Top 50 WTA Tour Career Prize Money Leaders - Oct 25, 2010

View Latest Updates on Men's Tennis Career Prize Money Leaders - 2012 Updates | View Latest Women's Tennis Career Prize Money Leaders - 2012 Updates.

American sisters Serena and Venus Williams remain atop the WTA tour career prize money leaders as of October 25, 2010. The two American tennis legends have earned $32.8 million and $27.7 million dollars, respectively, in their careers - way ahead of fellow American Lindsay Davenport who occupies the #3 position. Belgians Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters are the only other players amongst the top 10 earners who are still actively playing. Henin and Clijsters are #6 and #8 in the list. Recently retired Elena Dementieva of Russia is the second highest Russian earner at this point at #13 but is expected to leapfrog Svetlana Kuznetsova in the list when the new money leaders will be released next week. See the top 50 money leaders below:

TOP 50 WTA TOUR CAREER PRIZE MONEY LEADERS
As of: Oct 25, 2010

1 WILLIAMS, SERENA USA 32,773,004
2 WILLIAMS, VENUS USA 27,681,772
3 DAVENPORT, LINDSAY USA 22,166,338
4 GRAF, STEFFI GER 21,895,277
5 NAVRATILOVA, MARTINA USA 21,626,089
6 HENIN, JUSTINE BEL 20,863,335
7 HINGIS, MARTINA SUI 20,130,657
8 CLIJSTERS, KIM BEL 19,981,916
9 SANCHEZ-VICARIO, ARANTXA ESP 16,942,640
10 MAURESMO, AMELIE FRA 15,022,476
11 SELES, MONICA USA 14,891,762
12 KUZNETSOVA, SVETLANA RUS 14,443,223
13 DEMENTIEVA, ELENA RUS 14,117,437
14 SHARAPOVA, MARIA RUS 13,744,179
15 MARTINEZ, CONCHITA ESP 11,527,977
16 NOVOTNA, JANA CZE 11,249,284
17 JANKOVIC, JELENA SRB 11,169,440
18 CAPRIATI, JENNIFER USA 10,206,639
19 SAFINA, DINARA RUS 10,040,419
20 PIERCE, MARY FRA 9,793,119
21 ZVONAREVA, VERA RUS 9,393,530
22 PETROVA, NADIA RUS 8,996,412
23 EVERT, CHRIS USA 8,896,195
24 SABATINI, GABRIELA ARG 8,785,850
25 SCHNYDER, PATTY SUI 8,318,383
26 RAYMOND, LISA USA 8,274,826
27 SUGIYAMA, AI JPN 8,128,126
28 ZVEREVA, NATASHA BLR 7,792,503
29 IVANOVIC, ANA SRB 7,763,547
30 HANTUCHOVA, DANIELA SVK 7,157,292
31 SCHIAVONE, FRANCESCA ITA 6,845,259
32 TAUZIAT, NATHALIE FRA 6,650,093
33 WOZNIACKI, CAROLINE DEN 6,491,846
34 BLACK, CARA ZIM 6,457,520
35 SUKOVA, HELENA CZE 6,391,245
36 LIKHOVTSEVA, ELENA RUS 6,237,556
37 STOSUR, SAMANTHA AUS 6,105,650
38 RUANO PASCUAL, VIRGINIA ESP 6,076,081
39 MYSKINA, ANASTASIA RUS 5,606,725
40 COETZER, AMANDA RSA 5,594,821
41 SHRIVER, PAM USA 5,460,566
42 FERNANDEZ, MARY JOE USA 5,258,471
43 SUAREZ, PAOLA ARG 5,134,870
44 STUBBS, RENNAE AUS 5,072,943
45 BARTOLI, MARION FRA 4,855,934
46 SREBOTNIK, KATARINA SLO 4,787,375
47 HUBER, ANKE GER 4,768,292
48 AZARENKA, VICTORIA BLR 4,687,325
49 FERNANDEZ, GIGI USA 4,681,906
50 HUBER, LIEZEL USA 4,605,912

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Players cry as Elena Dementieva Retires

Elena Dementieva retires from the WTA tour after losing to French Open champion Francesca Schiavone of Italy in the year-ending WTA Championships in Doha, Qatar. In a ceremony witnessed by fellow players in the culminating tournament of the year, Dementieva announced her retirement from professional tennis leaving plenty of fellow players in tears.

In 1999, Dementieva was on her first year on the Russian Fed Cup team. The team reached the finals where they lost to the US Fed Cup team. Dementieva scored the only point for Russia when she beat Venus Williams.

2000 was a banner year for the young Russian. She reached her first Grand Slam semifinals in the 2000 US Open losing to eventual finalist, Lindsay Davenport. Later that year, she would beat Monica Seles to reach the gold medal match against Venus Williams in the Sydney Olympics. Dementieva settled for silver after losing to Williams in straight sets. She later qualified for her first WTA Championships and upset Lindsay Davenport on her way to the semifinals. Dementieva would become a fixture in the year-end championships, qualifying for 10 of the next 11 years.

Dementieva looked headed the path of another talented Russian player - Anna Kournikova in that she would not win a single WTA tournament of any kind in her first 5 years on the tour. She turned that trend around by winning her first three singles titles in 2003. She grabbed her first clay court tournament at Amelia Island in the spring, and she won two Asian tournaments in Bali and Shanghai in the fall.

In 2004, Dementieva along with 3 other young Russian players etched Russia in Grand Slam history. She reached the finals of the French Open in 2004, beating French star Amelie Mauresmo before losing to fellow Russian Anastasia Myskina. She then reached her second Grand Slam final at the 2004 US Open, finishing runner-up to another Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova. Her run to two Grand Slam finals had experts proclaiming her as a Grand Slam champion in the making.

Alas - that was not meant to be. Dementieva's serve was considered her ultimate weakness and though she made efforts to improve considerably on her serve, her chances of taking a Grand Slam title grew slimmer. She would push Serena Williams in the 2009 Wimbledon semifinals by holding a match point but she couldn't convert. That match is considered to be one of the finest ladies singles matches in recent memory.

Other achievements by the Russian included going 3-0 in Russia's 3-2 win over France in the 2005 Fed Cup final. That included two singles and one doubles victory. She also beat Serena Williams to win the singles title in Moscow in 2007 - one of her 16 career singles titles. Her proudest moment would come in Beijing when she beat fellow Russian player Dinara Safina to win the Olympic gold medal in 2008. Since the Open era, Elena Dementieva is the only ladies Olympics champion who hasn't won a Grand Slam title. Still, the Russian considers the Olympic gold medal her greatest career achievement as a tennis player.

Dementieva made the semis or better at Grand Slams nine times including at least once in the four majors. Her final Grand Slam match was at the 2010 US Open, where she had four match points before losing to Australia's Sam Stosur in the round of 16. Dementieva's 16th and final WTA title came in Paris in February 2010, where she beat Lucie Safarova in the final.

After her last match at the WTA Championships - Doha 2010, Elena Dementieva announced her retirement on court.

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Milestones: Federer matches Sampras Titles; Zvonareva now #2

A couple of tennis milestones achieved in the recent days:

(1) World #2 and 16-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer won the Stockholm Open last Sunday to tie Pete Sampras with 64 ATP titles. Federer and Sampras are at tied at 4th place, behind John McEnroe (77), Ivan Lendl (94), and Jimmy Connors (107). I think Federer can still catch up with McEnroe's haul if he plays 3 to 5 more years in the ATP tour.

(2) Vera Zvonareva has overtaken Serena Williams and is now ranked #2 in the world, her highest ranking to date. Zvonareva is the fifth Russian to ascend to #2 after Anastasia Myskina, Maria Sharapova, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Dinara Safina. Safina and Sharapova are the only Russian players to go to #1. Zvonareva, who reached 2 major finals this year at Wimbledon and the US Open has a realistic chance of achieving the same milestone as she has minimum points to defend in the first half of 2011.

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New WTA Logo

A new WTA logo has been launched replacing the old logo that had a silhouette of a female tennis player. The new logo has the letters WTA in a purple oval background and the WTA website claims that the "new mark is designed to serve as a distinctive and modern reminder of the captivating athleticism and excitement that has driven the international popularity and growth of women's pro tennis and placed it firmly at the nexus of sport and entertainment". Personally, I think the new WTA logo is sophisticated, contemporary, and reflects the global appeal of women's tennis. In fact, it's even better than the ATP tour logo. Watch the video below:

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Which Grand Slam Titles are Better - Justine Henin's or Venus Williams?

A hotly contested poll at TennisForum.com is the answer to the following question: Which 7 Grand Slams would you rather win - Justine's or Venus'? After 2,200+ views and almost 2 hundred votes, the poll is very slightly ahead in Justine Henin's favor - 51.5% to 48.5%.

Justine Henin and Venus Williams both won 7 Grand Slams each. Henin won 4 French Open titles, 2 US Open titles, and 1 Australian Open title. Venus won 5 Wimbledon titles and 2 US Open titles. Since both players won 2 US Open titles each, the question would come down to what fans consider the more valuable haul: 4 French Open + 1 Australian Open trophy vs 5 Wimbledon trophies?

Those supporting Henin insist that variety is key. Henin have won 3 different majors as compared to Venus Williams - so her haul is more valuable. Those supporting Venus contend that Wimbledon is simply the most prestigious Grand Slam title out there. Thus, a Wimbledon title trumps any other Grand Slam title.

This blogger thinks that indeed, Wimbledon - the longest running Grand Slam, is a dream for all players to win. Most tennis writers think so as well. It's the reason that Ivan Lendl has skipped so many chances of winning the French Open to give himself more chances to prepare for Wimbledon. And, it's also the motivating factor for Henin to have made her comeback.

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Top 15 ATP Tour Career Earning Leaders

View Latest Updates on Men's Tennis Career Prize Money Leaders - 2012 Updates | View Latest Women's Tennis Career Prize Money Leaders - 2012 Updates.

Five active players are in the list of the top 15 ATP Tour career earnings leaders as of October 18, 2010. Sixteen time grand slam champion Roger Federer of Switzerland (#1 - $57.44M) is at the top of the list while current number 1, Rafael Nadal of Spain (#3 - $34.94M), edged past legend Andre Agassi to secure the #3 position this year. American Pete Sampras who won 14 grand slam titles is at #2. The other active players in the list are Serbian Novak Djokovic (#11 - $19.02M), Australian Lleyton Hewitt (#12 - $18.84M), and American Andy Roddick (#13 - $18.72M). Djokovic is expected to enter the top 10 as he is competing in the final weeks of the 2010 ATP season.

	Player	Prize money
1	Roger Federer	$57,439,704.0
2	Pete Sampras	$43,280,489.0
3	Rafael Nadal	$34,936,162.0
4	Andre Agassi	$31,152,975.0
5	Boris Becker	$25,080,956.0
6	Yevgeny Kafelnikov	$23,883,797.0
7	Ivan Lendl	$21,262,417.0
8	Stefan Edberg	$20,630,941.0
9	Goran Ivanišević	$19,876,579.0
10	Michael Chang	$19,145,632.0
11	Novak Djokovic	$19,017,522.0
12	Lleyton Hewitt	$18,843,702.0
13	Andy Roddick	$18,719,173.0
14	Gustavo Kuerten	$14,807,000.0
15	Jonas Björkman	$14,600,323.0

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Maria Sharapova shows off Diamond Engagement Ring

Maria Sharapova was recently photographed wearing her diamond engagement ring. The photos were recently published at GossipCenter.com. The website also reported the engagement of Maria Sharapova and Los Angeles Lakers basketball player Aleksandar "Sasha" Vujačić last Tuesday, October 19. Vujavic reportedly proposed to Sharapova at his Manhattan Beach, California house.

Maria Sharapova is a 3-time grand slam tennis champion and former #1. She has struggled to remain in the top of women's tennis after suffering a shoulder injury that led into a surgery. She has not been ranked in the top ten for the whole year of 2010, and is currently ranked #18. She hasn't reached a grand slam quarterfinal this year.

Aleksandar Vujacic is a Slovenian basketball player who has played for the Los Angeles Lakers since the 2004-2005 season. He is also known as "The Machine". He has a career PPG average of 4.9 and enjoyed his best season in 2007-2008. Vujacic had been dating Russian-born professional tennis player Maria Sharapova, reportedly since 2009.

Click link to view the Sharapova Vujacic engagement photos from GossipCenter.com. 

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Which was a Bigger Surprise: Clijsters at Australian Open 2010 or Henin at French Open 2010?

After their highly successful return to Grand Slam play, the two recently un-retired former #1 players from Belgium fell short of fans and about everyone's expectations in the second Grand Slam tournaments of their comeback. Kim Clijsters won her second Grand Slam on just her 3rd tournament after coming back at the US Open in September 2009 but she won just 1 game in a 0-6, 1-6 loss to Nadia Petrova in the 3rd round of Melbourne.

Justine Henin reached the finals of the Australian Open in January and pushed world #1 Serena Williams to a third set in just her second tournament after coming back. She was touted as a heavy favorite to win the French Open having won the event four times prior, but she lost to eventual finalist Samantha Stosur in the round of 16.

Which was a bigger surprise, Clijster's 3rd round loss or Henin's 4th round loss? I think the latter was more of a shock. Sure, Stosur had very good results on clay this year, and she did reach the semifinals of the French Open last year, but who would have expected that she beat Henin in her own backyard?

I also think that the successful Grand Slam returns of the two Belgian players are more due to their ability to play in big situations as opposed to them being in top form. It probably is too much to expect them to have consistent great results in the Grand Slams after just a few months into their comeback. Expectations should be greater (or maybe more realistic) after a full season on the tour.

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Non-Grand Slam winners Leading Year-to-Date Rankings

Three non-Slam winners are leading the Race to the Sony Ericsson Championships Singles Standings after 2 Grand Slams, and half-way through the 2010 season. Venus Williams, Jelena Jankovic, and Samantha Stosur are #1, #2, and #3 respectively in the year-to-date rankings as of June 7, 2010. The elder Williams and Jankovic did not even contest a Grand Slam final this year. Serena Williams, the Australian Open champion and Francesca Schiavone, the French Open champion, occupy the 4th and 5th places, respectively.

Venus Williams is at the top of the list due to strong performances in three Premier-level tournaments. She won the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships in February and was runner-up in the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami and the Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open in Madrid. Her rankings points from these 3 tournaments account for more than 60% of her total ranking points for the year. She has under-performed in this season's Grand Slams losing in the quarterfinals in Melbourne and the fourth round in Roland Garros.

Jelena Jankovic is in close second place by virtue of strong performances in 2 Premier-level tournaments and a semifinal finish in the French Open. She won the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells and finished and was runner-up at the Family Circle Cup in Charleston. These 2 tournaments and her semifinal finish combine for more than 75% of her total ranking points for the year.

There is a possibility that a non-Grand Slam title holder will again rise to the world #1 ranking for the year. After the rather un-popular #1 stints of Jelena Jankovic and Dinara Safina, should the WTA add another rule to implement that only a current Grand Slam champion should be #1 in the world? It doesn't matter for those below #1, but the title of top-ranked women's tennis player should come with the proven ability to win (and not just do well) in at least one of tennis' four most prestigious tournaments during the ranking calendar.

The list below is the top-10 ranked players in the year-to-date rankings.

1 Williams, Venus USA = 3585
2 Jankovic, Jelena SRB = 3437
3 Stosur, Samantha AUS = 3422
4 Williams, Serena USA = 3355
5 Schiavone, Francesca ITA = 3192
6 Henin, Justine BEL = 2855
7 Wozniacki, Caroline DEN = 2662
8 Dementieva, Elena RUS = 2602
9 Peer, Shahar ISR = 2280
10 Li, Na CHN = 1927

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WTA Women's Tennis Career Prize Money Leaders - 02/01/2010

Click link for the latest update on WTA Women's Tennis Career Prize Money Leaders.

February 01, 2010

World #1 and 12-time major winner Serena Williams pushed her record earnings beyond $30 million dollars by winning the Australian Open 2010 singles title and pairing up with sister Venus to win the women's doubles title as well. Justine Henin of Belgium, who lost to Serena in the singles championship match in Melbourne has broken the $20 million dollar mark and moved past Martina Hingis to #6 in the all-time WTA women's tennis career prize earnings list. Venus Williams remains at #2 in the list with $25.4 million, while other active players in the top 20 include Kim Clijsters (#9), Svetalana Kuznetsova (#12), Maria Sharapova (#13), Elena Dementieva (#14), Dinara Safina (#18), and Jelena Jankovic (#20).

The list below includes the top 50 WTA women's tennis career prize money leaders. Earnings specified combine singles and doubles earnings, and is current as of February 1, 2010.

1 WILLIAMS, SERENA                     $30,491,460
2 WILLIAMS, VENUS                      $25,420,036
3 DAVENPORT, LINDSAY                   $22,144,735
4 GRAF, STEFFI                         $21,895,277
5 NAVRATILOVA, MARTINA                 $21,626,089
6 HENIN, JUSTINE                       $20,352,606
7 HINGIS, MARTINA                      $20,130,657
8 SANCHEZ-VICARIO, ARANTXA             $16,942,640
9 CLIJSTERS, KIM                       $16,477,052
10 MAURESMO, AMELIE                    $15,022,476
11 SELES, MONICA                       $14,891,762
12 KUZNETSOVA, SVETLANA                $13,892,894
13 SHARAPOVA, MARIA                    $13,109,099
14 DEMENTIEVA, ELENA                   $13,095,414
15 MARTINEZ, CONCHITA                  $11,527,977
16 NOVOTNA, JANA                       $11,249,284
17 CAPRIATI, JENNIFER                  $10,206,639
18 SAFINA, DINARA                      $9,858,126
19 PIERCE, MARY                        $9,793,119
20 JANKOVIC, JELENA                    $9,487,221
21 EVERT, CHRIS                        $8,896,195
22 SABATINI, GABRIELA                  $8,785,850
23 SUGIYAMA, AI                        $8,128,126
24 PETROVA, NADIA                      $8,090,412
25 RAYMOND, LISA                       $8,037,645
26 SCHNYDER, PATTY                     $8,002,702
27 ZVEREVA, NATASHA                    $7,792,503
28 IVANOVIC, ANA                       $7,235,889
29 ZVONAREVA, VERA                     $6,727,321
30 HANTUCHOVA, DANIELA                 $6,725,110
31 TAUZIAT, NATHALIE                   $6,650,093
32 SUKOVA, HELENA                      $6,391,245
33 LIKHOVTSEVA, ELENA                  $6,237,556
34 BLACK, CARA                         $6,215,870
35 RUANO PASCUAL VIRGINIA              $6,014,076
36 MYSKINA, ANASTASIA                  $5,606,725
37 COETZER, AMANDA                     $5,594,821
38 SHRIVER, PAM                        $5,460,566
39 FERNANDEZ, MARY JOE                 $5,258,471
40 SUAREZ, PAOLA                       $5,134,870
41 STUBBS, RENNAE                      $4,865,093
42 HUBER, ANKE                         $4,768,292
43 SCHIAVONE, FRANCESCA                $4,704,193
44 FERNANDEZ, GIGI                     $4,681,906
45 GARRISON, ZINA                      $4,590,816
46 RUBIN, CHANDA                       $4,470,180
47 MAJOLI, IVA                         $4,405,867
48 MALEEVA, MAGDALENA                  $4,398,582
49 STOSUR, SAMANTHA                    $4,397,723
50 DECHY, NATHALIE                     $4,281,064

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WTA Women's Tennis Rankings - Two Chinese in Top 20, Venus in Top 5

For the first time in history, a Chinese player is ranked in the top 10 and another one is ranked in the top 20, as the latest WTA women's tennis rankings is published following the Australian Open 2010 - the first grand slam of the year. Li Na becomes the first ever, man or woman, tennis player to join the elite list of top players while compatriot Zheng Jie is back in the top 20. Both were semifinalists in Melbourne with Li losing to eventual champion and world #1 Serena Williams while Zheng lost to former #1 and comeback star Justine Henin. Five time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams returns to the top 5 after improving her 2nd round finish from last year's Australian Open.

Some observations on the February 01, 2010 WTA Singles Rankings:

- Caroline Wozniacki is at her career high ranking of #3
- Yanina Wickmayer is Belgium's top ranked player at #15
- 2009 Australian semifinalist Vera Zvonareva falls 5 spots out of the top 10 and into #14
- Angelique Kerber of Germany is the biggest jumper into the top 100 from #118 to #85
- Maria Kirilenko made the biggest jump within the top 100 moving up 21 spots from #58 to #37
- Jelena Dokic is the biggest slider going down 40 spots to #96 as she failed to match her quarterfinal run in last year's Australian Open
- Australian Open finalist and former #1 Justine Henin remains unranked and will need to play one more tournament to get a ranking. She has 1600 points in her first two tournaments, the same ranking points with #38 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia
- The top five represent majority of the finalists in the past 4 grand slams, with the exception of the 2 Belgians: US Open champion Kim Clijsters and Henin

The full WTA Women's Tennis rankings can be accessed by using this link.

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How far will Nadal slide down the Rankings?

After failing to defend his Australian Open title, Spain's Rafael Nadal fell to #4 in the world rankings - his lowest since June 2005 - almost five years. With another injury that will prevent him from competing in his next tournament, Nadal is sure to slide further down the rankings. He is defending a lot of points in the first five months of the year.

His current ranking points include the following:

Tournament - Points - Drop Off Date

Rotterdam - 300 - Feb 15, 2010
Indian Wells - 1,000 - March 22, 2010
Monte Carlo - 1,000 - April 19, 2010
Barcelona - 500 - April 26, 2010
Rome - 1,000 - May 3, 2010

The above points total 3,800 - more than the number of points that #8 Robin Soderling won last year. If Nadal falls out of the top 4, and since the French Open is sticking strictly to the men's rankings in their seeding, there could be a Nadal-Federer quarterfinal at Rolland Garros. That's if Soderling doesn't get to Nadal first.

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ATP Rankings: Djokovic, Young move up; Nadal Slides Down

The rankings published by the ATP after the Australian Open 2010 show several players reaching some ranking milestones. Serb Novak Djokovic becomes the first player from their country to be ranked as high as #2. Marin Cilic, a Grand Slam semifinalist for the first time in Melbourne, was awarded his first top 10 ranking, while American David Young made the biggest jump in the men's top 200 by moving 44 spots to #151. Former #1 Rafael Nadal slides down to #4, his lowest ranking since June 2005 after falling in the Australian Open quarterfinals. He was not able to defend hundreds of ranking points from winning the Australian Open last year.

Here are a list of ranking movers in the February 01, 2010 rankings:

#2. Novak Djokovic - highest career ranking

#4. Rafael Nadal - lowest ranking since June 2005

#10. Marin Cilic - up 4 spots for first top 10 ranking

#12. Fernando Verdasco - down 3 spots and falls out of the top 10

#25. John Isner - highest career ranking

#39. Feliciano Lopez - makes biggest jump of 7 spots within the top 50

#54. James Blake - slides 9 spots down out of the top 50

#61. Lukasz Kubot - makes biggest jump of 25 spots within the top 100

#85. Maximo Gonzales - goes down 20 spots, the biggest slide in the top 100

#151. Donald Young - makes biggest jump of 44 spots within the top 200

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ATP Men's Tennis Career Prize Money Leaders - 02/01/2010

Click link for the latest update on ATP Men's Tennis Career Prize Money Leaders.

February 01, 2010.

The men's finalist in the Australian Open 2010 singles broke career earnings milestones as the ATP World Tour website revealed the ATP Prize Money career leaders. World #1 and Australian Open champion Roger Federer pushed his record beyond $55 million dollars earned in his career, while the losing finalist, Andy Murray, has now earned more than $10 million dollars. Other active players in the top 20 career prize money leaders include Rafael Nadal (#4), Lleyton Hewitt (#11), Andy Roddick (#12), Novak Djokovic (#13), Nikolay Davydenko (#18), Carlos Moya (#19), and Juan Carlos Ferrero (#20). The earnings represent combined singles and doubles prize money earned by a player through February 1, 2010.


1 Federer, Roger              $55,350,788
2 Sampras, Pete               $43,280,489
3 Agassi, Andre               $31,152,975
4 Nadal, Rafael               $27,508,603
5 Becker, Boris               $25,080,956
6 Kafelnikov, Yevgeny         $23,883,797
7 Lendl, Ivan                 $21,262,417
8 Edberg, Stefan              $20,630,941
9 Ivanisevic, Goran           $19,876,579
10 Chang, Michael             $19,145,632
11 Hewitt, Lleyton            $18,405,029
12 Roddick, Andy              $17,360,194
13 Djokovic, Novak            $16,168,498
14 Kuerten, Gustavo           $14,807,000
15 Bjorkman, Jonas            $14,600,323
16 Safin, Marat               $14,373,291
17 Courier, Jim               $14,034,132
18 Davydenko, Nikolay         $13,609,749
19 Moya, Carlos               $13,406,436
20 Ferrero, Juan Carlos       $12,613,027
21 Stich, Michael             $12,595,128
22 McEnroe, John              $12,552,132
23 Muster, Thomas             $12,225,910
24 Henman, Tim                $11,635,542
25 Bruguera, Sergi            $11,632,199
26 Rafter, Patrick            $11,127,058
27 Murray, Andy               $10,888,593
28 Enqvist, Thomas            $10,461,641
29 Korda, Petr                $10,448,900
30 Corretja, Alex             $10,411,354
31 Woodbridge, Todd           $10,095,245
32 Krajicek, Richard          $10,077,425
33 Santoro, Fabrice           $10,021,132
34 Ferreira, Wayne            $9,969,617
35 Haas, Tommy                $9,958,025
36 Nalbandian, David          $9,794,060
37 Rios, Marcelo              $9,713,771
38 Rusedski, Greg             $8,944,841
39 Connors, Jimmy             $8,641,040
40 Woodforde, Mark            $8,571,605

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Henin, Murray will look to French Open, Wimbledon

The two losing finalists in the recently completed Australian Open 2010 will be looking forward to this year's other Grand Slams to win their own title. Justine Henin lost the women's singles title to world #1 Serena Williams but is happy to have gone so far in the tournament despite just playing on the second tournament of her comeback after prematurely retiring in May 2008. Andy Murray, who held four set points but couldn't convert any in the third set of his loss to world #1 Roger Federer, will now be entering other Grand Slams having reached two previous Grand Slam championship matches.

Henin, the four-time French Open champion will most certainly look forward to the Grand Slam she calls home - the French Open at Rolland Garros. She will have several months to prepare for that and will most likely be favored to take home her fifth French Open title. She will most likely be challenged by several formidable clay court opponents including defending champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, compatriot and 2009 US Open champion Kim Clijsters, and, 2-time finalist and former world #1 Dinara Safina.

World #1 Serena Williams has not played well at the clay courts in Paris having lost in the quarterfinals or earlier since losing a semifinal match to Henin in 2003. She however, has indicated her desire to add another French Open crown to go with her lone title won in 2002. Her game is ill-suited to the clay courts however, but no one can doubt Serena's determination in the majors. This year provides her with another rare opportunity to take home the calendar Grand Slam and this would not be lost to the best women's tennis player of her generation.

Murray, the world #3, will be looking forward to Wimbledon as he will not be favored to reach the last four of the French Open. Murray's best performance in Paris is a quarterfinals finish in last year's tournament, but unless he can have a strong clay court season, he will be entering the French Open behind such favorites as Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Juan Martin del Potro and a number of clay court specialists from Spain and South America.

Murray will however, favor his chances at Wimbledon. The grass at his home Grand Slam favors his game, and he has been to the semifinals in last year's event. He would be amongst the few favorites to win the grass court major, alongside Federer, Nadal, and American Andy Roddick. It will all depend on how well he will be able to handle the expectations of a nation who hasn't seen a British man win a major since 1936. On the other hand, he can use that expectation as a motivation in winning his first Slam title.

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