Issue link: http://itf.uberflip.com/i/623806
16 ITFWORLD WINTER 2015 J ISKE GRIFFIOEN had a breakthrough 2015, achieving her goal of winning her first Grand Slam wheelchair singles title and following up with a second. Having first reached No. 2 in the rankings more than ten years ago, and having been ranked continuously in the Top 5 since September 2010, the 30-year-old finally ascended to the top spot in June and stayed there for the rest of the year. Already the holder of 11 Grand Slam doubles titles, success in the singles draws at majors had eluded Griffioen until the 2015 Australian Open, where in her second Slam singles final she defeated top-ranked Yui Kamiji 63 75 to lift the trophy. A title at the South African Open followed. An outstanding performance at the BNP Paribas World Team Cup in May, where Griffioen won all four singles rubbers to help Netherlands lift the trophy for the 28th time, proved to the perfect clay court preparation for her Roland Garros bid. Griffioen won her second Grand Slam title in Paris by defeating countrywoman and main doubles partner Aniek van Koot 60 62 in the final, and in doing so replaced Kamiji as world No. 1. Griffioen won the BNP Paribas Open de France to claim her fourth singles title on the 2015 UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Tour and lost just one singles match in 22 played to the end of June. She had a tougher second half of the year, reaching just one more final — finishing runner-up at the Open de la Baie de Somme — in the lead-up to the NEC Masters. In London however she swept to her second year-end title, going undefeated through her win against Sabine Ellerbrock in the final and capturing her fifth singles trophy of 2015. The Dutchwoman continued to excel in doubles in 2015, and the seven titles she won with van Koot included Roland Garros and the US Open, taking her career tally of major doubles titles to 13. Their achievements secured the pair the year-end No. 1 doubles ranking. Having represented her country in wheelchair basketball at the Sydney 2000 Paralympics at the age of 15, Griffioen chose to concentrate on tennis shortly afterwards. She is the fifth different Dutchwoman to be named ITF Wheelchair World Champion, following on from Chantal Vandierendonck, Monique Kalkman, Esther Vergeer and van Koot. ITF WORLD CHAMPIONS