Fairways and Forehands 2013 Top 30 WTA and LPGA Year In Review: #25 Maria Kirilenko and Jessica Korda

Maria Kirilenko, 2013 Pattaya Open winner

Instead of a year in review focusing on overall achievements, I thought this time I’d do a countdown of the top 30 money list leaders from the WTA and LPGA. For the WTA, singles, doubles and mixed are combined for this top 30. Number 25 on the money list from each tour are Maria Kirilenko (WTA) and Jessica Korda (LPGA).

MARIA KIRILENKO (Russia)

Singles: $1,022,665 Doubles: $18,578 Mixed: $0

2013 Official WTA Prizemoney: $1,041,243

Best Finishes: Winner, Pattaya Open, QF Roland Garros, SF BNP Paribas Open

Twitter: mkirilenko (click)

Maria Kirilenko opened the first half of 2013 in strong fashion, picking up her 6th WTA title, winning the Pattaya Open in Thailand. She also made a run to the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, taking out top 5 seeds Agnieszka Radwanska and Petra Kvitova along the way. Maria rode her momentum into a semifinal showing at Roland Garros that resulted in her first ever top 10 ranking.

Roland Garros 2013 (click to enlarge)

After hurting her knee at the AEGON International, Maria didn’t seem the same for the rest of the year. She made the quarters of the AEGON International but then didn’t reach another quarter the rest of the year. She was out for 5 weeks after a first round loss at Wimbledon with a leg injury. It’s really too bad, because she had finally reached the top 10 after years of hard work. The year looked so promising. It seems unfair to be derailed by injury, but that happens to athletes sometimes, unfortunately. I hope Maria is able to come into 2014 fully healthy and ready to play like she did at the start of 2013.

Jessica Korda, Solheim Cup 2013 (click to enlarge)

JESSICA KORDA (United States)

2013 Official LPGA Prizemoney: $593,389

Best Finishes: T7 US Women’s Open, T2 Mobile Bay LPGA Classic, T4 RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup, T5 HSBC Women’s Champions, T6 LPGA Lotte Championship presented by J Golf

Facebook: Jessica Korda (click)

Instagram: thejessicakorda (click)

Twitter: Jessica Korda (click)

2013 saw Jessica Korda continue her ascent in the world of women’s golf. Although she didn’t record a win like she did in 2012 at the Women’s Australian Open, she did triple the amount of top 10s (6) in 2013 as she had in 2012. She also made more money in 2013 than her previous two years combined, rising from 92nd on the money list in 2011 and 41st in 2012 to 25th in 2013. Her place on the scoring average list improved even more dramatically, going from 114th (74.18) in 2011 and 69th (72.94) in 2012 to 15th (70.82) in 2013. Jessica is a player on the rise.

Jessica Korda being comforted by Michelle Wie at Solheim Cup 2013 (click to enlarge)

With all of her success on tour, it’s no suprise that she qualified for her first appearance at Solheim Cup. Jessica played well at Solheim, but it just wasn’t meant to be for Team USA this time. I have no doubt that Korda will get many more chances to bring the Cup home for the United States in the years to come. As for the 2013 Solheim Cup, the picture of her being comforted by Michelle Wie on day 2 kind of encapsulates what I felt from this team overall. They were despondent about their fortunes as points slipped away, but they remained a cohesive unit with nobody pointing fingers. They were there for each other in a way you don’t often see due to the individual nature of golf.