The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour's year-end rankings for 2009 were released on Monday, November 9. There were a few notable moves; there was no action in the Top 10, but how does the 2009 Top 10 compare to the 2008 Top 10?
First off, the Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions produced two noteworthy ranking jumps. Aravane Rezai came into the tournament ranked No.44 with a career-high of No.36; thanks to a title run at the event she shattered that personal best, rising 18 spots to No.26. Kimiko Date Krumm had cracked the Top 100 since returning to the Tour last year, but after a semifinal run in Bali she burst back into the elite, going from No.101 to No.82. She is Japan's No.2-ranked player now, behind world No.78 Ayumi Morita.
Chang Kai-Chen, perhaps best known for her stunning upset of then-world No.1 Dinara Safina in Tokyo in September, made her Top 100 debut after a semifinal run at an ITF Women's Circuit event in her native Chinese Taipei.
Eight of the players in the 2008 Top 10 are also in the 2009 Top 10: Serena Williams (who went from No.2 in 2008 to No.1 in 2009); Safina (No.3 to No.2); Svetlana Kuznetsova (No.8 to No.3); Elena Dementieva (No.4 to No.5); Venus Williams (No.6 both years); Jelena Jankovic (No.1 to No.8); Vera Zvonareva (No.7 to No.9) and Agnieszka Radwanska (No.10 both years).
New faces in the Top 10 this year were Caroline Wozniacki (who went from No.12 in 2008 to No.4 in 2009) and Victoria Azarenka (No.15 to No.7). Last year's year-end No.5, Ana Ivanovic, finished this year at No.22; and last year's year-end No.9, Maria Sharapova, finished this year at No.14.
Kim Clijsters, who wasn't even on last year's year-end rankings, ended at No.18 after a phenomenal comeback, highlighted by winning the US Open.
Check out the November 9 year-end singles rankings here.
For the third straight year, Cara Black and Liezel Huber shared the No.1 doubles ranking. With five titles together, they were one of three teams who kept on winning and winning in 2009. The Williams sisters, who finished the year co-ranked No.3, won four titles, including three Grand Slams (only faltering in Paris). Nuria Llagostera Vives and María José Martínez Sánchez who ended at No.5 and No.6, respectively, won a Tour-leading seven titles, the biggest of which came at the Sony Ericsson Championships - Doha 2009.
