Whilst the two consonants comprising the introduction of her surname may be a source of consternation as to its pronunciation, in Petra Kvitova‘s case, this will shortly be an aberration. In light of this teenager’s memorable accomplishments in 2009, it is safe to assume that her name will be fluidly rolling off tennis fans’ tongues for the foreseeable future.

Hailing from the Czech Republic, earlier this year, at the age of 18, Kvitova bagged her maiden Sony Ericsson WTA Tour title in Hobart by defeating compatriot and seasoned rival Iveta Benesova. With that victory, Kvitova cracked the top 40 for the first time. Weeks later though at the Australian Open, Kvitova had the misfortune of drawing 14th ranked phenom Victoria Azarenka in the opening round and made a prompt departure.

Still, Kvitova redeemed herself at the Fed Cup by BNP Paribas. Facing the 2008 finalist Spain, Kvitova got her team off to a magnificent start by beating Carla Suarez Navarro, a recent quarterfinalist in Australia. Then, with a euphoric stadium cheering her on, the youngster bested Nuria Llagostera Vives to secure the Czech Republic’s semifinal berth. However, in April, after winning the initial rubber versus American Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Kvitova ran into a glitch. Alexa Glatch routed her in two sets. Ultimately, the U.S advanced to the finals.

Mid year, Kvitova struggled with an ankle injury which kept her out of Roland Garros and contributed to a series of early losses including Wimbledon. Kvitova’s ranking dipped to 69. Attempting to get match fit, Kvitova played an ITF tournament in August only to be ousted in the first round by a lesser opponent. Days following though at the U.S Open, Kvitova showed that she indeed possesses the tools that will make her a prime contender.

With time constraints moving play from Ashe to Armstrong stadium, Kvitova ranked 72nd had the night of her burgeoning career. Using her six foot frame to serve effectively and her most potent stroke, her forehand, Kvitova saved three match points against Dinara Safina. Kvitova prevailed in a compelling third set tiebreaker, shocking the world number one in the third round. Fernando Gonzalez, the 2007 Australian Open finalist, was once asked the secret to his potent forehand, he replied in essence fearlessness. At the Open, Petra demonstrated that her forehand will be feared by her adversaries for some time to come.

Kvitova joined the professional circuit in 2006. That September, three months after entering her first ITF tournament, Kvitova reached her first final and claimed the top prize. By year’s end, Kvitova’s ranking skyrocketed to 773. After racking up six titles in the minor league in 2007, she escalated to 157 in the ranks.

In July 2007, at age 17, Kvitova debuted in the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour’s main draw in Stockholm before going down in the first round. At the only other WTA event she participated in that season, the U.S. Open, Petra failed to pass the qualifying stage.

While the U.S. Open victory was Kvitova’s highlight of 2009, this youngster is not a novice at stunning her peers. In February 2008, after surviving the qualifying round at the Open Gaz de France, a Tier II event, Kvitova surprised Anabel Medina Garrigues in the first round. However, she lost her next match to Elena Dementieva. A couple of weeks later, Kvitova pocketed her biggest scalp, shocking top seed and world number eight Venus Williams in the first round in Memphis. Subsequently in May at the French Open, Kvitova ousted Akiko Morigami, Samantha Stosur, 13th ranked Agnes Szavay before being stopped in the round of 16 by Kai Kanepi. With a quarterfinal showing in Zurich later that year, Kvitova ended the season ranked 44th.

Improvement has been a consistent word in Kvitova’s vocabulary. This September, Kvitova had a spectacular run in Linz reaching her second WTA final before succumbing to Yanina Wickmayer, the player to whom she fell at the U.S. Open in the round of 16.

Not surprisingly, Kvitova’s idol is Czech born and fellow lefty Martina Navratilova. With 18 singles majors, Navratilova is not a bad athlete to aspire to.

From the unbridled exuberance Kvitova exhibited after her triumph over Safina, the sweet savor of that win will be a high that she will be hungering for in 2010. Thus, it’s safe to assume that Kvitova will give much to talk and write about this upcoming season.

Last year, in many respects, can be characterized as bizarre. The majors commenced with a meltdown by Dinara Safina as Serena Williams thrashed her in the Australian Open final.  Months later after sensational results at lead up tournaments, Safina, newly crowned world number one, had another breakdown in the French Open final vis-à-vis Svetlana Kuznetsova.  As such, Kuznetsova grabbed the second major of her career.

At the All England Club, after Serena survived a riveting semifinal match against Elena Dementieva, she faced Venus in the finals for the second consecutive year.  However, this go around, Serena bested big sister to capture 2009′s third major.  Also a favorite to step to the finals at the U.S. Open, Serena encountered two stumbling blocks, her emotions and  Kim Clijsters.

After fulfilling her desire to procreate, Clijsters discovered that her retreat from tennis had left a void.  Thus, following a two year absence, Clijsters once again embraced the game. Subsequent to some impressive triumphs, Clijsters took on Serena in the semifinals. The weather may have been in part culpable, more likely though, it was Clijsters’ superb touch that got under Serena’s skin as a foot fault by a line judge roused Serena’s anger.  Unsavory words by Serena caused a point penalty with Clijsters having match point.  A day later, Clijsters went on to rope the U.S. Open trophy, the second major of her career.

Leading the pack of names that captivated the tour in 2009 is Dane Caroline Wozniacki.  The teenager became her country’s first competitor to reach a major final. Although downed by Clijsters, after starting the year in the top 20, Wozniacki closed 2009 at number 4.  Belarusian Victoria Azarenka continued her march in the right direction.  Azarenka demolished Serena at the Sony Ericsson Open to catch the biggest title of her career.

On the other hand, for the Serbs, it was  a year of sliding backward. Ana Ivanovic, the 2008 French Open champion and former world number one, had trouble directing her forehand and serve. With neither stroke on the money, Ivanovic did not get pass the fourth round at any of the majors. Ivanovic reached one final, Indian Wells, but failed to hoist the trophy. Fed up, Ivanovic put a punctuation to her season in October and her ranking tumbled to 21st.  Number one at the start of the year, Jelena Jankovic, fared a little better than Ivanovic by collecting two titles.  However, Jankovic was equally a disappointment at the majors with only a round of 16 appearance in Paris and Melbourne.

The Russians are still impacting the tour. In spite of her poor results at the majors, Safina earned three titles.  In addition to the French, Kuznetsova pocketed a couple of premier titles.  Other than the semis at Wimbledon, Dementieva made the semis in Australia and acquired three trophies.  Maria Sharapova returned mid-year subsequent to a hiatus due to shoulder surgery with a retooled service motion.  After a slow start and ditching her abbreviated service routine, Sharapova bagged a title and ended the year ranked 14th.

New hope for American tennis came in the form of teenager Melanie Oudin. On the heels of a round of 16 showing at Wimbledon, including a victory over Jankovic, at the U.S. Open, Oudin defeated Dementieva, Nadia Petrova and Sharapova before being halted in the quarterfinals. Prior to these tremendous conquests, Oudin was a star on the Federation Cup team.

With a squad devoid of Serena and Venus, significant contributions by Oudin and Alexa Glatch propelled the U.S. all the way to the Fed Cup final.  Unfortunately, the Americans inexperience was well exploited by their Italian counterparts.  On the back of established competitors such as Francesca Schiavone and Flavia Pennetta, who became the first Italian woman to crack the top ten this year, Italy pounced the U.S. to claim its second trophy this decade.

Teenager Sorana Cristea had a breakthrough at the majors by getting to the quarterfinals at the French Open.  In the quarters, Cristea fell to 25 year old veteran Samantha Stosur.  Stosur produced her best results in singles this year.  Not only was Stosur a semifinalist at the French, she captured her initial singles career title in Osaka. 20 year-old Dominika Cibulkova also achieved her first big break at a major in advancing to the semis in Paris.

Frenchwoman Arvane Rezai took the maiden title of the newly created Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions, an international season ending championship in Bali. At the Sony Ericsson year ending Championships in Doha, with a pristine performance, Serena routed Venus in the finals for her only non- major title of 2009 and finished the year at number one.

One day shy of her 39th birthday, Kimiko Date Krumm became the oldest player to prevail in a WTA final at Hansol Korea Open. Similarly, German adolescent Sabine Lisicki demonstrated that she is the wave of the future by securing her first professional title at the renowned Family Circle Cup.

Possibly inspired by her old adversary’s success at the U.S. Open, in September, Justine Henin did an about-face with the stunning announcement that she would be rejoining the tour in 2010.  In contrast, at the age of 30, two time major champion Amelie Mauresmo gracefully existed, declaring her retirement at season’s end.

Gambling resurfaced in the news as Wozniacki withdrew from a match.  Ahead and just points away from a win, an injured Wozniacki was advised by her coach to cease play.  As the discussion unfolded between the two, bets began to pour in favor of Wozniacki’s opponent.  This fueled speculations of irregularities, the investigation is still ongoing.  After making a splash at the U.S. Open with a semifinal run, Yanina Wickmayer was suspended due to failing to notify officials of her location for drug testing purposes. Luckily, on appeal, the decision has been reversed and Wickmayer has been reinstated.

Despite participating in doubles only at the majors and Stanford, the Williams sisters dominated winning all finals except the French Open.  The latter was claimed by the Spanish team of Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual.  Still, duo Liezel Huber and Cara Black remain ranked at the top of doubles tableaux.

With the flurry of names taking the spotlight in 2009, a fundamental conclusion can be deduced, there is really no dominant competitor on tour.  With Henin, Clijsters and  Sharapova back in the hunt, it bodes well for an engaging 2010.