2006 WTA Tour

The 2006 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour was the 36th season since the founding of the <a href="/facts/Women%27s_Tennis_Association/dpqpCoSB">Women's Tennis Association</a>. It commenced on January 2, 2006, and concluded on November 12, 2006, after 61 events.
<a href="/facts/Justine_Henin-Hardenne/xc4oMVRj">Justine Henin-Hardenne</a> came out as the winner in a historic three-way battle for the No. 1 ranking at the season-ending WTA Tour Championships, beating out Sharapova and Mauresmo. The Belgian successfully defended her French Open title for her fifth Grand Slam title, and became the first woman since <a href="/facts/Steffi_Graf/SFGb5zjf">Steffi Graf</a> in 1993 to reach the finals of all four Grand Slams and the WTA Tour Championships. <a href="/facts/Maria_Sharapova/6juhJ0WP">Maria Sharapova</a> won her second Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open, to add to her Wimbledon trophy from 2004. <a href="/facts/Am%C3%A9lie_Mauresmo/3NMaPHQd">Amélie Mauresmo</a> won her maiden Grand Slam at the Australian Open after a controversial retirement from Henin-Hardenne in the final. However, she later backed it up by winning a rematch with Henin-Hardenne in the Wimbledon final. She was the number one player in the world from March until the final event of the season.
<a href="/facts/Martina_Hingis/Ld5MwxnE">Martina Hingis</a> also made a successful return to the Tour, beginning her comeback at the Gold Coast event in January. She finished the season at No. 6 in the world and won the Tier I title at the <a href="/facts/Internazionali_BNL_d%27Italia/8YBWQW4g">Internazionali BNL d'Italia</a> in Rome.

2006 WTA Tour open-in-new

2006 WTA Tour