2013 has been a fabulous year for the WTA tour. Not only did the WTA celebrate its 40th anniversary, but the leading ladies of the tour have put forth some breath-taking performances. Serena Williams once again dominated the proceedings, making an emphatic return to No.1 before going on to win Roland Garros, the US Open, and the WTA Tour Championships. Her fiercest rival, Vika Azarenka, also showed glimpses of geniuses, successfully defending her Australian Open crown. More important, she set records straight with Serena, beating the American to win in Doha and Cincinnati. Sadly, she lost the Flushing Meadows final, one of the most emotional and electrifying matches I ever saw.
Wimbledon provided one of the most beautiful stories of the year, with quirky Marion Bartoli achieving her life goal by crowning herself champion. The star of the tournament was German Sabine Lisicki though, who beat Serena Williams and Aga Radwanska en route to her first Grand Slam final.
2013 also saw the emergence of two new stars in Sloane Stephens and the million-dollar Romanian, Simona Halep. Stephens fared better in majors, but Simona turned things around in the second half of the season, winning six titles, among them the Tournament of Champions in Sofia.
Tennis Moods favourites Flavia Pennetta and Andrea Petkovic fought their way back to the top, while Bartoli and former world No. 5, Russian Anna Chakvedatze, sadly said good-bye to the sport sooner than expected. The queen of hearts, Martina Hingis, stirred waters in August announcing she'll be making a comeback in doubles alongside Slovak Daniela Hantuchova. Poor results quickly made her reconsider her plans and the Swiss Miss is still undecided whether she'll continue playing in 2014.
The young guns have stepped up their game this year with Canadian sweetheart Eugenie Bouchard, Frenchwoman Kristina Mladenovic, German Annika Beck, Croat Donna Vekic, as well as Americans Madison Keys, Victoria Duval, and Taylor Townsend showing their enormous potential.
Tennis Moods looks back at all these incredible stories and rewards these amazing champions. Congrats to all the 2013 WTA Moods Awards winners!
The 'World's Greatest' Award (for the best player of the year)
Winner: Serena Williams
Runner-up: Victoria Azarenka
The 'She Found Love' Award (for the most improved player of the year)
Winner: Simona Halep
Runner-up: Sloane Stephens
The 'Homecoming' Award (for the most spectacular comeback)
Winner: Flavia Pennetta
Runner-up: Andrea Petkovic
The 'She Works Hard for the Money' Award (for the most hard-working player)
Winner: Agnieszka Radwanska
Runner-up: Sara Errani
The 'Here I Am' Award (for the newcomer of the year)
Winner: Sloane Stephens
Runner-up: Shuai Zhang
The 'We Are Young' Award (for the most promising youngster on the tour)
Winner: Eugenie Bouchard
Runner-up: Kristina Mladenovic
The 'Talk That Talk' Award (for the wittiest player on the tour)
Winner: Victoria Azarenka
Runner-up: Martina Hingis
The 'Broken Hearted Girl' Award (for the most disappointing player of the year)
Winner: Julia Goerges
Runner-up: Heather Watson
The 'Queen of Hearts' Award (for the Tennis Moods' favourite)
Winner: Victoria Azarenka
Runner-up: Marion Bartoli
The 'When We Collide' Award (for the most spectacular doubles team)
Winner: Daniela Hantuchova & Martina Hingis
Runner-up: Ashleigh Barty & Casey Dellacqua
The 'I Feel Pretty' Award (for the the most beautiful player)
Winner: Eugenie Bouchard
Runner-up: Maria Kirilenko
The 'Fashion of Her Love' Award (for the best dressed player throughout the year)
Winner: Serena Williams
Runner-up: Sloane Stephens
The 'Paparazzi' Award (for the most memorable outfit of the season)
Winner: Venus Williams (US Open outfit)
Runner-up: Serena Williams (US Open outfit)
The 'I Will Always Love You' Award (for the player who retired this year and will be missed the most)
Winner: Marion Bartoli
Runner-up: Anna Chakvetadze
The 'Imagine' Award (for the most emotional story of the year)
Winner: Victoria Azarenka winning Australian Open
Runner-up: Marion Bartoli winning Wimbledon
The 'I Dreamed a Dream' Award (for the accomplishment of a dream)
Winner: Marion Bartoli winning Wimbledon
Runner-up: Kristen Flipkens reaching Wimbledon semifinal
The 'Hero' Award (for the braveheart performance of the year)
Winner: Sabine Lisicki at Wimbledon
Runner-up: Victoria Azarenka at the Australian Open
The 'Clash of Titans' Award (for the most exhilarating duel of the year)
Winner: Victoria Azarenka & Serena Williams
Runner-up: Victoria Azarenka & Maria Sharapova
I actually love these awards:)) (regardless of some differences)
ReplyDeletethanks so much!
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