Triumphs to tears: Assessing the 2009 WTA stars

With a mid-tier event currently being played in Bali and the Italians hosting the U.S. in this weekend's Fed Cup final, the WTA tour's winter break ha...

Serena right where she belongs

...Kim Clijsters back in the hunt and Justine Henin also poised to return to the tour. Jelena Jankovic: Maybe she did overtrain at the end of last year, explaining her horrific start to 2009...

Serena nets 4th win in row vs. Venus

Serena Williams has won the season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships after beating big sister Venus 6-2, 7-6 (4) in the final.

...KARIM JAAFAR/AFP/Getty Images) Venus Williams of the US returns the ball to Serbia's Jelena Jankovic during their WTA Championships semi-final tennis match at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex...

Serena reaches final; Venus awaits

Serena Williams will play big sister Venus in the final of the Sony Ericsson Championships.

Venus advances with Dementieva loss

Venus Williams has reached the semifinals of the Sony Ericsson Championships with a little help from Svetlana Kuznetsova, whose 6-3, 6-2 victory over Elena Dementieva secured the American's passage into the knockout round.

Safina enters Brisbane tourney

Two days after tearfully pulling out of the WTA Championships with a serious back injury she thought could keep her out of the Australian Open, Dinara Safina is entering the Brisbane International.

Where does Safina go from here?

...having to answer countless questions about finishing No. 1 despite her drought at majors, similar to Jelena Jankovic last year. The longer the tennis authorities deliberate about any further punishment Williams should receive in...

Dinara Safina of Russia serves shortly before retiring from her singles tennis match against Serbia's Jelena Jankovic on the second day of the 4.55 million dollar WTA Championships at the Khalifa International...

Safina withdraws with back injury

Dinara Safina withdrew from WTA Sony Ericsson Championships because of a back injury, handing the year-end No. 1 ranking to Serena Williams.

Serena wins, Venus loses

Victoria Azarenka has defeated Jelena Jankovic in the WTA Tour's season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships in the first round-robin group match.

...Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia, Elena Dementieva of Russia, Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, Dinara Safina of Russia, Jelena Jankovic of Serbia, Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark and Venus William of United States line up during the...

Does Clijsters deserve exemption into year-ender?

...winners: Dinara Safina, Serena Williams, Elena Dementieva, Caroline Wozniacki, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Victoria Azarenka Venus Williams and Jelena Jankovic. If a Grand Slam champion rule existed for the WTA Tour year-end event, Jankovic, who...

Year-end title critical for Safina -- and her reputation

With the season-ending championships coming up, let's look at what the stakes are for each of the eight qualifiers who have convened in Doha, Qatar, t...

Defending champion Jankovic ousted

Alisa Kleybanova upset defending champion Jelena Jankovic 6-4, 6-3 Friday to advance to the semifinals of the Kremlin Cup.