2009 Maria Sharapova tennis season
# 2009 Maria Sharapova tennis season

Results and statistics from Maria Sharapova's 2009 tennis season.

## Yearly summary

### Pre-comeback

At the beginning of the year, Sharapova was forced to concede the defence of her Australian Open title, a decision which would see her drop out of the WTA's Top 10 for the first time since winning Wimbledon in 2004. Her continued absence from the Tour also cost her the titles she won in Doha and Amelia Island last year; she also missed both the Premier Mandatory events at Indian Wells and Miami, and subsequently saw her world ranking drop to No. 65.

Sharapova first attempted her comeback by playing doubles with Elena Vesnina at Indian Wells (she did not play in the singles tournament). This decision would backfire, as they lost to fellow Russians Ekaterina Makarova and Tatiana Poutchek in three sets in the first round.

### Comeback to tennis

In May, it was announced that she would be making her comeback at the Warsaw Open, which she entered as a wild card entry. She eventually reached the quarter-finals, losing to eventual finalist Alona Bondarenko. In the week during which the tournament was held, though, her world ranking dropped to No. 126, her lowest ranking since 2003, but her run in Warsaw saw her rise to No. 102 in the world rankings.

### French Open

Sharapova entered the 2009 French Open unseeded at a Major for the first time since the 2003 US Open. In the second round, she defeated 11th seed Nadia Petrova 6–2, 1–6, 8–6. She went on to reach the quarter-finals, where she suffered her worst defeat at a Major tournament, losing to Dominika Cibulková and winning only two games (she had to defend a match point at 0–6, 0–5 down in the second set, in the process avoiding her second career double bagel defeat). Despite the defeat, Sharapova moved back into the World's Top 100 in the rankings.

### Grass court season

Sharapova started her grass court season at Birmingham, where she had won her first grass court title five years earlier. Unseeded, she defeated Stéphanie Dubois, Alexa Glatch, seventh seed and future Wimbledon quarter-finalist Francesca Schiavone and Yanina Wickmayer to reach the semi-finals, before being defeated by Li Na there. Her run in Birmingham brought her ranking back into the Top 60.

As it was in 2008, her Wimbledon campaign would once again turn out to be short-lived, as she was defeated in the second round by Gisela Dulko in three sets.

### US Open series

Sharapova next played at the 2009 Bank of the West Classic, where she defeated Ai Sugiyama and Nadia Petrova before being defeated by Venus Williams in the final eight.

She next played at Los Angeles, where she recorded her first career victory against Victoria Azarenka before falling in three sets to eventual champion Flavia Pennetta in the semi-finals. She then reached her first final since April 2008 at the Rogers Cup, falling there to Elena Dementieva in straight sets.

To conclude the US Open series, she competed at the US Open as the 29th seed; this was her lowest seeding at a Major tournament since the 2004 Australian Open. She defeated Tsvetana Pironkova and Christina McHale for the loss of three games each in the first two rounds, but was then stunned in the third round by little-known Melanie Oudin in three sets.

### Fall series

Sharapova picked up her first title since April 2008, when she won the Toray Pan Pacific Open event in Tokyo after her Serbian opponent Jelena Janković retired at 2–5 down in the first set. This marked her 20th career singles title. At Beijing, her final tournament of the season, she received a bye into the second round, where she defeated Victoria Azarenka in three sets, before falling to Peng Shuai in the third. Her impressive comeback eventually led to her finishing the year ranked World No. 14, having been No. 126 back in May.

## All matches

This table chronicles all the matches of Sharapova in 2009, including walkovers (W/O) which the WTA does not count as wins. They are marked ND for non-decision or no decision.

Key :

| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | P# | DNQ | A | Z# | PO | G | S | B | NMS | NTI | P | NH |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |

### Singles matches

| Tournament | # | Round | Opponent | Result | Score |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Warsaw Open Warsaw, Poland Premier Clay, outdoor 18–23 May 2009 |
| Warsaw Open Warsaw, Poland Premier Clay, outdoor 18–23 May 2009 | 1 | 1R | Tathiana Garbin | Win | 6–1, $6–7^{(6–8)},$ 6–3 |
| Warsaw Open Warsaw, Poland Premier Clay, outdoor 18–23 May 2009 | 2 | 2R | Darya Kustova | Win | 6–2, 6–0 |
| Warsaw Open Warsaw, Poland Premier Clay, outdoor 18–23 May 2009 | 3 | QF | Alona Bondarenko | Loss | 2–6, 2–6 |
| French Open Paris, France Grand Slam Clay, outdoor 24 May–7 June 2009 |
| French Open Paris, France Grand Slam Clay, outdoor 24 May–7 June 2009 | 4 | 1R | Anastasiya Yakimova | Win | 3–6, 6–1, 6–2 |
| French Open Paris, France Grand Slam Clay, outdoor 24 May–7 June 2009 | 5 | 2R | Nadia Petrova | Win | 6–2, 1–6, 8–6 |
| French Open Paris, France Grand Slam Clay, outdoor 24 May–7 June 2009 | 6 | 3R | Yaroslava Shvedova | Win | 1–6, 6–3, 6–4 |
| French Open Paris, France Grand Slam Clay, outdoor 24 May–7 June 2009 | 7 | 4R | Li Na | Win | 6–4, 0–6, 6–4 |
| French Open Paris, France Grand Slam Clay, outdoor 24 May–7 June 2009 | 8 | QF | Dominika Cibulková | Loss | 0–6, 2–6 |
| Aegon Classic Birmingham, Great Britain WTA Premier Grass, outdoor 8–14 June 2009 |
| Aegon Classic Birmingham, Great Britain WTA Premier Grass, outdoor 8–14 June 2009 | 9 | 1R | Stéphanie Dubois | Win | 6–4, 6–2 |
| Aegon Classic Birmingham, Great Britain WTA Premier Grass, outdoor 8–14 June 2009 | 10 | 2R | Mariya Koryttseva | Win | 6–3, 6–4 |
| Aegon Classic Birmingham, Great Britain WTA Premier Grass, outdoor 8–14 June 2009 | 11 | 3R | Francesca Schiavone | Win | 6–1, 6–3 |
| Aegon Classic Birmingham, Great Britain WTA Premier Grass, outdoor 8–14 June 2009 | 12 | QF | Yanina Wickmayer | Win | 6–1, 2–6, 6–3 |
| Aegon Classic Birmingham, Great Britain WTA Premier Grass, outdoor 8–14 June 2009 | 13 | SF | Li Na | Loss | 4–6, 4–6 |
| The Championships, Wimbledon London, Great Britain Grand Slam Grass, outdoor 22 June–5 July 2009 |
| The Championships, Wimbledon London, Great Britain Grand Slam Grass, outdoor 22 June–5 July 2009 | 14 | 1R | Viktoriya Kutuzova | Win | 7–5, 6–4 |
| The Championships, Wimbledon London, Great Britain Grand Slam Grass, outdoor 22 June–5 July 2009 | 15 | 2R | Gisela Dulko | Loss | 2–6, 6–3, 4–6 |
| Bank of the West Classic Stanford, United States of America WTA Premier Hard, outdoor 27 July–2 August 2009 |
| Bank of the West Classic Stanford, United States of America WTA Premier Hard, outdoor 27 July–2 August 2009 | 16 | 1R | Ai Sugiyama | Win | 6–4, $6–7^{(6–8)},$ 6–1 |
| Bank of the West Classic Stanford, United States of America WTA Premier Hard, outdoor 27 July–2 August 2009 | 17 | 2R | Nadia Petrova | Win | 6–1, 6–2 |
| Bank of the West Classic Stanford, United States of America WTA Premier Hard, outdoor 27 July–2 August 2009 | 18 | QF | Venus Williams | Loss | 2–6, 2–6 |
| LA Women's Tennis Championships Los Angeles, United States of America WTA Premier Hard, outdoor 3–9 August 2009 |
| LA Women's Tennis Championships Los Angeles, United States of America WTA Premier Hard, outdoor 3–9 August 2009 | 19 | 1R | Jarmila Groth | Win | 6–0, 6–4 |
| LA Women's Tennis Championships Los Angeles, United States of America WTA Premier Hard, outdoor 3–9 August 2009 | 20 | 2R | Victoria Azarenka | Win | $6–7^{(4–7)},$ 6–4, 6–2 |
| LA Women's Tennis Championships Los Angeles, United States of America WTA Premier Hard, outdoor 3–9 August 2009 | 21 | 3R | Alona Bondarenko | Win | 4–6, 6–0, 6–3 |
| LA Women's Tennis Championships Los Angeles, United States of America WTA Premier Hard, outdoor 3–9 August 2009 | 22 | QF | Urszula Radwańska | Win | 6–4, 7–5 |
| LA Women's Tennis Championships Los Angeles, United States of America WTA Premier Hard, outdoor 3–9 August 2009 | 23 | SF | Flavia Pennetta | Loss | 2–6, 6–4, 3–6 |
| Rogers Cup Toronto, Canada WTA Premier 5 Hard, outdoor 17–23 August 2009 |
| Rogers Cup Toronto, Canada WTA Premier 5 Hard, outdoor 17–23 August 2009 | 24 | 1R | Nadia Petrova | Win | 6–1, 6–4 |
| Rogers Cup Toronto, Canada WTA Premier 5 Hard, outdoor 17–23 August 2009 | 25 | 2R | Sybille Bammer | Win | 6–3, $7–6^{(7–5)}$ |
| Rogers Cup Toronto, Canada WTA Premier 5 Hard, outdoor 17–23 August 2009 | 26 | 3R | Vera Zvonareva | Win | 6–2, $7–6^{(7–3)}$ |
| Rogers Cup Toronto, Canada WTA Premier 5 Hard, outdoor 17–23 August 2009 | 27 | QF | Agnieszka Radwańska | Win | 6–2, $7–6^{(7–5)}$ |
| Rogers Cup Toronto, Canada WTA Premier 5 Hard, outdoor 17–23 August 2009 | 28 | SF | Alisa Kleybanova | Win | 6–2, 4–6, 6–4 |
| Rogers Cup Toronto, Canada WTA Premier 5 Hard, outdoor 17–23 August 2009 | 29 | F | Elena Dementieva | Loss | 4–6, 3–6 |
| US Open New York, United States of America Grand Slam Hard, outdoor 31 August–14 September 2009 |
| US Open New York, United States of America Grand Slam Hard, outdoor 31 August–14 September 2009 | 30 | 1R | Tsvetana Pironkova | Win | 6–3, 6–0 |
| US Open New York, United States of America Grand Slam Hard, outdoor 31 August–14 September 2009 | 31 | 2R | Christina McHale | Win | 6–2, 6–1 |
| US Open New York, United States of America Grand Slam Hard, outdoor 31 August–14 September 2009 | 32 | 3R | Melanie Oudin | Loss | 6–3, 4–6, 5–7 |
| Toray Pan Pacific Open Tokyo, Japan WTA Premier 5 Hard, outdoor 28 September–3 October 2009 |
| Toray Pan Pacific Open Tokyo, Japan WTA Premier 5 Hard, outdoor 28 September–3 October 2009 | 33 | 1R | Francesca Schiavone | Win | 4–6, 7–5, 6–1 |
| Toray Pan Pacific Open Tokyo, Japan WTA Premier 5 Hard, outdoor 28 September–3 October 2009 | 34 | 2R | Samantha Stosur | Win | 6–0, 6–1 |
| Toray Pan Pacific Open Tokyo, Japan WTA Premier 5 Hard, outdoor 28 September–3 October 2009 | 35 | 3R | Alisa Kleybanova | Win | 2–6, 6–2, 6–2 |
| Toray Pan Pacific Open Tokyo, Japan WTA Premier 5 Hard, outdoor 28 September–3 October 2009 | 36 | QF | Iveta Benešová | Win | 6–4, 7–5 |
| Toray Pan Pacific Open Tokyo, Japan WTA Premier 5 Hard, outdoor 28 September–3 October 2009 | 37 | SF | Agnieszka Radwańska | Win | 6–3, 2–6, 6–4 |
| Toray Pan Pacific Open Tokyo, Japan WTA Premier 5 Hard, outdoor 28 September–3 October 2009 | 38 | W | Jelena Janković | Win (1) | 5–2, ret. |
| China Open Beijing, China WTA Premier Mandatory Hard, outdoor 3–11 October 2009 |
| China Open Beijing, China WTA Premier Mandatory Hard, outdoor 3–11 October 2009 | | 1R | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| China Open Beijing, China WTA Premier Mandatory Hard, outdoor 3–11 October 2009 | 39 | 2R | Victoria Azarenka | Win | 6–3, $6–7^{(5–7)},$ 7–5 |
| China Open Beijing, China WTA Premier Mandatory Hard, outdoor 3–11 October 2009 | 40 | 3R | Peng Shuai | Loss | 2–6, 4–6 |

## Tournament schedule

### Singles Schedule

| Date | Championship | Location | Category | Surface | Prev. result | New result | Outcome |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 18 May 2009– 23 May 2009 | Warsaw Open | Warsaw (POL) | WTA Premier | Clay | DNP | QF | Lost in the quarter-finals against Alona Bondarenko |
| 24 May 2009– 7 June 2009 | French Open | Paris (FRA) | Grand Slam | Clay | 4R | QF | Lost in the quarter-finals against Dominika Cibulková |
| 8 June 2009– 14 June 2009 | Aegon Classic | Birmingham (GBR) | WTA Premier | Grass | DNP | SF | Lost in the semi-finals against Li Na |
| 22 June 2009 5 July 2009 | The Championships, Wimbledon | London (GBR) | Grand Slam | Grass | 2R | 2R | Lost in the second round against Gisela Dulko |
| 27 July 2009– 2 August 2009 | Bank of the West Classic | Stanford (USA) | WTA Premier | Hard | DNP | QF | Lost in the quarter-finals against Venus Williams |
| 3 August 2009– 9 August 2009 | LA Women's Tennis Championships | Los Angeles (USA) | WTA Premier | Hard | DNP | SF | Lost in the semi-finals against Flavia Pennetta |
| 17 August 2009– 23 August 2009 | Rogers Cup | Toronto (CAN) | WTA Premier 5 | Hard | 3R | F | Lost in the final against Elena Dementieva |
| 31 August 2009– 14 September 2009 | US Open | New York (USA) | Grand Slam | Hard | DNP | 3R | Lost in the third round against Melanie Oudin |
| 28 September 2009– 3 October 2009 | Toray Pan Pacific Open | Tokyo (JPN) | WTA Premier 5 | Hard | DNP | W | Won in the final against Jelena Janković |
| 3 October 2009– 11 October 2009 | China Open | Beijing (CHN) | WTA Premier Mandatory | Hard | DNP | 3R | Lost in the third round against Peng Shuai |

## Yearly Records

### Head-to-head matchups

Ordered by percentage, number of victories to number of losses, then in alphabetical order

* Nadia Petrova 3–0
* Victoria Azarenka 2–0
* Alisa Kleybanova 2–0
* Agnieszka Radwańska 2–0
* Francesca Schiavone 2–0
* Alona Bondarenko 1–1
* Li Na 1–1
* Sybille Bammer 1–0
* Iveta Benešová 1–0
* Stéphanie Dubois 1–0
* Tathiana Garbin 1–0
* Jarmila Groth 1–0
* Jelena Janković 1–0
* Mariya Koryttseva 1–0
* Darya Kustova 1–0
* Viktoriya Kutuzova 1–0
* Christina McHale 1–0
* Tsvetana Pironkova 1–0
* Urszula Radwańska 1–0
* Yaroslava Shvedova 1–0
* Samantha Stosur 1–0
* Ai Sugiyama 1–0
* Yanina Wickmayer 1–0
* Anastasiya Yakimova 1–0
* Vera Zvonareva 1–0
* Dominika Cibulková 0–1
* Elena Dementieva 0–1
* Gisela Dulko 0–1
* Melanie Oudin 0–1
* Flavia Pennetta 0–1
* Peng Shuai 0–1
* Venus Williams 0–1

### Finals

**Singles: 2 (1–1)**

* Category
* WTA Premier 5 (1–1)
* Titles by surface
* Hard (1–1)
* Titles by conditions
* Outdoors (1–1)

| Outcome | No. | Date | Championship | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score in the final |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Runner-up | | August 23, 2009 | Toronto, Canada (1) | Hard | Elena Dementieva | 4–6, 3–6 |
| Winner | 20. | October 3, 2009 | Tokyo, Japan (2) | Hard | Jelena Janković | 5–2, ret. |
