Our dear reader Teerin is contributing to Women's Tennis Blog once again, this time by creating a countdown of the best moments in the 2009 tennis season.

Teerin would like to have been able to include more memorable situations, but YouTube videos can't be more than 10 minutes long. Which WTA moments would you add to Teerin's Top 10? I would include the emotional retirement of Ai Sugiyama and also, I would put Kim Clijsters' US Open win on top of the list.

Teerin, thank you so much for your continuous and active support of Women's Tennis Blog.

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Aravane Rezai won the biggest title of her career playing against Marion Bartoli in an all-French final of the Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions in Bali.

Of course, injuries where not avoided this time either, with top seed Bartoli retiring in tears because of a left quadriceps strain after losing the first set 7-5. Rezai had actually rallied from a set point down at 3-5 in the opening set.

"I'd prefer to win in a different way, but it's tennis, a lot of different things happen," said the 22-year-old Rezai after winning the showcase of the up-and-coming stars of women's tennis. (via Sony Ericsson WTA Tour)

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Former world No.1 Kim Clijsters has been having an amazing comeback, and has now upset Marion Bartoli for the second time since returning to the Tour.

The 14th-seeded Bartoli fell to Clijsters 5-7 6-1 6-2 in the second round of the US Open, less than a month after losing to the Belgian in Cincinnati.

The 26-year-old Clijsters is playing just her third event after a two-year-long break and a child birth, and has so far seen nothing but success.

Clijsters’ next opponent will be compatriot Kirsten Flipkens, ranked 93rd in the world. (photo via Sony Ericsson WTA Tour)

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Former world number one Kim Clijsters couldn't have marked her comeback to tennis better – the mother of a year-and-a-half old girl upset world No.13 Marion Bartoli 6-4 6-3 in the first round of the Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open in Cincinnati.

"To have won my first match feels really good," said Clijsters, 26, who hadn't played competitively for two years. "I surprised myself a little with the way I started and then I kept fighting and trying to stay focused. I felt good out there."

Clijsters lost just five points on her way to a 4-0 lead in the first set. Bartoli then levelled before the Belgian took two more successive games to win the opening set. In the second set, Clijsters had saved two break points in the third game, before breaking Bartoli's serve in the following game for a 3-1 lead. Clijsters then held her nerve to defeat Bartoli, the titlist at this month's Bank of the West Classic, and advance to the second round where she'll face Patty Schnyder.

Additional info: Eleventh seed Ana Ivanovic recovered from losing the first set to beat world No.61 Melanie Oudin (the famous eliminator of Jelena Jankovic at this year's Wimbledon) 2-6 6-1 6-1 and reach the second round, while ninth seed Victoria Azarenka beat Kaia Kanepi 6-3 7-6(2). (photo via Life.com)

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World No.14 Marion Bartoli of France beat seven-time Grand Slam champion and world No.3 Venus Williams 6-2 5-7 6-4, after 2 hours and 43 minutes of play in the final of the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford.

Bartoli took the first set and had a 5-3 lead in the second set, but didn't manage to end the match then, and Wililams won the set 7-5 to take the encounter to the decider.

Bartoli established a 2-0 lead in the third set, but Williams later leveled at 3-3. Bartoli then broke Williams once again, the break which turned out to be crucial, as all the following games went with serve and Bartoli capitalized on her first match point, in the 10th game of the third set.

The last year’s Stanford finalist won her fifth WTA singles title and second this year, while Williams has now lost her fifth out of seven finals at the tournament.

As for the prize money, the winner earned $107,000 and the runner-up $56,000.

Additional info: Venus Williams is scheduled to play doubles final later today, partnered with sister Serena Williams, and against the pairing of Yung-Jan Chan and Monica Niculescu. (photos courtesy of Colleen and Sony Ericsson WTA Tour)

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