2002_WTA_Tour
2002 WTA Tour
Women's tennis circuit
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.
Serena Williams finished the year as world No. 1 for the first time in her career. She won eight tournaments during the season, including three majors at the French Open, the Wimbledon Championships, and the US Open. She also won two Tier I events. | |
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Duration | December 29, 2001 – November 11, 2002 |
| Edition | 32nd |
| Tournaments | 64 |
| Categories | Grand Slam (4) WTA Championships WTA Tier I (9) WTA Tier II (17) WTA Tier III (17) WTA Tier IV (9) WTA Tier V (7) |
| Achievements (singles) | |
| Most tournament titles |  Serena Williams (8) |
| Most tournament finals | Venus Williams (11) |
| Prize money leader | Serena Williams ($3,935,668) |
| Points leader | Serena Williams (6,080) |
| Awards | |
| Player of the year | Serena Williams |
| Doubles team of the year |  Virginia Ruano Pascual Paola Suárez |
| Most improved player of the year |  Daniela Hantuchová |
| Newcomer of the year |  Svetlana Kuznetsova |
| Comeback player of the year | Corina Morariu |
← 2001 2003 → | |
New tournaments created for the 2002 season included the Proximus Diamond Games in Antwerp, Belgium; a new green clay event, the Sarasota Clay Court Classic, in Sarasota, U.S.; and the Nordea Nordic Light Open held in Espoo, Finland. Another new tournament was created to be held in Aarhus, Denmark, but was later cancelled. Also, the French Community Championships 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.
Serena Williams 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 due to injury, having won her second, third and fourth Grand Slam singles titles at the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open, beating her sister Venus 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 defended her Australian Open title to win her third Grand Slam title, after the two she won in 2001.
Virginia Ruano Pascual and Paola Suárez 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 and Anna Kournikova won their second doubles title together at the Australian Open, with it being Hingis' 9th overall.
Former No. 1 Arantxa Sánchez Vicario announced her retirement at the end of the season, although she returned in 2004 to play doubles tournaments.
The table below shows the 2002 WTA Tour schedule.
- Key
| Grand Slam events |
| Year-end championships |
| Tier I events |
| Tier II events |
| Tier III events |
| Tier IV and V events |
| Team events |
January
February
March
| Week | Tournament | Champions | Runners-up | Semifinalists | Quarterfinalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 Mar 11 Mar | Pacific Life Open Indian Wells, United States Tier I event Hard – $2,100,000 – 96S/48Q/32D Singles – Doubles | Daniela Hantuchová 6–3, 6–4 |  Martina Hingis | Emmanuelle Gagliardi Monica Seles |  Anna Smashnova Lisa Raymond  Amanda Coetzer Arantxa Sánchez Vicario |
Lisa Raymond  Rennae Stubbs7–5, 6–0 | Elena Dementieva Janette Husárová | ||||
| 18 Mar 25 Mar | NASDAQ-100 Open Key Biscayne, United States Tier I event Hard – $2,860,000 – 96S/48Q/32D Singles – Doubles | Serena Williams 7–5, 7–6(7–4) | Jennifer Capriati | Monica Seles Venus Williams | Tatiana Panova  Kim Clijsters Martina Hingis Elena Dementieva |
| Lisa Raymond Rennae Stubbs 7–6(7–4), 6–7(4–7), 6–3 | Virginia Ruano Pascual Paola Suárez |
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
| Week | Tournament | Champions | Runners-up | Semifinalists | Quarterfinalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 Nov | WTA Tour Championships Los Angeles, United States Year-end Championship Hard (i) – $3,000,000 – 16S/8D Singles – Doubles | Kim Clijsters 7–5, 6–3 | Serena Williams | Jennifer Capriati Venus Williams |  Jelena Dokić  Magdalena Maleeva Justine Henin Monica Seles |
| Elena Dementieva Janette Husárová 4–6, 6–4, 6–3 |  Cara Black Elena Likhovtseva | ||||
| Volvo Women's Open Pattaya, Thailand Tier V event Hard – $110,000 – 32S/28Q/16D Singles – Doubles |  Angelique Widjaja 6–2, 6–4 |  Cho Yoon-jeong | Tatiana Panova Lina Krasnoroutskaya |  Adriana Serra Zanetti  Shinobu Asagoe  Silvija Talaja Tamarine Tanasugarn | |
 Kelly Liggan  Renata Voráčová7–5, 7–6(9–7) | Lina Krasnoroutskaya Tatiana Panova |
Below are the 2002 WTA year-end rankings in both singles and doubles competition:
Singles
| Singles Year-end Ranking[1] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No | Player Name | Nation | Points | 2001 | Change |
| 1 | Serena Williams | USA |
6,080 | 6 | +5 |
| 2 | Venus Williams | USA |
5,140 | 3 | +1 |
| 3 | Jennifer Capriati | USA |
3,796 | 2 | -1 |
| 4 | Kim Clijsters | BEL |
3,557 | 5 | +1 |
| 5 | Justine Henin | BEL |
3,218 | 7 | +2 |
| 6 | Amélie Mauresmo |  FRA |
3,068 | 9 | +3 |
| 7 | Monica Seles | USA |
2,952 | 10 | +3 |
| 8 | Daniela Hantuchová | SVK |
2,668 | 38 | +30 |
| 9 | Jelena Dokić | YUG |
2,506 | 8 | -1 |
| 10 | Martina Hingis | SUI |
2,348 | 4 | -6 |
| 11 | Anastasia Myskina | RUS |
1,908 | 59 | +48 |
| 12 | Lindsay Davenport | USA |
1,795 | 1 | -11 |
| 13 | Chanda Rubin | USA |
1,752 | 54 | +41 |
| 14 | Magdalena Maleeva | BUL |
1,701 | 16 | +2 |
| 15 | Patty Schnyder | SUI |
1,644 | 37 | +22 |
| 16 | Anna Smashnova | ISR |
1,617 | 87 | +71 |
| 17 | Silvia Farina Elia | ITA |
1,596 | 14 | -3 |
| 18 | Alexandra Stevenson | USA |
1,444 | 60 | +42 |
| 19 | Elena Dementieva | RUS |
1,426 | 15 | -4 |
| 20 | Nathalie Dechy | FRA |
1,295 | 44 | +24 |
Number 1 ranking
| Holder | Date gained | Date forfeited |
|---|---|---|
| Lindsay Davenport (USA) |
Year-End 2001 | 13 January 2002 |
| Jennifer Capriati (USA) |
14 January 2002 | 24 February 2002 |
| Venus Williams (USA) |
25 February 2002 | 17 March 2002 |
| Jennifer Capriati (USA) |
18 March 2002 | 21 April 2002 |
| Venus Williams (USA) |
22 April 2002 | 19 May 2002 |
| Jennifer Capriati (USA) |
20 May 2002 | 9 June 2002 |
| Venus Williams (USA) |
10 June 2002 | 7 July 2002 |
| Serena Williams (USA) |
8 July 2002 | Year-End 2002 |
Doubles
| Doubles Year-end Ranking[2] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No | Player Name | Nation | Points | 2001 | Change |
| 1 | Paola Suárez | ARG |
3,863 | 6 | +5 |
| 2 | Virginia Ruano Pascual | ESP |
3,822 | 8 | +6 |
| 3 | Lisa Raymond | USA |
3,360 | 1 | -2 |
| 4 | Rennae Stubbs | AUS |
3,304 | 4 | = |
| 5 | Janette Husárová | SVK |
3,107 | 28 | +23 |
| 6 | Elena Dementieva | RUS |
2,765 | 98 | +92 |
| 7 | Arantxa Sánchez Vicario | ESP |
2,256 | 11 | +4 |
| 8 | Daniela Hantuchová | SVK |
2,344 | 56 | +48 |
| 9 | Cara Black | ZIM |
2,085 | 3 | -6 |
| 10 | Elena Likhovtseva | RUS |
2,043 | 4 | -6 |
| 11 | Anna Kournikova | RUS |
1,992 | 26 | +15 |
| 12 | Ai Sugiyama | JPN |
1,912 | 9 | -3 |
| 13 | Rika Fujiwara | JPN |
1,725 | 135 | +122 |
| 14 | Jelena Dokić | YUG |
1,615 | 12 | -2 |
| 15 | Martina Hingis | SUI |
1,504 | 30 | +15 |
| 16 | Conchita Martínez | ESP |
1,372 | 19 | +3 |
| 17 | Meghann Shaughnessy | USA |
1,371 | 14 | -3 |
| 18 | Liezel Huber | RSA |
1,302 | 21 | +3 |
| 19 | Nicole Arendt | USA |
1,232 | 10 | -9 |
| 20 | Kimberly Po-Messerli | USA |
1,153 | 7 | -13 |
Number 1 ranking
| Holder | Date gained | Date forfeited |
|---|---|---|
| Lisa Raymond (USA) |
Year-End 2001 | 8 September 2002 |
| Paola Suárez (ARG) |
9 September 2002 | Year-End 2002 |
List of players and titles won, last name alphabetically:
Serena Williams – Scottsdale, Miami, Rome, French Open, Wimbledon, U.S. Open, Tokyo Princess Cup and Leipzig (8)- Venus Williams – Gold Coast, Paris, Antwerp, Amelia Island, Stanford, San Diego and New Haven (7)
Kim Clijsters – Hamburg, Filderstadt, Luxembourg and WTA Tour Championships (4)
Anna Smashnova – Auckland, Canberra, Vienna and Shanghai (4)
Elena Bovina – Warsaw and Quebec City (2)
Jelena Dokić – Sarasota and Birmingham (2)- Justine Henin – Berlin and Linz (2)
Martina Hingis – Sydney and Tokyo Pan Pacific (2)- Svetlana Kuznetsova – Espoo and Bali (2)
Amélie Mauresmo – Dubai and Montreal (2)- Chanda Rubin – Eastbourne and Los Angeles (2)
- Monica Seles – Doha and Madrid (2)
Cara Black – Waikoloa (1)- Jennifer Capriati – Australian Open (1)
- Myriam Casanova – Brussels (1)
- Jill Craybas – Tokyo Japan Open (1)
Eleni Daniilidou – 's-Hertogenbosch (1)
Mariana Díaz Oliva – Palermo (1)
Silvia Farina Elia – Strasbourg (1)- Marie-Gayanay Mikaelian – Tashkent (1)
Daniela Hantuchová – Indian Wells (1)
Iva Majoli – Charleston (1)
Magdalena Maleeva – Moscow (1)
Maja Matevžič – Bratislava (1)
Ángeles Montolio – Porto (1)
Martina Müller – Budapest (1)- Anastasia Myskina – Bahia (1)
- Lisa Raymond – Memphis (1)
- Dinara Safina – Sopot (1)
- Patty Schnyder – Zurich (1)
- Magüi Serna – Estoril (1)
- Katarina Srebotnik – Acapulco (1)
- Martina Suchá – Hobart (1)
Åsa Svensson – Bol (1)
Patricia Wartusch – Casablanca (1)
Angelique Widjaja – Pattaya City (1)
Fabiola Zuluaga – Bogotá (1)
The following players won their first title:
- Martina Suchá – Hobart
- Daniela Hantuchová – Indian Wells
- Magüi Serna – Estoril
- Martina Müller – Budapest
- Elena Bovina – Warsaw
- Marie-Gayanay Mikaelian – Tashkent
- Eleni Daniilidou – 's-Hertogenbosch
- Myriam Casanova – Brussels
- Mariana Díaz Oliva – Palermo
- Dinara Safina – Sopot
- Svetlana Kuznetsova – Espoo
- Cara Black – Waikoloa
- Jill Craybas – Tokyo Japan Open
- Maja Matevžič – Bratislava
Titles won by nation:
- United States – 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)
- Belgium – 6 (Hamburg, Berlin, Filderstadt, Linz, Luxembourg and WTA Tour Championships)
- Russia – 6 (Warsaw, Sopot, Espoo, Bahia, Quebec City and Bali)
- Switzerland – 5 (Sydney, Tokyo Pan Pacific, Tashkent, Brussels and Zurich)
- Israel – 4 (Auckland, Canberra, Vienna and Shanghai)
- Spain – 2 (Porto and Estoril)
- France – 2 (Dubai and Montreal)
- Slovenia – 2 (Acapulco and Bratislava)
- Slovakia – 2 (Hobart and Indian Wells)
- FR Yugoslavia – 2 (Sarasota and Birmingham)
- Argentina – 1 (Palermo)
- Austria – 1 (Casablanca)
- Bulgaria – 1 (Moscow)
- Colombia – 1 (Bogotá)
- Croatia – 1 (Charleston)
- Germany – 1 (Budapest)
- Greece – 1 ('s-Hertogenbosch)
- Indonesia – 1 (Pattaya City)
- Italy – 1 (Strasbourg)
- Sweden – 1 (Bol)
- Zimbabwe – 1 (Waikoloa)
- Schröder, Liz (2002-11-11). "Sanex WTA rankings – Singles Ranking For: 11 November 2002" (PDF). WTA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-06-14. Retrieved 2012-07-23.
- Schröder, Liz (2002-11-11). "Sanex WTA rankings – Doubles Ranking For: 11 November 2002" (PDF). WTA. Retrieved 2012-07-23.