2006 WTA Tour
Justine Henin-Hardenne finished the season at No. 1 by virtue of winning the WTA Tour Championships.
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| Details | |
|---|---|
| Duration | January 2 - November 6 |
| Edition | 36th |
| Tournaments | 61 |
| Categories |
Grand Slam (4) WTA Championships WTA Tier I (10) WTA Tier II (15) WTA Tier III (17) WTA Tier IV (14) |
| Achievements (singles) | |
| Most tournament titles |
 Justine Henin (6) |
| Most tournament finals |
Justine Henin (9) |
| Prize money leader |
Justine Henin ($4,204,810) |
| Points leader |
Justine Henin (3,998) |
| Awards | |
| Player of the year |
 Amélie Mauresmo
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| Doubles Team of the year |
 Lisa Raymond Samantha Stosur
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| Most improved player of the year |
 Jelena Janković
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| Newcomer of the year |
 Agnieszka Radwańska
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| Comeback player of the year |
 Martina Hingis
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← 2005
2007 →
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The 2006 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour was the 36th season since the founding of the Women's Tennis Association. It commenced on January 2, 2006, and concluded on November 12, 2006 after 61 events.
Justine Henin-Hardenne came out as the winner in a historic three-way battle for the No. 1 ranking at the season-ending WTA Tour Championships, beating out Sharapova and Mauresmo. The Belgian successfully defended her French Open title for her fifth Grand Slam title, and became the first woman since Steffi Graf in 1993 to reach the finals of all four Grand Slams and the WTA Tour Championships. Maria Sharapova won her second Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open, to add to her Wimbledon trophy from 2004. Amélie Mauresmo won her maiden Grand Slam at the Australian Open after a controversial retirement from Henin-Hardenne in the final. However, she later backed it up by winning a rematch with Henin-Hardenne in the Wimbledon final. She was the number one player in the world from March until the final event of the season.
Martina Hingis also made a successful return to the Tour, beginning her comeback at the Gold Coast event in January. She finished the season at No. 6 in the world and won the Tier I title at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome.
Shortly before the beginning of the season former No. 1 Martina Hingis announced that she would return full-time to the tour for the start of the 2006 season, having already made an unsuccessful comeback attempt at an event in 2005.
Amélie Mauresmo won her first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open after years of questions about her nerves and mental strength. However, her victory was marred by Henin-Hardenne's controversial retirement in the final due to stomach cramps. Defending champion Serena Williams lost in the third round to Daniela Hantuchová, with some commenting on the "extra weight" that she was carrying. The loss was the beginning of a season of injury struggles for the American, which saw her at one point drop out of the top 100. In the doubles tournament, Yan Zi and Zheng Jie produced a historic win for Chinese tennis by becoming the first players to win a Grand Slam of any kind for the nation. Martina Hingis won her first mixed doubles title with Mahesh Bhupathi.
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