Serena Williams has officially been named the Player of the Year by the WTA Tour. Like she had competition? There is absolutely no other woman that is more worthy of the honor – seven titles, including two Grand Slams (Wimbledon and US Open), Olympic gold and the WTA Championships, and a mind-blowing 48-2 win-loss record from the beginning of the claycourt season until the end of the year. To make things even more impressive, Serena won Wimbledon doubles title and Olympic gold medal with sister Venus in 2012 (notice, at the tournaments she was also victorious in singles).

Of course that's not all! Serena finished the year with a 4-0 record against No.1s and 15-0 against the Top 5! Overall, her 2012 win-loss record is 58-4. The fact that she ended the year ranked No.3 doesn't spoil the impression that she was a tornado on the courts. The manner in which she stormed to the titles is unforgettable.

This is the fourth time Serena has won the award. Previously she won it in 2002, 2008 and 2009. In 2002 she clinched eight titles and was undefeated at Grand Slams (21-0), undefeated by Top 5 players (11-0) and undefeated by No.1s (3-0). (photo courtesy of Fiji Water)

Serena Williams maybe didn't finish the year ranked No.1, but we can safely say she was overall the best player of 2012. Let's see now how the queen of big tennis stages did in the fashion department with her sponsor Nike, which is clothing the largest number of big WTA names – just to illustrate, all the 2012 US Open semifinalists were dressed in Nike.

Serena Williams opened the year in a black pleated skirt paired with bright yellow shirt, shoes and headband. However, the very beginning of the season is never there to impress and players usually wear clothes that they finished the previous season with. Fashion statements are waiting to be released at the Australian Open.

*Retrospections of WTA players' yearly outfits*

The American opened her Australian Open action in a blue dress with custom-made headband and sneakers celebrating Black History Month (here you can have a closer look at the special attire). The Nike Statement Dress had wide straps, pleated bottom and seams accentuating the feminine silhouette. There were also thin white accents on the collar and under the bust. In Miami she wore the same dress, although the color looks purple in the above photo. Read more »

Serena Williams showed off her curvaceous body and several beautiful swimsuits in the photos she posted on Twitter from her recent vacation in Bahamas. Read more »

In January this year, Women's Tennis Blog's faithful contributor John Bolan was brave enough to share with the world his predictions about the 2012 year-end ranking and asked you to join him in foretelling the WTA standings, offering the best predictor among you one Top 10 WTA player autograph. Isn't it exciting to see now how John and about 30 of you who joined did?

John was absolutely correct in placing two players – John's No.1 Victoria Azarenka and No.2 Maria Sharapova have finished No.1 and No.2. He misplaced Serena Williams by just one spot, Li Na by two, Petra Kvitova and Agnieszka Radwanska by three and Caroline Wozniacki by four.

Three of John's Top 10 players didn't make the cut. Kim Clijsters was John's No.3, but in the middle of the year she decided to retire and actualized the decision after the US Open, while injuries pushed John's No.8 Vera Zvonareva and No.10 Sabine Lisicki to No.96 and No.37 respectively. Year-end No.5 Angelique Kerber and No.6 Sara Errani are the biggest top surprises of the season. Let's give the word to John!

I'm thrilled with the outcome since seven of the predicted players finished as final Top 10 players. The fact that my first two picks were exactly correct is a feat I have not been able to do in previous years. The fans using the comment section to submit their own picks also did better than in 2011.

Injuries were once again the biggest issue for great players not finishing in the Top 10. Kim Clijsters, Vera Zvonareva, Sabine Lisicki, Venus Williams and Andrea Petkovic were casualties during 2012. The hardest part of picking the Top 10 is the big unknown of which players will not be able to compete for the entire season. Read more »

Off-season is a period of reflecting on the season behind us and trying to predict the year ahead based on the information we currently have. Marine of Tennis Notebook poses five big questions for the upcoming 2013 season and tries to foresee what kind of an outcome we will have. Marine discusses the challenge ahead of Victoria Azarenka in the beginning of the year, Serena Williams' No.1 prospects, the young generation, etc.

1. Will Victoria Azarenka be able to keep it up in 2013?

WHY YES: 2012 was what you’d call a confidence-boosting year for Azarenka. She managed to come out of a shadow of her peers Caroline Wozniacki and Petra Kvitova and started her own dominance. Achieving success of such scale has surely opened many doors for her, so she may have enough spirit and motivation to repeat the same next year.

WHY NOT: Her great run at the start of 2012 means there will be a lot of pressure on Azarenka’s shoulders from the very beginning. She’ll start 2013 with four big titles to defend (Sydney, Australian Open, Doha, Indian Wells), which is a total of 4370 in terms of ranking points. Will be tough…

2. Will Serena Williams become the next No.1?

WHY YES: Williams still has the upper hand over other top players, especially on the grand stages. Also, she has become more consistent, so if there is nobody to challenge her, she could surpass Azarenka quite comfortably during the Australian Open series.

WHY NOT: In 2012 Williams played a lot more compared to the previous years, which gave her opponents more opportunities to face her and study her game. Compared with other top players her schedule is lighter, therefore, if she doesn't manage to stay consistent she simply might not have enough points to reach No.1.

3. Will the Top 20 welcome a new member from the young generation (21 and under)? Read more »