2008 WTA Tour
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 (supervised by the International Tennis Federation (ITF)), the WTA Tier I-IV Events, the Fed Cup (organized by the ITF), the year-end championships, and the tennis event at the Beijing Summer Olympic Games. The season was characterised by its frequent changes in the No. 1 ranking, with Justine Henin, Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Janković and Serena Williams all holding the position at one point during the season. Eventually Janković finished the season as the No. 1 player in the world despite not winning a Grand Slam tournament. She did however reach the final of the U.S. Open, and won four tournaments throughout the season. Four players won the Grand Slam titles. Maria Sharapova won her third major title at the Australian Open, Ana Ivanovic won her maiden ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jelena Janković
Jelena Janković ( sr-Cyrl, Јелена Јанковић, ; born 28 February 1985) is a Serbian former tennis player. A former world No. 1, 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 that include winning the 2007 Wimbledon mixed-doubles title partnering Jamie Murray. Family and early life Janković was born in Belgrade, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, as the third child of Veselin and Snežana, both economists. She has two brothers, Marko and Stefan. She is a student at the Megatrend University in Belgrade, studying economics. However, she has put her course of study on indefinite hold as she continues to pursue her tennis career. Janković learned her first tennis skills at the Tennis Club 'Red Star'. As a -year-old she was introduced to tennis by her elder brother and fitness coach Marko. She later ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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List Of WTA Number 1 Ranked Players
The WTA rankings are the Women's Tennis Association's (WTA) merit-based system for determining the rankings in women's tennis. The top-ranked player is the player who, over the previous 52 weeks, has garnered the most ranking points on the WTA Tour. Points are awarded based on how far a player advances in tournaments and the category of those tournaments. The WTA has used a computerized system for determining the rankings since November 3, 1975. Since 1975, 28 women have been ranked No. 1 by the WTA, of which 15 have been year-end No. 1. WTA No. 1 ranked singles players The rankings are sourced by the ''WTA Media Guide'' and the WTA website (which usually revises its rankings every Sunday night or Monday morning, except when tournament finals are postponed). ; ; Note Weeks at No. 1 Weeks are updated automatically. The source for this through the week of January 2, 2012, is the ''2012 WTA Tour Official Guide'', page 177. Weeks at No. 1 leaders timeline Cu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Anabel Medina Garrigues
Ana Isabel Medina Garrigues (, ; born 31 July 1982) is a Spanish tennis coach and former professional player. As a player she reached a career-high ranking of world No. 16 in 2020, and won 11 singles and 28 doubles titles, including the 2008 and 2009 French Open with Virginia Ruano Pascual. Like many of her Spanish compatriots, she was a clay-court specialist who grinds to win most of her rallies. However, unlike most of her fellow Spaniards, she preferred to play on hardcourts. She won the WTA tournament in Strasbourg, beating Katarina Srebotnik in the final in May 2008, thus defending the title she won the previous year against Amélie Mauresmo. Her other singles titles came at Palermo in 2011, 2006, 2005, 2004 and 2001, at Canberra in 2006, Strasbourg in 2005 and Fès in 2009. After retirement from singles tennis (she continues playing doubles) at the end of the 2014 season, Medina Garrigues became a professional coach, gaining success while working for Jeļena Osta ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Elena Dementieva
Elena Viacheslavovna Dementieva (, ; born 15 October 1981) is a Russian former professional tennis player. She won the singles gold medal at the Tennis at the 2008 Summer Olympics, 2008 Olympics in Beijing, having previously won the silver medal at the Tennis at the 2000 Summer Olympics, 2000 Olympics in Sydney. She won 16 Women's Tennis Association, WTA singles titles, reached the finals of the 2004 French Open and 2004 US Open (tennis), 2004 US Open and reached seven other Grand Slam semifinals. Dementieva was also part of the Russia Fed Cup team, Russian team that won the 2005 Fed Cup. In doubles, she won the 2002 WTA Tour Championships, 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 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Steffi Graf
Stefanie Maria Graf ( , ; born 14 June 1969) is a German former professional tennis player. Widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time, she was ranked world No. 1 for a record 377 weeks and won 22 major singles titles, the second-most since the start of the Open Era in 1968 and the third-most of all-time. In 1988, Graf became the first tennis player to achieve the Golden Slam by winning all four major singles titles and the Olympic gold medal in the same calendar year. Furthermore, she is the only tennis player, male or female, to have won each major tournament at least four times. Graf was ranked world No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for a record 377 total weeks: the longest period for which any player, female or male, has held a singles number-one ranking since the WTA and the Association of Tennis Professionals, respectively, began issuing rankings. She won 107 singles titles, ranking her third on the WTA's all-time list ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Svetlana Kuznetsova
Svetlana Aleksandrovna Kuznetsova (born 27 June 1985) is a Russian inactive professional tennis player. She is a two-time major singles champion, winning the 2004 US Open and 2009 French Open, and finishing runner-up at two other majors. In doubles, Kuznetsova reached the finals of each major at least once, winning the Australian Open twice. Kuznetsova moved to Spain at the age of seven to attend the Sanchez-Casal Academy. In 2001, she first took part in a WTA Tour tournament, the Madrid Open, and a year later won her first WTA Tour title at the Nordea Nordic Light Open in Helsinki, Finland. Her first appearance at a major was at the 2002 Australian Open, and her first major title came at the 2004 US Open over countrywoman Elena Dementieva, making her the third Russian woman to win a major title (after Anastasia Myskina and Maria Sharapova earlier that year). Kuznetsova's second major singles title was the 2009 French Open, defeating compatriot Dinara Safina in the fi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Maria Sharapova 2008 B&L Championship Trophy
Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial *170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 *Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, dark basaltic plains on Earth's Moon Terrestrial *Maria, Maevatanana, Madagascar *Maria, Quebec, Canada *Maria, Siquijor, the Philippines *María, Spain, in Andalusia *Îles Maria, French Polynesia *María de Huerva, Aragon, Spain *Villa Maria (other) Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Maria'' (1947 film), Swedish film * ''Maria'' (1975 film), Swedish film * ''Maria'' (2003 film), Romanian film * ''Maria'' (2019 film), Filipino film * ''Maria'' (2021 film), Canadian film directed by Alec Pronovost * ''Maria'' (Sinhala film), Sri Lankan upcoming film Literature * ''María'' (novel), an 1867 novel by Jorge Isaacs * ''Maria'' (Ukrainian novel), a 1934 novel by the Ukrainian writer Ulas Samchuk * ''Maria'' (play), a 1935 play ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sun Tiantian
Sun Tiantian (; ; born 12 October 1981) is a Chinese former professional tennis player. She won the gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in women's doubles along with her partner Li Ting. Sun reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 77 in March 2007, winning her only WTA Tour singles title at the 2006 Tashkent Open, and a career-high doubles ranking of No. 16 in October 2007, winning eleven WTA titles and reaching the quarterfinals of three Grand Slam women's doubles tournaments, and winning the mixed doubles event at the 2008 Australian Open alongside Nenad Zimonjić. Career In September 2000, Sun won two successive $10k singles titles, a feat she would repeat in June 2001, when she won another two back-to-back. In 2002, she found repeat success at the next level up, winning two $25k tournaments: firstly in April, at Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (beating countrywoman Zheng Jie in the semifinal and Korean Jeon Mi-ra in the final); and then in August at Beijing (b ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kateryna Bondarenko
Kateryna Volodymyrivna Volodko (née Bondarenko; uk, Катерина Володимирівна Бондаренко; born 8 August 1986) is a tennis player from Ukraine. She was the doubles champion in 2008 at the Australian Open, partnering her sister Alona Bondarenko. Kateryna is the younger sister of professional tennis players Valeria and Alona. She plays right-handed and turned pro in 2000. Her career-high rankings in singles and doubles are world No. 29 and No. 9, respectively. Her best Grand Slam performance in singles was reaching the quarterfinals at the 2009 US Open. Over her career, Bondarenko has defeated top ten players Elena Dementieva, Sara Errani, Ana Ivanovic, Garbiñe Muguruza, Li Na, Agnieszka Radwańska, Roberta Vinci, and Venus Williams. In 2022, she changed her name to Kateryna Volodko after marrying Denis Volodko. Biography Bondarenko was born on 8 August 1986 in Kryvyi Rih, Ukrainian SSR (nowadays Ukraine) to father, Vladimir, and mother, Natal ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Alona Bondarenko
Alona Volodymyrivna Bondarenko Dyachok ( uk, Альона Володимирівна Бондаренко; born 13 August 1984) is a Ukrainian former tennis player. Her younger sister Kateryna Bondarenko plays on the WTA Tour. Her career-high singles ranking is No. 19, achieved on 14 April 2008. Alona defeated former world No. 1, Jelena Janković, in the third round of the 2010 Australian Open, and won the 2008 Australian Open women's doubles title with her sister Kateryna, beating Victoria Azarenka and Shahar Pe'er in the finals. She also formerly paired with her older sister Valeria in doubles. Tennis career Early years Bondarenko started competing in the pro tour in 1999 at the age of 14. Then she competed in ITF Women's Circuit, where she reached two second rounds in Tallinn, Estonia, and Kharkiv, Ukraine. She began the year 2000 reaching her first ITF final in Kalamata, Greece but ended up losing to Ekaterina Kozhokina 5–7, 5–7, even though not losing a set before ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Daniela Hantuchová
Daniela Hantuchová (; born 23 April 1983) is a Slovak tennis commentator and retired player. She turned professional in 1999 and had her breakthrough year in 2002, when she won her first WTA Tour title at the Indian Wells Masters, defeating Martina Hingis in the final and becoming the lowest-ranked player to ever win the tournament. She also reached the quarterfinals of that year's Wimbledon Championships and US Open, ending the year in the top ten. She was part of the Slovak team that won the 2002 Fed Cup and the 2005 Hopman Cup. Hantuchová reached her highest ranking of world No. 5 in January 2003, after playing the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. She has won seven WTA tournaments, including the Indian Wells Masters for a second time in 2007, with the 2015 Thailand Open being her last victory. She reached the semifinals of the 2008 Australian Open, her best result in a Grand Slam tournament. Her biggest career wins include victories over defending champion Serena Wil ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Venus Williams
Venus Ebony Starr Williams (born June 17, 1980) is an American professional tennis player. A former world No. 1 in both singles and doubles, Williams has won seven Grand Slam singles titles, five at Wimbledon and two at the US Open. She is widely regarded as one of the all-time greats of the sport. Along with her younger sister, Serena, Venus Williams was coached by her parents Oracene Price and Richard Williams. Turning professional in 1994, she reached her first major final at the 1997 US Open. In 2000 and 2001, Williams claimed the Wimbledon and US Open titles, as well as Olympic singles gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. She first reached the singles world No. 1 ranking on 25 February 2002, becoming the first African American woman to do so in the Open era, and the second of all-time after Althea Gibson. She reached four consecutive major finals between 2002 and 2003, but lost each time to Serena. She then suffered from injuries, winning just one major title betw ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |