Best personal achievement: Jennifer Capriati
Capriati made a stunning debut on the pro tour at age 14, but by 17 she was too unhappy to keep playing. She disappeared from tennis and spent the next couple of years catching up on the process of growing up, suffering through some highly publicized crises in the process. Capriati's comeback, at age 24, to win the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the year, was one of the biggest stories in all of sports this year. She added to it by winning the French Open and finishing the year ranked just 10 points (out of 4900) behind number one, Lindsay Davenport.

Best national achievement, per capita: Belgium
This tiny country put two women into the top ten, Kim Clijsters at five and Justine Henin at seven. Both were Grand Slam finalists this year, Clijsters at the French and Henin at Wimbledon. Together, they led Belgium to its first-ever Fed Cup title.

Best dark horse win: Goran Ivanisevic at Wimbledon
Goran had made three previous Wimbledon finals, in 1992, 1994, and 1998, only to lose. He had since virtually disappeared from professional tennis. Then, ranked 125 in the world, he became the first wild card ever to win a Grand Slam, defeating Patrick Rafter in a dramatic five-set final.

Best Davis Cup performance: Roger Federer
Federer won both of his singles matches and his doubles match against the U.S. in the opening round of Davis Cup competition, almost single-handedly carrying Switzerland to victory.

Best new shot: Andy Roddick's kick serve
Andy's kick serves have the biggest kick of anyone's I've seen.

Best tournament coverage: TNT Network covering Wimbledon
TNT offered an unprecedented number of hours for coverage of the early rounds, made all the better by commentary from Jim Courier and Martina Navratilova. Only the camera work was undistinguished. The USA Network's coverage of the U.S. Open had the best camera work.

Best commentators: Jim Courier and Martina Navratilova
Both have a wide and a deep understanding of the game, enabling them to comment insightfully on players whose styles differ radically from their own. Jim and Martina know the tour players and offer informed analysis of how their psychologies factor into a match. Their slight irreverence adds spice to their comments, but they don't use personality as a substitute for substance.

Best rule innovation: 32 seeds at Grand Slam tournaments
Doubling the number of seeds at the Grand Slams to 32 to help prevent early upsets might prove to be a major improvement. It's certainly worth a try, and getting agreement on such a significant change is a fairly rare accomplishment.

Best racquet innovation: Head piezoelectrics
Head's piezoelectric fibers convert vibration to electricity, which, in turn, causes the fibers to stiffen the frame. A racquet innovation that you can really feel right away is fairly rare. This one gives you a uniquely pleasant impact with the ball. (See review.)

Best ball innovation: Wilson Double Core
Wilson has produced by far the longest-bouncing pressurized tennis ball. (See review.)

I left out plenty of categories, but I hope you'll cast your own votes here, and please feel free to take issue with mine.