Jelena Jankovic

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Beijing, China (September 28): A month after the Olympics the Tour returned to Beijing for the China Open, where Jelena Jankovic won her first title since Rome in May. In the final she beat Svetlana Kuznetsova, in what was the Russian’s fifth runner-up finish of what would prove to be a title-less season.

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Guangzhou, China (September 21): Having flown direct from Madrid where she had helped Russia win the Fed Cup on clay, top seed Vera Zvonareva moved seamlessly to the hardcourts of Guangzhou, where she beat Chinese star Peng Shuai to win the TOE Life Ceramics International Women’s Open.

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Tokyo, Japan (September 21): Dinara Safina’s hot streak continued at the Toray Pan Pacific Open, where she beat compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova for a third Tier I title of 2008, and fourth overall.

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Bali, Indonesia (September 14): Swiss veteran Patty Schynder won her first title in more than three years at the Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic in Bali. She beat Austrian teenager Tamira Paszek in the final.

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New York, USA (September 7): Serena Williams won her third US Open title, and first since 2002, with defeat of Jelena Jankovic in a rain-delayed Sunday evening final at Flushing Meadows. The victory put Williams back on top of the rankings, more than five years after her last stint – the longest gap in tennis history, men or women.

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New York, USA (August 24): The Czech Republic’s Lucie Safarova won the Forest Hills Tennis Classic for the second time, with defeat of China’s Peng Shuai in the final.

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New Haven, USA (August 24): A month after she collected her first Tour title at Stockholm, Caroline Wozniacki won a second at the Pilot Pen Tennis presented by Schick. In doing so she spoiled top seed Anna Chakvetadze’s hitherto perfect 7-0 record in Tour singles finals.

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Cincinnati, Ohio USA (August 17): Singles winner Nadia Petrova of Russia after the singles final.

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Beijing, China (August 16): Led by an ecstatic Elena Dementieva, Russia swept the singles medals at the Beijing Olympics. She had won silver to Venus Williams’ gold in Sydney eight years earlier.

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Stockholm, Sweden (August 3): After winning her very first Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles title, Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki proudly displayed her trophy.