ESPN Tennis

Updated: June 2, 2006, 9:23 AM ET

Parity dominating women's tennis

Women's tennis is in unfamiliar territory. The days when one or two players dominated are gone. Greg Garber writes a wide-open draw has brought plenty of excitement.

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By Greg Garber
ESPN.com
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PARIS -- Justine Henin-Hardenne, wind-chilled and wet, grimaced in her changeover chair and pulled the magenta Roland Garros towel tighter around her narrow shoulders.

With the temperature hovering in the low 50s and rain falling steadily throughout her second-round match with Anastasiya Yakimova on Thursday, it was a miserable way to spend her 24th birthday.

AP Photo/Michel Spingler"It was difficult to play good tennis today. The ball was just too heavy at the end of the match," Justine Henin-Hardenne said of the cool, wet conditions.

"We feel like November now in Belgium," Henin-Hardenne said later. "It's really amazing. I don't have the memory of spending my birthday in weather like this."

The Belgian, predictably, did not let it bother her. She advanced to the third round with a 6-2, 7-5 victory that was neither swift nor particularly elegant. Henin-Hardenne saved herself several hours of aggravation by coming back from a love-40 hole with Yakimova serving for the second set at 5-4. Rain halted play at Roland Garros soon after she escaped.

"I played my best tennis," she said of that pivotal 10th game. "Crucial points, I played very well."

When she leaves the game, those last six words will serve nicely as her epitaph. For Henin-Hardenne is as mentally tough as anyone in professional tennis. She's only 5-foot-6, 126 pounds, but when she's healthy, she plays big.

In the context of women's tennis these days, Henin-Hardenne is what passes for dominant. In the vacuum left by the decline of the Williams sisters, the Belgian has managed to win four of the last 12 Grand Slam singles titles, the first here at the French Open in 2003, the most recent Roland Garros 2005. In between, she won the 2003 U.S. Open and the 2004 Australian Open, as well as the Olympics in Athens.

"I had a great year in 2003 and then an amazing start in 2004," Henin-Hardenne said. "Then after that, every time I played, I played well, but not enough. But you need to deal with that. I have been one of the most consistent players, when I was playing, in the last few years."

When she was playing…

Her dizzying hit-or-miss journey of the last three years underlines the fractured nature of her sport. Henin-Hardenne missed two of those 12 Grand Slams due to illness (cytomegalovirus) and injury (knee) that forced a seven-month sabbatical.

The men are dominated by Roger Federer, who has won seven of the last 11 Grand Slam singles titles, and defending French Open champion Rafael Nadal who is the clear-cut No. 2. Since Federer assumed the No. 1 ranking in February, 2004, there have been five changes in the women's No. 1 spot, with Lindsay Davenport, Maria Sharapova and, now Amelie Mauresmo taking turns.

It is worth noting that the last eight Grand Slam tournaments have produced eight different women's singles champions. Three first-time Russian winners in 2004 -- Anastasia Myskina, Sharapova and Svetlana Kuznetsova -- profoundly changed the landscape.

This season's Roland Garros could feature a ninth different Grand Slam winner, if Martina Hingis can find traction on the red clay. While there are only two possible choices on the men's side (Nadal and Federer), you can make a case for more than handful of women with the capacity to win here.

"Henin-Hardenne, Mauresmo, Clijsters, Kuznetsova and Hingis," offered Mary Joe Fernandez, who reached the quarterfinals here five times during 1986-93. "Myskina, Sharapova and Venus Williams are all Grand Slam champions, too. That's a big group, isn't it?"

This is something new for women's tennis.

For the last several decades, there has almost always been a ruling elite: Chris Evert won 17 Grand Slam singles titles during 1974-86, Martina Navratilova won 15 during 1981-87, Steffi Graf (21 titles) was dominant during 1987-96, Monica Seles won eight championships during 1990-93, Hingis won five of nine Slams during 1997-99 and the Williams sisters took home 10 of 20 trophies during 1999-2003.

"When you had Monica and Steffi, no one believed they could beat them," Fernandez said. "Same with Chris and Martina. It's so mental.

"No one has managed to stay healthy over the last couple of years. And because there's been inconsistency in play, there's been inconsistency in the players' confidence. The Russians really broke it up a few years ago. Once people saw that, they figured, 'OK, they can win Slams, well, we can win Slams, too.' "

With all due respect to No. 1 seed Mauresmo, Henine-Hardenne remains the favorite of many to win her third title at Roland Garros. They could meet in the final, just as they did earlier this year in Australia.

Henin-Hardenne opened the season with a 10-0 start, winning the title at Sydney and reaching the Australian Open final. But after taking painkillers for her terminally aching right shoulder, Henin-Hardenne complained of a gastrointestinal illness. With Mauresmo leading 6-1 and 2-0 in the second set, Henin-Hardenne retired.

Not only did the decision cost Henin-Hardenne some locker room capital, it gave Mauresmo her first-ever Grand Slam singles title -- and belief that she can win matches on the grandest of stages. That could cost Henin-Hardenne if they both reach this final.

"Women's tennis is getting more interesting, because you never know who is going to win the next one," Henin-Hardenne said. "No one is really dominating the tour right now, which is good. All draws are very open and it's very exciting for all the players.

"Now, you can start to see more surprises."