Putting 2010 to Bed

Kim Clijsters won the year end championships, just like I said she would. Caro tried her best but when it comes down to it, her game relies on the other person making mistakes, and Kimmie just did not make enough mistakes to make it worth Caro's while.

And you know what? Kim Clijsters may well be the player of 2010 for the women. Even though she didn't have the bestest year of all the years. And that is really saying something about women's tennis.

You can't say it was Serena's year, because even though she did win two Slams, she was out of the mix for nearly the whole thing. You can't say it was Caro's year, because even though she did reach #1, she only made one Slam semi final and mostly won smaller tournaments. That leaves Kimmie by default - she won a Slam, a couple of Premier titles and the year ending championships. That's not a bad haul...

...but it feels like it should be more.

I'm not saying that there should always be someone who has a year like Rafa had this year. But the women's tour has really felt like it's flailing this year, especially in these Serena-less months.

I don't want to naysay what Kim Clijsters has achieved this year, because she's done some awesome stuff. But dominate? there's been none of that. It's really highlighted, this year, just how far above the rest of the game Serena is. She may not be #1 at the moment, but she is very, very obviously the best player around. And that is all that can be said about that.

I'm glad we've put 2010 to bed for the ladies. It was a messy, ugly affair, when all's said and done. Here's to a better 2011.