Lindsay Davenport

For the first time in the history of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, a world No.1 stepped away from the sport she ruled in 2008. But there was no shortage of pretenders to the tennis throne, in a season that saw a handful of teens establish themselves as serious contenders, and mid-career surges by a clutch of more established players. There was plenty of action off court as well, including a marketing push of heroic proportions and happy news from some of the Tour's best-loved retired stars.
 
JANUARY
 

Lindsay Davenport won the WTA Tour's season-ending championship in 1999 at Madison Square Garden. This week, the former World No. 1 returns to the Sony Ericsson Champions wielding her voice rather than her Wilson racquet in a new role.
 

Four of the world's top tennis legends will lead a five-day tennis "fantasy camp" at the award-winning Wailea Tennis Club and Four Seasons Resort on Maui, Hawaii, November 12-16, 2008. Designed for avid adult tennis players ranging in skill from recreational to tournament-level, the Wailea Fantasy Camp will be hosted by tennis legends Tom Gullikson, Lindsay Davenport, Robby Ginepri and Corina Morariu.

The Fortis Championships Luxembourg have started at the CK Sports Centre in Kockelscheuer.

Lindsay Davenport had to withdrawn due to injury, but her place has been taken by French star Amélie Mauresmo.

On-court action and drama weren't the only memories we were left with from the US Open this year. After their matches, the stars of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour gave us something to think about in their press conferences. The following is a collection of some of the best quotes.
 

Her path to the final was full of the most dangerous opponents but she passed with flying colors, and on Sunday night Serena Williams shone brightly in prime time, prevailing in an incredibly entertaining final with Jelena Jankovic for her ninth career Grand Slam singles title.
 

Lindsay Davenport may have been reared on the sunny hard courts of Southern California, land of many a tennis star, but she became the unlikeliest of champions.
 

Americans pray for a home-grown champion in New York
 
Patriotism rules at the US Open. Squads from the Marine Corps repeatedly drill on the playing surface of the Arthur Ashe stadium with a huge Stars and Stripes flag that fits the dimensions of the court; the national anthem is sung before each session of play, day and night; and a hankering for the next American champion to end the European domination of tennis borders on desperation.
 

Top-seeded world number one Ana Ivanovic fell victim to the wave of volatility in women's tennis when she was ousted from the U.S. Open in the second round by 188th-ranked qualifier Julie Coin of France.
 
The abrupt exit, earliest by a women's top seed at the U.S. championships in 42 years, left the 20-year-old Serb a passive bystander among five women with a mathematical chance of emerging from the year's final slam as world number one.
 

Reaction from the fifth day at Flushing Meadows, where Roger Federer came through a tricky test against an unheralded Brazilian.
 
Andy Roddick on celebrating his birthday as the clock struck midnight: "He was definitely outplaying me for the first two sets. I felt like a little kid out here playing against him. Then the clock struck 12 and I started playing like a 26 year old."