Player Profiles: Women

Justine Henin-Hardenne (1)

Birthdate: June 1, 1982 Country: Belgium Height: 5'5" Weight: 126 Career Titles: 15

Won two Grand Slams and finished 2003 as world No. 1 - only the eighth different player since 1975 to take the year-end top ranking; captured her first career major at the French Open; ended Serena Williams' bid for fifth straight Grand Slam title with a win in the semifinals; became the first Belgian to win a Grand Slam crown; won the U.S. Open over Kim Clijsters after being two points away from defeat in the semifinals 10 times against Jennifer Capriati; finished with eight titles; advanced to the semifinals at last year's Australian Open, the third straight year she improved her showing in Melbourne; opened the season by winning her 15th career title at Sydney.

Kim Clijsters (2)

Birthdate: June 8, 1983 Country: Belgium Height: 5'8" Weight: 150 Career Titles: 19

Suffered an ankle injury during the Hopman Cup last week and pulled out of this week's event in Sydney; won a WTA Tour-leading nine titles last year, including the season-ending WTA Tour Championships; also reached Grand Slam finals at the French Open and the U.S. Open, losing to fellow Belgian Justine Henin-Hardenne; earned top world ranking on August 11, the first Belgian since the inception of computer rankings in 1975; reached the semifinals at last year's Australian Open; lost to Serena Williams despite a 5-1 lead in the third set and two match points at 5-2; it was the second time she appeared in the last four at Melbourne.

Venus Williams (3)

Birthdate: June 17, 1980 Country: United States Height: 6'1" Weight: 160 Career Titles: 29

Has not played since losing the Wimbledon final to her sister Serena in July due to an abdominal strain suffered earlier in April; it was her fifth straight loss to her sibling in the championship match of a major; owns a 23-5 record in Melbourne, where she has never lost before the quarterfinals; appeared in her first Australian Open final last year; has won four Grand Slam titles, but none since the 2001 U.S. Open.

Amelie Mauresmo (4)

Birthdate: July 5, 1979 Country: France Height: 5'9" Weight: 152 Career Titles: 10

Dealt with her usual amount of injuries last year but still managed to win two titles and stay among the top 10 for most of the year; missed the Australian Open with right knee cartilage inflammation that kept her off the court for nearly four months; appeared in her only Grand Slam final at the 1999 Australian Open and owns a 16-5 record in Melbourne; tuned up with a runner-up effort at Sydney this week; ended 2003 at a career-high No. 4 in the world after reaching the final at the season-ending WTA Tour Championships.

Lindsay Davenport (5)

Birthdate: June 8, 1976 Country: United States Height: 6'2 1/2" Weight: 175 Career Titles: 37

Helped lead the United States to victory in the Hopman Cup last week, but was forced to default her semifinal in Sydney with a right shoulder injury; her 2003 season ended with left foot surgery for a nerve disorder; won her only title of the year at the Pan Pacific Open in March; owns a 40-9 mark at the Australian Open, winning in 2000; was a semifinalist in 1998, 1999 and 2001; has won two other Grand Slam crowns at the 1998 U.S. Open and 1999 Wimbledon.

Anastasia Myskina (6)

Birthdate: July 8, 1981 Country: Russia Height: 5'8 1/2" Weight: 130 1/2 Career Titles: 6

Won a career-high four titles, including her first Tier I crowns, and finished with a career-high No. 7 ranking in 2003; had her best season in the Grand Slams, reaching the quarterfinals at the Australian and U.S. Opens; helped lead Russia to the Fed Cup finals; went 1-2 at the Hopman Cup to start 2004 but reached the quarterfinals at Sydney this week.

Elena Dementieva (7)

Birthdate: October 15, 1981 Country: Russia Height: 5'11" Weight: 141 Career Titles: 3

Captured the first three titles of her career and reached a personal-best ranking of No. 8 last year; won at Amelia Island in April, defeating four seeds en route to the crown, including world No. 4 Justine Henin-Hardenne in the semifinals and world No. 6 Lindsay Davenport in the final; claimed consecutive titles in September, triumphing in Bali and at Shanghai, other highlights this season include semifinals at Toronto, New Haven and Moscow; lost in the first round at the Australian Open and Roland Garros and advanced to the fourth round at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open; a fourth-round finished in 2002 was her best career showing at the Australian Open; opened this season by reaching the quarterfinals at Sydney.

Ai Sugiyama (8)

Birthdate: July 5, 1975 Country: Japan Height: 5'4 1/4" Weight: 121 Career Titles: 6

Began this season right with her sixth WTA Tour title of her career; triumphed for the second time in her career at Gold Coast; lost in the first round at Sydney this week; last year won two titles - her first since 1998; reached the fourth round at the French Open to advance past the third round at a Grand Slam since making the fourth round of Roland Garros in 2002; matched that result at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.

Chanda Rubin (9)

Birthdate: February 18, 1976 Country: United States Height: 5'6 1/4" Weight: 128 Career Titles: 7

Is coming off the most consistent year of her career, with a top-10 finish at No. 9 after 12 years as a professional; won 45 matches during a season for the first time and earned almost $1 million in a single season for the first time; opened this campaign with a quarterfinal effort at Sydney; advanced to the fourth round at the Australian Open last year; best Grand Slam result came in Melbourne in 1996.

Nadia Petrova (10)

Birthdate: June 8, 1982 Country: Russia Height: 5'10" Weight: 143 Career Titles: 0

Opened 2004 by reaching her second career final at Gold Coast; last year completed a successful recovery from a 2002 left foot injury, earning a career-best $686,794; reaching the fourth round at the U.S. Open and the third round at the Australian Open and Wimbledon; her best career major came at the French Open last year when she defeated two former champions in Monica Seles and Jennifer Capriati before losing to Kim Clijsters.

Vera Zvonareva (11)

Birthdate: September 7, 1984 Country: Russia Height: 5'7 3/4" Weight: 130 Career Titles: 1

Had a breakthrough season in 2003; won her first WTA Tour title at Bol, Croatia in April; also reached three semifinals and nine other quarterfinals; at Roland Garros, the 18-year-old from Moscow defeated Venus Williams to reach her first-ever Grand Slam quarterfinal; her win over then-No. 3 Williams was her first over a top-five player; broke into the world top 20 for the first time; one of five Russians to reach the fourth round at Wimbledon - a Grand Slam record; lost in the second round at Gold Coast and Sydney to start this season; lost in the first round last year in her Australian Open debut.

Paola Suarez (12)

Birthdate: April 23, 1983 Country: Argentina Height: 5'7" Weight: 141 Career Titles: 4

Won eight of nine matches to start the year, reaching the semifinals in Auckland and winning her fourth career title in Canberra; won at Vienna last year to become the 10th woman in the Open Era to win a WTA Tour singles title while ranked No. 1 in doubles; reached her first U.S. Open Quarterfinal and reached a career-high No. 14 in November; lost in the third round at the Australian Open last year.

Conchita Martinez (13)

Birthdate: April 16, 1972 Country: Spain Height: 5'7" Weight: 130 Career Titles: 32

Has not won a title since the German Open in 2000; last year reached the final at Eastbourne in July and the semifinals at Indian Wells in March; advanced to the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam for the 11th time in Paris, but first at a major since 2001 Wimbledon; won lone Grand Slam title at 1994 Wimbledon; is 38-13 lifetime at the Australian Open in 1998; lost in the second round at both Gold Coast and Sydney to start this season.

Anna Smashnova-Pistolesi (14)

Birthdate: July 16, 1976 Country: South Africa Height: 5'2" Weight: 117 Career Titles: 8

Won a pair of small claycourt tournaments last year; produced her second top-20 finish, reaching a career-high ranking of No. 15 in February; is 8-0 in career finals; reached the third round at the Australian Open for her best Grand Slam result in 2 1/2 years; started this year with a second-round loss at Auckland but reached the quarterfinals at Sydney this week.

Daniela Hantuchova (15)

Birthdate: April 23, 1983 Country: Slovakia Height: 5'11 1/4" Weight: 123 Career Titles: 1

Has not been able to build on her breakout season of 2002 when she won her only career title at Indian Wells; last year reached the quarterfinals at the Australian Open and became the first woman from her country to be ranked among the top five last January; changed coaches at the start of this year to Harold Solomon; started 2004 by going 1-2 at the Hopman Cup and lost in the first round at Sydney.

Magui Serna (16)

Birthdate: March 1, 1979 Country: Spain Height: 5'5 3/4" Weight: 143 Career Titles: 4

Advanced to the quarterfinals at Gold Coast to start the season, but lost in the first round at Sydney; is 9-7 lifetime at the Australian Open, having never advanced out of the third round in seven years; won two titles last year.