2008 US Open finalist Jelena Jankovic may have finished outside the Top 20 for only the third time in 10 years, but the former No.1 still had some highly impressive results that kept her in the conversation into the very last week of the year, finishing second in her round robin group at the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai.

“I mean, anyone can win,” she said after her win over nemesis Sara Errani. “The competition is so tough these days that anyone can win on a certain day. Those players are playing so well that it’s just a matter of, you know, here and there little bits that make a difference.”

A 2010 champion at the BNP Paribas Open, Jankovic made her first splash of the season in Indian Wells, where she reached the final over a slew of WTA Rising Stars in Lauren Davis, Australian Open semifinalist Madison Keys, and Belinda Bencic. Recovering from a set down to defeat 2013 Wimbledon finalist Sabine Lisicki in the semis, the Serb had chances to serve for the title against then-World No.3 Simona Halep, but ultimately fell to the inspired Romanian in three sets.

“I could sigh again,” Jankovic said after opening her runner-up press conference with a deep exhale. “I could sigh a couple more times. I mean, where to begin? I mean, overall it was a great final and we both fought so hard. We were grinding from the first point.”

A solid stretch during the grass court season brought her into her only Grand Slam second week of 2015, but in this case, quality is even more memorable than quantity. Soldiering through a pair of grueling three-setters over Russians Elena Vesnina and Evgeniya Rodina – winning a 10-8 final set against the former – Jankovic battled back from the brink against defending champion Petra Kvitova in the third round of the Wimbledon Championships to upset the No.2 seed, 3-6, 7-5, 6-4.

“I cannot stop smiling. I’m really, really happy,” she said after the July 4th victory. “I don’t know how to explain.

“It’s a really big win for me, especially playing on Centre Court against a two‑time champion, Wimbledon champion. I was just happy to be playing and competing on grass. Grass is not my favorite surface. And Petra plays so well on it. I think it’s her favorite surface. It shows by winning two Wimbledon titles.”

For much of the second half of the season, the Serb’s best results came in Asia. A run through a WTA 125K Series tournament in Nanchang propelled her into the semifinals of the Western & Southern Open, where she beat Keys and two more WTA Rising Stars in Karolina Pliskova and Anna Karolina Schmiedlova before running out of gas to Halep.

Despite a disappointing day at the US Open, Jankovic nonetheless returned to Asia in search of better results, which she earned with titles in Guangzhou – beating rival Svetlana Kuznetsova and WTA Rising Star Denisa Allertova en route – and Hong Kong, where she ended Venus Williams’ chances to qualify for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global and avenged a loss to Angelique Kerber from a few weeks prior in Wuhan.

With plenty of match wins under her belt – 41 to be exact – the veteran proved she can still compete with the best of the best, and will likely be dangerous and looming in 2016.