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2006 WOMEN'S SEASON HIGHLIGHTS

January 27 – China claims first Grand Slam win

The Chinese duo of Zheng Jie and Yan Zi made history at the Australian Open by becoming their country’s first ever Grand Slam champions. The tandem downed the top-seeded team of Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur to claim the women’s doubles prize in Melbourne.

Mauresmo ridded herself of the “Best Player to Never Win a Major” label by breaking through at the Australian Open. Playing in her first Grand Slam final since the ’99 Aussie Open, Mauresmo dominated Justine Henin-Hardenne from the start before the Belgian controversially retired early from the match because of stomach pain.

January 30 – Clijsters makes historic climb

Clijsters regained the top spot in the WTA rankings, making her the first woman ever to go from being outside the top 100 all the way to No. 1 in the span of less than a year. Clijsters’ ranking had slipped severely early in 2005 because of injuries.

May 14 – Petrova sizzles in the spring

Russia’s Nadia Petrova claimed her 15th consecutive match win and her third straight tournament victory by beating Henin-Hardenne in the final of the Berlin Open. However, Petrova followed the hot streak with a dismal stretch of five match losses in a row.

May 20 – Hingis’ comeback a confirmed success

After playing some strong tennis in the early months of her comeback, Hingis claimed her first tournament victory since her return from a three-year layoff by winning in Rome. The triumph over Dinara Safina in the final gave Hingis her first title since 2002 and the 41st of her career.

Despite reaching the finals of all four majors in ‘06, Henin-Hardenne’s only taste of Grand Slam success occurred in Paris. The Belgian defeated compatriot Kim Clijsters in the semifinals, 6-3, 6-2, and Svetlana Kuznetsova in the championship round, 6-4, 6-4, to defend her French Open title and win her third overall.

July 8 – Mauresmo defeats Henin-Hardenne once again

Mauresmo’s first Grand Slam title took years; she needed only a few short months to capture No. 2. The Frenchwoman won her first Wimbledon crown by defeating Henin-Hardenne in their second encounter in a major final in ‘06. The Frenchwoman rallied from a set down to pull out a, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, victory over her rival. After the match, Mauresmo triumphantly declared that the win would end the criticism of her choking in pressure-packed matches for good.

August 16 – Down goes Clijsters

Clijsters suffered a severe wrist injury in her opening round match against Stephanie Dubois in Montreal that put her on the shelf until late October. The setback prevented Clijsters from defending her 2005 US Open title as well as her US Open Series crown.

August 19 – Serbian teen wins US Open Series

The up-and-coming Ana Ivanovic sewed up the US Open Series title by virtue of her surprising victory over Hingis in the Rogers Cup final in Montreal. Ivanovic squeaked by Sharapova for the US Open Series title by a margin of only five points in the standings. However, the Serb only managed to advance as far as the third round at the US Open before losing to Serena Williams.

August 25 – Davenport knocks off No. 1

Plagued by back injuries for most of the year, Lindsay Davenport found enough strength to defeat Mauresmo in straight sets in the quarterfinals of Pilot Pen Tennis and propelled herself into the final. However, Davenport, who began the year ranked No. 1, saw her quest for a title in New Haven end after she was forced to retire from her match against Henin-Hardenne with an arm injury.

August 28 – Billie Jean King honored at US Open

The home of the US Open officially became the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, honoring the American tennis legend and pioneer of women’s sports. The renaming took place in a celebration during Opening Night ceremonies of the year’s final Grand Slam.

September 9 – Sharapova ends Grand Slam drought; Navratilova goes out on top

Sharapova claimed her elusive second Grand Slam title by making quick work of Henin-Hardenne in the US Open final, 6-4, 6-4. The Russian sensation lost just one set in Flushing on her way to winning her first major tournament since her maiden triumph at Wimbledon in 2004.

Playing in her final match at the age of 49, the great Martina Navratilova won the mixed doubles title with the help of partner Bob Bryan. The victory marked the 59th Grand Slam title of Navratilova’s career (18 singles, 31 doubles, 10 mixed doubles) and proved a fitting conclusion to an illustrious career.

September 10 – Navratilova enshrined

A day after closing her playing career in style, Navratilova was inducted into the US Open Court of Champions and honored with a special retirement ceremony in Arthur Ashe Stadium.

October 15 – King wins first tournament

Rising star Vania King, 17, gave fans a glimpse of the future of American tennis by winning her first WTA tournament title at the Bangkok Open. King defeated three straight seeded players before rallying to top crowd favorite Tamarine Tanasugarn in the final, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4.

November 7 – No Americans in Madrid; Hingis qualifies

The WTA Championships got underway in Madrid with no American players having qualified for the first time in the tournament’s history. Still, the competitive field featured the top eight ranked players in the world, including Hingis, whose qualification was quite remarkable considering she had returned to the tour in 2006 after a three-year layoff.

November 12 – Justine wins three-way battle

For the first time ever, three players entered the WTA Championships with a chance at the year-end No. 1 ranking. Henin-Hardenne sealed the deal in the semifinals with a win over Sharapova, then defeated Mauresmo in the final to also capture the Madrid title.

2007 Tournament Calendar

Get an early peek at the slate for next season by checking out the 2007 WTA Tour schedule.

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