2008 WTA Tour
Jelena Janković was the year-end No. 1 in a season of disarray at the very top.
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| Details | |
|---|---|
| Duration | December 31 – November 9 |
| Edition | 38th |
| Tournaments | 59 |
| Categories |
Grand Slam (4) WTA Championships Summer Olympics WTA Tier I (9) WTA Tier II (14) WTA Tier III (17) WTA Tier IV (13) |
| Achievements (singles) | |
| Most tournament titles |
 Serena Williams (4) Dinara Safina (4) Jelena Janković (4) |
| Most tournament finals |
Vera Zvonareva (8) |
| Prize money leader |
Serena Williams ($3,852,173) |
| Points leader |
Jelena Janković (4,786) |
| Awards | |
| Player of the year |
Serena Williams
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| Doubles Team of the year |
 Cara Black Liezel Huber
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| Most improved player of the year |
Dinara Safina
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| Newcomer of the year |
 Caroline Wozniacki
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| Comeback player of the year |
 Zheng Jie
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← 2007
2009 →
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The 2008 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour was the elite professional tennis circuit organized by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for the 2008 tennis season. The 2008 WTA Tour calendar comprises the Grand Slam tournaments (supervised by the International Tennis Federation (ITF)), the WTA Tier I-IV Events, the Fed Cup (organized by the ITF), the year-end championships, and the tennis event at the Beijing Summer Olympic Games.
The season was characterised by its frequent changes in the No. 1 ranking, with Justine Henin, Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Janković and Serena Williams all holding the position at one point during the season. Eventually Janković finished the season as the No. 1 player in the world despite not winning a Grand Slam tournament. She did however reach the final of the U.S. Open, and won four tournaments throughout the season.
Four different players won the Grand Slam titles. Maria Sharapova won her third major title at the Australian Open, Ana Ivanovic won her maiden title at the French Open, Venus Williams won her seventh Grand Slam title at Wimbledon, and Serena Williams won her ninth Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open. Dinara Safina also reached her first Grand Slam final at the French Open, and won four events during the season.
One of the big stories of the year was the shock retirement of Justine Henin on May 14, less than two weeks before she was set to defend her French Open title. She became the first player to retire while ranked at No. 1 in the world. Henin later returned for the 2010 season.
Justine Henin started the season as the No. 1 ranked player in the world. Following her impressive 2007 season and victory at the warm-up tournament in Sydney, she was considered the outright favourite to win the Australian Open. However she was beaten in emphatic fashion by Maria Sharapova in the quarterfinals, who then defeated Jelena Janković and Ana Ivanovic to win her third Grand Slam title. Daniela Hantuchová also reached her first Grand Slam semifinal. Sister team Alona and Kateryna Bondarenko pulled off an unexpected title run in the Women's Doubles, while Sun Tiantian teamed up with Nenad Zimonjić to win her first Grand Slam tournament of any kind in the Mixed Doubles event.
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