A Look Back at the Best of the 2006 Tennis Season
Posted by Aaress Lawless on Nov 28, 2006 | Print
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Best Player of the Season: Justine Henin-Hardenne
The Roland Garros and Sony Ericsson WTA Championships trophies, finalist finishes at the Australian Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open, and the Season-Ending No. 1 ranking hands Justine Henin-Hardenne my vote for best player of the year.
Best Victory: Amelie Mauresmo in the final of the Championships at Wimbledon
Critics called her first Grand Slam victory a fluke, but Amelie Mauresmo stopped people’s clamor about her nerves once and for all at Wimbledon.
Best Example of Sportsmanship: Vera Zvonareva at the Generali Ladies Linz
When Mary Pierce blew out her knee during the second round at Linz, her opponent Vera Zvonareva raced to her side with ice and comforted her throughout the ordeal. Zvonareva may have never come close to grabbing a major title, but she is still a champion in my book.
Best Outfit: Maria Sharapova’s Little Black Dress
My mom always taught me to never play in my good clothes, but she never saw me play tennis in an outfit as sophisticated as Maria’s black evening dress at the US Open. The obvious nod to Audrey Hepburn only served to class up the court even more.
Best Off-Court Moment: Kim Clijsters at the Acura Classic
On her way to reaching the final, Kim met a lady who had recently lost her beloved Labrador Retriever named Kimba. During a charity auction later that evening, Clijsters successfully bid $11,000 for a Lab puppy called “Ace”, which she later gave to her new friend, who promptly renamed it “Kim”.
Best Change by the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour: Implementation of Hawk-Eye Instant Replay System
This was the best thing to hit tennis since they retired wooden racquets! Fans and players alike are still singing Hawk-Eye’s praises.
Best Comeback: Martina Hingis
The Swiss Miss shocked even her most devoted fans with a spectacular 2006 season. Martina started the year at No. 9999, only to end it at No. 7 in the world, with two more WTA singles titles - one of them being the Tier I Italian Open - and the Australian Open mixed doubles trophy.
Best Performance by a Young Player: Anna Chakvetadze at the Kremlin Cup
Chakvetadze outlasted a powerful Russian contingent on her home turf in Moscow to claim the Tier I title in a field that originally contained world number one Amelie Mauresmo, Maria Sharapova, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Elena Dementieva, and Nadia Petrova.
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Chris | Nov 29, 2006 | Reply
I think Sharapova looks hideous, regardless of what she’s wearing, and I especially thought that with the cocktail dress. (The Zurich/Madrid dress was worse, though.)
I thought Vaidisova and Dementieva had good style in ‘06. Oh, Kirilenko too.
Were there any other comebacks aside from Hingis’? I mean, best comeback of 2006 … :p.
Good post by the by.
rc | Nov 29, 2006 | Reply
justine is the best player on tour
rc
http://tennistrader.blogspot.com
rc | Nov 29, 2006 | Reply
sorry wrong link
rc
http://tradingtennis.blogspot.com
Aaress | Nov 29, 2006 | Reply
Chris - Thanks for the compliment.
There actually were more comebacks besides Hingis, although she was the most successful.
Alicia Molik came back this spring after being off the tour for months because of a horrible inner ear infection. Plus, Chanda Rubin returned this summer and won her first match in over a year at Luxembourg. Unfortunately, that would also be the only match that she would win all season.