On the Baseline Tennis News announced on Thursday the official winners of the 2008 Baseline Awards.
Jelena Jankovic has been named Player of Year after one month of voting by tennis fans from around the world. The dominant doubles tandem of Cara Black and Liezel Huber received top honors as Doubles Team of the Year for the second consecutive season.
List of 2008 Baseline Award Winners
Player of the Year – Jelena Jankovic
Jelena Jankovic beat Maria Sharapova, Venus and Serena Williams, Ana Ivanovic and a host of write-in candidates to win the Player of the Year award. During the past season, Jankovic reached her first Grand Slam final at the US Open and won more matches on the Tour than any other player, capturing four titles in Rome, Beijing, Stuttgart and Moscow.
Doubles Team of the Year – Cara Black and Liezel Huber
It was a no-contest in the doubles team of the year category as top ranked stars Cara Black and Liezel Huber trounced the rest of the field by capturing 60% of the voting total. On court, Black and Huber were equally as dominant in 2008 and won ten titles including the US Open and the season-ending championships.
Most Improved Player of the Year – Dinara Safina
Dinara Safina played her best season to date, winning Tour singles titles at the Qatar Telecom German Open, the East West Bank Classic presented by Herbalife, the Rogers Cup presented by National Bank and the Toray Pan Pacific Open. She reached her first Grand Slam singles final at Roland Garros and won the silver medal at the Beijing Olympics.
Newcomer of the Year – Caroline Wozniacki
The year 2008 was a breakthrough season for Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki, highlighted by her first three Tour singles titles at Stockholm, New Haven and Tokyo [Japan Open]. The eighteen-year-old is the first Danish woman ever to win a Tour singles title.
Fan Favorite of the Year – Ana Ivanovic
Charming both on and off court, Ana Ivanovic was not surprisingly named Fan Favorite of the Year. The congenial Serbian has a loyal following worldwide, all of whom were pleased to see Ivanovic win her first major and ascend to the number one ranking in 2008.
Humanitarian of the Year – Ana Ivanovic
Despite playing eighteen tournaments in 2008, Ana Ivanovic took time out for charity and humanitarian work. The twenty-one year old French Open champion is a UNICEF National Ambassador to Serbia and was nominated by the US State Department for its 2008 International Women of Courage Award.
Best Grand Slam Singles Final of the Year – Venus Williams d. Serena Williams at Wimbledon
Venus Williams won her fifth Wimbledon trophy at the 2008 Championships, but it did not come easy. Facing her in the final was one of her toughest competitors—and her best friend. In their sixteenth career meeting, Venus defeated her sister Serena 7-5, 6-4.
Best Non-Grand Slam Singles Final of the Year – Serena Williams d. Jelena Jankovic at Sony Ericsson Open
Serena Williams won her fifth career title at the Sony Ericsson Open in April after an epic 6-1, 5-7, 6-3 final against Jelena Jankovic.
Biggest Upset of 2008 – Julie Coin (d. top seed Ana Ivanovic at the US Open)
No. 188 Julie Coin, playing in her first career main draw on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, became the lowest-ranked player in history to beat a reigning No.1 by ousting Ana Ivanovic in the second round of the US Open.
Most Emotional Moment of 2008 – Justine Henin’s Retirement
On May 14 reigning world number one Justine Henin stunned the tennis world by announcing her immediate retirement from professional tennis. Henin, winner of 41 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles titles – including seven Grand Slam championships – was currently in her 117th week as the world No.1, sixth on the all-time list.
Best USA Television Coverage – Tennis Channel
Tennis Channel has the most concentrated single-sport coverage in television, with telecast rights to the Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, US Open, Olympus US Open Series, Fed Cup by BNP Paribas and many other WTA Tour events.
Best USA Television Commentator – John McEnroe
John McEnroe, winner of 77 singles and 78 doubles titles on the ATP Tour, continues to achieve success as a television commentator in the United States. His unique style, coupled with his first-hand knowledge of the game, continues to make him a fan favorite.
Best Tennis Writer – Bud Collins
Bud Collins, one of the most recognizable and respected tennis journalists in the world, was voted by fans as Best Tennis Writer for the second consecutive year.
Best Tennis Website – SonyEricssonWTATour.com
The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour website continues to be the premier online destination for news, scores, pictures and videos about professional women’s tennis. Online live streaming of Tour finals debuted in 2008.
Best Tennis Blog – Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Player Blogs
The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour’s official player blogs remained a hit during the 2008 season as fans enjoyed the online journals of some of tennis’ biggest stars including Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Liezel Huber.
Best Official Player Website – AnaIvanovic.com
Ana Ivanovic’s official website is the best source online for news about the Serbian tennis star. AnaIvanovic.com is arguably one of the most popular official websites of any female athlete.
Congratulations to our 2008 Baseline Award winners! Fans, thank you for voting and we look forward to bringing you more exciting tennis features during the upcoming 2009 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour season.
I’d love to know the breakdown for the Player of the Year award nominees. I assume it was very split. WTA Player of the Year award should be interesting…
Kurt, it was very split–which was certainly expected in a season without one dominant player.
Here is the breakdown by percentage:
Jelena Jankovic – 30.73%
Serena Williams – 20.09%
Ana Ivanovic – 18.45%
Venus Williams – 14.45%
Maria Sharapova – 9.36%
Write-in Candidates – 6.91%
The doubles competition was far more predictable with Black and Huber taking a 60% lead.
Oh, other blogs are again losing to player blogs. Maybe we should not be mixed up in the same category. I wonder what others think.
Can you give us the breakdown for the blogs?
I would love to know where my blog stands.
Marija, I understand about the blog issue, but unfortunately, we just had one blog category in this year’s awards. The official player blogs are hard to beat, as they are probably the most popular worldwide. The same issue applied in the tennis website category where SonyEricssonWTATour.com won for the second year.
The complete breakdown for Best Tennis Blog is too long to list here because that was one of the most popular write-in categories. However, just to let you know, your site did very well by winning 23.42% of the votes cast.
Wow Aaress, congratulations to you and your awards for being featured at Ana’s website! Great job!
Well you got my vote anyway Marija
As for the player of the year, I’m really quite surprised that Jelena won it. Dont get me wrong, I’m not saying she doesnt deserve it, just surprised as her ascendency to the No. 1 ranking position has sparked a lot of controversy among tennis fans and media.
Thank you, Alice!
Much more important than winning this award was being nominated and the fact that I learned how many people appreciate my blog.
Yes, Alice, it seems Jelena has more supporters than one might think. Haha, if she learns about winning this award she will talk even more about how she deserves to be No.1.
Marija, thanks for the congratulations! It was a welcome surprise to receive the mention on Ana’s website.
[...] Tennis Blog was nominated for the Best Tennis Blog award at the 2008 Baseline Awards. The winners have been announced, and for the second year in a row, the award went to the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Player [...]