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- Published: 12 Feb 2012
- Duration: 1:09
- Updated: 07 Jul 2012
Sania Mirza in-action in her second round singles match at the 2011 French Open |
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Country | India |
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Residence | Hyderabad, India |
Born | Bombay, India (now Mumbai) |
15 November 1986
Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) |
Weight | 57 kg (126 lb; 9 st 0 lb) |
College | St. Mary's College |
Turned pro | 3 February 2003 |
Retired | Active |
Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
Career prize money | US$ 2,478,417 |
Official web site | http://www.saniamirza.com/ |
Singles | |
Career record | W-L / 267–159 |
Career titles | 1 WTA, 14 ITF |
Highest ranking | No. 27 (27 August 2007) |
Current ranking | No. 184 (16 April 2012) |
Grand Slam Singles results | |
Australian Open | 3R (2005, 2008) |
French Open | 2R (2007, 2011) |
Wimbledon | 2R (2005, 2007, 2008, 2009) |
US Open | 4R (2005) |
Other tournaments | |
Olympic Games | 1R (2008) |
Doubles | |
Career record | 226-118 |
Career titles | 14 WTA, 4 ITF |
Highest ranking | No. 7 (30 January 2012) |
Current ranking | No. 9 (16 April 2012) |
Grand Slam Doubles results | |
Australian Open | SF (2012) |
French Open | F (2011) |
Wimbledon | SF (2011) |
US Open | QF (2007) |
Other Doubles tournaments | |
Olympic Games | 2R (2008) |
Mixed Doubles | |
Career titles | 1 |
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results | |
Australian Open | W (2009) |
French Open | 2R (2007) |
Wimbledon | QF (2011) |
US Open | QF (2007) |
Last updated on: 13 February 2012. |
Medal record | ||
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Women's Tennis | ||
Competitor for India | ||
Afro-Asian Games | ||
Gold | 2003 Hyderabad | Singles |
Gold | 2003 Hyderabad | Women's Doubles |
Gold | 2003 Hyderabad | Mixed Doubles |
Gold | 2003 Hyderabad | Team |
Asian Games | ||
Gold | 2006 Doha | Mixed Doubles |
Silver | 2006 Doha | Singles |
Silver | 2006 Doha | Team |
Silver | 2010 Guangzhou | Mixed Doubles |
Bronze | 2010 Guangzhou | Singles |
Bronze | 2002 Busan | Mixed Doubles |
Commonwealth Games | ||
Silver | 2010 Delhi | Singles |
Bronze | 2010 Delhi | Women's Doubles |
Sania Mirza (Hindi: सानिया मिर्जा, Telugu: సానియా మీర్జా, Urdu: ثانیہ مرزا ) (born 15 November 1986, in Bombay) is a professional Indian tennis player. She began her tennis career in 2003 and is well known for her powerful forehand ground strokes. She is the first ever Indian to break into the top 30 WTA rankings in singles and top 10 in doubles. Mirza has defeated many top players, including Svetlana Kuznetsova, Vera Zvonareva, Marion Bartoli and Former World No. 1's Martina Hingis & Dinara Safina.
Mirza has won one WTA singles title so far, at Hyderabad in 2005. She has won one Grand Slam title: the mixed doubles event at the 2009 Australian Open. She was also the runner-up on two other Grand Slam occasions: the mixed doubles event at 2008 Australian Open and the women's doubles event at Roland Garros 2011.
In 2004 she was awarded the Arjuna award by the Indian Government. In 2006, Mirza was awarded a Padma Shri, India's fourth highest honour for her achievements as a tennis player.[1] In March 2010, The Economic Times named Mirza in the list of the "33 women who made India proud".[2] Mirza was also the most searched Indian sportsperson on Google in 2009. In addition, Mirza was one named one of the '50 heroes of Asia' by the Time Magazine (2005).
Contents |
Mirza was born to Imran Mirza, a sports journalist, and his wife Nasima in Mumbai, Maharashtra. She was brought up in Hyderabad in a religious family.[3][4][5] Mirza began playing tennis at the age of six, turning professional in 2003. She was trained by her father. She attended NASR school in Hyderabad and later graduated from St. Mary's College. She is married to the Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik.[6][7]
Mirza received an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters from the MGR Educational and Research Institute University in Chennai on 2008-12-11.[8] Her niece, Sonia Baig Mirza, studies there.
Mirza is the highest ranked female tennis player ever from India, with a career high ranking of 27 in singles and 7 in doubles. She is the third Indian woman to be featuring at a Grand Slam tournament (the first one being Nirupama Vaidyanathan at the 1998 Australian Open and the second being Shikha Uberoi at the 2004 US Open.) She is the first Indian woman to be seeded in a Grand Slam tennis tournament and the first Indian woman to win a WTA title.
Mirza won 10 singles and 13 doubles titles in her Junior career. She also won the 2003 Wimbledon Championships Girls' Doubles title, partnering Alisa Kleybanova. She also reached the semifinals of the 2003 French Open Girls' Doubles, with Sanaa Bhambri, and the quarterfinals of the 2002 US Open Girls' Doubles, with Isha Lakhani.
On 16 April 2001, Mirza made her debut at an ITF $10,000 event in Chandigarh, as a wildcard receiver. She crushed Geeta Manohar, in the first round, 6–0, 6–1 before falling to Karen Paterson in the second round, 6–3, 6–4. The following week, She played at an another ITF $10,000 event in Pune, where she beat Kamini Murugaboopathy and Jyotsna Vasisht before falling to Sai-Jayalakshmy Jayaram 6–0, 6–4 in the quarterfinals.
On only her third (and her last event of 2001), Mirza reached the semifinals of a ITF $10,000 event in New Delhi without dropping a set, by defeating Radhika Mandke, Geeta Manohar and Isha Lakhani, before losing to eventual champion Rushmi Chakravarthi, 6–7(1), 6–2, 6–3.
In February 2002, Mirza played at an ITF $10,000 event in Mumbai but lost the First Round to eventual finalist American Sunitha Rao. Her next tournament was the qualifying draw of an ITF $25,000 event in New Delhi. She defeated Archana Venkataraman and Sai-Jayalakshmy Jayaram before falling to Chinese Liu Jing-Jing.
In February on only her fifth tournament, Mirza won her first ITF singles title at her hometown Hyderabad, beating Akgul Amanmuradova 6–1, 6–2 in the final of the $10,000 event.
In November, Mirza also won the titles of her next two tournaments in Manila, beating Wang I-Ting and Amanmuradova, respectively. Mirza also won the bronze medal at the 2002 Busan Asian Games in mixed doubles, partnering Leander Paes.
In December, Mirza played at a $25,000 event in Mumbai, falling to Dominika Luzarová. Next, at a $10,000 event in Pune, she lost to Jennifer Schmidt.
In February, Mirza was given a wildcard to play in her first WTA tournament, at the AP Tourism Hyderabad Open, in her hometown. She lost in the first round to Evie Dominikovic, 6–2, 1–6, 2–6. The following week, at the Qatar Ladies Open, she fell to Olga Blahotova in the first qualifying round. Next up, she won two $10,000 titles in Benin City, Nigeria, defeating Franziska Etzel and Anca Anastasiu in each final.
In April, Mirza played for the India Fed Cup team, winning all three singles matches.
In September, Mirza played at a $25,000 event in Peachtree City, United States, where she lost to Marta Domachowska in the second qualifying round. In October, Mirza won her sixth ITF singles title, defeating Rushmi Chakravarthi in the finals of a $10,000 event in Jakarta. She also reached the semifinals of a $10,000 event, also in Jakarta, with wins over Yuan Meng, Eny Sulistyowati and Wilawan Choptang, before losing to Montinee Tangphong.
In November, Mirza participated at a $25,000 event in Mumbai, where she reached the quarterfinals by defeating Liza Pereira and Sonal Phadke, before falling to Isha Lakhani.
Mirza also picked up 4 gold medals at the 2003 Afro-Asian Games- in singles, women's doubles, mixed doubles and team.
At her hometown event, the 2004 AP Tourism Hyderabad Open, Mirza was a wildcard receiver. She put up a good fight against the fourth seed and eventual champion Nicole Pratt in round one, but lost 6–4, 3–6, 2–6. But she won her first WTA doubles title here, partnering Liezel Huber.
She also got a wildcard to play at the Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem in Casablanca, Morocco, but suffered a first round deficit to eventual champion Émilie Loit.
Mirza also had a runner-up showing at the Palm Beach Gardens Challenger, where she fell to Sessil Karatantcheva.
In addition, Mirza won 6 ITF singles titles in 2004.
Mirza started her year off as a wildcard receiver at the Moorilla Hobart International in Hobart. She fell to Cara Black in the second qualifying round.
Mirza defeated Cindy Watson and Petra Mandula at the Australian Open, before losing to eventual champion Serena Williams in the third round.
In February, Mirza became the first ever Indian women to win a WTA title, by winning her hometown event, the 2005 AP Tourism Hyderabad Open, defeating ninth seeded Ukrainian Alona Bondarenko in the final, 6–4, 5–7, 6–3.
Her good-form continued at the Dubai Tennis Championships, where she was a wildcard. Mirza, ranked No.94 then, defeated Jelena Kostanić in the first round. In the second round, Mirza upset 4th seed, reigning US Open champion and the Australian Open quarterfinalist Svetlana Kuznetsova, in straight sets. Mirza was down 0–4 in the first set, but won 6 straight games and the second set to win 6–4, 6–2. This raised her ranking to No.78.
Next she lost in the first round of the Roland Garros to Gisela Dulko. At Wimbledon, she defeated Akiko Morigami to reach the second round, where she lost to Kuznetsova.
In August, she reached the third round at the Acura Classic, falling to Morigami. Next Mirza reached the final of the Forest Hills Tennis Classic, beating Shahar Pe'er, Roberta Vinci and Alexa Glatch, before falling to Lucie Šafářová in the final.
Mirza became the first Indian woman to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam tournament at the U.S. Open, defeating Mashona Washington, Maria Elena Camerin and Marion Bartoli.
At the Japan Open, Mirza reached the semifinals with wins over Vilmarie Castellvi, Aiko Nakamura and Vera Zvonareva. She lost to Tatiana Golovin in the semis.
Mirza reached the second round of the Australian Open, falling to Michaëlla Krajicek. Next she fell to Camille Pin at the Bangalore Open, but won the doubles title partnering Huber.
She played at the Dubai Tennis Championships but lost to Martina Hingis.
At the Indian Wells Masters, she reached the third round but lost to Elena Dementieva. She also lost in the first round of the French Open Grand Slam to Anastasia Myskina.
Her next tournament was the DFS Classic, where she defeated Alona Bondarenko and Shenay Perry to reach the third round, where she was overpowered by Meilen Tu. She also reached the quarterfinals of the Cincinnati Masters and the third round of the Acura Classic, falling to Patty Schnyder and Elena Dementieva, respectively.
She reached the second round of the US Open, losing to Francesca Schiavone. In September, she reached the semifinals of the Sunfeast Open, losing to eventual champion and top seed Martina Hingis. She also won the doubles title there partnering Huber. Mirza made the quarterfinals of the Hansol Korea Open and the Tashkent Open.
In December, Mirza picked up three medals at the 2006 Doha Asian Games- Gold, in mixed doubles and Silver in women's singles and team
As of September 2006, Mirza has notched up three top ten wins- against Svetlana Kuznetsova, Nadia Petrova and Martina Hingis.
Mirza started 2007 strongly, making it to the semifinals of Hobart, the second round of the Australian Open, semifinals in Pattaya, and the quarterfinals in Bangalore.
At the French Open, Mirza lost to the battle against Ana Ivanović in the second round. She also fell in the second round at the Wimbledon Championships to Nadia Petrova.
Mirza had had the best results of her career during the 2007 summer hardcourt season, finishing eighth in the 2007 U.S. Open Series standings. She reached the semifinals at Cincinnati. She also reached the final of the Bank of the West Classic and won the doubles event with Shahar Pe'er, and reached the quarterfinals of the Tier 1 Acura Classic.
At the 2007 U.S. Open, she reached the third round before losing to Anna Chakvetadze for the third time in recent weeks. She fared much better in the doubles, reaching the quarterfinals in mixed with her partner Mahesh Bhupathi and the quarterfinals in the women's doubles with Bethanie Mattek, including a win over number two seeds Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur. She won four doubles titles in 2007.
Mirza reached the quarter-finals at Hobart as No. 6 seed. She lost to Flavia Pennetta in three sets. She reached the third round at the Australian Open as No.31 seed, where she lost to No.8 seed Venus Williams 7–6(0) 6–4, having led 5–3 in the first set. She was runner-up in the Australian Open mixed doubles partnering Mahesh Bhupathi where they lost 7–6(4), 6–4 to Sun Tiantian and Nenad Zimonjić.
She withdrew from the Pattaya Open because of a left adductor strain.
Mirza reached the 4r at Indian Wells as No.21 seed, defeating No.9 seed Shahar Pe'er en route, but lost to No.5 seed Daniela Hantuchová.
On Grass, Mirza lost in the second round of Birmingham to Marina Erakovic of New Zealand. At Wimbledon, as No.32 seed, Mirza was defeated by qualifier María José Martínez Sánchez, 6–0, 4–6, 9–7 in round two, having had several match points.
Mirza was eliminated in the first round of the 2008 Summer Olympics when she retired in her match against Iveta Benešová because of a right wrist injury. For doubles, she got a walkover through the first round with Sunitha Rao, but lost in the second round to Russian teamn of Svetlana Kuznetsova and Dinara Safina.
Throughout 2008, Mirza was plagued by a slew of wrist injuries, requiring her to withdraw from several matches including those of the Roland Garros and US Open Grand Slams.
Mirza started her year by playing at the Moorilla Hobart International doubles only. Partnering Francesca Schiavone, they reached the quarterfinals. At 2009 Australian Open she won her first round match against Marta Domachowska, next she fell against 10th seed Nadia Petrova. In doubles she lost in first round partnering Vania King. But in mixed doubles Mirza picked up her first Grand Slam title at the 2009 Australian Open. Partnering with Mahesh Bhupathi, they beat Nathalie Dechy & Andy Ram 6–3, 6–1 in the final.
She then entered the Pattaya Women's Open Tournament in Bangkok where she reached the finals after a string of good performances. She lost the finals to Vera Zvonareva 7–5, 6–1. She made the semis in doubles in the same tournament.
Mirza then competed in the BNP Paribas Open where she lost in the second round to Flavia Pennetta. She then participated in the Miami Masters and lost to Mathilde Johansson of France in the first round. Mirza and her doubles partner Chia-jung Chuang of Chinese Taipei made the semifinals of the doubles event. Mirza lost in the first round of the MPS Group Championships but won the doubles title with Chuang. She lost in the first round at Roland Garros, losing to Kazakhstan's Galina Voskoboeva.
On grass, Mirza parrticipated in the 2009 AEGON Classic and reached the semifinals, losing to Magdaléna Rybáriková of Slovakia 3–6,6–0,6–3, who eventually won the title. At Wimbledon, Mirza defeated Anna-Lena Grönefeld in the first round. She then fell to No.28 Sorana Cîrstea in the second round. She then lost in the second round of the doubles (with Chuang) and mixed doubles (with Mahesh Bhupathi).
Next Mirza went to Lexington to compete in Fifth Third Bank Tennis Championships. Mirza had a good first round win, defeating María Fernanda Álvarez Terán in straight sets, and followed it up with another over Tetiana Luzhanska. In the quarterfinals, Mirza was leading 5–2 when her opponent, Lindsay Lee-Waters, retired due to injury. She beat Yuan Meng in the semifinal, and in straight sets won the title defeating top seed Julie Coin of France.
Mirza's next two tournaments were in Canada, where she had mixed results. She managed it all the way to the final at the Odlum Brown Vancouver Open where she was beaten by Stephanie Dubois. At the Rogers Cup, she fell to Heidi El Tabakh in the second qualifying round.
Next playing in the U.S Open, she defeated Olga Govortsova in the first round but lost 6–0, 6–0 to 10th seed Flavia Pennetta of Italy. She also lost in the second round of the doubles event (partnering Francesca Schiavone) to Shahar Pe'er and Gisela Dulko.
Mirza qualified for the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo but lost in the first round to Zheng Jie. Mirza won the first set but could not hold the lead, eventually losing to the Chinese player 7–5, 2–6, 3–6.
At Osaka, Mirza won her first round match against 5th seed Shahar Pe'er 3–6, 6–3, 6–4. Mirza then defeated Viktoriya Kutuzova 6–4, 6–3 and in the quarterfinal she defeated 2nd seed Marion Bartoli 6–4, 2–0 by retirement. Bartoli conceded her match and Mirza moved on to the semifinal. She lost to Francesca Schiavone of Italy.
Mirza began her year at the ASB Classic in Auckland. She won her first round match against Stefanie Vögele in three sets, but was crushed by 4th seed Francesca Schiavone in the second round. Mirza then suffered two first-round losses at the Moorilla Hobart International and the Australian Open.
In February, Mirza competed in the 2010 PTT Pattaya Open as the 6th seed, but lost to Tatjana Malek 6–3, 4–6, 3–6. She then played in the Dubai Tennis Championships but suffered a first round defeat to Anabel Medina Garrigues. Mirza was forced to withdraw from the Sony Ericcson Open and BNP Paribas Open due to a right wrist injury. This injury also caused her to pull out of the French Open.
She returned at the AEGON Classic, where she lost in the second round to Tamarine Tanasugarn in the three sets. Mirza then fell in the qualifying at Eastbourne and also lost in the first round of Wimbledon.
Her bad form continued, as she lost in the second round of the Odlum Brown Vancouver Open and qualifying rounds of both the Cincinnati Masters and the Rogers Cup.
She then competed at the US Open where she easily beat Michelle Larcher De Brito 6–3, 6–2 in the first round. In next round she went down to 20th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6–2, 6–4.
In September Mirza competed in the 2010 Guangzhou International Women's Open. In the first round she defeated Katie Obrien 6–3, 1–6, 6–2. Next she defeated 3rd seed Akgul Amanmuradova 6–4, 6–3 to reach the quarterfinals, where she lost fighting to Zhang Shuai 6–4, 1–6, 6–4. She then lost in the first round of the Tashkent Open and the qualifying draw of the BGL Luxembourg Open. She also lost in round one of the OEC Taipei Ladies Open to Bojana Jovanovski, but was runner-up in doubles with Hsieh Su-wei.
In October, she represented India at the 2010 Commonwealth Games as the 2nd seed. She defeated Brittany Teei (Cook Islands), Marina Erakovic (New Zealand), and Olivia Rogowska (Australia) before losing to Australia's Anastasia Rodionova in the final. In doubles, she partnered with fellow Indian Rushmi Chakravarthi, losing in the semifinals to Australians Anastasia Rodionova and Sally Peers. Mirza and Chakravarthi beat fellow Indians Poojashree Venkatesha and Nirupama Sanjeev to win the bronze medal.
In November, she represented India at the 2010 Asian Games. The unseeded Indian defeated Chan Venise Wing-yau in first round. Next she defeated 6th seed Zhang Shuai in straight sets 6–2, 6–2 to enter into quarterfinal. In quarterfinal Mirza won against 2nd seed Tamarine Tanasugarn 6–2,6–3 to move in semi final, where she went down fighting to 3rd seed Akgul Amanmuradova 7–6(7), 3–6, 4–6 and won Bronze Medal in singles. In Mixed Doubles she partnered with India's Vishnu Vardhan losing in the finals to Chan Yung-jan and Yang Tsung-hua and won Silver Medal.
In December, she went to Dubai to compete at the Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge. Coming unseeded, she won the tournament, defeating 6th seed Ksenia Pervak, top seed Julia Görges & 8th seed Evgeniya Rodina en route, and 2nd seed Bojana Jovanovski in the final.
Ranked at no.141, Mirza kicked-off her year with the ASB Classic in Auckland. She needed one more win to qualify for the tournament, but lost in three sets against Sabine Lisicki. In doubles, she partnered Renata Voráčová of Czech Republic and reached the semifinals, but lost to Katarina Srebotnik and Kveta Peschke.
Going into the Australian Open, Mirza went down fighting to former world no. 1 Justine Henin in a tight three-setter 5–7, 6–3, 6–1 in the first round. She partnerd Voracova for doubles but lost in the first round also.
She received wildcards to play in the Dubai Tennis Championships and the Qatar Ladies Open. She made the second rounds of both events, falling to Ayumi Morita and Jelena Janković, respectively. She also was the quarterfinalist in doubles at both, with Russian Elena Vesnina.
At the Premier Mandatory events in March, Mirza made the second rounds in both. In doubles, she won her first Premier Mandatory title at Indian Wells, with Vesnina, defeating Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Meghann Shaughnessy.
Mirza participated at the Premier-level Family Circle Cup in Charleston. In singles, she made her first Premier quarterfinal since San Diego in August 2007. In doubles, Mirza won the title with Vesnina: the Indo-Russian duo beat Mattek-Sands and Shaughnessy in the final for the second time this season. Mirza won her 11th WTA Tour Doubles Title and second of the year.
Next, she also competed at the 2011 Mutua Madrid Open, losing in the first round against doubles partner Elena Vesnina. In doubles, with Vesnina, she managed to go up to the third round. Mirza took part in the 2011 Sparta Prague Open, but had to retire in her first round match against Aleksandra Krunic due to a back injury. Next she played at the 2011 Internationaux de Strasbourg, but suffered a first round lost Alize Cornet.
Mirza breezed through the first round of the French Open where she beat Kristina Barrois in straight sets, 6–3, 6–3. Then in Round 2, she lost to 12th seed Agnieszka Radwanska, 2–6, 4–6. In doubles, Mirza had what was probabaly the greatest highlight of her career- she was the runner-up with Vesnina to Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka.
At Wimbledon, Mirza made the semifinals of doubles with Vesnina and the quarterfinals in mixed doubles with Rohan Bopanna. She also made the third round of the US Open in doubles with Vesnina. At the 2011 Citi Open, Mirza won the doubles title with Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan.
After Roland Garros, Mirza suffered six straight main draw losses, including the Wimbledon Championships and US Open grand slams. An knee injury stopped Mirza from playing the rest of the season. She ended the year ranked at No. 104.
Mirza kicked-off her 2012 season ranked 104th at the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand. She lost a tough 6–1, 5–7, 3–6 first qualifying match against Coco Vandeweghe. As for doubles, she partnered Elena Vesnina and made it to the semifinals, losing to Julia Görges and Flavia Pennetta. Her next tournament was in Sydney where she played doubles only alongside Italian Roberta Vinci, but lost in round one.
Going into the Australian Open, Mirza was overpowered by Tsvetana Pironkova 4–6, 2–6 in the first round. In doubles, Mirza reached her third Grand Slam semifinal, partnering Vesnina, where they fell to Svetlana Kuznetsova and Vera Zvonareva. For the mixed doubles event, Mirza played alongside compatriot Mahesh Bhupathi and reached her 4th Grand Slam semifinal.
Mirza then represented India at the Fed Cup in Shenzhen, China where they were facing Hong Kong. In singles, she defeated Zhang Ling 5–7, 6–0, 6–1. Partnering with Isha Lakhani, the pair beat Chan Wing-Yau Venise and Zhang 6–7(7), 6–1, 7–5. With this performance, India advanced to the Fed Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group I for 2013. Mirza then played at the PTT Pattaya Open where she won her first WTA main draw match since Roland Garros 2011- coming from a set down to upset Ayumi Morita (ranked 47 spots higher), 3–6, 6–1, 6–2. In second round she beat Anne Keothavong 6–4, 7–5 to enter in Quarter Final, where she lost to Su-Wei Hsieh. In doubles with Australian Anastasia Rodionova she won her 13th WTA title: they defeated the Taiwanese sisters Hao-Ching Chan and Yung-Jan Chan 3-6, 6-1, 10-8
Mirza then went to Doha to play at the Qatar Ladies Open where she had to withdraw from the singles qualifying event, due to playing Pattaya doubles final. She lost in the second round of doubles with Vesnina. Then, in Dubai, she was beaten by Aleksandra Wozniak in the first qualifying round. In doubles, Mirza and Vesnina are were runners-up against No.1 seeds Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond. Mirza then lost a tough 2–6, 6–1, 4–6 encounter to Eleni Daniilidou in Round 1 of the BMW Malaysian Open.
Playing doubles at the Premier-line up of Indian Wells, Miami and Charleston, Mirza reached the final, lost in round one and made the quarters, respectively. She also reached round two of singles in Indian Wells. She then would begin the European Clay Court Season at the 2012 Estoril Open, where she was the semifinalist in doubles (with Anastasia Rodionova). She lost in round 2 of doubles in Madrid and also in Rome.
Mirza returned on the singles circuit in May at the 2012 Brussels Open where she won three good matches- including her first 'double bagel'- in the qualifying competition, where she beat Lesia Tsurenko by 6–0, 6–0, who was ranked 87 spots higher than she.
In 2009, Sania Mirza became engaged to childhood friend Sohrab Mirza. However the engagement was called off shortly after. Then, she dated Faizan Udyawar, who is a multimillionaire businessman, for six months. Since she wanted to marry a sportsperson, she started seeing Shoaib Malik.[9] Mirza married Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik on 12 April 2010.[10][11] The wedding was held in Hyderabad, India, followed by a ceremony in Sialkot, Pakistan and a Walima ceremony in Lahore, Pakistan. The online attention the wedding received made Mirza the most searched woman tennis player in 2010 according to Google Trends.[12] The couple planned to settle down in Dubai. The wedding was even more controversial because Shoaib Malik was accused by another girl of already being married to him and hence he could not marry Mirza without first divorcing her. Initially for many days, Shoiab Malik refused to grant the divorce claiming he was never married. This resulted in a huge media drama leading to so much online attention as stated earlier. Finally, having no other option, Shoaib divorced the girl paving the way for his next marriage to Mirza.[13]
The short tennis clothes she has to wear in the court has drawn criticism from some Muslim religious group.[5] According to one report published 8 September 2005, an unnamed Muslim scholar had issued a ruling, saying that women's tennis attire is not suited to Islam.[14] Jamiat-ulema-e-Hind rejected rumours about disrupting her game saying that they do not stop anyone from playing, although they found female tennis players' dress code objectionable. Nevertheless, Calcutta police tightened security measures to protect her.[15]
After Mirza spoke at a conference on safe sex in November 2005, some groups said she was detached from Islam and that she was a "corrupting influence on the youth." Mirza clarified her stance by saying that she was opposed to pre-marital sex.[16]
In 2006, some newspapers reported that Mirza declined to play doubles with Israeli tennis player Shahar Pe'er for fear of protests from India's Muslim community.[16] However, when she teamed up with Pe'er for the 2007 WTA Tour of Stanford, California, there was no reaction.
Mirza was pictured resting her feet and showing the soles of her bare feet as she watched compatriot Rohan Bopanna play in the 2008 Hopman Cup, with an Indian flag in front.[17] She faced possible prosecution under the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act after a private citizen complained. Mirza protested, "I love my country, I wouldn't be playing Hopman Cup otherwise."
On 4 February 2008, Mirza said that she would stop appearing in tennis tournaments held in India, starting with the 2008 Bangalore Open the following month, citing the series of controversies and upon advice by her manager.[18]
But Mirza chose to participate at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi. This time, she faced no controversies, but instead the public was happy that she has started to play at major tournaments in India.
Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents in Final | Score in Final |
Runner-up | 2011 | French Open | Clay | Elena Vesnina | Andrea Hlaváčková Lucie Hradecká |
4–6, 3–6 |
Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents in Final | Score in Final |
Runner-up | 2008 | Australian Open | Hard | Mahesh Bhupathi | Sun Tiantian Nenad Zimonjić |
6–7(4–7), 4–6 |
Winner | 2009 | Australian Open | Hard | Mahesh Bhupathi | Nathalie Dechy Andy Ram |
6–3, 6–1 |
Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents in Final | Score in Final |
Winner | 2003 | Wimbledon | Grass | Alisa Kleybanova | Kateřina Böhmová Michaëlla Krajicek |
2–6, 6–3, 6–2 |
Preceded by Tatiana Golovin |
WTA Newcomer of the Year 2005 |
Succeeded by Agnieszka Radwańska |
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Sania Mirza |
Shoaib Malik at the University Oval in 2009 | ||||
Personal information | ||||
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Born | Sialkot, Punjab, Pakistan |
1 February 1982 |||
Batting style | Right-hand bat | |||
Bowling style | Right-arm offbreak | |||
Role | All-rounder | |||
International information | ||||
National side | Pakistan | |||
Test debut (cap 169) | 29 August 2001 v Bangladesh | |||
Last Test | 9 August 2010 v England | |||
ODI debut (cap 128) | 14 October 1999 v West Indies | |||
Last ODI | 19 June 2010 v India | |||
ODI shirt no. | 18 | |||
Domestic team information | ||||
Years | Team | |||
2004/05–2006/07 | Sialkot Stallions | |||
2003–2004 | Gloucestershire | |||
2001/02–2006/07 | Sialkot | |||
1999/00 | Pakistan Reserves | |||
1998/99–present | PIA | |||
1997/98–1998/99 | Gujranwala | |||
2008 | Delhi Daredevils | |||
Career statistics | ||||
Competition | Test | ODI | FC | LA |
Matches | 32 | 192 | 101 | 270 |
Runs scored | 1,606 | 5,188 | 4,655 | 7,371 |
Batting average | 33.45 | 34.35 | 33.48 | 37.99 |
100s/50s | 2/8 | 7/31 | 12/19 | 12/44 |
Top score | 148* | 143 | 200 | 143 |
Balls bowled | 2,245 | 6,384 | 11,932 | 10,388 |
Wickets | 21 | 134 | 195 | 250 |
Bowling average | 61.47 | 36.29 | 30.09 | 30.98 |
5 wickets in innings | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
10 wickets in match | 0 | n/a | 1 | n/a |
Best bowling | 4/42 | 4/19 | 7/81 | 5/35 |
Catches/stumpings | 16/– | 68/– | 49/– | 107/– |
Source: CricketArchive, 21 May 2011 |
Shoaib Malik (Urdu: شعیب ملک) (born 1 February 1982) is a Pakistani cricket player and former captain. He made his One-Day International debut in 1999 against the West Indies and his Test debut in 2001 against Bangladesh. He has taken over 100 ODI wickets, and has a batting average in the mid 30s in both Test and ODI cricket. His bowling action has come under scrutiny (particularly his doosra) but he has had elbow surgery to correct this. Malik was ranked second, behind teammate Shahid Afridi, in the ICC ODI all-rounder rankings in June 2008.[1] In March 2010, Malik received a one-year ban from international cricket from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB); the ban was overturned two months later.[2]
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Shoaib Malik first played tape-ball cricket in the streets as a child. He began to take playing cricket seriously in 1993/94 when he attended Imran Khan's coaching clinics in Sialkot. He began as a batsman only developing on his bowling later. He used to get in trouble with his family for playing cricket, as they wanted him to focus on his education. In 1996, Malik attended trials for the U-15 World Cup. He was selected in the squad for his bowling.[3]
In May 2001, Malik's bowling action was inspected. The PCB group of bowling advisers concluded that his stock off-spinner was legal, although his delivery going the other way was not. He was encouraged to concentrate on his off-spin and to practice bowling his other delivery without bending his arm.[4] In a One Day International (ODI) against England in June 2001, Malik suffered a fractured right shoulder after falling awkwardly while attempting to take a catch.[5]
Malik was approached by Gloucestershire County Cricket Club in July 2003 to act as a replacement for Ian Harvey, who was on international duty with Australia. John Bracewell, the club's director of cricket, commented that he was "excited by the prospect of signing an international spinning all-rounder to replace Ian during the Cheltenham Festival and the C&G semi-finals. He will add a new and refreshing dimension to the squad ... which is in keeping with our playing philosophy to both win and entertain".[6] He sufficiently impressed in two County Championship and three one-day matches that resulted in renewing of his contract for the 2004 season. Mark Alleyne, the club's head coach, remarked that "Shoaib did very well for us last year in the short time he was with us and fitted in very well. He is a gifted all-rounder who is worthy of a place in either discipline and as a 21 year old, he can only get better and I am really pleased at having him in my squad".[7] Over the course of his two seasons at Gloucestershire, Malik played eight first-class matches, scoring 214 runs at an average of 17.83 with two fifties[8] and taking 15 wickets at an average of 45.06, with best bowling figures of 3/76.[9] He also played twelve one-day matches, scoring 345 runs at an average of 43.12 with three fifties[10] and taking 10 wickets at an average of 47.60, with best bowling figures of 3/28.[11]
In October 2004, Malik was reported to the International Cricket Council (ICC) for having a "potentially flawed bowling action";[12] eight months later, his action was cleared.[13] In the intervening period, Malik was used mainly as a batsman.[14] He was also given a one-Test ban by the Pakistan Cricket Board after admitting to deliberately losing a Twenty20 match for the Sialkot Stallions against Karachi Zebras to knock Lahore Eagles out of the Faysal Bank T20 Cup. The inquiry concluded that the incident "damaged Pakistan's cricketing image and had shown disrespect to the crowd", but that "his actions were not part of any match-fixing with no financial implications, but were an immature attempt to express his disappointment at earlier decisions in the competition that he felt went against his side".[15]
During his Test career, Malik has batted at 5 different positions and has the unusual record of batting at every position except 11th in ODIs. Pakistan's problems in finding a reliable opening pair have led to Malik being used as an opener in Test and ODI matches. In Test cricket, he made a big impression with his match-saving innings against Sri Lanka in 2006, during which he batted for the whole day and finished with 148 runs not out. His bowling has been effective at times, especially in one-day cricket where his best bowling figures are four wickets for 19 runs (4/19) in addition to many 3-wicket hauls.
On the international stage Malik struggled in England. In 12 ODIs across four tours between 2001 and 2006 he scored 98 runs at an average of 8.16, with just two scores above 20, far below his career ODI average of 34.35. Of people who have played at least eight ODIs in England, Malik's is the furthest below his overall average.[16]
Following Inzamam-ul-Haq's resignation as Pakistan captain after the 2007 World Cup, Malik was put forward as one of the names for the captaincy along with Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf. After Younis Khan's rejection, Malik was the popular choice as a younger player and was seen to represent a fresh start after the Inzamam era.
Pakistan's coach, Bob Woolmer, was a strong advocate of Malik's case to become captain; in Woolmer's opinion Malik was "the sharpest tactical tack among his group ... a real presence on the field".[17] Former skipper Imran Khan also backed Malik for the role, stating "He appears to have a good cricket brain and could turn out to be a very good choice for Pakistan cricket".[18] Malik was appointed captain on 19 April 2007 by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), his experience considering his relatively young age and consistent performances were cited as other reasons for his appointment.[18] At the age of just 25, he was Pakistan's fourth youngest captain.[17]
In Malik's first series as captain, Pakistan defeated Sri Lanka 2–1 in an ODI series in Abu Dhabi. His next assignments were home Test and ODI series against South Africa, which Pakistan lost 1-0 and 3-2 respectively. 3-2 was the score in favour of India when Pakistan subsequently played an ODI series against their arch-rivals. Malik hit 89 and took three wickets in the final match, which Pakistan won by 31 runs.
Malik's captaincy lasted two years. A report by the coach and manager criticised his leadership, claiming that Malik was "a loner, aloof and involved in his own little world, which is OK but not when the team required a fully committed captain We do not see any meaningful communication between players and captain other than his five-minute talk during the team meeting".[17] Younis Khan took over as captain on 27 January 2009[19] after a poor performance against Sri Lanka saw Malik step down.[19] In his two-year tenure as captain, Malik lead his country in two Tests, losing two and drawing one,[20] and 36 ODIs, of which Pakistan won 24,[21] and 17 T20Is, winning 12.[22]
In March 2010, Malik was given a one-year ban from the national team by the PCB, who charged him with causing infighting within the team. It was part of a dramatic cull of players after Pakistan's winless tour of Australia, resulting in the fining or banning of seven players.[23] Two months later Lancashire County Cricket Club approached Malik to play for them during Twenty20 Cup. He agreed, saying "When Lancashire approached me to come and play for them I didn't hesitate in saying yes. I love playing cricket in England and the opportunity to play with a club of Lancashire's reputation was too good to pass up".[18] On 29 May 2010, Malik's ban was overturned and his Rs 2 million fine halved.[2] He was subsequently named in the 2010 Asia Cup squad,[24] and as a result, Malik pulled out of his contract with Lancashire.[25] Pakistan did not make the final of the four-team tournament,[26] and Malik played in two matches, amassing 47 runs.[27] Mailk was in Pakistan's squad to play Australia and England in England in June–August 2010, but was dropped from the side. A regular in the ODI side, over the previously 12 months he had averaged around 30 with the bat in ODIs, and excluding one score over 50, his batting average hovered around 20. Mohsin Khan, Pakistan's chairman of selectors, cited Malik's poor recent form as the reason for dropping him.[28]
According to Cricinfo's Osman Samiuddin:[29]
(Malik’s) batting repertoire doesn't burst forth with strokes; there remains a distinctly utilitarian appeal to it. His drives straight are generally checked, dispossessed of flourish and in his forward defensive prods, there is an exaggerated care, just to make fully sure. It doesn't mean elegance doesn't come to him, as a couple of cover drives off Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh to bring Pakistan nearer its hundred showed. Midwicket slogging also comes naturally to him, usually more effective than beautiful.—Osman Samiuddin, 2006
Malik is regarded as a flexible player. He is capable of hitting big shots but is also capable of rotating the strike with good placement. He has a strike rate of 77.23 runs per 100 balls, which compares favourably to players such as Rahul Dravid and Inzamam ul-Haq. His most brazen display of "power hitting" came in 2003 against South Africa when he scored 82 from 41 balls. As is required of most modern players, he also has displayed good defensive batting at times.
Shoaib Malik is captain of the Sialkot Stallions. He has led them to a record 7 domestic T20 titles with the most recent coming on 1 April 2012.[30]
In 2008, media reports in Pakistan surfaced that Malik has married Ayesha Siddiqui, a woman from Hyderabad, India, on 3 June 2002. Malik denied these allegations saying his marriage plans with the woman did not go through, because of a lack of consensus between both the families.[31] In April 2010, Siddiqui's family released Shoaib-Ayesha 'marriage' certificate (Nikahnama).[32] On April 2, 2010, Malik said he plans to sue Siddiqui's family for "indulging in character assassination".[33][34][35] On April 7, 2010 Malik confirmed his marriage with Siddiqui and signed the Talaq (divorce) papers.[36]
On 12 April 2010, Malik married Indian tennis player Sania Mirza in an Islamic wedding ceremony at the Taj Krishna Hotel in Hyderabad, India[37][38] for a mahr of 61 lakh (US$137,500).[39]
Test Centuries by Shoaib Malik | |||||||
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# | Runs | Match | Against | City/Country | Venue | Year | Scorecard |
1 | 148* | 1 | Sri Lanka | Colombo, Sri Lanka | Sinhalese Sports Club Ground | 2006 | Test#1794 |
2 | 134 | 3 | Sri Lanka | Colombo, Sri Lanka | Sinhalese Sports Club Ground | 2009 | Test#1927 |
One Day International centuries by Shoaib Malik | ||||||
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# | Runs | Against | City/Country | Venue | Year | Scorecard |
1 | 111* | West Indies | Sharjah | Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium | 2002 | ODI#1808 |
2 | 115 | New Zealand | Lahore, Pakistan | Gaddafi Stadium | 2002 | ODI#1835 |
3 | 118 | Hong Kong | Colombo, Sri Lanka | Sinhalese Sports Club Ground | 2004 | ODI#2147 |
4 | 143 | India | Colombo, Sri Lanka | Ranasinghe Premadasa Stadium | 2004 | ODI#2152 |
5 | 108 | India | Lahore, Pakistan | Gaddafi Stadium | 2006 | ODI#2329 |
6 | 125* | India | Karachi, Pakistan | National Stadium | 2008 | ODI#2717 |
7 | 128 | India | Centurion, South Africa | SuperSport Park | 2009 | ODI#2898 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Shoaib Malik |
Preceded by Inzamam-ul-Haq |
Pakistan Cricket Captain 2007–2009 |
Succeeded by Younis Khan |
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Javed Sheikh | |
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Native name | جاوید شیخ |
Born | Sheikh Javed Iqbal 8 October 1954 Rawalpindi, Punjab, Pakistan |
Other names | Jeddi |
Occupation | Radio actor, TV actor, Film actor, Producer, Director |
Years active | 1964–present |
Spouse | Zinat Mangi Salma Agha[citation needed] Neeli |
Children | Shehzad Sheikh Mariam Sheikh |
Parents | Shiekh Ramatullah |
Javed Sheikh (Urdu: جاوید شیخ, also spelled Javaid) (born 8 October 1954) is a Pakistani actor, director and producer who has devoted his career to the film industry of Bollywood, Lollywood, and Pollywood films.[1]
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Born in Pakistan's fourth-largest city, Rawalpindi, Javed Sheikh made his acting debut in the Lollywood film Dhamaka, released on 14 December 1974.[2] He since acted in over 100 Urdu films from the 1970s through to the early 2000s.
The first film he directed was Mushkil, released in 1995.[1] In 2002, he directed Yeh Dil Aap Ka Huwa, in which he also played a supporting role.[3]
In 2005, he switched to acting in Bollywood films and appeared in the films Shikhar (2005) and Jaan-E-Mann (2006).[4] In 2007 he appeared in Namaste London, Om Shanti Om and the Pakistani film Mein Ek Din Laut Kay Aaoon Ga. In 2008, he played a supporting role in Jannat. His most recent film as director was Khulay Aasman Kay Neechay, a big-budget film shot in four countries (Pakistan, India, United Arab Emirates and Australia). The production failed at the box-office, resulting in a net loss of Rs. 8 Crore.
In 2010 Sheikh was working in a multi-cultural British film, Honour Killings which is based on the burning problem in United Kingdom i.e. killing in the name of honour. The film is directed by Avtar Bhogal, produced by Harijinder Singh and stars a mix of Pakistani, Indian and British actors including famous Pakistani model and actress, Zara Sheikh, Prem Chopra, Gulshan Grover, Tom Alter and newcomer Sandeep Singh. The film's shooting had been completed in England with plans for March 2010 release and premieres in Lahore, Mumbai and London.
Sheikh also has a supporting role in Syed Faisal Bukhari's Bhai Log. He had been filming Syed Faisal Bukhari's second film Saltanat since January 2010 with co-stars Mona Laizza and Ahsan Khan.
Sheikh's first marriage was with Zinat Mangi, a TV/film supporting actress of that era, with whom he has a daughter, Momal and a son Shahzad. After divorcing her, he had a long affair but short marriage with Salma Agha, another famous British born Pakistani singer/actress of that time. Since then Javed Sheikh has had several relationships with famous actresses like Neeli and Sana. Although it is widely assumed that he had a brief marriage with Neeli but both parties deny it. Since the divorce from Salma Agha, he is still officially single. In April 2009, in a morning television show on Geo TV, Sheikh admitted that he has moved to India to facilitate his working in Bollywood films.
He has a brother, Saleem Sheikh, who is also a television actor. His brother-in-law is Behroze Sabzwari.
Year | Film | Urdu | Hindi | Role |
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2000 | Mujhe Chand Chahiye | مجھے چاند چاہئے | Razi | |
2002 | Yeh Dil Aap Ka Huwa | یہ دل آپ کا ہوا | ||
2005 | Dus | دس | Dan's boss (scenes deleted) | |
Shikhar | شکار | Srinath Vardhan | ||
2006 | Jaan-E-Mann | جان من | Piya's father | |
2007 | Apne | اپنے | अपने | Roy |
2007 | Namastey London | نمستے لندن | Pervez Khan | |
2007 | Om Shanti Om | اوم شانتی اوم | Rajesh Kapoor | |
2007 | Mein Ek Din Laut Kay Aaoon Ga | میں ایک دن لوٹ کے آؤں گا | Khan | |
2008 | My Name is Anthony Gonsalves | مائی نیم از آنتھونی گونزالویز | Inspector Khan | |
2008 | Jannat | جنت | Abu Ibrahim (Don) | |
2008 | Money Hai Toh Honey Hai | منی ہے تو ہنی ہے | Prakash Arora | |
2008 | Yuvvraaj | یوراج | Yogendra Yuvvraaj Singh | |
2009 | Road to Sangam | روڈ ٹو سنگم | ||
2010 | Hum Tum Aur Ghost | ہم تم اور گوسٹ | Gehna's Father | |
2010 | Kajraare | کجرا رے | Lahore Pakistan Police Officer | |
2011 | Bhai Log | بھائی لوگ |
This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (June 2011) |
Pooja Bedi | |
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Pooja Bedi at the Fizaa store launch (2012) |
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Born | Pooja Bedi May 11, 1970 [1] Mumbai, India |
Occupation | Actress, Television presenter |
Pooja Bedi (Hindi: पूजा बेदी, born 11 May 1970) is a former Bollywood actress and currently a television talk show host. She is the daughter of actor Kabir Bedi. She has also participated in Bigg Boss 5 and was voted out on 26th of November.
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Pooja Bedi was born in Mumbai to the late Indian classical dancer Protima and film star Kabir Bedi. She was brought up in what she calls a bohemian progressive artistic environment. [1] She received her basic education at Besant Montessori in Mumbai and then at Lawrence School, Sanawar. Bedi married Farhan Ebrahim whom she met in 1990.[1] She has two children, a daughter Aalia born in 1997 and a son Omar, born in 2000. Bedi and Ebrahim divorced in 2003. She is now in a relationship with Bigg Boss 5 contestant Akashdeep Saigal (Sky).They both accepted this on talk show Almost Famous on Zoom. [1]
From 1991 to 1994, Bedi worked in Bollywood films, has appeared in many commercials and campaigns. She is remembered for the Kama Sutra condom campaign which she endorsed and used as a vehicle to raise awareness of AIDS.[citation needed]
She appeared in plays such as Carry On Papa, Wow What a Girl and A Bengali Jatra.
She made her film debut with Jag Mundhra's 1991 film Vishkanya. She went on to act in Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander (1992) with Aamir Khan for which she earned a nomination in the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1993. Her other films include Lootere (1993) and Aatank Hi Aatank (1995).
In 2000, she complied and edited Timepass, the memoirs of her mother Protima Bedi. She has been a columnist with the Times of India, the Hindustan Times, and MiD DAY newspapers, and has written articles for numerous publications, including L'officiel, Femina and The Week. In 2000 she had a public tiff with Amitabh Bachchan.[2]
She has hosted celebrity talk shows since 2004, one of which, formerly titled Not just Page 3 was later known as Just Pooja. It was broadcast on zOOm. This show went on to win multiple awards.[citation needed]
In 2007, she participated in Jhalak Dikhlaja on Sony Entertainment Television and has since taken up Latin American ballroom dancing. She later performed with her choreographer/partner Hanif Hilal at events and functions all across the globe. She took part in Nach Baliye (Season 3) on Star Plus and Khatron Ke Khiladi on Colors channel. She hosted the Saturday special episode of Bigg Boss season 2 where she interviewed the evicted contestants.
In 2010, she participated in Maa Exchange, the Indian version of "Wife Swap" on Sony Entertainment Television.
She has been a brand ambassador for Kaya Skin Clinic, Allergan India and the Country Club (CCIL India). She is currently a relationship counsellor with her column "Heart Chakra" in the Times of India, and also with her column in Femina, an Indian women's magazine. She also writes a monthly column for the magazine Men's Health.
Bedi is the Chairperson of the charitable organization The Grassroots Foundation. The foundation's objectives and activities include poverty housing, livelihood skills programs, education, farming reforms and water harvesting. Pooja Bedi recently was evicted from Big Boss Season 5 through a popular votes.
Film Title | Role | Director |
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Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar | Supporting Actress | Mansoor Khan |
Lootere | Supporting Actress | Dharmesh Darshan |
Vishkanya | Lead Actress | Jagmohan Mundhra |
Aatank Hi Aatank | Guest Appearance | Dilip Shankar |
Phir Teri Kahani Yaad Aayee | Supporting Actress | Mahesh Bhatt |
Chittemma Mogudu (Telugu) | Supporting Actress | Co-starring Mohan Babu |
Shakti (Telugu) | Supporting Actress | Meher Ramesh |
Show | Role | Channel |
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Not Just Page 3 | Anchor | Zoom TV |
Just Pooja | Anchor | Zoom TV |
Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa | Celebrity contestant | Sony TV |
Heartbeat | Celebrity contestant | Star TV |
Mum Tum Aur Hum | Celebrity contestant (won) | Star TV |
Jodi Kamaal Ki | Celebrity contestant (won) | Star TV |
Nach Baliye | Celebrity contestant | Star TV |
Bigg Boss (Season 2) - Aakhiri Salam | Host | Colors |
Fear Factor - Khatron Ke Khiladi | Celebrity contestant | Colors |
Maa Exchange | Celebrity contestant | Sony TV |
Big Boss 5 | Celebrity contestant | Colors |
Title | Role | Company |
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KamaSutra condoms | Model | JK industries |
Frooti (drink) | Model | Parle industries |
Tips and Toes | Model |
Play | Role | Director |
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Wow What a Girl | Lead role | Akhil Mishra |
Carry on Papa | Lead actress | Dinyar contractor/Shirish Patel |
Adalate Nirobh Sakshi (Bengali Jatra) | Lead role |
Product | Role | Designer |
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Nisha Jamwal couture | Celebrity model | Nisha Jamwal |
Allergan | Brand Ambassador | Allergan India |
Country Club India | Brand Ambassador | Allergan India |
KamaSutra condoms | Model | JK industries |
Tacfab | Model | Tacfab |
Kaya Skin Clinic | Model | Marico industries |
Cause | Role | Source |
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Poverty housing | Celebrity support | Habitat for Humanity |
HIV/AIDS music video | Celebrity support | Candywalk (levis strauss foundation) |
Haath se Haath Milaa (HIV/AIDS awareness) | Celebrity support | BBC world service trust |
Product | Role | Comments |
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Narayan Infinity | Compère | Launch of township |
Casa Estebana | Compère | Launch of luxurious villas |
Swatch | Host: Who wants to be a swatchonnaire | |
Ernst and Young | Host dines motu kuta | |
ICI dulux paints | Host and Performer | |
Laadli media awards | Host | |
Gant Clothing | Host and guest list | |
Teachers awards 2006 | Host | |
Teachers awards 2007 | Host | |
Teachers awards 2009 | Host | |
Indo American chamber of Commerce | Compère | Ashley Judd AIDS/HIV Awareness event |
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Pooja Bedi |
Hingis playing for the New York Sportimes in the 2011 WTT. |
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Country | Switzerland |
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Residence | Hurden, Switzerland |
Born | Košice, (then Czechoslovakia, now in modern Slovakia) |
30 September 1980
Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) |
Weight | 59 kg (130 lb; 9.3 st) |
Turned pro | 1994 |
Retired | 2007 |
Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
Career prize money | US$20,130,657 (7th in all-time rankings) |
Singles | |
Career record | 548–133 (80.5%) |
Career titles | 43 WTA, 2 ITF |
Highest ranking | No. 1 (31 March 1997) |
Grand Slam Singles results | |
Australian Open | W (1997, 1998, 1999) |
French Open | F (1997, 1999) |
Wimbledon | W (1997) |
US Open | W (1997) |
Other tournaments | |
Championships | W (1998, 2000) |
Olympic Games | 2R (1996) |
Doubles | |
Career record | 286–54 (84.1%) |
Career titles | 37 WTA, 1 ITF |
Highest ranking | No. 1 (8 June 1998) |
Grand Slam Doubles results | |
Australian Open | W (1997, 1998, 1999, 2002) |
French Open | W (1998, 2000) |
Wimbledon | W (1996, 1998) |
US Open | W (1998) |
Mixed Doubles | |
Career titles | 1 |
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results | |
Australian Open | W (2006) |
Last updated on: 8 June 2011. |
Martina Hingis (born 30 September 1980) is a retired Swiss professional tennis player who spent a total of 209 weeks as World No. 1.[1] She won five Grand Slam singles titles (three Australian Opens, one Wimbledon, and one US Open). She also won nine Grand Slam women's doubles titles, winning a calendar year doubles Grand Slam in 1998, and one Grand Slam mixed doubles title.
Hingis set a series of "youngest-ever" records before ligament injuries in both ankles forced her to withdraw temporarily from professional tennis in 2002 at the age of 22. After several surgeries and long recuperations, Hingis returned to the WTA tour in 2006. She then climbed to world number 6 and won three singles titles. On 1 November 2007, Hingis announced her retirement from tennis after testing positive for cocaine during Wimbledon in 2007. She denied using the drug, but decided not to appeal the imminent ban.[2][3]
In June 2011, she was named one of the "30 Legends of Women's Tennis: Past, Present and Future" by Time.[4]
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Hingis was born in Košice, (then part of Czechoslovakia, now in modern Slovakia), to accomplished tennis players[5] Melanie Molitorová and Karol Hingis. Molitorová was a professional tennis player, who was once ranked tenth among women in Czechoslovakia, and was determined to develop Hingis into a top player as early as pregnancy.[6] Her father was ranked as high as nineteenth in the Czechoslovakian tennis rankings. Hingis's parents divorced when she was six, and she and her mother relocated around a year later to Trübbach in Switzerland.[6] Her father, who continued to live in Košice as a tennis coach, said in 1997 that he had seen little of his daughter after the split.[7]
Hingis began playing tennis when she was two years old and entered her first tournament at age four.[8] In 1993, 12-year-old Hingis became the youngest player to win a Grand Slam junior title: the girls' singles at the French Open.[9] In 1994, she retained her French Open junior title, won the girls' singles title at Wimbledon, and reached the final of the US Open.[10]
She made her professional debut in October 1994, two weeks after her 14th birthday. She ended the year ranked World No. 87,[10] and in January 1995, she became the youngest player to win a match at a Grand Slam tournament when she advanced to the second round of the Australian Open.[11]
In 1996, Hingis became the youngest Grand Slam champion of all time, when she teamed with Helena Suková at Wimbledon to win the women's doubles title at age 15 years and 9 months.[12] She also won her first professional singles title that year at Filderstadt, Germany. She reached the singles quarterfinals at the 1996 Australian Open and the singles semifinals of the 1996 US Open. Following her win at Filderstadt, Hingis defeated the reigning Australian Open champion and co-top ranked (with Steffi Graf) Monica Seles in the final at Oakland. Hingis then lost to Graf at the year-end WTA Tour Championships.
In 1997, Hingis became the undisputed World No. 1 women's tennis player. She started the year by winning the warm-up tournament in Sydney. She then became the youngest Grand Slam singles winner in the 20th century by winning the Australian Open at age 16 years and 3 months (beating former champion Mary Pierce in the final). In March, she became the youngest top ranked player in history. In July, she became the youngest singles champion at Wimbledon since Lottie Dod in 1887 by beating Jana Novotná in the final. She then defeated another up-and-coming player, Venus Williams, in the final of the US Open. The only Grand Slam singles title that Hingis failed to win in 1997 was the French Open, where she lost in the final to Iva Majoli. She won the Australian Open women's doubles with Natasha Zvereva.
In 1998, Hingis won all four of the Grand Slam women's doubles titles, only the fourth in women's tennis history to do so,[13] (the Australian Open with Mirjana Lučić and the other three events with Novotná), and she became only the third woman to simultaneously hold the No. 1 ranking in both singles and doubles. She also retained her Australian Open singles title by beating Conchita Martínez in straight sets in the final. Hingis, however, lost in the final of the US Open to Lindsay Davenport. Davenport ended an 80-week stretch Hingis had enjoyed as the No. 1 singles player in October 1998, but Hingis finished the year by beating Davenport in the final of the WTA Tour Championships.
1999 saw Hingis win her third successive Australian Open singles crown as well as the doubles title (with Anna Kournikova). She then reached the French Open final and was three points away from victory in the second set before losing to Steffi Graf. During the match, Hingis had infuriated an already partisan crowd by arguing with the umpire over several line calls. In the second set, she crossed to the other side of the net to inspect her own ball mark, thereby incurring a mandatory one-point penalty. She was also booed for taking a bathroom break early in the final set, and twice delivering underhand serves. After the match, Hingis rushed from the court in tears, and only returned to the court for the trophy ceremony after being comforted by her mother.[14] Following the French Open, Martina revealed at Wimbledon that her mother was no longer her coach.[15] After a shock first-round 6–2, 6–0 loss to Jelena Dokić at Wimbledon,[16] Hingis bounced back to reach her third consecutive US Open final, where she lost to Serena Williams. Hingis won a total of seven singles titles that year and reclaimed the No. 1 singles ranking. She also reached the final of the WTA Tour Championships, where she lost to Lindsay Davenport.
In 2000, Hingis again found herself in both the singles and doubles finals at the Australian Open. This time, however, she lost both. Her three-year hold on the singles championship ended when she lost to Davenport. Later, Hingis and Mary Pierce, her new doubles partner, lost to Lisa Raymond and Rennae Stubbs. Hingis captured the French Open women's doubles title with Pierce and produced consistent results in singles tournaments throughout the year. She reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon before losing to Venus Williams. Although she did not win a Grand Slam singles tournament, she kept the year end No. 1 ranking because of nine tournament championships, including the WTA Tour Championships where she won the singles and doubles titles.
In 2001, Switzerland, with Hingis and Roger Federer on its team, won the Hopman Cup. Hingis was undefeated in singles during the event, defeating Tamarine Tanasugarn, Nicole Pratt, Amanda Coetzer, and Monica Seles.[17]
Hingis reached her fifth consecutive Australian Open final in 2001, defeating both of the Williams sisters en route, before losing to Jennifer Capriati. She briefly ended her coaching relationship with her mother Melanie early in the year[18] but had a change of heart two months later just before the French Open. 2001 was a her least successful year in several seasons, with only three tournament victories in total. She lost her No. 1 ranking for the last time (to Jennifer Capriati) on 14 October 2001. In that same month, Hingis underwent surgery on her right ankle.
Coming back from injury, Hingis won the Australian Open doubles final at the start of 2002 (again teaming with Anna Kournikova) and reached a sixth straight Australian Open final in singles, again facing Capriati. Hingis led by a set and 4–0 and had four match points but lost 4–6, 7–6, 6–2. In May 2002, she needed another ankle ligament operation, this time on her left ankle. After that, she continued to struggle with injuries and was not able to recapture her best form.
In February 2003, at the age of 22, Hingis announced her retirement from tennis, due to her injuries and being in pain.[19] "I want to play tennis only for fun and concentrate more on horse riding and finish my studies"[20] In several interviews, she indicated she wanted to go back to her country and coach full time.[citation needed]
During this segment of her tennis career, Hingis won 40 singles titles and 36 doubles events. She held the World No. 1 singles ranking for a total of 209 weeks (fourth most following Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova, and Chris Evert). In 2005, Tennis magazine put her in 22nd place in its list of 40 Greatest Players of the TENNIS era.
In February 2005, Hingis made an unsuccessful return to competition at an event in Pattaya, Thailand, where she lost to Germany's Marlene Weingärtner in the first round. After the loss, she claimed that she had no further plans for a comeback.
Hingis, however, resurfaced in July, playing singles, doubles, and mixed doubles in World Team Tennis and notching up singles victories over two top 100 players and shutting out Martina Navratilova in singles on 7 July. With these promising results behind her, Hingis announced on 29 November her return to the WTA Tour in 2006.
At the Australian Open, Hingis lost in the quarterfinals to second-seeded Kim Clijsters. However, Hingis won the mixed doubles title with Mahesh Bhupathi of India. This was her first career Grand Slam mixed doubles title and fifteenth overall (5 singles, 9 women's doubles, 1 mixed doubles).
The week after the Australian Open, Hingis defeated World No. 4 Maria Sharapova in the semifinals of the Tier I Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo before losing in the final to World No. 9 Elena Dementieva. Hingis competed in Dubai then, reaching the quarter-finals before falling to Sharapova. At the Tier I Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, Hingis defeated World No. 4 Lindsay Davenport in the fourth round before again losing to Sharapova in the semifinals.
At the Tier I Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, Hingis posted her 500th career singles match victory in the quarterfinals, beating World No. 18 Flavia Pennetta, and subsequently won the tournament with wins over Venus Williams in the semifinals and Dinara Safina in the final. This was her 41st Women's Tennis Association tour singles title and first in more than four years. Hingis then reached the quarterfinals of the French Open before losing to Kim Clijsters.
At Wimbledon, Hingis lost in the third round to Ai Sugiyama.
Hingis's return to the US Open was short lived, however, as she was upset in the second round by World No. 112 Virginie Razzano of France.
In her first tournament after the US Open, Hingis won the second title of her comeback at the Tier III Sunfeast Open in Kolkata, India. She defeated unseeded Russian Olga Poutchkova in the final. The following week in Seoul, Hingis notched her 50th match win of the year before losing in the second round to Sania Mirza.
Hingis qualified for the year-ending WTA Tour Championships in Madrid as the eighth seed. In her round robin matches, she lost in three sets to both Justine Henin and Amélie Mauresmo but defeated Nadia Petrova.
Hingis ended the year ranked World No. 7. She also finished eighth in prize money earnings (U.S.$1,159,537). Hingis too ranked as number 7 on the Annual Top Google News Searches in 2006.[21]
At the Australian Open, Hingis won her first three rounds without losing a set before defeating China's Li Na in the fourth round. Hingis then lost a quarterfinal match to Kim Clijsters. This was the second consecutive year that Hingis had lost to Clijsters in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open and the third time in the last five Grand Slam tournaments that Clijsters had eliminated Hingis in the quarterfinals.
Hingis won her next tournament, the Tier I Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, defeating Ana Ivanovic in the final. This was Hingis's record fifth singles title at this event.
A hip injury that troubled her at the German Open caused her to withdraw from the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, where she was the defending champion, and the French Open, the only important singles title that eluded her.
In her first round match at Wimbledon, Hingis saved two match points to defeat British wildcard Naomi Cavaday, apparently not having fully recovered from the hip injury that prevented her from playing the French Open.[22] In the third round, Hingis lost to Laura Granville of the United States, and stated afterwards she should not have entered the tournament.[23]
Hingis's next tournament was the last Grand Slam tournament of the year, the US Open, which she had won ten years ago for the first time. Hingis lost in the third round to Belarussian teenager Victoria Azarenka. Hingis did not play any tournaments after the China Open, as she was beset by injuries for the rest of the year.[11]
In November, Hingis admitted that she was under investigation for testing positive for cocaine. She decided to retire.[24] Hingis was handed a 2 year ban by the ITF for testing positive at Wimbledon, back dated to October at the start of 2008.[25]
But Hingis maintained her innocence, saying, "I have tested positive but I have never taken drugs and I feel 100 percent innocent." She also said, "I would personally be terrified of taking drugs. When I was informed [about the test] I was shocked and appalled." She is not planning to contest the positive drug test because it could take years. "Because of my age and my health problems, I have also decided to retire from professional tennis." The drug test results were released to Hingis after her third round loss to Laura Granville at Wimbledon, with both "A" and "B" urine samples failing the tests.[26]
Hingis played an exhibition match at the Liverpool International tournament on 13 June 2008. Although this event was a warm-up for Wimbledon, it was not part of the WTA Tour. This allowed Hingis to participate without breaching the rules of her ban.[27] In a rematch of their 1997 Wimbledon final,[28] Hingis defeated Jana Novotná.
In 2009 Hingis partook in the BBC's dancing competition, Strictly Come Dancing. She was the bookies favourite for the competition,[29] but she went out in the first week after performing a Waltz and a Rumba.[30] Despite vowing to win the competition, she promised to apply the same gritty approach to the dance show that had taken her to five grand slams on the tennis court. "Everything I do I do to win. I am very competitive."[31]
At the start of the year Hingis defeated former world number one Lindsay Davenport, and hinted at a possible return to tennis. In February, Martina announced she has committed to a full year with the World TeamTennis Tour in 2010.[32] She had previously played for World Team Tennis in 2005 to assist her first comeback. Sparking thoughts that she was trying to come back to the WTA tour, she committed to playing at the Nottingham Masters.[24] On 5 May 2010, it was announced that Anna Kournikova would reunite with her doubles partner Hingis. Kournikova was participating in competitive tennis for the first time in seven years, in the Invitational Ladies Doubles event at Wimbledon.[33][34] Hingis also confirmed that she would play at the Tradition-ICAP Liverpool International championship in June 2010, preceding Wimbledon,[35] before playing in the Manchester Masters after Wimbledon.[36] Liverpool like the Nottingham and Manchester Masters are organised by her management company Northern Vision.[37] At the Nottingham Masters, Hingis faced Michaëlla Krajicek[38][39] (twice), Olga Savchuk[40] and Monika Wejnert.[41] Hingis won just once in the event, against Wejnert. After the Nottingham event Billie Jean King stated that she believed that Hingis may return to the WTA Tour on the doubles circuit, after competing in the WTT.[42]
During Wimbledon in an interview with doubles partner Anna Kournikova, Hingis stated that she will not be returning to the tour; she has had her comeback before and it was fun.[citation needed]
On 5 June, Hingis, in team with Lindsay Davenport, won the Roland Garros Women's Legends title, defeating Martina Navratilova and Jana Novotna in the final, 6–1, 6–2. Before facing Navratilova/Novotna, Hingis and Davenport won two round robin matches in the tournament: first against Gigi Fernandez / Natasha Zvereva (6–1 6–3), and then in the next match they prevailed over Andrea Temesvari / Sandrine Testud 6–3 6–7 and 10:0 in the Super tie-break.[43][44]
On 3 July, Hingis partnering Lindsay Davenport won the Wimbledon Ladies' Invitation Doubles title defeating Martina Navratilova and Jana Novotna in the final, 6–4, 6–4.[45] She also played for the New York SPORTIMES of the World TeamTennis Pro League in July 2011. She finished the season with the top winning percentage of any player competing in Women's Singles.
Hingis was renowned for her cerebral approach to the game of tennis and for her technical skills, enabling her to produce a wide array of shots with finesse. She lacked the power possessed by many of her contemporaries; therefore, she relied on low error-rates and good shot selection to keep opponents off-balance. She often used change of direction and pace to catch opponents off guard and sharp angles to open up the court. She was also well known for her ability to break long rallies by hitting accurate drop shots and coming to the net, where she was a skilled volleyer. A signature play of Hingis was the drop shot followed by a lob, often resulting in an easy volley or overhead to finish the point. Hingis often hit the ball extremely early by standing close to the baseline (or inside it) in order to take reaction time away from her opponent because she did not have sufficient power to hit winners past her opponents.
Hingis's strongest groundstroke was her two-handed backhand, which had an extremely low error-rate and great variety. Her backhand down-the-line was among her signature shots and often the shot she chose to hit with greater pace to surprise opponents during a rally.
Hingis has dated Spanish golf player Sergio García and British footballer Sol Campbell.[46][47] She was briefly engaged to Czech tennis player Radek Štěpánek, but split from him in August 2007.[48] She has also dated former tennis players Magnus Norman, Ivo Heuberger and Julian Alonso.[49] In March 2010, Hingis announced that she was engaged to marry Andreas Bieri, a Swiss attorney,[50] but the engagement was later broken off.[51]
On 10 December 2010 in Paris, she married then-24-year-old Thibault Hutin, an equestrian show jumper who she had met at a competition the previous April.[52]
As a teenager, Martina Hingis was known for being outspoken. During her career, Hingis has made a number of statements about her fellow players that have subsequently become the focus of attention and the source of controversy, such as:
W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | A | P | Z# | PO | SF-B | F | NMS |
Won tournament, or reached Final, Semifinal, Quarterfinal, Round 4, 3, 2, 1, played in Round Robin or lost in Qualification Round 3, Round 2, Round 1, Absent from a tournament or Participated in a team event, played in a Davis Cup Zonal Group (with its number indication) or Play-off, won a bronze or silver match at the Olympics. The last is for a Masters Series/1000 tournament that was relegated (Not a Masters Series).
Tournament | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | Career SR | Career W-L |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Australian Open | A | 2R | QF | W | W | W | F | F | F | A | A | A | QF | QF | 3 / 10 | 52–7 |
French Open | A | 3R | 3R | F | SF | F | SF | SF | A | A | A | A | QF | A | 0 / 8 | 35–8 |
Wimbledon | A | 1R | 4R | W | SF | 1R | QF | 1R | A | A | A | A | 3R | 3R | 1 / 9 | 23–8 |
US Open | A | 4R | SF | W | F | F | SF | SF | 4R | A | A | A | 2R | 3R | 1 / 10 | 43–9 |
Grand Slam W-L | 0–0 | 6–4 | 14–4 | 27–1 | 23–3 | 19–3 | 20–4 | 16–4 | 9–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 11–4 | 8–3 | 5 / 37 | 153–32 |
WTA Tour Championships | A | A | F | QF | W | F | W | A | A | A | A | A | RR | A | 2 / 6 | 16–5 |
Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score in the final |
Winner | 1997 | Australian Open | Hard | Mary Pierce | 6–2, 6–2 |
Runner-up | 1997 | French Open | Clay | Iva Majoli | 6–4, 6–2 |
Winner | 1997 | Wimbledon | Grass | Jana Novotná | 2–6, 6–3, 6–3 |
Winner | 1997 | US Open | Hard | Venus Williams | 6–0, 6–4 |
Winner | 1998 | Australian Open (2) | Hard | Conchita Martínez | 6–3, 6–3 |
Runner-up | 1998 | US Open | Hard | Lindsay Davenport | 6–3, 7–5 |
Winner | 1999 | Australian Open (3) | Hard | Amélie Mauresmo | 6–2, 6–3 |
Runner-up | 1999 | French Open (2) | Clay | Steffi Graf | 4–6, 7–5, 6–2 |
Runner-up | 1999 | US Open (2) | Hard | Serena Williams | 6–3, 7–6(4) |
Runner-up | 2000 | Australian Open | Hard | Lindsay Davenport | 6–1, 7–5 |
Runner-up | 2001 | Australian Open (2) | Hard | Jennifer Capriati | 6–4, 6–3 |
Runner-up | 2002 | Australian Open (3) | Hard | Jennifer Capriati | 4–6, 7–6(7), 6–2 |
Grand Slam | Years | Record accomplished | Player tied |
Australian Open | 1997-02 | 6 consecutive finals | Evonne Goolagong Cawley |
Australian Open | 1997–99 | 3 consecutive wins | Margaret Court, Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Steffi Graf, Monica Seles |
Grand Slam | 1997 | Won two slams in the same calendar year in straight sets | Billie Jean King Martina Navratilova Steffi Graf Serena Williams Justine Henin |
Grand Slam | 1997 | Reached all four Grand Slam finals in a calendar year | Margaret Court Chris Evert Martina Navratilova Steffi Graf Monica Seles Justine Henin |
Grand Slam | 1998 | Calendar Year Women's Doubles Grand Slam | Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver |
1992
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2002
2006
2007
Others
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