The Russian contingent enjoyed an impressive rise into the elite of women's tennis, with Anastasia Myskina, Maria Sharapova and Svetlana Kuznetsova all winning their first Grand Slam titles, and Elena Dementieva twice being a runner-up.

The Belgian pair of Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin-Hardenne, who had risen to the top of women's tennis during 2003, both struggled with injuries throughout the season.

Zuluaga advanced after Elena Dementieva and Nadia Petrova were early upset victims in her section of the draw, and then benefitted from a walkover from Amélie Mauresmo in the quarterfinals.

Elsewhere, Lindsay Davenport won her fourth title in Tokyo, tying Martina Hingis for the most wins at the event.

Amélie Mauresmo won the two biggest warm-up tournaments on red clay at Berlin and Rome, with Williams also reaching the final in Germany.

Mauresmo's feat of winning both events was previously matched by Steffi Graf and Monica Seles, both of whom also lifted the French Open that same year.

Russian dominance continued in the grass court warmups, with Maria Sharapova winning in Birmingham and Svetlana Kuznetsova prevailing in Eastbourne.

The first week of Wimbledon saw Venus Williams sent home in the second round by Karolina Šprem, whilst the two French Open finalists failed to make the successful transition between clay and grass: Dementieva lost to Sandra Kleinová, and Myskina to Amy Frazier.

The final was to be contested between Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova, who both made impressive comebacks in their semifinals from a set and a break down.

[2][3] In the final, Sharapova upset the two-time defending champion to win her first Grand Slam title, the third youngest winner ever at Wimbledon.

Henin-Hardenne returned from her illness to play the Athens Olympics, where she won the gold medal match over Mauresmo.

In the bottom half of the draw, Elena Dementieva beat Mauresmo and Capriati—who was coming off a controversial win against Serena Williams in the quarterfinals with several contentious line calls going against Williams—to reach her second Grand Slam final.