Sport Libray Serena had three great tournaments. This continues a review of the women’s and men’s top 30s. It could be argued that only five of the top 10 had impressive years by their standards, nothing that the WTA can be pleased about.

1 SERENA WILLIAMS: What an up and down year for America’s best female player since Chrissie Evert. A great Aussie Open, another odd Roland Garros loss, a spectacular Wimbledon, and a spooky USO.
Serena had an off year outside of the Slams until the year-end Championships at Doha, when she all but dominated the field in her title run. Her image needs lot of polishing after her US Open implosion, but her game is about as shiny as it’s ever going to get.

2 DINARA SAFINA: Given what a precipitous fall the Russian had from August on, it’s amazing that she finished the year No. 2. Game wise, she’s more than capable of winning a major, but despite being a thoughtful person, she has a lot of maturing to do if she's going to avoid falling out of the top 20 in 2010.

3. SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: Can a player’s year be determined by one heartfelt, spectacular title run? Sveta’s can, as every time her name comes up, it’s hard not to think of how her career came full circle at Roland Garros. But that might be it majors wise.

4. CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: The Dane looked way too soft at the majors prior to NY (remember her punch-out at the hands of Sabine Lisicki at Wimbledon?), but then she really began to dig deep and buried her non-chalant smile. She showed what a fighter she is in cramping her way to a victory in Doha, and if she can add a few more octaves to her offense, she should be able to win her first Slam in 2010.

5 ELENA DEMENTIEVA: While 2009 Wimbledon might be seen by some as her last chance to win a major, I’ll give the 28-year-old one more year to sprint past the pack and grab that elusive Slam. However, after a ho-hum second half of 2009, it remains to be seen how much gusto she’ll have when she returns.

6 VENUS WILLIAMS It would be ridiculous to count out a seven-time Slam champion who just reached the Doha final out of an other major, but outside of Wimbledon, she hasn’t been highly impressive on hardcourts since 2003, and she’ll turn 30 next June. Venus has been gradually wearing down and at this point, it’s safe to say that she’ll never go into the double digits with Slam singles crowns. She should have been able to.

7. VICTORIA AZARENKA: The Belarussian left her fans in total frustration after besting Serena in Miami, losing one three-setter after another to the veteran elite. She’s a terrific mover with a killer backhand and developing forehand, but she’s often too tightly wound on court and off. However, there’s no question that Vika cracks the top 5 in 2010, with at least a dozen bent frames left wobbling in her wake.

8 JELENA JANKOVIC: Has any player ever offered more excuses in one year for why her game was off than JJ in 2009? Really, despite the fact that she’s a little full of herself, she’s a terrific conversationalist and a hell of player, but what happened to the toughness that she showed in 2007 and 2008? Someone needs to give her a boot in the skirt.

9 VERA ZVONAREVA: If she didn’t so badly wreck her ankle, Vera Z. would have likely ended the year in the top 5. The Russian is a much more intelligent and solid all around player than she’s given credit for, but doesn’t seem to have the inner fire to be able to win a major.

10 AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA: At times the Pole is ultra impressive with the way she lightly moves to the ball and mixes up her shot selection, but she’s not particularly a driven sort and it’s hard to see her cracking the top 5 for an extended period of time.

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