The 2002 Sanex WTA Tour was the elite professional tennis circuit organized by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for the 2002 tennis season. The WTA Tour calendar comprised the Grand Slam tournaments (supervised by the International Tennis Federation (ITF)), the WTA Tier I-V Events, the Fed Cup (organized by the ITF) and the year-end championships. New tournaments created for the 2002 season included the

Proximus Diamond Games The Diamond Games (due to sponsorship known for the last time as BNP Paribas Fortis Diamond Games and before that Proximus Diamond Games, GDF-Suez Diamond Games and Thomas Cook Diamond Games) was a professional women's tennis tournament organis ...

in Antwerp, Belgium; a new green clay event, the

Sarasota Clay Court Classic The Sarasota Clay Court Classic was a tennis tournament held in Sarasota, Florida, United States. Held in 2002 and 2003, this WTA Tour event was a Tier IV-tournament and was played on outdoor green clay courts. Past finals Singles Doubles Se ...

, in Sarasota, U.S.; and the

Nordea Nordic Light Open The Nordic Light Open (sponsored by Nordea) was a women's tennis tournament held in Stockholm, Sweden (in 2002 and 2003 the tournament was played in Espoo, Finland on clay courts). Held from 2002 to 2008, this WTA Tour event was a Tier IV-tourname ...

held in Espoo, Finland. Another new tournament was created to be held in Aarhus, Denmark, but was later cancelled. Also, the

French Community Championships The WTA Knokke-Heist, also known by its sponsored name Sanex Trophy, was a women's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts in Knokke-Heist, Belgium. As a Tier IVa and Tier IV category event it was part of the WTA Tour. The last edition o ...

moved cities from Knokke-Heist to Brussels, and the Kroger St. Jude Championship was moved from Oklahoma City, U.S. to a new location in Memphis.

Season summary

Serena Williams Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981) is an American former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WT ...

was the outright player of the year, ascending to No. 1 for the first time in July and holding it for the rest of that season. She missed the

Australian Open The Australian Open (stylized ΛO) is a tennis tournament organised by Tennis Australia annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. It is chronologically the first of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Sl ...

due to injury, having won her second, third and fourth Grand Slam singles titles at the

French Open The French Open (), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a tennis tournament organized by the French Tennis Federation annually at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. It is chronologically the second of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam ...

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...

, and the

US Open U.S. Open or US Open are open championship sporting tournaments that are hosted in the United States and in which anyone, especially amateur and professional, or American and non-American, may compete. The term may also be applied to non-sporting ev ...

, beating her sister

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...

in all three finals. This would lead to her non-calendar Grand Slam (dubbed the "Serena Slam") which she would complete at the Australian Open the following year. Her win–loss record for the year was 56–5. Venus also ascended to the No. 1 ranking in February, and finished the season at No. 2.

Jennifer Capriati Jennifer Maria Capriati (born March 29, 1976) is an American former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 17 weeks. Capriati won 14 WTA Tour-level singles t ...

defended her Australian Open title to win her third Grand Slam title, after the two she won in 2001.

Virginia Ruano Pascual Virginia Ruano Pascual (; born 21 September 1973) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. She had moderate success in singles, winning three WTA Tour titles as well as reaching two major quarterfinals and a top-30 ranking, but she had ...

and

Paola Suárez Paola Suárez (; born 23 June 1976) is a retired tennis player from Argentina. She was one of the most prominent women's doubles players throughout the early and mid-2000s, winning eight Grand Slam titles, all of them with Virginia Ruano Pascua ...

were the doubles team of the year, and finished the season as the top 2 on the individual rankings. Their titles at the French Open and the U.S. Open represented their second and third Slam titles together. The Williams sisters won their fifth Grand Slam doubles title together at Wimbledon, and

Martina Hingis Martina Hingis (, ; born 30 September 1980) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 209 weeks ( fifth-most of all time) and as the world No. ...

and

Anna Kournikova Anna Sergeyevna Kournikova Iglesias (née Kournikova; ; ; born 7 June 1981) is a Russian model and television personality, and former professional tennis player. Her appearance and celebrity status made her one of the best known tennis stars ...

won their second doubles title together at the Australian Open, with it being Hingis' 9th overall. Former No. 1

Arantxa Sánchez Vicario Aránzazu Isabel María "Arantxa" Sánchez Vicario (; born 18 December 1971) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 12 weeks, as well as ...

announced her retirement at the end of the season, although she returned in 2004 to play doubles tournaments.

Schedule

The table below shows the 2002 WTA Tour schedule. ;Key

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

Rankings

Below are the 2002 WTA year-end rankings in both singles and doubles competition:

Singles

Number 1 ranking

Doubles

Number 1 ranking

Points distribution

Statistics

List of players and titles won, last name alphabetically: *

– Scottsdale, Miami, Rome, French Open, Wimbledon, U.S. Open, Tokyo Princess Cup and Leipzig (8) *

Venus Williams Venus Ebony Starr Williams (born June 17, 1980) is an American inactive tennis player. She has been ranked as the List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association, WTA for 11 wee ...

– Gold Coast, Paris, Antwerp, Amelia Island, Stanford, San Diego and New Haven (7) *

Kim Clijsters Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters (; born 8 June 1983) is a Belgian former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 20 weeks, and as the world No. 1 in women's double ...

– Hamburg, Filderstadt, Luxembourg and WTA Tour Championships (4) *

Anna Smashnova Anna Aleksandrovna Smashnova (, ; born July 16, 1976) is a Soviet-born Israeli former tennis player. She retired from professional tour after Wimbledon 2007. Smashnova reached her career-high singles ranking of world No. 15 in 2003. She reached ...

– Auckland, Canberra, Vienna and Shanghai (4) *

Elena Bovina Elena Olegovna Bovina ( rus, Елена Олеговна Бовина, , ɪ̯ɪˈlʲenə ˈbovʲɪnə, links=no; born 10 March 1983) is a former professional tennis player from Russia. She reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 14 i ...

– Warsaw and Quebec City (2) *

Jelena Dokić Jelena Dokic (; ; born 12 April 1983) is an Australian tennis commentator, sports analyst, former professional player and public speaker. Her highest ranking as a tennis player was world No. 4, in August 2002. She won WTA Tour events on all su ...

– Sarasota and Birmingham (2) *

Justine Henin Justine Henin (; born 1 June 1982) is a Belgian former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 117 weeks, i ...

– Berlin and Linz (2) *

– Sydney and Tokyo Pan Pacific (2) *

Svetlana Kuznetsova Svetlana Aleksandrovna Kuznetsova (born 27 June 1985) is a Russian former professional tennis player. She was ranked as high as world No. 2 in singles and world No. 3 in doubles by the Women's Tennis Association, WTA. Kuznetsova won 18 singl ...

– Espoo and Bali (2) *

Amélie Mauresmo Amélie Simone Mauresmo (; born 5 July 1979) is a French former professional tennis player, tennis coach, and tournament director. She was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 39 weeks. Maur ...

– Dubai and Montreal (2) *

Chanda Rubin Chanda Rubin (born February 18, 1976) is an American former top-10 professional tennis player. During her career, she reached the semifinals at the 1996 Australian Open, the quarterfinals of the French Open three times, and had wins over world N ...

– Eastbourne and Los Angeles (2) *

Monica Seles Monica Seles (born December 2, 1973) is a Serbian–American former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for ...

– Doha and Madrid (2) *

Cara Black Cara Cavell Black (born 17 February 1979) is a Zimbabwean former professional tennis player. Black was primarily a doubles specialist, winning 60 WTA Tour and 11 ITF Women's Circuit, ITF doubles titles. A former List of WTA number 1 ranked dou ...

– Waikoloa (1) *

– Australian Open (1) *

Myriam Casanova Myriam Casanova (born 20 June 1985) is a former tennis player from Switzerland. She was ranked as high as No. 45 on the WTA Tour in singles and won one WTA singles title in her career. In doubles, she reached the semi-finals of the 2003 US Ope ...

– Brussels (1) *

Jill Craybas Jill N. Craybas (born July 4, 1974) is an American former professional tennis player. From the 2000 US Open to the 2011 US Open, Craybas competed in 45 consecutive Grand Slam tournament main draws; her best result coming in the 2005 Wimbledon C ...

– Tokyo Japan Open (1) *

Eleni Daniilidou Eleni Daniilidou (; ; born 19 September 1982) is a Greek former tennis player from the island of Crete. She is considered one of the best Greek tennis players of the Open Era, winning five singles titles and three doubles titles on the WTA Tou ...

– 's-Hertogenbosch (1) *

Mariana Díaz Oliva Mariana Díaz Oliva (born 11 March 1976) is a former professional tennis player from Argentina. She played professionally from September 1992 until 12 October 2006. Her highest ranks were world No. 42 for singles and No. 93 for doubles, both a ...

– Palermo (1) *

Silvia Farina Elia Silvia Farina-Elia (; born 27 April 1972) is a former professional tennis player from Italy. She won three WTA singles titles, reached the quarterfinals of the 2003 Wimbledon Championships and achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. ...

– Strasbourg (1) * Marie-Gayanay Mikaelian – Tashkent (1) *

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 Open, defeating Martin ...

– Indian Wells (1) *

Iva Majoli Iva Majoli (born 12 August 1977) is a Croatian former professional tennis player who played for both Yugoslavia and Croatia. She won three WTA Tier I singles tournaments and upset the world No. 1, Martina Hingis, to win the women's singles title ...

– Charleston (1) *

Magdalena Maleeva Magdalena Georgieva Maleeva (, ; born 1 April 1975) is a Bulgarian former professional tennis player. Her best WTA singles ranking was world No. 4. She played on the WTA Tour competing in singles and doubles, from April 1989 to October 2005 ...

– Moscow (1) *

Maja Matevžič Maja Matevžič (born 13 June 1980) is a former professional tennis player from Slovenia. Both her most recent WTA Tour singles and doubles matches were played on 21 August 2005 at Toronto. She retired because of injuries in September 2006. He ...

– Bratislava (1) *

Ángeles Montolio Ángeles Montolio (born 6 August 1975) is a former tennis player from Spain. Montolio reached a career-high ranking of world No. 22 in February 2002, and won three WTA Tour titles at the small events in Porto, Estoril, and Bol, as well as reac ...

– Porto (1) *

Martina Müller Martina Müller may refer to: * Martina Müller (tennis), German tennis player * Martina Müller (footballer), German footballer * Martina Müller, Austrian fashion designer, founder of Callisti label * Martina Müller, German film historian and c ...

– Budapest (1) *

Anastasia Myskina Anastasia Andreyevna Myskina ( ; born 8 July 1981) is a Russian former professional tennis player. Myskina won the 2004 French Open singles title, becoming the first Russian woman to win a major singles title. Due to this victory, she rose to ...

– Bahia (1) *

Lisa Raymond Lisa Raymond (born August 10, 1973) is an American former professional tennis player who has achieved notable success in doubles tennis. Raymond has eleven major titles to her name: six in women's doubles and five in mixed doubles. On June 12, ...

– Memphis (1) *

Dinara Safina Dinara Mubinovna Safina (, ; ; born April 27, 1986) is a Russian former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 26 weeks, and world No. 8 in doubles. Safina ...

– Sopot (1) *

Patty Schnyder Patty Schnyder (born 14 December 1978)
Weltwoche, 14. September 2011 is a Swiss reti ...

– Zurich (1) *

Magüi Serna María Luisa ("Magüi") Serna Barrera (; born 1 March 1979) is a former tennis player from Spain. She started competing on the ITF Circuit as from 1993, and joined the WTA Tour in 1996. On 12 January 2004, she reached her career-high singles ...

– Estoril (1) *

Katarina Srebotnik Katarina Srebotnik (born 12 March 1981) is a Slovenian former professional tennis player. She reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 20, on 7 August 2006. On 4 July 2011, she became the No. 1 of the WTA doubles rankings, holding thi ...

– Acapulco (1) *

Martina Suchá Martina Suchá (; born 20 November 1980) is a former professional tennis player from Slovakia. On 22 April 2002, Suchá reached her career-high WTA singles ranking of No. 37. She helped the Slovak team to win the 2002 Fed Cup, beating Natha ...

– Hobart (1) *

Åsa Svensson Åsa Svensson (born Carlsson; 16 June 1975) is a former tennis player from Sweden, who turned professional in 1992. She won two singles and seven doubles titles in her career. The right-hander reached her highest individual ranking on the WTA ...

– Bol (1) *

Patricia Wartusch Patricia Wartusch (born 5 August 1978) is a former professional tennis player from Austria. She reached her career-high singles ranking of world No. 65 in 2000. She won in her career two singles and six doubles titles on the WTA Tour. She won ...

– Casablanca (1) *

Angelique Widjaja Angelique Widjaja (; born 12 December 1984) is a retired Indonesian professional tennis player. She won the junior championships at Wimbledon in 2001, defeating Dinara Safina, and the 2002 junior French Open defeating Ashley Harkelroad. She rea ...

– Pattaya City (1) *

Fabiola Zuluaga Fabiola Zuluaga (born 7 January 1979) is a Colombian former professional tennis player. She reached the Australian Open semifinals in 2004, the first Colombian to reach a major semifinal. Zuluaga is one of Colombia's most successful tennis playe ...

– Bogotá (1) The following players won their first title: *

– Hobart *

– Indian Wells *

– Estoril *

– Budapest *

– Warsaw * Marie-Gayanay Mikaelian – Tashkent *

– 's-Hertogenbosch *

– Brussels *

– Palermo *

– Sopot *

– Espoo *

– Waikoloa *

– Tokyo Japan Open *

– Bratislava Titles won by nation: * – 22 (Gold Coast, Australian Open, Paris, Antwerp, Doha, Memphis, Scottsdale, Miami, Amelia Island, Rome, Madrid, French Open, Eastbourne, Wimbledon, Stanford, San Diego, Los Angeles, New Haven, U.S. Open, Tokyo Princess Cup, Leipzig and Tokyo Japan Open) * – 6 (Hamburg, Berlin, Filderstadt, Linz, Luxembourg and WTA Tour Championships) * – 6 (Warsaw, Sopot, Espoo, Bahia, Quebec City and Bali) * – 5 (Sydney, Tokyo Pan Pacific, Tashkent, Brussels and Zurich) * – 4 (Auckland, Canberra, Vienna and Shanghai) * – 2 (Porto and Estoril) * – 2 (Dubai and Montreal) * – 2 (Acapulco and Bratislava) * – 2 (Hobart and Indian Wells) * – 2 (Sarasota and Birmingham) * – 1 (Palermo) * – 1 (Casablanca) * – 1 (Moscow) * – 1 (Bogotá) * – 1 (Charleston) * – 1 (Budapest) * – 1 ('s-Hertogenbosch) * – 1 (Pattaya City) * – 1 (Strasbourg) * – 1 (Bol) * – 1 (Waikoloa)

External links

Women's Tennis Association (WTA) official website

References

{{2002 in tennis

Season summary

Schedule

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

Rankings

Singles

Number 1 ranking

Doubles

Number 1 ranking

Points distribution

Statistics

See also

External links

References