2004 WTA Tour
The 2004 WTA Tour was the elite professional tennis circuit organized by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for the 2004 season. The 2004 WTA Tour calendar comprised the Grand Slam tournaments (supervised by the International Tennis Federation (ITF)), the WTA Tier I-V Events, the Fed Cup (organized by the ITF), the Summer Olympic Games and the year-end championships.
Lindsay Davenport finished the year as WTA world No. 1 for the third time in her career, though Maria Sharapova was named the Player of the Year. Davenport won seven tournaments during the season, including two Tier I events. Sharapova won five tournaments during the season, including a major at the Wimbledon Championships, as well as the WTA Tour Championships. | |
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Duration | January 3 – November 13, 2004 |
| Edition | 34th |
| Tournaments | 60 |
| Categories | Grand Slam (4) WTA Championships Summer Olympics WTA Tier I (10) WTA Tier II (15) WTA Tier III (16) WTA Tier IV (5) WTA Tier V (8) |
| Achievements (singles) | |
| Most tournament titles | Lindsay Davenport (7) |
| Most tournament finals | Lindsay Davenport (9) Amélie Mauresmo (9) |
| Prize money leader | Maria Sharapova ($2,506,263) |
| Points leader | Lindsay Davenport (4,760) |
| Awards | |
| Player of the year | Maria Sharapova |
| Doubles team of the year | Virginia Ruano Pascual Paola Suárez |
| Most improved player of the year | Maria Sharapova |
| Newcomer of the year | Tatiana Golovin |
| Comeback player of the year | Serena Williams |
← 2003 2005 → | |
In an open year, Lindsay Davenport finished the season at No. 1 for the third time after 1998 and 2001, despite not reaching a Grand Slam final. Amélie Mauresmo put together a consistent season, reaching No. 1 in September and finishing the year ranked No. 2. The Russian contingent enjoyed an impressive rise into the elite of women's tennis, with Anastasia Myskina, Maria Sharapova and Svetlana Kuznetsova all winning their first Grand Slam titles, and Elena Dementieva twice being a runner-up. The Belgian pair of Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin-Hardenne, who had risen to the top of women's tennis during 2003, both struggled with injuries throughout the season. Likewise, the dominance of the Williams sisters diminished, with both finishing the season outside the top 5.