Serena Williams claims her third Australian Open and eighth overall Grand Slam at the start of the season. Justine Henin defends her French Open title successfully for a third time, claiming her sixth major. Venus Williams battles through the field to win her fourth Wimbledon title, her sixth Grand Slam singles crown. Now, history shows that in 2005, the year went exactly the same, with Serena winning the Aussie Open, Justine the French, and Venus triumphing at Wimbledon. At the US Open that year Kim Clijsters broke through and won her first and only major. Unfortunately, Kim has recently retired, so history will not repeat itself.

Heading into this year's U.S. Open, Maria Sharapova hasn't won a title the whole year – since winning her second major at the 2006 US Open. Granted, Sharapova reached the final of the Aussie Open and the semi-final at the French, but it has been a pretty dismal year for her. Injured almost the whole season, she somehow rediscovered the magic to win the Acura Classic. She was defending the title which propelled her to becoming the US Open champion last year. Then, in the semis of the East West Bank Classic in Los Angeles, Sharapova was forced to withdraw before the match even started with yet another injury that might yet derail her chances of defending her US title.

Two-time Grand Slam winner and former world No.1 Amelie Mauresmo – a semi-finalist last year – was forced to withdraw from the US Open because she still needs time to recover from her appendix surgery. Although, Mauresmo has gone deep in previous US Opens, she was never a favourite to take the crown.

‘Yes, there is a clear edge to Justine and the Williams sisters, but nothing is guaranteed. With the right draw anyone can come through to win.’


Approaching her 80th week at the top of the rankings, Henin is top seed, having been the most consistent performer on the tour, playing 10 tournaments and winning six of them, including the French Open. Although Henin had a devastating loss to Serena Williams at Key Biscayne, she avenged that loss, beating Serena at the French, and for the first time on another surface besides clay at Wimbledon. Coming off her win in Toronto, beating quality players en route to the title, she comes in with even more confidence and more reason to be considered the favourite.

But, with all that being said, how can you forget the Williams sisters? With each of them taking a Grand Slam this year – Serena in Australia and Venus at Wimbledon – they are assuredly in Henin's rear-view mirror. Although Serena hasn't played a professional match since losing to Henin in the Wimbledon quarters, she can easily power through the field and collect her third US Open. Venus, just like Serena, came from nowhere to capture Wimbledon. Nobody picked her to even get to the second week, thinking 2004 Wimbledon champ Sharapova would take her down, but it was the total opposite, with Venus winning easily 6-1, 6-3.

The most shocking thing about the way Venus took down Sharapova was the fact that in her firsr round she was two points away from losing and in the third round she was down 5-3 in the third set. Everything seemed to change when Venus had to face a quality opponent – she flipped the switch and everything was perfect in her game, and she carried that form all the way to the aptly-named Venus Rosewater Dish! So Venus and Serena have to be seen as major contenders.

As are two players who have come from nowhere to join the elite – Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic, both from Serbia. Jankovic has been the second most consistent player on the tour this year behind Henin, winning four tournaments and taking her place as No.3 in the world. Ivanovic made her first Grand Slam final at the French Open, where she dismantled Sharapova in the semi-finals only to get stomped on by Henin in the final. Since the clay court season, Ivanovic has continued her rise by making the semis at Wimbledon and winning two Tier 1 tournaments (one on clay and the other on hard courts), and making her debut in the top five. 

There are other contenders for the title as well, namely the always tough Svetlana Kuznetsova and also fellow Russian Anna Chakvetadze, who has come on strong this summer, but the winner of the US Open can't be determined until the draw is made. The women's field at every tournament is wide open, no matter who's healthy or match tough. Yes, there is a clear edge for Henin and the Williams Sisters, but nothing is guaranteed. With the right draw anyone can come through to win. What a climax to this season!