On fire: Jelena Jankovic

Serbian Jelena Jankovic has been on fire on the last three weeks. Not only she's one of the few players who has won three consecutive titles in three weeks (Beijing, Stuttgart and Moscow), but she has also shown a big superiority over her rivals, obtaining very clear straight sets victories in the finals over Svetlana Kuznetsova, Nadia Petrova and Vera Zvonareva. Moreover, she has recovered the WTA #1 place in the ranking, which she held just for a week. And she has increased the distance to her competitors, almost assuring this #1 spot at the end of the season ranking.


Jankovic is one of the most athletic players on Tour. Her great speed, flexibility and resistance makes her the best defender on Tour. And she's the most regular player in WTA right now, as she's able to mantain her great physical condition throughout the season even if she plays many tournaments and matches.


She may not be one of the prettiest faces on the Tour, but her body is one of the fittest (and hottest). Furthermore, her possitive and original personality makes her one of the most appreciated players by the fans.

On fire: Dinara Safina

Russian player Dinara Safina has shown an impressive form in the last three months. It all started in May in Berlin, where Safina got her first Tier I title including victories over Serena Williams, Justine Henin and Elena Dementieva coming back from a set down. This was followed by a sensational performance in Roland Garros, where Safina reached the final, with memorable comebacks on her matches against Sharapova and Dementieva saving match points in both.


The grass season started with another runner-up place in 's-Hertogenbosch, but unfortunately Safina suffered a leg injury in Wimbledon and was defeated in the third round by Shahar Peer in a dramatic match with Safina in tears due to the pain. But after a few weeks of rest, Safina got back to her best form again and started an impressive streak of 15 victories in a row to win the titles in Los Angeles, Montreal and to get the Silver Medal in Beijing Olympics.
She was finally defeated by Elena Dementieva, who took revenge after three defeats to Safina between May and June, in the final of the Olympic Games. She will be one of the top favourites to take the title in the US Open starting on Monday and if she keeps this form she could even become WTA #1.
You can watch Dinara's gallery here

On fire: Vera Zvonareva

After not being able to play regularly in past seasons due to different injuries, Russian Vera Zvonareva is enjoying a fantastic season. She reached her first final early in the year in Hobart. In Doha she reached another final, this time in a Tier I. But she got her best level this spring, with remarkable performances in the big Tier Is held in Indian Wells (quarter-final), Miami (semifinal) and Charleston (final). And finally she got her first title of the season last week in Prague.
Up to date, she's ranked #5 in the Race to the Championships, she's the player with most matches won (31) and she is very close to getting back in the Top 10, especially as she has no points to defend until the US Open.


Zvonareva is also known for being one of the most emotional players on Tour and a few years ago it was not strange to watch her crying on the court after a defeat. This makes Vera one of the most appreciated players by the fans, along with her nice and friendly personality and her beauty.

You can watch her gallery here

On fire: Iveta Benesova

Czech player Iveta Benesova has enjoyed a perfect month of April. Benesova, who reached her best ranking at #33 in 2005, suffered a big slump during late 2007 and early 2008 which took her out of the Top 130, but she has recovered in such a way.
She started April with an impressive win in the ITF tournament of Latina ($50,000, clay), where she just dropped 10 games in 5 matches. Then she went to Belgium and reached the final in the ITF of Torhout ($75,000, hard). Back on clay and on WTA Tour, she was again runner-up in the WTA of Estoril, defeating 1st seed and Top 30 Flavia Pennetta on her way. Finally, she came to the rescue of Czech Republic in the Fed Cup World Group Playoffs, that had a very complicated tie in Israel with 1-1 after the first day. And Iveta not only defeated Israel's no.1 and WTA Top 20 Shahar Peer, but also got the decissive doubles point which sealed the Czech's victory. 14 victories, 2 defeats, and back into Top 100 is a great balance for only 4 weeks.


And with the European clay season in progress we can expect more from her. This week she is one of the favourites to take the title in Prague. All her rivals should be worried, because right now Iveta is on fire.


Iveta is also one of the hottest players on Tour, watch her gallery here

On fire: Serena Williams

Everyone around women's tennis knows that, when she's fit and focused, Serena Williams is almost unbeatable. And on this 2008 season it seems she is, because she has just lost one match in the whole season so far. This week she captured her third title of the season on Charleston, after winning Bangalore and Miami. She remains unbeaten since she was defeated by Jelena Jankovic in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open, so she has won 15 consecutive matches. Furthermore, in the last month Serena has defeated 4 of the Top 5 players: Maria Sharapova, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Jelena Jankovic (avenging of her Australian Open defeat) and Justine Henin, who was trashed by Williams 6/2 6/0. And she could increase her victory streak in the upcoming European clay season leading to Roland Garros, where she will be one of the main favorites for the title.


Serena is also one of the most popular players offcourt. She's interested in fashion and acting and is not strange to watch her dressed-up at parties and movie premieres. She was even featured in the 2003 edition of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue in a sexy bikini photoshoot.


She's one of the hottest players on tour and this season she's on fire
You can watch Serena's gallery here

On fire: Ashley Harkleroad

Ashley Harkleroad's career was early marked with the high expectations that American media and fans put on her, not only due to her promising game, but mainly for her looks, as media was in the quest for an American response to Anna Kournikova's popularity. So Ashley got nicknamed as the "American Kournikova" and got thousands of eyes behind her when she was just a teenager. Despite this pressure, Ashley's game kept on evolving and she broke into Top 100 in 2003 being 17 years old.
But Harkleroad couldn't handle all this pressure and she even kept away from the courts for a while after marriage with ATP player Alex Bogomolov Jr., which finally failed. After disappointing 2004 and 2005 seasons, Ashley focused again on tennis and with good performances on ITF tournaments in the USA and minor WTA events she finished 2006 and 2007 into the Top 100.


On 2008 it seems that she's moving a step forward. She started the year in good style with a semifinalist place in Hobart going through the qualy and winning 6 matches in a row. And on March she has proved that she can compete with the best, as she has reached the Last 16 in Indian Wells Tier I and the 3rd round in Miami Tier I, upsetting seeded players such as Dinara Safina, Lucie Safarova and Virginie Razzano. Now she's close to breaking into the Top 50.
But the highlight of her season was the Fed Cup tie between USA and Germany, where she assumed the leadership after a surprising defeat by Lindsay Davenport and secured victory for the USA winning her two singles points.


And, although Ashley hasn't reached the popularity level that American media predicted some years ago, she still has a big fan support and is one of the best looking players on Tour.
You can watch Ashley's gallery here.

On fire: Flavia Pennetta

Italian player Flavia Pennetta had a horrible 2007 spring and summer. She suffered a slump in her game, losing many 1st round matches and falling out of Top 50. She broke up with boyfriend and ATP player Carlos Moya, who at the time was caught having an affair with an spanish actress. And for a while Flavia looked extremely thin and unhealthy. Although it's not known if all these facts are directly related.


She started her recovery in late 2007 and this 2008 she's focused on getting back to her best. And it seems she is succeeding. She has already captured two titles in the last three weeks, Viña del Mar and Acapulco, which confirm her as one of the best players on clay. She's back on Top 30 and her climb could continue in the following weeks as clay season is close and she has very little points to defend. And most important she has recovered her confidence and her smile.


Flavia is also considered one of the hottest players on WTA Tour. Dark haired, tanned and passional, Flavia represents the latin beauty among lots of blond eastern european players. Furthermore she's one of the most open, nice and funny players, appreciated by players and fans.


You can watch Flavia's gallery here

On fire: Maria Sharapova

What can I say about Sharapova that has not already been said. She's the most popular WTA player. Although she was early compared to Kournikova due to her beauty, it was soon revealed that she was also a great player. Not only she had the looks, she had the power and most important the attitude and determination to become a champion. And she did as she got the Wimbledon title at 2004 and reached world No. 1 in 2005.


On a site devoted to WTA hotties we couldn't miss Sharapova.She may not be your favorite but no one can deny that Maria is damned HOT. Furthermore she's interested in fashion, modeling and acting, so she has delighted her fans with gorgeous photoshoots. She was even featured on Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue 2006 in a very sexy photoshoot. You can watch her gallery (including Sports illustrated photoshoot) here

Although she's a Grand Slam winner and former WTA #1, it seems that she still has to prove she's a great tennis player just because she's pretty and popular. And it seems that on 2008 she's decided to clear it up. After two months, no one has been able to beat her. 14 victories and no defeats. 2 titles (Australian Open and Doha) and leading Russia in her first appearance ever in Fed Cup. And the most important thing is the superiority that she has showed in most of them, 12 out of 14 rivals were unable to take more than 8 games of her. With Henin and the Williams sisters in a slump, this could be the year of Sharapova's dominance. At least this beginning of season she's on fire.

On fire: Agnieszka Radwanska

18 years old Agnieszka Radwanska from Poland is one of the most promising players on WTA Tour. Although she had already captured her first WTA title in Stockholm and defeated players such as Martina Hingis, Venus Williams, Elena Dementieva, it wasn't until US Open 2007 when she got all the attention after defeating defending champion Maria Sharapova in the 3rd round.


On Australian Open 2008 she has extended this seed-upsetting streak after defeating 2nd seed Svetlana Kuznetsova on 3rd round and 14th seed Nadia Petrova for a place in the quarter-finals, her best Grand Slam result so far. Furthermore, this week she has captured her 2nd WTA title in Pattaya and next week she will get into the Top 20.
Maybe she's not as hot as Sharapova or Ivanovic, but this 2008 season she's on fire.


You can watch her gallery here