Tennis fans had much to cheer about during the 2009 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour tennis season.

What was the best moment of the year? Tell us in this week’s edition of Open Forum Friday!

Was there a particular tournament which stood out to you as the most memorable of the season? Did a certain player inspire you?

Leave a comment below or send a reply to @onthebaseline on Twitter with your answer. Have a great weekend, everyone!

The 2009 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour season is in the history books after ten months of championship tennis.

Join On the Baseline for a look back at the impressive numbers and stats posted by the Tour’s best players.

First-time singles titles – 13 times (2008: 6 times)

Azarenka (Brisbane), Bacsinszky (Luxembourg) Czink (Québec City), Dulgheru (Warsaw), Dushevina (Istanbul), Kvitova (Hobart), Lisicki (Charleston), Martínez Sánchez (Bogotá), Petkovic (Bad Gastein), Rezai (Strasbourg), Rybarikova (Birmingham), Stosur (Osaka), Wickmayer (Estoril)

Most singles titles (2008: 4 – Jankovic, Safina, S.Williams)

3 – Azarenka (Brisbane, Memphis, Miami), Dementieva (Auckland, Sydney, Toronto), Kuznetsova (Stuttgart, Roland Garros, Beijing), Safina (Rome, Madrid, Portoroz), S.Williams (Australian Open, Wimbledon, Tour Championships), Wozniacki (Ponte Vedra Beach, Eastbourne, New Haven)

Most doubles titles (2008: 10 – Black, Huber)

7 – Llagostera Vives, Martínez Sánchez (Bogotá, Acapulco, Barcelona, Palermo, Toronto, New Haven, Tour Championships)

Singles and doubles titles at same event – 4 times (2008: 5 times)

Azarenka (Memphis), Martínez Sánchez (Bogotá), S.Williams (Australian Open, Wimbledon), Zvonareva (Indian Wells)

Longest singles match win streak (2008 – 32 – Henin)

16 – Safina (Won Rome, Won Madrid, R-Up Roland Garros)

Lowest-ranked player to win a singles title (2008: No.114 Llagostera Vives – Bogotá)

Unranked – Clijsters (US Open)

Youngest and oldest singles winners

Wozniacki @ Ponte Vedra Beach (18y 9m 1d) / Date Krumm @ Seoul (38y 11m 30d)

Longest singles tie-break

15-13 – (Q) Makarova d. Mauresmo 76(8) 76(13) (Eastbourne 2r)

Most games played in one singles match (2008: 53 – Goerges d. Srebotnik 46 76(6) 1614)

39 – (2) S.Williams d. (4) Dementieva 67(4) 75 86 (Wimbledon SF)

Fewest games lost in winning singles title (2008: 18 – Davenport @ Memphis)

16 – Dushevina @ Istanbul

‘Double Bagels’ (60 60) – 10 times (2008 – 8 times)

Kvitova d. (WC) Peers (Hobart 1r)
(7) Zvonareva d. Gallovits (Australian Open 2r)
(18) Cibulkova d. (Q) Scheepers (Australian Open 1r)
(8) A.Bondarenko d. (WC) Piter (Warsaw 1r)
(1) Safina d. Keothavong (Roland Garros 1r)
(12) Bartoli d. Chan (Wimbledon 1r)
(8) Azarenka d. Olaru (Wimbledon 2r)
(2) Wozniacki d. (LL) Gallovits (New Haven 1r)
(10) Pennetta d. Mirza (US Open 2r)
K.Bondarenko d. Dulko (US Open 4r)

Match points saved en route to title – 7 times (2008 – 4 times)

4 – Wozniacki d. Vesnina 26 63 76(4) (Ponte Vedra Beach SF – 2mp at 5-3 and 2mp at 6-5 third set)
3 – Medina Garrigues d. Zakopalova 16 76(1) 63 (Fès 2r – 3mp at 61 65 down)
1 – S.Williams d. Dementieva 67(4) 75 86 (Wimbledon SF – 1mp at 5-4 third set)
2 – Bartoli d. Jankovic 36 76(3) 63 (Stanford QF – 2mp at 63 65 down)
4 – Jankovic d. Dementieva 76(2) 06 76(6) (Cincinnati SF – 4mp at 6-2 down in third set tie-break)
1 – Date Krumm d. Kleybanova 46 76(4) 63 (Seoul 2r – 1mp at 64 53 down)
1 – S.Williams d. V.Williams 57 64 76(4) (Tour Championships RR – 1mp at 6-5 third set)

Information courtesy of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour

Introduction

Don’t let the title of this article fool you. This is not for or about left-handed players. Nor is it exclusively for right-handers. We will use the word “left” to replace “non-dominant.” In other words, right-handers should read this article as is. Left-handers should understand that we are writing about their non-dominant or left hand. The goal of this article is to help improve both your game and your understanding of how to more efficiently and effectively play tennis.

We have divided this topic into four aspects. The serve, forehand, backhand, and volley. See the previous installment for the impact of the left hand on the serve.

The Forehand

My first tennis lesson was in 1958 when I was five years old. No offense to the tennis teacher, as most taught that way in those days, but I was taught vastly differently than the way today’s players hit their forehands. Tennis playing and teaching has evolved tremendously to be more athletically efficient. Years ago, it was common to see players taught to have an “arm-only” swing. The physics of sports biomechanics was a fledgling science. Since then we have learned that angular momentum (coiling and uncoiling or rotating the upper body) generates substantial amounts of power into sports like tennis, golf, baseball, and even boxing.

When tennis players appear stiff when they hit their forehand groundstrokes, it is usually because they are swinging mostly with their arm and with little body rotation. They appear to work hard to generate minimal power and are often the players with those funny armbands just below their elbows from tennis elbow.

On the contrary, efficient forehands are fluid with natural upper body and hip coil and uncoil. This is where the non-racquet hand plays a key role.

Step One: The Ready Position

Whether the left hand is on the throat of the racquet or lower towards the handle, it is important to let the weight of the racquet rest in the non-dominant hand. The reason is important. The racquet hand must be at rest in between shots since the racquet hand grip will generally change between forehands and backhands. Holding on tight to the grip in the ready position hinders any attempts to changing grips quickly and efficiently. See photo #1 for an example of a ready position with a tight grip on the racquet and little involvement of the non-racquet hand.

Step Two: The Take Back

In the years that Chris Evert dominated women’s tennis, the straight back racquet preparation she used on her forehand was common. Now it has become a dinosaur. Why? The reason is the evolution of more powerful forehands with heavy topspin, a style that Evert rarely had to confront. Nowadays the non-racquet hand is involved in bringing the racquet back, which has several practical advantages over the earlier style.

1. The non-racquet hand is more involved in setting the angle of the racquet face and therefore the grip.
2. Using the left hand as shown turns the upper body and hips to facilitate faster running in the direction of the ball.
3. This “cooperative” take back also controls the size of the backswing. Just take a look at Andre Agassi’s compact forehand groundstroke and how effective he returns serve with an efficient and small backswing.
4. This coiling effect loads more energy into the forehand which, when combined with the resulting uncoil of the racquet moving forwards, generates tremendous power as compared to the “arm only” hitter who can be observed at any tennis facility in the world.

If someone needs help linking up the racquet hand and non-dominant hand, try a tool like the Forehand Fixer. It simply connects to the wrists with Velcro to create a maximum 18-inch distance between the hands. If the hands separate further, the Velcro pulls apart to give instant feedback.

Step Three: After the Hit

In recreational tennis, there’s a common mistake that takes place right after a player hits a good shot. They stand still admiring it. The obvious problem is that if the opponent returns their shot, they are probably totally out of position with a good chance of losing the point they thought they had just won. Besides good recovery footwork, the non-dominant hand has an important role to play in recovery. Understand that you should be in the ready position before your opponent contacts the ball. It’s not as easy as it sounds, but is a critical part of solid tennis.

In our next installment, we’ll take a look the non-racket hand’s role on the backhand.

Joe Dinoffer is a USPTA and PTR Master Professional. Visit his site, Oncourt Offcourt, at www.oncourtoffcourt.com.

Since its inception in 1994, Oncourt Offcourt has become the world’s leading source for hundreds of creative training aids, books and videos for the tennis industry.

Over the past few weeks, Martina Navratilova has been very critical of Andre Agassi’s use of crystal meth during his time on the ATP tour–specifically, his failure to own up to it after failing a drug test in 1997.

Do you agree with Martina Navratilova’s harsh words regarding Andre Agassi’s admitted drug use?

Martina in her own words:

“Shocking. Not as much shock that he did it, as shock that he lied about it and didn’t’ own up to it. He’s up there with Roger Clemens, as far as I’m concerned. He owned up to it in the book, but it doesn’t help now.”

In a recent TV interview, Martina did admit that that putting Agassi in the same category as Roger Clemens was a “bad comparison”. She even showed some compassion for Agassi’s personal struggles, but stuck to her guns about calling him a liar.

“He did a great disservice to himself and a great disservice to the sport. We are role models and we have that responsibility and we have to own up to it. Whatever the rules are you need to abide by them, and live with the consequences when you don’t.”

Do you agree with Martina Navratilova’s statements? Tell us your opinion in the comments below or send a reply on Twitter to @OnTheBaseline.

Belgian tennis star Yanina Wickmayer held a press conference in Brussels on Thursday in response to her recent suspension from tennis.

After providing a timeline of events leading up to the ITF’s decision to ban her from the sport, Wickmayer announced her decision to appeal.

Wickmayer’s saga of unsuccessfully contacting anti-doping officials began in November 2008 while she was training in Switzerland, followed by her stint in Australia in January.

“Because of this, all of the letters that were sent to my house that had to be signed for, I was unable to receive and were returned to sender,” Wickmayer said.

On February 18, 2009, Wickmayer used the search engine Google to find the email contact information for the anti-doping agency.

“On February 19, 2009, I received an email back, which included a login and did not
include any information about the one failed update I had already missed, without
knowing that this system even exists, even though all the letters that I had to sign for upon receipt and were sent back to the Flemish Anti-Doping Agency, meaning that they did know that I never received them,” Wickmayer said.

“After this email, I left for the United States for 7 weeks and have tried numerous times to sign on to the system with the login details that they provided to me, which failed time after time.”

In April, Wickmayer decided to email the doping agency again after failing to access the system.

“Their reply to me was simply that there was a problem with my login and that they have reset this so I can log in with a new login into the system. There was no indication in this email that I now had already had two failures to update behind my name, even though I had not even logged into the system once,” Wickmayer added.

After the system was reset, Wickmayer was finally able to register, but mistakenly filled out the whereabouts form wrong.

“I did not know that you could not select the option ‘competition’ and instead had to select the option “permanent residence”, which I had no idea about,” Wickmayer said.

“In June, I then called Mr. De Bruyn myself to ask him information as to how top
complete the wherabouts correctly. I got the information that day for the first. This conversation took place after my 3rd missed update had already happened, even though I had not received any word about this.”

Under the International Tennis Federation rules, three missed updates can result in a one-year suspension, which was imposed upon Wickmayer on November 5, 2009.

“I am being punished extremely hard,” Wickmayer said. “I will lose my ranking and will have to start again from 0. I will fight back but there is nothing that guarantees me that I will return to the same ranking.”

Not surprisingly, Wickmayer does plan to appeal the suspension, but even if it is not overturned, she refuses to give up.

“We are going to appeal this ruling and will do everything we can to get it overturned,” Wickmayer acknowledged. “If this decision is not overturned and I am not able to compete for a year, I am going to do everything I can to be back at the end of the year even stronger. I am a fighter and won’t give up.”

World number nine Vera Zvonareva will undergo minor right ankle surgery on Wednesday in Rotterdam.

The Beijing Olympic bronze medalist expects to be back on court in four to five weeks.

Zvonareva’s arthroscopic surgery to remove scar tissue will be performed by Dr. Niek van Dijk, the head of the Orthopaedic Department of the AMC-hospital (Academical Medical Centre Amsterdam, University of Amsterdam) and full professor in orthopaedic surgery at the University of Amsterdam.

She is expected to remain in The Netherlands for two weeks for extensive rehabilitation.

The Belgium No. 2 called Wickmayer’s one year suspension from tennis “extremely harsh” after Wickmayer was found guilty of violating regulations.

Although Wickmayer has never tested positive for a doping offense, the International Tennis Federation, along with a Belgian anti-doping tribunal, has placed her on a twelve-month suspension for failing to meet the whereabouts filing requirements on three occasions in 2009.

The decision to suspend Wickmayer has sparked controversy across the world and on Saturday, Clijsters publicly supported Wickmayer on her Twitter feed.

“Its very unfortunate what’s happened to Yanina and Xavier this week,” Clijsters wrote about Wickmayer and ATP Tour player Xavier Malisse, who was also suspended for the same reason.

“While they may not have followed correct administration, they did not register a positive doping offense either. To receive a one year ban because of this seems extremely harsh and is potentially career-ending for both of them.”

Wickmayer is currently at the peak of her career on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour after reaching the semifinals of the US Open in September.

The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour has released the list of the year-end 2009 tennis rankings.

2008 POINTS DROPPED ON NOVEMBER 9: None

Season Ending Top 10 Rankings (November 9, 2009)

1. Serena Williams – 9075 points

2. Dinara Safina – 7800

3. Svetlana Kuznetsova – 6141

4. Caroline Wozniacki – 5875

5. Elena Dementieva – 5585

6. Venus Williams – 5126

7. Victoria Azarenka – 4820

8. Jelena Jankovic – 3965

9. Vera Zvonareva – 3560

10. Agnieszka Radwanska – 3450

SONY ERICSSON WTA TOUR RANKINGS

The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Rankings is the worldwide computer ranking for women’s professional tennis.

The ranking system is a 52-week, cumulative system in which the number of tournament results that comprise a player’s ranking is capped at 16 Tournament results for Singles and 11 Tournament results for Doubles.

The results used to determine a player’s ranking are the tournaments yielding the player’s highest ranking points over the past 52 weeks, and must include a player’s ranking points from the Grand Slams, Premier Mandatory Tournaments and the Sony Ericsson Championships plus the best two (2) Premier 5 Tournament results for Top 10 Players.

What are the women planning to do over the next seven weeks? For many of them, their holiday plans include everything—-except play tennis.

Caroline Wozniacki
“Now that the year is finally over, I have decided that I will take a 10-day vacation with 3 of my girlfriends to Mauritius. We are super-excited for all the things we will do: hanging at the beach, snorkeling, receiving spa treatments. Basically, I am excited to think about anything but tennis during my holiday. This will be great for me to recover and recharge, both mentally and physically.

Venus Williams
“I am so happy for a rest and do some living away from the court! I am going to try to rest mentally too.”

Samantha Stosur
“I’m really looking forward to getting back, to see my friends and just be home. Don’t have any plans but I do want to go for a ride on my bike … Poor Scotty hasn’t been ridden all year and now that I’m living in a different area it will be more interesting to go for a ride. I call him Scotty cause it’s a Scott mountain bike!”

Jelena Jankovic
“It is nice to be home, again, in Belgrade, especially during the winter when snow falls. I like it because most of the time of year I’m in warmer parts of the world, and I don’t have much possibilities to enjoy winter magic. In the morning, when I wake up it is unusual not to have a schedule I must fullfil, which is my routine during the season. Now I am free to do what I want during a day, but I am still not aware of that. So, when I open my eyes in the morning I start to think how I should have to go to practice.”

Serena Williams
“I am happy to finally have a bit of a break for now . . . I look forward to not worrying about having to practice in the morning.”

Rezai captured her second career title after her countrywoman Marion Bartoli retired after losing the opening set 7-5.

The match was the first all-French final since Amelie Mauresmo defeated Mary Pierce for the Paris Indoors title in February 2006.

It was a competitive encounter between the two countrywomen before Bartoli was forced to quit after the first set because of a left quad strain.

“It’s a big surprise to finish like that and I’m very sorry for her,” said Rezai, who broke the $1-million career prize money mark after winning her first round robin match in Bali. “She looks like she hurt a lot and I hope it is not a big injury.”

“My leg was hurting and I tried my best to carry on, but it was too much pain,” said Bartoli after the match. “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to finish today.”

Rezai’s win gave her an additional $200,000 dollars to spend during the off-season.

“Winning here means so many things for myself. I proved to myself I can be at a much better ranking and much better player on the tour, and also prove to so many people, my family, my parents, my coach, that I can do better and better,” added Rezai.