, but they still have to hope for the best of circumstances to pull off the win, and once she gets going, there's really no stopping her. I wouldn't expect that to change in the new year.

The Winner: Simona Halep

The young Romanian may only have ended the year at #3 in the world, but her ascent over the past two seasons is nothing short of spectacular. The 2008 French Open Junior champ captured eight WTA titles in the last eighteen months, stunned three higher seeds to claim her biggest trophy in Doha last February, made her Grand Slam final debut at Roland Garros, even taking a set off Maria Sharapova in the championship. She's had a couple stumbles of course, losing to Mirjana Lucic in New York and Kristina Mladenovic in Paris, withdrawing from events in Dubai, Rome and Beijing and retiring during her second round in Den Bosch. But she surprised everyone during her WTA Finals debut, becoming the only player in the top ten to defeat Serena Williams this year. Of course, that win came in the round robins, and she ultimately fell in the rematch, finishing second in Singapore, but with eight elite wins of her own to brag about this season and a climb from just inside the top fifty at the start of 2013 as high as #2 this summer, it doesn't seem like she's running out of steam any time soon. And within the next several months I expect her to become a more consistent force in Major finals and even on the winner's stand.

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Well there you have it -- in a year so filled with ups and downs, upsets and breakthroughs, falls from grace and rises to fame, the handful of ladies who stood out most from the rest of the pack. If you think I missed someone, please let me know, and be sure to check back next week to find out which gentlemen will take home this year's awards.

And in the meantime, get excited by the fact that we're sure to have even more fun and drama on the courts next year!