Published by the government of Zimbabwe
Collin Matiza
14 November 2007
Harare — The pride of Zimbabwean tennis on the professional circuit - finished the 2007 season among the Top 20 money earners after she amassed nearly US$800 000 on the road.
According to the latest Sony Ericsson Women's Tennis Association Tour PrizeMoney list, released in the United States on Monday, the 28-year-old star earned a total of US$795 907 during a successful 2007 campaign. She won nine women's doubles titles, including the Australian Open and Wimbledon crowns.
She achieved the feat with her American partner Liezel Huber. Black and Huber capped a memorable year by clinching the prestigious season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships doubles title in Madrid, Spain, on Sunday by defeating Slovenia's Katarina Srebotnik and Ai Sugiyama of Japan 5-7, 6-3, 10-8 in the final.
They received a cheque for US$250 000, which was at stake for the winners of the doubles title at the US$3 million tournament. By collecting US$250 000 in Madrid on Sunday, Black and Huber, who on Thursday last week were unveiled as the year-ending joint world number ones in the doubles, brought their total earnings as a doubles partnership in the 2007 season to US$780 318.
Apart from playing doubles this year, Black and Huber also took part in a number of mixed doubles matches in Grand Slam tournaments in which the former collected US$15 598 while the latter won US$37 781. This means Black won a total of US$780 318 with Huber in the doubles and earned another US$15 598 with different partners in the mixed doubles, bringing her total prize money for the year to US$795 907.
That took her career earnings to US$4 339 409 since turning professional in January 1998. And according to the list of the leading prize money winners for 2007, Black finished the year placed 14th, one place behind her partner Huber. The list is headed by the world's number one singles player Justine Henin of Belgium who reaped US$5 367 086 during the year while American tennis star Serena Williams and Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova are placed second and third with US$2 099 974 and US$2 062 487.
But the year certainly belonged to the doubles partnership of Black and Huber who will look back to the 2007 season with a lot of satisfaction. They are only the fourth team to jointly hold the number one Sony Ericsson WTA Tour doubles ranking since its inception in 1984 and only the second team to finish a season in that position. The pair reached the semi-finals or better at 21 of the 22 tournaments they have played in, entering last week's Sony Ericsson Championships, winning eight titles, including two Grand Slams - the Australian Open and Wimbledon.
"It's been a fantastic year, not only for us but for our husbands as well, who contribute a great amount to our success," Black recently told the official website of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. "We are really excited about finishing the year number one. I think the highlight for me was winning our second Wimbledon title together. "We have a great time on the road, we are great friends and really enjoy each other's company and I think that has been a key factor as to why we have done so well."
"It's been an incredible year. We started the year off strong, which really motivated us to do even better," said the 31-year-old Huber. "We just kept going and are so happy now with the end result. We have worked hard as a team and have a lot of great memories. "Our husbands think they are both comedians, so it makes for fun times on and off the court.
"My prize money will be going towards building a tennis centre, it's a dream come true for me personally. My parents were present when I won my first Grand Slam title and they were here in Madrid, as we concluded the year at number one. I could not ask for more!"
Black and Huber also received praise from the Sony Ericcson WTA Tour management. "Cara and Liezel have had an exemplary season, winning nine Sony Ericsson WTA Tour titles, including the Australian Open and Wimbledon, as well as the season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships title," said Sony Ericsson WTA Tour chairman and chief executive Larry Scott.
"Their passion for the game of doubles, both off and on the court, is inspiring to many and their professional approach to the sport is one of the major keys to their success in 2007. I congratulate them on their achievement." Black and Huber first teamed up on the tour in 2001, winning their very first tournament in Tokyo before playing sporadically until the start of 2005.
There they really came into form winning Rome, reaching the final of Roland Garros and winning Wimbledon (their third tournament victory) before Huber suffered a severe ACL injury that later required surgery and brought their season to a premature end. The two reunited at the start of the 2007 season, winning their fourth tournament together at the Australian Open, and they have not looked back since.
Black has held the number one ranking individually since July 9 following their Wimbledon success and Liezel joined her at number one for the first time in her career on Monday.
She is the 22nd woman since doubles rankings began in 1984 to attain that position.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2007 The Herald. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
