PA Sport's Mark Staniforth sees Kim Clijsters' triumphant comeback as a blessing to the game.

The sighs of relief from WTA Tour officials at Kim Clijsters' remarkable triumph in the US Open last weekend would have been strong enough to soar the new champion all the way back to Belgium.

Seldom has a women's grand slam winner been more essential in terms of sustaining interest in a sport which had suffered a mighty nosedive in general interest during the slog that was the 2009 season.

Long gone were the days when Maria Sharapova breathed fresh air into a sport being dominated by burly power hitters, or when Clijsters and fellow retiree Justin Henin challenged the might of the Williams sisters head-on.

No, the 2009 campaign appeared destined to be un-remembered for a number of unremarkable and largely anonymous Russians, and the Williams sisters, who would seemingly turn up and win events whenever they chose.

And top of the pile through most of it was Dinara Safina - a consistent top-level performer, undoubtedly, but one whose frequent big-game capitulations suggested she would have got nowhere close to world number one in previous eras.

The season had started badly, the money-spinning Sharapova pulling out of the defence of her Australian Open title and setting the tone for another frustrating season which soon saw her rendered a glamorous also-ran.

Serena won the title, beating the still-rising Safina for the loss of only three games. By the time the French Open came round, Safina's success on the second-tier clay-court circuit had elevated her to number one.

The lack of strength in depth in the women's game was underlined by Safina's progress in Paris, where she won her first four matches for the loss of a mere five games, yet slumped once again in the final to Svetlana Kuznetsova.

The gnawing predictability of Wimbledon's early rounds gave way to the dull predictability of another all-Williams final once possible prospects Agnieszka Radwanska and Victoria Azarenka were swatted in the quarters.

Elena Dementieva managed to rise above her notorious nerves to push Serena to the brink in an excellent semi, but that proved the exception rather than the rule and Serena went on to win another forgettable final affair.

And then, lo and behold, came Flushing Meadows, bursting at the seams with prospects and upsets, highlighted by the return of Clijsters and the third-round win over Safina by Czech teenager Petra Kvitova.

There was the significant emergence of much-needed US prospect Melanie Oudin as well as another Belgian, teenager Yanina Wickmayer. And it was the tournament where Caroline Wozniacki was finally able to confirm her talent.

Towering above it all, however, was Clijsters, and the delicious prospect of her returning to the sort of consistent form which can do so much to shake up the stale women's game in 2010.

"The Open this year has been really unpredictable," Clijsters said after her historic triumph. "There are so many new players out there who have a great talent, and a lot of young girls as well.

"Maybe some of them are still missing that consistency a bit. But on a good day they can beat anyone. A lot of players have been in the top 10 now for a few years. But I don't think women's tennis has anything to worry about."