Tamira Paszek

Country	Austria
Residence	Dornbirn, Austria
Born	(1990-12-06) December 6, 1990 (age 21) Dornbirn, Austria
Height	1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Weight	60 kg (130 lb; 9.4 st)
Turned pro	October 26, 2005
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Career prize money	$810,721
Singles
Career record	123–80
Career titles	2 WTA, 2 ITF
Highest ranking	No. 35 (July 9, 2007)
Current ranking	No. 48 (January 30, 2012)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	2R (2007)
French Open	2R (2007)
Wimbledon	QF (2011)
US Open	4R (2007)
Doubles
Career record	11–21
Career titles	0 WTA, 2 ITF
Highest ranking	No. 292 (August 17, 2009)
Last updated on: January 30, 2012.

Tamira Shelah Paszek (born December 6, 1990 in Dornbirn, Vorarlberg, Austria) is a professional tennis player from Austria. As of July 4, 2011, she is the no.1 ranked tennis player from Austria in the WTA ranking, at No. 41.

She is currently being coached by Andrei Pavel^[1] (former coach of Jelena Janković) having previously been coached by Angel Giminez and Larri Passos (former coach of former ATP No.1 Gustavo Kuerten).^{[citation needed]}

Biography[link]

Paszek was introduced to tennis by her mother, Françoise Paszek, at age four-and-a-half.^[2] Her mother is Chilean born, and her father is Ariff Mohamed, who is Tanzanian-born, Kenya-raised and lived in Canada.^[2] Both her paternal grandparents are from India.^{[citation needed]}

She attended Gymnasium Dornbirn-Schoren^[3] and Bundesoberstufenrealgymnasium Schoren.^[4]

Tennis career[link]

As a junior, Paszek was a finalist in the 2005 Girls' Singles Championship at Wimbledon and at the US Open – Girls' Singles in 2006.

In September 2005 she won her first title at an ITF tournament in Sofia. In October of the same year she received a wild card to appear at her first WTA tournament in Linz; she defeated Elena Vesnina in the first round and lost to Ana Ivanović after a tough first set.

In 2006 she passed qualifications in Istanbul, where she lost in the second round to Catalina Castaño; and in Portorož in the Banka Koper Slovenia Open, where she won her first WTA title by defeating number 6 seed Maria Elena Camerin from Italy 7–5 6–1. This was a career-first Tour singles title in only her third Tour main draw. That title made her the youngest Tour singles titlist in 2006 and the seventh-youngest all-time, the youngest winner being Tracy Austin. A month later, at the Zürich Open, she lost to Camerin in the second round of qualifying. She finished 2006 as No. 181 in the WTA rankings.

2007[link]

She started the 2007 WTA Tour at the Australian Open, where she passed qualifications and defeated Top 40 player Séverine Brémond in straight sets in the first round, before losing to No.22 seed Vera Zvonareva.

After her loss to Na Li in the second round of the Miami Masters, she broke the top 100 of the WTA rankings. At the 2007 French Open she was defeated by Justine Henin in the second round 7–5 6–1 after being 5–0 down in the first set.

At Paszek's first grass tournament of her career, she reached the third round in Birmingham, losing to Maria Sharapova in a tight match 6–3 4–6 6–2. At the 2007 Wimbledon Championships she reached the fourth round after beating two seeded players, No.17 seed Tatiana Golovin and No.12 seed Elena Dementieva; she then eventually lost to No.5 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova in straight sets. The win pushed her up 19 spots from #54 to #35, a career high and only a few spots from a guaranteed seeding spot at the US Open.

She also participated at the Fed Cup for Austria in 2007. She won her first two matches in the group stage against Australia but lost both her matches in the World Group play-offs against Israel; a singles match against Shahar Pe'er and a doubles match, partnering Melanie Klaffner.

She debuted on the 2007 US Open, reaching the fourth round, beating on the way #24 and #11 seed, Francesca Schiavone and Patty Schnyder. She lost to #6 seed, Anna Chakvetadze.

Paszek decided against defending her title in the Banka Koper Slovenia Open in Portorož, Slovenia, in favour of the larger China Open tournament in Beijing. However, she was bundled out in the second round by fourth-seeded Elena Dementieva (whom she beat in Wimbledon) 6–2, 6–0 in less than an hour.

2008[link]

At the 2008 ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand, Paszek made it to the semifinals, losing to veteran Lindsay Davenport 6–4, 6–3. In the first round of the 2008 Australian Open, Paszek played third-seeded Jelena Janković of Serbia in the first round. Paszek easily won the first set 6–2, and Janković went on to win the second set 6–2. In the deciding set, Paszek led 5–3 and had three match points before Janković came back to win the three-hour match 2–6 6–2 12–10.

Following this she lost in the first round of Doha to Patty Schnyder 6–4 6–0. Then she competed for the first time as a seed in a tier 1 tournament in Indian Wells retiring in the third round to Casey Dellacqua being down 6–1 4–0. Then in Miami she was defeated by Anna Chakvetadze in the second round 6–3 6–2.

This started a losing streak of 6 straight matches running through the French Open and Wimbledon. At Wimbledon she lost her second marathon match of the year to Francesca Schiavone 6–3 5–7 10–8. It came to an end in Los Angeles where she defeated Aiko Nakamura only to lose to Flavia Pennetta in the second round.

On July 31, Paszek beat World no.1 Ana Ivanović of Serbia in the third round of the Rogers Cup in Montreal in three sets: 6–2, 1–6, 6–2. In the quarterfinals, she played Victoria Azarenka who defeated her 6–4 7–5. Then she lost in the first round of Cincinnati to Petra Cetkovská. At the US Open she defeated the 23-seed Maria Kirilenko 6–3 3–6 6–4, only then to lose to a lower ranked opponent Magdaléna Rybáriková.

Paszek was runner up in Bali. She reached the final after taking out the 7-seed Flavia Pennetta and the top seed Daniela Hantuchová. She lost the final against Patty Schnyder 3–6 0–6. She then withdrew from the Linz tournament due to injury.

2009[link]

Paszek ended her professional relationship with coach Lari Passos and is now coached by Angel Giminez.^[5]

Paszek lost in the first round of the Australian Open to Australian wild card Jelena Dokić in three sets.

Paszek passed the first round at Indian Wells, winning in straight sets against Mara Santangelo 6–3, 6–2, and lost in the second round against 21 seed Alisa Kleybanova by the same score.

2010[link]

In January, Tamira lost in second round of qualifying at tournament in Auckland. After defeating Carly Gullickson 6–3 7–5 she retired in her match against Rebecca Marino after trailing 6–0 1–0. Her next tournament was 2010 Moorilla Hobart International. She scored a big win after defeating Roberta Vinci 6–4 6–3, but she then lost to Gisela Dulko in very long and difficult match with 6–1 0–6 7–6 score.

Her next tournament was 2010 Australian Open where she lost to Julia Görges in first round 6–0 3–6 6–3. At tournament in Paris Tamira lost to eventual runner-up Lucie Šafářová 6–0 6–3.To reach the main draw at 2010 Dubai Tennis Championships, Tamira entered qualifying. She defeated Tsvetana Pironkova in first round, but she lost to Anna-Lena Grönefeld 6–3 7–5. After Dubai she entered in Indian Wells, but she lost to Julie Coin with 6–4 6–3 score. At 2010 Sony Ericsson Open, Tamira beat Anne Keothavong 6–4 6–2, but she lost to 22-th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 7–6 4–6 6–3.

She lost in early rounds of Marbella, Barcelona and Fes. She didn't enter to 2010 French Open.

Instead,Tamira entered 25,000 $ ITF tournament in Izmir, Turkey. She won that tournament beating Çağla Büyükakçay 6–2 6–3. Her next tournament was ITF Budapest. She qualified, defeating Lukacs Vanda and Cepelova Jana, and she reached the second round losing to Lenka Wienerová.

She then entered 2010 Wimbledon, qualified but lost to Kurumi Nara in second round 7–5 6–4.

She tried to qualify in Budapest defeating Eleni Danilidou and Jessica Moore but lost to Andreja Klepač 5–7 6–2 6–1. Her next tournament will be 2010 ECM Prague Open. She entered qualifing. Tamira defeated Tadeja Majerič 6–4 6–0 and then crushed first seed Anastasia Rodionova. She than lost to Liana Ungur 2–6 3–2. After losing the first set 6–2, Tamira went to play better breaking Ungur serve and lead 2–0.On the other side Ungur came back broke twice to lead 3–2. Tamira then retired because of heat and stomach inyuri.But,because Gisela Dulko withdrew Tamira gained her chance to enter to the main draw. She faced French star Alizé Cornet and lost 7–6 6–7 6–4 in match that last 3 hours and 40-minutes.

Her next tournament was the 2010 Banka Koper Slovenia Open where she defeated Jelena Kostanić Tošić 7–5 6–2 for her first main draw win since Ponte Vedra Beach in 2009. She faced Stefanie Voegele and lost 7–5 6–4.

After some bad losses in qualifying of the Premier tournaments, Tamira found her form in the 2010 US Open where she entered qualifying. She defeated Michaëlla Krajicek, Koreas Kim So- Jing and Russias Evgeniya Rodina to reach the main draw. In the final qualifying round, Paszek trailed Rodina 2–6 after the first set before coming back to win the second and blank the Russian in the third. In the 1st round of the main draw, she defeated 26th seed Lucie Šafářová despite being down 2–6 1–4 in the second set. She lost to Chan Yung-jan in the second round.

Her next tournament was at the 2010 Bell Challenge. She defeated Marina Erakovic 6–0 6–4 and Jill Craybas in the second round 6–2 6–3.In her first quarter-final of the 2010 she defeated No.8 seed Sofia Arvidsson 6–3 6–4.She than crushed Christina McHale in the semifinal to book her place in the final where she won the title by beating Bethanie Mattek-Sands 7–6(6) 2–6 7–5.

She will be in the 100 rankings again.

2011[link]

Tamira started 2011 ranked No.89 and lost in the first round of Auckland to Sofia Arvidsson. She qualified for Hobart and reached the second round of the main draw before falling to Jarmila Gajdosova. Prior to Wimbledon 2011 Tamira had a standard year before she went on to reach the Quarter Finals of Wimbledon for the first time in her career, defeating world No.7 and 6th seed Francesca Schiavone (her first top 10 win of 2011) in an epic third round match that lasted 3 hours and 42 minutes. Tamira finally prevailed 3–6, 6–4, 11–9 hitting a total of 40 winners to 36 unforced errors. Tamira played Russian Ksenia Pervak in the fourth round. She went on winning, beating Pervak in three sets: 6–2, 2–6, 6–3, reaching the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam for the first time. Tamira played number 4 seed Victoria Azarenka in the Quarter Finals of Wimbledon. The match started on Court 1 but was moved to Centre Court after the first game due to rain. Paszek lost in straight sets 6–3, 6–1.

WTA Tour Singles 3 (2–1)[link]

Outcome	No.	Date	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Winner	1.	September 24, 2006	Portorož, Slovenia	Hard	Maria Elena Camerin	7–5, 6–1
Runner-up	1.	September 8, 2008	Bali, Indonesia	Hard	Patty Schnyder	6–3, 6–0
Winner	2.	September 19, 2010	Quebec City, Canada	Carpet	Bethanie Mattek-Sands	7–6(8–6), 2–6, 7–5

Singles performance timeline[link]

References[link]

1. ↑ http://treizecizero.ro/interviu-exclusiv-andrei-pavel-de-la-indian-wells-lucrez-cu-tamira-paszek/ – Interviu exclusiv | Andrei Pavel: “De la Indian Wells lucrez cu Tamira Paszek”
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Tamira Paszek's website, section Mimi's Bio
3. ↑ Metzger, Josef (2007-09-02). "Tamira Paszek: Starker Kopf und kluges Köpfchen". Die Presse. http://diepresse.com/home/sport/mehrsport/327360/index.do. Retrieved 2009-03-24. 
4. ↑ "Unsere Schule besuchen". Schoren's Famous. BORG Schoren. http://www.brg-schoren.ac.at/de/wissenschorensfamous.html. Retrieved 2009-03-24. 
5. ↑ Changes at the Top Tennis.com, February 11, 2009

External links[link]

• Tamira Paszek at the Women's Tennis Association
• Tamira Paszek at the International Tennis Federation
• Tamira Paszek Management Group

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tamira Paszek

Daniela Hantuchová

Country	Slovakia
Residence	Monte Carlo, Monaco
Born	(1983-04-23) April 23, 1983 (age 29) Poprad, Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (now Slovakia)
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight	62 kg (140 lb; 9.8 st)[1]
Turned pro	1999
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Career prize money	$8,299,382
Singles
Career record	475–299
Career titles	5 WTA, 3 ITF
Highest ranking	No. 5 (January 27, 2003)
Current ranking	No. 18 (May 28, 2012)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	SF (2008)
French Open	4R (2002, 2006, 2010, 2011)
Wimbledon	QF (2002)
US Open	QF (2002)
Other tournaments
Championships	RR (2002, 2007)
Olympic Games	2R (2004, 2008)
Doubles
Career record	243–172
Career titles	9 WTA, 1 ITF
Highest ranking	No. 5 (August 26, 2002)
Current ranking	No. 51 (May 28, 2012)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open	F (2002, 2009)
French Open	F (2006)
Wimbledon	QF (2005)
US Open	SF (2011)
Mixed Doubles
Career record	40–14 (74%)
Career titles	4
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
Australian Open	W (2002)
French Open	W (2005)
Wimbledon	W (2001)
US Open	W (2005)
Last updated on: May 28, 2012.

Daniela Hantuchová (Slovak pronunciation: [ˈdaɲi̯ɛla ˈɦantuxɔvaː]; born April 23, 1983) is a Slovakian professional tennis player. She turned professional in 1999 and had her breakthrough year in 2002, when she won her first Tier I tournament and ended the year in the top 10.

She is currently coached by Larri Passos.^[2] Her WTA Tour mentor in the "Partners for Success" program was Martina Navrátilová, who was her doubles partner for a brief period in early 2005. As of May 28, 2012, Hantuchová is ranked World No. 18 in singles.

In 2005, she became the fifth female tennis player to win the mixed doubles title in all four Grand Slam tournaments during her career.

Personal life[link]

Hantuchová was born in Poprad, Czechoslovakia (now Slovakia) to father Igor, a computer scientist, and mother Marianna, a toxicologist.^[1]

When her parents split up in 2003, Hantuchová's performances temporarily worsened.^[3] At Wimbledon that year, she failed to convert several match points and was seen weeping on court.^[4] She also suffered from a weight problem during this period.^[5][6] She was suspected of being anorexic,^[3][7] but denied this.^[8]

Hantuchová speaks three languages (Slovak, English, and German),^[9] and was trained as a classical pianist.^[3] She is thought to be a perfectionist and puts a lot of pressure on herself during her training.^[3] She qualified for university in Slovakia but deferred it to pursue tennis.^[10]

She appeared in the 2009 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition alongside Maria Kirilenko and Tatiana Golovin in a pictoral entitled Volley of the Dolls.^[11]

Career[link]

2002[link]

Hantuchová started the year as the world no. 38, being known as a new up-and-coming player, in the Gold Coast, where she lost to world no. 7 Justine Henin in the second round in a three setter, 6–1, 0–6, 3–6. After reaching the round of 16, after qualifying, in Sydney, Hantuchová went on to play at the 2002 Australian Open, losing in the third round to second seed Venus Williams, 6–3, 0–6, 4–6.

After climbing the rankings to world no. 26, having competed in Paris and Antwerp (reaching the round of 16 in both), she went into the prestigious Indian Wells event, defeating Justine Henin in the fourth round, 6–3, 6–3, and Martina Hingis in the final, 6–3, 6–4. She was the lowest ranked player (seeded 18th) to ever win the Tier I event.^[12] In Miami and Amelia Island, Hantuchová went on to lose surprisingly in the second round. She then played in Charleston, only to be beaten again in the second round by 1995 Australian Open and 2000 French Open Champion Mary Pierce, 3–6, 4–6, Pierce being ranked no. 232. Playing in the Fed Cup, she won one of her two singles rubbers against Switzerland. Also in the clay season, Hantuchová reached the quarterfinals in Hamburg and Berlin, losing to Martina Hingis in straight sets and Anna Smashnova, 6–1, 2–6, 3–6. Having entered the French Open as the 11th seed and world no. 13 and losing her previous match in Rome in the first round, she beat Cara Black (after losing to her in Miami earlier in the year), only to lose to former champion Monica Seles in straight sets in the fourth round.

Hantuchová progressed to the semifinals of Eastbourne, losing to Myskina. At Wimbledon, she beat no. 7 Jelena Dokić in the round of 16, only to be beaten by the eventual champion, Serena Williams.

Daniela Hantuchová

Her US Open Series season was modest, as she lost in the second rounds of San Diego and Los Angeles, after having first-round byes in both tournaments. She reached the semifinals of the Tier I event in Montreal, losing to Amélie Mauresmo, and New Haven, losing to world no. 2 Venus Williams. At the final Grand Slam of the year, Hantuchová defeated 1997 French Open champion Iva Majoli in round three, and world no. 6 Justine Henin, 6–1, 3–6, 7–6(4), in round four, only to be beaten in her second consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal by Serena Williams (who again went on to win the title).

Later that year, Hantuchová also reached the quarterfinal in Leipzig and the final in Filderstadt, losing to Kim Clijsters, 4–6, 6–3, 4–6. The second set was the only set Hantuchová had taken from Clijsters in their nine meetings. She then went on to reach the quarterfinals of Zurich, losing to eventual champion Patty Schnyder in three tight sets, and the semifinals in Linz, and winning both of her singles rubbers in the Fed Cup final. This impressive season amassed her enough points to compete at the prestigious annual Tour Championships, losing in the first round to 17th ranked Magdalena Maleeva, 2–6, 5–7. Hantuchová's record for the year was 56–25 and 6–10 against top-10 players; 6–2 in singles Fed Cup play; 10–6 on indoor carpet, 6–2 on grass, 11–7 on clay, and 29–10 on hard courts.

2003[link]

Hantuchová started 2003 solidly, reaching the quarterfinals at her first three events in Sydney, losing to Lindsay Davenport, 4–6, 6–3, 6–7(3), Venus Williams, 4–6, 3–6, at the Australian Open (her third Grand Slam quarterfinal in a row), and Elena Dementieva in Paris, 5–7, 3–6. Hantuchová reached her first semifinal of the year at her fourth event in Antwerp, losing to Williams again, 1–6, 4–6. By then, Hantuchová's ranking was at a career-high no. 5. Defending a title for the first time in her career, Hantuchová advanced to the fourth round in Indian Wells, losing to Amanda Coetzer, 4–6, 4–6. Despite a first round-loss to Alicia Molik in Miami, Hantuchová rebounded in the Tier I Charleston event, making her fifth quarterfinal in seven events, losing to Ashley Harkleroad, 2–6, 1–6. She made her sixth quarterfinal at her next event in Amelia Island, losing to eventual champion Dementieva, 0–6, 1–6. Hantuchová went undefeated in first-round Fed Cup play against Germany, winning both of her matches. Following the Fed Cup, she again made it to the quarterfinals for the seventh time of the year at the Tier I Berlin tournament, losing to Kim Clijsters, 0–6, 3–6.

At the French Open, Hantuchová lost in the second round in a marathon match to Harkleroad again, 6–7(2), 6–4, 7–9, making 101 unforced errors, leading to long-time coach Nigel Sears criticising her attitude publicly.^[13] Following the match, her extremely thin physique was noticed for the first time publicly, and some wondered about Hantuchová's health. Kicking off the grass season in Eastbourne, Hantuchová lost in the quarterfinals to Conchita Martínez, but more famously she lost in the second round of Wimbledon to Shinobu Asagoe, 6–0, 4–6, 10–12, with Hantuchová breaking down crying during the latter stages of the match and making 57 unforced errors. Some theorized that the media's continued interest regarding her weight and the pressure of success at 19 years of age, in addition to her on-court breakdown and her parents' divorce, as well as her coach's walked out during the middle of the match, led to this breakdown. Following Wimbledon, Hantuchová went 6–8 for the rest of the year, 0–4 against top-10 players She ended the year with an overall record of 28–23, and she fell to no. 17 in the world. Further signs of the pressure and problems she was facing during this period was that, in July, she made herself unavailable for Slovakia in the Fed Cup, in order to concentrate on her singles career, and in November she parted company with Sears.^[14]

2004[link]

2004 proved to be a continuation of Hantuchová's poor second half of 2003, with many of the same struggles (she briefly hired Harold Soloman, who had previously coached her friend Jennifer Capriati as well as Anna Kournikova, before re-hiring Sears in March),^[15] She reached just three quarterfinals, the first at the first Tier I event in Tokyo was not until halfway through the season. At Tokyo, however, she garnered her thus far only victory over Maria Sharapova in the second round, falling to Davenport, 2–6, 2–6, in the quarterfinals. The tournament that saved her from a poor 2004 was Eastbourne, in which she defeated Ai Sugiyama in the quarterfinals, 6–1 7–6(7), and Amélie Mauresmo in the semifinals, 4–6, 6–4, 6–4, before losing to Svetlana Kuznetsova in the third final of her career, 6–2, 6–7(2), 4–6. However, Hantuchová was serving for the championship, up 6–2, 6–5, but was broken.

Hantuchová was ranked no. 54 as she entered Eastbourne, but found herself ranked no. 38 as she went into Wimbledon, losing to eventual champion Sharapova in the third round, 3–6, 1–6. Hantuchová would make one more quarterfinal at New Haven, losing to Lisa Raymond, 4–6, 3–6. At the US Open one week later, Hantuchová lost in three sets to Patty Schnyder in the third round. She finished the year ranked no. 31, with a 24–24 win-loss record. She finished 1–4 against top-10 players overall, the sole victory over Mauresmo.

2005–2006[link]

Hantuchová reached the third round of the Australian Open, losing to Dementieva in a tight three-setter, 5–7, 7–5, 4–6. Following that, she made her first quarterfinal of the year in Tokyo for the second straight year, losing to Kuznetsova, 6–7(4), 6–7(4). At her next event, she reached the semifinals in Doha, losing to Sharapova, 2–6, 4–6. Then, she made another quarterfinal at her next tournament in Dubai, losing to Serena Williams, 4–6, 3–6. At Dubai also, in the first round, she garnered her tenth top-10 victory over no. 8 Alicia Molik, 7–6(8) 6–2. Hantuchová made the third round at the French Open and Wimbledon, losing to Clijsters, 4–6, 2–6, in Paris, and eventual champion Venus Williams, 5–7, 3–6, in England.

Hantuchová had a successful US Open series run, where she reached the semifinals in Cincinnati, getting upset by no. 74 Akiko Morigami, 4–6, 4–6. In Stanford, Hantuchová lost to Clijsters in the quarterfinals, 3–6, 1–6. After a second-round loss in San Diego to Sugiyama, Hantuchová reached her fourth final in Los Angeles, getting a walkover in the quarterfinals over Sharapova, and got revenge against Dementieva in the semifinals, defeating her 6–3, 6–4. In the final, for the seventh time in their head-to-head, Clijsters defeated Hantuchová, 4–6, 1–6. For the third time at the event, Hantuchová made the quarterfinals in New Haven, losing to Davenport, 2–6, 6–7(5).

Hantuchová lost to eventual quarterfinalist Venus Williams in the third round at the US Open. In Luxembourg, Hantuchová made her eighth quarterfinal of the season, losing to Nathalie Dechy, 1–6, 4–6. In Filderstadt the following week, Hantuchová made the semifinals, her third of the year, defeating no. 10 Patty Schnyder in the second round and Flavia Pennetta in the quarterfinals. She lost to Davenport in the semifinals. At the final Tier I event of the year, Hantuchová pushed Davenport to three sets and had match points in the second set in Zurich before losing, 6–3, 5–7, 2–6. In her final event of the year, in Linz, Hantuchová made her tenth quarterfinal, losing to Schnyder, 2–6, 1–6. Hantuchová finished 2005 with a 3–10 record against the top 10, 37–25 overall record, with 2–1 on indoor carpet, 3–4 on clay, 2–3 on grass, and 30–17 on hard courts, reaching 10 quarterfinals, 3 semifinals, and 1 final.

Daniela Hantuchová at the Zurich Open 2006

Hantuchová reached the quarterfinals of Sydney in 2006 with a win over top-10 player Patty Schnyder and got to the semifinals of Auckland. She continued this form at the Australian Open with her third-round 6–1, 7–6(5) victory over defending champion and seven-time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams, who had entered the tournament with a lack of match practice and questions over her fitness. This victory (the only over Serena in her career) ensured that Daniela would progress to the fourth round of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in three years. She lost to fourth-seeded Maria Sharapova in straight sets in the fourth round.

Thereafter, she was unable to find a consistent level of form. Prior to the clay-court season, she parted company for a second time (and permanently) with Sears.^[16] He was replaced by Angel Giminez. She then played her first Fed Cup matches for Slovakia in almost three years. It was a successful return, with Hantuchová winning both her singles and her doubles matches against Luxembourg, her singles match against The Netherlands, and the decisive singles rubber in the tie against Great Britain. With the help of Hantuchová's 4–0 record, Slovakia booked a place in the World Group II play-off against Thailand.

Despite disappointing results in the warm-up tournaments, she reached the fourth round of both the French Open and Wimbledon, before extending her 2006 Fed Cup record to 6–0 by winning both her singles matches in Slovakia's 5–0 rout of Thailand, which ensured their promotion to the World Group II. Her fourth-round streak at Grand Slams ended when she was beaten by a resurgent Serena Williams in the second round of the US Open, which was the culmination of a very disappointing American hard-court season (her record was 7–6 including the US Open, failing to get past the round of 16 of any of the tournaments she entered).

Daniela showed what she is capable of producing the week before Stuttgart, beating an in-form Tatiana Golovin in straight sets, before losing to Dinara Safina. The following week, she reached the quarterfinals of Stuttgart with an easy victory over the then top-10 player Safina in the second round. This was both her first victory over a top-10 player and first appearance in a quarterfinal since January. In October 2006, Hantuchová reached the final of the Zurich Open. In the first round, she upset sixth seed Patty Schnyder. In the second round, she defeated her doubles parter Ai Sugiyama. Daniela was then scheduled to play world no. 1 Amélie Mauresmo in the quarterfinals. However, Mauresmo withdrew due to a right shoulder injury. In the semifinals, Daniela upset world no. 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova, 6–4, 6–2, to reach the final of the Tier I event. In the final, Daniela lost in a tight three-setter to second seed Maria Sharapova, 1–6, 6–4, 3–6. The results in this tournament were the culmination of Hantuchová's up-turn of form, which kept her in the top 20, as she had arrived in Zurich outside the top group for the first time in over 11 months. The injury she suffered to her right rib^[17] after Mary Pierce hit a shot at her in doubles, caused her the most serious injury of her career and also forced her to retire in her match against Vesnina the following week in Linz. Hantuchová finished the year ranked no. 17 in the world, with a 34–25 record. She went 24–17 on hard courts, 5–4 on clay, 3–2 on grass, and 2–2 on carpet. She was 4–6 against top-10 players, beating Schnyder twice, Safina, and Kuznetsova, with losses to Sharapova (twice), Clijsters, Henin-Hardenne, Dementieva, and Nadia Petrova.

2007[link]

Daniela Hantuchová at the 2007 Fortis Championships in Luxembourg

Hantuchová's first tournament of the year was at the Tier IV ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand, where she lost in the second round to Virginie Razzano. Hantuchová then lost to Nicole Vaidišová in the first round of the Tier II New South Wales Open/Medibank International in Sydney and reached her second consecutive Australian Open fourth round, where she lost to world no. 5 Kim Clijsters, 1–6, 5–7.

Hantuchová was then upset in the first round of the Tier I Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo by Roberta Vinci. Three weeks later at the Tier II Dubai Tennis Championships, Hantuchová defeated Maria Kirilenko in the second round, 2–6, 6–4, 7–6(4), before losing her quarterfinal match against Amélie Mauresmo in three sets. The following week at the Tier II Qatar Total Open in Doha, Hantuchová trailed world no. 6 Martina Hingis in their quarterfinal match 4–1 in the second set, before coming back to win, 1–6, 6–4, 6–4. She then lost her semifinal match against world no. 5 Svetlana Kuznetsova. In her seventh tournament of the year, Hantuchová won six matches, the last four of which were upsets of higher seeded players, to win the Tier I Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California. She upset Hingis in the fourth round, Shahar Pe'er in the quarterfinals, 6–2, 5–7, 7–6(5), Li Na in the semifinals, and Kuznetsova in the final in straight sets.^[3]

Hantuchová, however, struggled in her next four events. She was upset in the third round of the Tier I Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida by Vera Zvonareva. On clay at the Bausch & Lomb Championships in Amelia Island, Florida, Hantuchová lost to Sybille Bammer in the quarterfinals. Two weeks later, Hantuchová lost both of her Fed Cup matches against the Czech Republic in Bratislava on clay, losing to Vaidišová and Lucie Šafářová. Losing her fourth consecutive match, Hantuchová was upset in the first round of the Tier I Qatar Telecom German Open in Berlin by Zuzana Ondrášková. Hantuchová then reached her first career clay-court semifinal at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome. She upset seventh-seeded Anna Chakvetadze in the third round, before losing to second-seeded Kuznetsova in the semifinals. At the French Open, Hantuchová was upset in the third round by Anabel Medina Garrigues, 6–4, 6–7(2), 5–7.

After defeating Eleni Daniilidou in the third round of the Tier III grass-court DFS Classic in Birmingham, United Kingdom, Hantuchová returned to the top 10 for the first time since August 2003. She then lost to Marion Bartoli in the quarterfinals, 7–5, 4–6, 5–7. The following week at the Tier III Ordina Open in 's-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands, Hantuchová defeated world no. 6 Ana Ivanović in the quarterfinals, before losing to Chakvetadze in the semifinals. This result caused Hantuchová to drop out of the top 10. Hantuchová was the tenth-seeded player at Wimbledon and did not lose a set in her first two matches. She then defeated Slovenian Katarina Srebotnik in the third round, 2–6, 6–3, 6–4, before losing to world no. 8 Serena Williams in the fourth round, 2–6, 7–6(2), 2–6. Immediately after Wimbledon, Hantuchová helped Slovakia win its Fed Cup World Group II play-off against Serbia. On an indoor hard court in Košice, she beat Ana Timotić and Vojislava Łukić.

Daniela Hantuchová at the 2007 Bank of the West Classic

Hantuchová played five tournaments during the North American summer hard-court season. She began the US Open Series by losing to Chakvetadze in the semifinals of the Tier II Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, California. This result put her back in the top 10. At the Tier I Acura Classic in San Diego, she lost to world no. 16 Venus Williams in the second round. The following week at the Tier II JPMorgan Chase Open in Los Angeles, Hantuchová retired from her third-round match with Elena Dementieva while trailing, 3–6, 1–4. Hantuchová once again fell out of the top 10, after losing in the second round of the Tier II Pilot Pen Tennis tournament in New Haven, Connecticut to eventual runner-up Ágnes Szávay. At the US Open, Hantuchová was the ninth-seeded player but lost to Ukraine's Julia Vakulenko in the first round, 4–6, 6–3, 1–6. It was Hantuchová's earliest loss at this tournament since her debut in 2001 and her earliest loss at a Grand Slam tournament since the 2004 French Open.

Hantuchová then played four consecutive tournaments. She reached her second final of the year at the Tier III Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic in Bali, losing to Lindsay Davenport in three sets. At the Tier III Sunfeast Open in Kolkata, India, Hantuchová lost in the semifinals to Maria Kirilenko, but re-entered the top 10. Traveling back to Europe, Hantuchová played in the Tier II Fortis Championships Luxembourg. She defeated Patty Schnyder in the quarterfinals and Bartoli in the semifinals to advance to her third final of the year for the first time in her career. Hantuchová then lost to world no. 6 Ivanović in the final, 6–3, 4–6, 4–6, after leading the match, 6–3, 3–0. At the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Hantuchová defeated Šafářová in the first round, but lost in the second round to Dementieva. This loss, however, did not prevent Hantuchová from rising to world no. 9, her highest ranking in over four years.

At the Tier I Zurich Open, Hantuchová defeated Dinara Safina in the first round, 7–6(2), 7–6(4), before losing to Agnieszka Radwańska. One week later, Hantuchová won her third career title at the Tier II Generali Ladies Linz. In the semifinals, she defeated Vaidišová for the first time in her career, 2–6, 6–2, 7–6(3). Hantuchová then defeated Schnyder in the straight-sets final. This title enabled Hantuchová to qualify for the year-end Sony Ericsson Championships in Madrid. But Hantuchová did not advance past the round-robin stage. She lost to Maria Sharapova and Ivanović, before beating Kuznetsova to finish third in her group. Hantuchová's win-loss record for 2007 was 52–28. She was 6–11 versus top-10 players, with two victories against Hingis, two against Kuznetsova, one against Ivanović, and one against Chakvetadze. The losses were to Clijsters, Mauresmo, Chakvetadze (twice), Kuznetsova (twice), Vaidišová, Serena Williams, Ivanović (twice), and Sharapova. Hantuchová finished the year at world no. 9, her first top-10 finish since 2002.

2008[link]

Daniela Hantuchová

She started the year at the Medibank International in Sydney. She defeated Russian Dinara Safina in the first round, before losing to world no. 12 Czech Nicole Vaidišová in the second round. At the Australian Open, Hantuchová reached her first Grand Slam semifinal.^[18] She won her first three matches without losing a set. In the quarterfinals, she beat Polish teenager Agnieszka Radwańska, who had defeated second-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova and Nadia Petrova in earlier rounds. Hantuchová then lost to Ana Ivanović in the semifinals, 6–0, 3–6, 4–6, despite Hantuchová's leading the second set 2–0. After the match, Hantuchová claimed that Ivanović had been distracting her by squeaking her shoes on the court before serving, a claim Ivanović disputed.^[19] Hantuchová's performance at this tournament caused her ranking to improve one spot to world no. 8.

Hantuchová then played two indoor tournaments in Europe. At the Open Gaz de France in Paris, she lost to seventh-seeded Ágnes Szávay of Hungary in the quarterfinals. She was the third-seeded player at the Proximus Diamond Games in Antwerp, where she again reached the quarterfinals. A blister on her right hand caused Hantuchová to retire during the quarterfinal against Timea Bacsinszky.

Hantuchová in July 2008

Hantuchová was then scheduled to play at the Qatar Total Open, the first Tier I event of the year, and the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, a Tier II event, but withdrew from both because of fatigue. Hantuchová played both of the two-week Tier I events in the United States. At the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, Hantuchová was the defending champion and fifth seed. She lost to fourth-seeded Maria Sharapova in the quarterfinals. In doubles, Hantuchová and Ai Sugiyama lost in the semifinals to Safina and Elena Vesnina, the eventual champions. At the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, Hantuchová failed to reach the fourth round for the ninth consecutive year. She lost to former doubles partner Sugiyama in the third round, 4–6, 7–6(8), 5–7, despite leading 3–0 in the third set. In doubles, Hantuchová partnered with Lindsay Davenport to reach the quarterfinals, where they lost to Sugiyama and Katarina Srebotnik, who went on to win the event.

The following week at the Tier II Bausch & Lomb Championships on clay in Amelia Island, Florida, Hantuchová was the third seed, but lost in the second round to Karolina Šprem. Hantuchová spent the month of May and most of June recovering from a stress fracture in her right foot, which resulted in her withdrawal from the Tier I Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome,^[20] the Tier III Istanbul Cup,^[21] the French Open,^[22][23] and the Tier III Ordina Open in 's-Hertogenbosch. She recovered in time for Wimbledon, but lost in the second round to unseeded Alisa Kleybanova, 3–6, 6–4, 1–6.

Hantuchová played four hard-court tournaments between Wimbledon and the US Open. She lost in the second round of the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, California and in the second round of the following week's tournament, the East West Bank Classic in Los Angeles. Hantuchová was seeded tenth at the Summer Olympics in Beijing. She defeated Sugiyama in the first round, before losing in the second round to Caroline Wozniacki. The following week at the Pilot Pen Tennis tournament in New Haven, Connecticut, Hantuchová lost in the quarterfinals to Alizé Cornet. Hantuchová was seeded eleventh at the US Open, where she was upset in the first round by qualifier Anna-Lena Grönefeld.

Hantuchová at the 2008 Fortis Championships

To end the year, Hantuchová played seven tournaments in Asia and Europe. She lost in the semifinals of the Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic in Bali and in the first round of the Tier I Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo to Francesca Schiavone. In Beijing at the China Open, she lost to world no. 2 Jelena Janković in the quarterfinals. After losing in the first round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, the second round of the Tier I Kremlin Cup in Moscow, and the second round of the Tennis.com Zürich Open, Hantuchová was seeded third at the Fortis Championships Luxembourg. However, she lost to world no. 39 Sorana Cîrstea in the quarterfinals. Because she won only 11 of 26 singles matches after the Indian Wells tournament, Hantuchová finished the year ranked world no. 21, her lowest year-end ranking and first finish out of the top 20 since 2004. She was 0–5 during the year versus players ranked in the top 10 at the time the matches were played, with losses to Ivanović, Sharapova, Janković, and Vera Zvonareva (twice).

2009–2010[link]

Hantuchová began the 2009 tour by participating in the Brisbane International as the tournament's fourth-seeded player. She was upset in the first round by Sara Errani, 7–6(1), 4–6, 2–6. Hantuchová then played the Medibank International in Sydney, where she lost in the second round to sixth-seeded Agnieszka Radwańska.

Daniela Hantuchová at the 2009 Brisbane International

At the Australian Open, Hantuchová was seeded 19th and defeated home favourite Casey Dellacqua in their first-round match, 7–6(11), 6–4. She then beat Mathilde Johansson of France in the second round, before losing to 15th-seeded Alizé Cornet in the third round, 6–4, 4–6, 2–6. In the doubles competition, Hantuchová and her partner Ai Sugiyama made it to the final, where they lost to Serena Williams and Venus Williams.

At the Open GDF SUEZ in Paris, Hantuchová beat Ekaterina Makarova in the first round, before losing to Cornet in the second round. This was the third consecutive time she has lost to Cornet. Hantuchová then played in the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, where she lost to eventual runner-up Virginie Razzano in the third round. Because of her results at this tournament, Hantuchová's ranking improved five places to world no. 36. At the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, Hantuchová was the only two-time singles champion in the draw. Seeded 30th, Hantuchová fell to Sybille Bammer in the fourth round, 3–6, 2–6. Unseeded for the first time since 2001 at the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, Hantuchová lost to 22nd-seeded Anna Chakvetadze in the second round, 3–6, 1–6.

Starting off the spring clay-court season as a wildcard at the MPS Group Championships in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, Hantuchová defeated eighth-seeded Bethanie Mattek-Sands in the second round, 6–3, 7–5. She then lost to eventual champion and second seed Caroline Wozniacki in the quarterfinals, 2–6, 2–6. Playing in the Fed Cup World Group play-offs, Hantuchová defeated Alizé Cornet, 6–7(2), 6–3, 6–4, in the first-round rubber, but lost to Amélie Mauresmo, 5–7, 4–6, in her next match.

Hantuchová played four tournaments before Roland Garros on European clay. She lost in the early rounds of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, the Rome Masters and the Madrid Masters to Dinara Safina, Svetlana Kuznetsova, and Jelena Janković, respectively. In doubles at Rome, Hantuchová and Ai Sugiyama defeated first seeds Cara Black and Liezel Huber in the quarterfinals. However, the pair lost to Hsieh Su-Wei and Peng Shuai, 5–7, 6–7(5), in the final. Her fourth event was the Warsaw Open, where she reached her second career clay-court semifinal, but lost to Romanian qualifier and eventual champion Alexandra Dulgheru, 4–6, 7–6(2), 1–6. Hantuchová was unseeded at the French Open and lost to Frenchwoman Virginie Razzano in the first round, 3–6, 3–6.

On grass, Hantuchová was seeded sixth at the Ordina Open in 's-Hertogenbosch. She fell to top seed Safina, 6–1, 4–6, 3–6, in the quarterfinals. Competing at her ninth Wimbledon, Hantuchová was unseeded in singles for the first time since 2004. She came from behind to defeat local teenager Laura Robson, 3–6, 6–4, 6–2, in the first round. She then upset 16th seed and the previous year's semifinalist Zheng Jie, 6–3, 7–5, and doubles partner Sugiyama, 6–4, 6–3. However, Hantuchová fell to second seed and eventual champion Serena Williams in the fourth round, 3–6, 1–6.

Hantuchová played her first-round match at the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, California, winning in three sets against defending champion Aleksandra Wozniak, 6–4, 4–6, 7–5. She then defeated seventh seed Agnieszka Radwańska in the second round, 4–6, 7–6(6), 6–1, but fell to third seed Elena Dementieva in the quarterfinals, 2–6, 4–6. In the LA Women's Tennis Championships, she lost to Dinara Safina, 2–6, 4–6. In the Western & Southern Financial Women's Open, she lost to Flavia Pennetta, 3–6, 3–6, after upsetting seventh seed Vera Zvonareva, 7–6(6), 0–6, 7–6(5). In the Rogers Cup in Toronto, she fell to qualifier Yaroslava Shvedova in the first round, 6–7(1), 6–7(4).

Hantuchová was seeded 22nd at the US Open. She defeated Meghann Shaughnessy, Timea Bacsinszky, and Vania King, but fell in the fourth round to second seed and defending champion Serena Williams, 2–6, 0–6.

At the Hansol Korea Open in Seoul, South Korea, Hantuchová was the top seed, but was upset by eventual chmapion Kimiko Date-Krumm in the quarterfinals, 6–7(3), 6–4, 4–6. She then competed in the Toray Pan Pacific Open and the China Open, where she reached the second round in both, before losing in three sets to 11th seed Agnieszka Radwańska and 13th seed Nadia Petrova, respectively.

Hantuchová finished the season in Europe at the BGL Luxembourg Open, where she was upset by unseeded Shahar Pe'er in the quarterfinals, 2–6, 6–7(4).

Hantuchová finished outside the top 20 for the second consecutive year at no. 24, with a win-loss record of 39–25. She went 25–16 on hard courts, 9–7 on clay, and 5–2 on grass. She was 1–9 versus top-10 players, with losses to Radwańska, Kuznetsova, Janković, Dementieva, Serena Williams (twice), and Safina (three times), with the sole victory over Zvonareva.

Hantuchová started the 2010 tour by competing at the Brisbane International. Seeded fourth, Hantuchová was upset by unseeded Andrea Petkovic in the quarterfinals, 4–6, 2–6. At the Medibank International in Sydney, Hantuchová fell to fifth seed and eventual champion Elena Dementieva in the second round, 2–6, 6–4, 2–6. Seeded 22nd at the Australian Open, Hantuchová fell to 16th seed and eventual semifinalist Li Na in the third round, 5–7, 6–3, 2–6.

Hantuchová defeated Zhang Shuai, 6–0, 6–1, in the Fed Cup tie against China in Bratislava prior to the Dubai Tennis Championships. In Dubai, Hantuchová upset fifth seed Dementieva through retirement, after winning the first set 6–4. However, she fell to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the third round, 3–6, 4–6.

Hantuchová was seeded second at the Monterrey Open in Monterrey, Mexico. She became one of the favorites after top seed Jelena Janković fell in the first round. Hantuchová fought from a set down to beat unseeded Vania King, 2–6, 6–2, 6–1, in the quarterfinals, and fourth seed Dominika Cibulková, 4–6, 6–3, 6–0, in the semifinals. However she fell to third seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the finals, 6–1, 1–6, 0–6. It was Hantuchová's first final since Linz in 2007. Hantuchová was upset at the BNP Paribas Open by Roberta Vinci in the second, after injuring her back during training earlier that day. At the Sony Ericsson Open, she gained a career-best in Miami, reaching the fourth round after recording straight-set victories over Patty Schnyder and 16th seed Nadia Petrova, but lost a very tight three-set match to third seed and eventual finalist Venus Williams, 6–1, 5–7, 4–6, in nearly three hours.

Hantuchová began the clay season by competing at the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina. She upset second seed and world no. 7 Jelena Janković in the quarterfinals, 1–6, 6–3, 6–3. However, she fell to fourth seed and eventual champion Samantha Stosur in her third career clay-court semifinal, 3–6, 6–7(2). Following Charleston, Hantuchová helped Slovakia earn a place in the World Group I for the 2011 Fed Cup by scoring two singles victories and a doubles victory in the World Group play-offs against Serbia. She again defeated world no. 7 Janković in one of her singles matches for a second week in a row. Despite first-round loses in the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, Italy and in the Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, Hantuchová rebounded at the French Open. Seeded 23rd, she upset 16th seed Yanina Wickmayer in the third round, but fell to fourth seed Jelena Janković in the fourth round.

Hantuchová played two tournaments on grass. She was defeated by Samantha Stosur at the AEGON International in Eastbourne and was then upset by Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová at Wimbledon.

To start off the US Open Series, Daniela suffered a tough opening-round loss to sixth seed Shahar Pe'er, 6–0, 4–6, 3–6, at the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, California. At the Mercury Insurance Open in San Diego, she upset sixth seed Marion Bartoli, 3–6, 7–6(3), 6–4, in the first round, saving three match points. She then beat Zheng Jie and Alisa Kleybanova to advance to the semifinals, where she fell to Agnieszka Radwańska in straight sets. Hantuchová then fell in the first rounds of the Cincinnati Masters, and the Rogers Cup to eventual semifinalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and 15th seed Flavia Pennetta, respectively. At the 2010 Pilot Pen Tennis, she fell to Dinara Safina, 6–7(4), 6–7(2).

As the 24th seed, Hantuchová defeated Dinara Safina and Vania King at the 2010 US Open, before falling to 12th seed Elena Dementieva in the third round.

Hantuchová fell in the early rounds in both the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, Japan and the China Open. At the Generali Ladies Linz, Hantuchová was upset by Patty Schnyder, 4–6, 4–6, in the quarterfinals. At the BGL Luxembourg Open, she lost again in the early rounds to Angelique Kerber in three sets. Hantuchová received a wildcard to the Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions in Bali, Indonesia. She upset Yanina Wickmayer in straight sets, but fell to Alisa Kleybanova in the semifinals. She also lost the third-place match to Kimiko Date-Krumm, 5–7, 5–7.

Hantuchová finished outside the top 20 for the third consecutive year at no. 30, with a win-loss record of 35–25. She was 3–5 versus top-10 players, with losses to Dementieva, Venus Williams, Janković, Stosur, and Radwańska, and with victories over Dementieva and Janković (twice).

2011[link]

Hantuchová withdrew from her first tournament of the year at the Brisbane International due to a left Achilles strain.^[24] She competed next at the Medibank International Sydney, but suffered a loss to María José Martínez Sánchez in the first round, 2–6, 4–6. At the Australian Open, she was the 28th seed, but lost in the first round to Regina Kulikova in three sets, 5–7, 6–3, 7–9. This is the first time Hantuchová had lost in the first round of the Australian Open, except her first appearance.

She then played at the PTT Pattaya Open, where she defeated Kurumi Nara, Kimiko Date-Krumm, and Akgul Amanmuradova, all in straight sets to reach the semifinals. There she upset top seed, world no. 3 and defending champion Vera Zvonareva, 7–6(3), 6–4. Hantuchová then won her first title in more than three years by defeating Sara Errani, 6–0, 6–2, in the final. Despite this, she fell to Anna Chakvetadze in the first round of the Dubai Tennis Championships the following week. However, she rebounded at the Qatar Ladies Open by upsetting sixth seed Victoria Azarenka in the first round, 4–6, 6–1, 6–2, but fell in the quarterfinals to second seed and eventual champion Vera Zvonareva, 7–5, 6–7(5), 7–5, despite serving for the match at 5–4 in the final set.

At the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California and the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, Florida, Hantuchová lost in the early rounds to Dinara Safina and top seed Caroline Wozniacki, respectively. Partnering Agnieszka Radwańska, she reached the semifinals in Indian Wells, falling to the eventual champions, but won the doubles title in Miami, defeating Nadia Petrova and Liezel Huber.

On clay, Hantuchová was upset in the third round of the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina by Christina McHale. Hantuchová next competed on European red clay at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany, the Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open in Madrid, Spain and the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, Italy. She fell in the early rounds of all three to Samantha Stosur in both Stuttgart and Madrid and to second seed Francesca Schiavone in Rome. However, Hantuchová rebounded at the Internationaux de Strasbourg, where she upset fourth seed Nadia Petrova in the quarterfinals, but fell to second seed Andrea Petkovic in the semifinals, 4–6, 6–3, 4–6. Seeded 28th at the French Open, Hantuchová defeated Zhang Shuai and Sara Errani in the first two rounds, both in straight sets.^[25][26] She then upset top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki, 6–1, 6–3 for^[27] her first win over a reigning world no. 1. However, Hantuchová fell to 13th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova in the fourth round, 7–6(6), 3–6, 2–6.^[28]

Hantuchová reached her second career grass-court final at the AEGON Classic in Birmingham, England, upsetting second seed Ana Ivanović in the semifinals, 6–7(2), 6–3, 6–2, before falling to unseeded Sabine Lisicki, 3–6, 2–6. Competing at the AEGON International in Eastbourne, Hantuchová defeated second seed Li Na and Venus Williams, before retiring to fifth seed Petra Kvitová in the semifinals. Seeded 25th at the Wimbledon, Hantuchová fell to fourth seed Victoria Azarenka in the third round, 3–6, 6–3, 2–6.

Hantuchová fell in the early rounds of both the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, California and the Rogers Cup in Toronto, Canada. She reached her sixth and seventh quarterfinals of the season at the Mercury Insurance Open in Carlsbad, California and at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, Ohio, but fell to third seed Agnieszka Radwańska and second seed Vera Zvonareva, respectively.

After a first-round loss at the US Open to Pauline Parmentier, Hantuchová reached the quarterfinals of the Bell Challenge and the Generali Ladies Linz losing to Marina Erakovic and top seed Petra Kvitova respectively.

Hantuchová finished the year at world no. 24 with a win loss record of 41–29. She went 5–11 against the top-10 with victories over Zvonareva, Azarenka, Wozniacki, Na, and Bartoli.

2012[link]

Hantuchová began the year at the Brisbane International, where she reached her first final of the year, defeating Dominika Cibulková and Vania King, before receiving a walkover in the quarterfinals when Serena Williams pulled out of the event with an ankle sprain. In the semifinals, she lost the first set to Kim Clijsters, before the Belgian retired with a hip injury midway through the second. In the final, Hantuchová was easily defeated by Kaia Kanepi, 6–2, 6–1. In Sydney, Hantuchová upset Francesca Schiavone in the second round, before falling to second seed Petra Kvitova in the quarterfinals. Seeded No. 20 at the Australian Open in Melbourne, Australia, Hantuchová fell to eventual semifinalist and defending champion Kim Clijsters in straight sets in the third round.

At Pattaya, she successfully defended her title by defeating No. 4 seed Maria Kirilenko 6–7(4), 6–3, 6–3 in the final. However, Hantuchová was upset in the first round of the Qatar Ladies Open in Doha, Qatar the following week by Simona Halep 3–6, 6–2, 7–6(4). At the Dubai Tennis Championships, she fell in the quarters to eventual finalist, Julia Görges, 4–6, 6–3, 6–4.

Hantuchová then suffered relatively unsuccessful tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami. She fell in the second round after a bye to Czech Klára Zakopalová 3–6, 7–6(7), 3–6. In Miami, she defeated Kateryna Bondarenko in a third set tiebreaker, before falling to Ana Ivanovic 2–6, 6–7(2).^[29] At the Fed Cup against Spain, she lost to Silvia Soler Espinosa 6–7(5), 4–6, before defeating Lourdes Domínguez Lino 0–6, 7–6(4), 6–4 to clinch the tie 3–2 for Slovakia.^[30]

Career statistics[link]

Endorsements[link]

Product endorsement and equipment[link]

Until the 2009 US Open, Hantuchová endorsed Nike sportswear and had her own line with them for her tournament wear, like players such as Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams. From the 2009 US Open onwards, Hantuchová began endorsing Adidas sportswear. As of Wimbledon 2010, she shares the same signature line as Ana Ivanović. In 2006, Hantuchová also appeared on an advertisement for Sony Ericsson Cyber-shot phone with Ivanović.

Hantuchová also has endorsed three racquet brands. She first endorsed Babolat from the time she was a junior until late 2003, then Yonex until the 2007 Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, when she started using the Prince Ozone Seven Racquets in the 2007 Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships. Photos were released from Prince giving the impression that Hantuchová, from the start of the 2011 season, will be using the Prince EXO3 Tour 100. However, she signed a deal with Volkl Tennis and is currently using the Volkl Power Bridge 9. This means that she has endorsed four brands of racquets so far in her career, more than most players. Starting with the 2011 Fed Cup, she began using the Prince EXO3 Tour Team 100, with which she won her fourth career title.

Video games[link]

Hantuchová has been in many sports/tennis related video games with such players as Maria Sharapova, Lindsay Davenport, Venus Williams and Anna Kournikova. Some of the titles are Top Spin (both Xbox and Play Station 2 versions), Smash Court Tennis Pro Tournament 2, Roland Garros 2005 and Virtua Tennis 3. Hantuchová is currently ranked third behind Serena Williams and Ana Ivanović in a poll for new downloadable players for Top Spin 3. Hantuchová is also a playable character in Virtua Tennis 2009.

Achievements[link]

Team achievements[link]

• 2000 Eurotel Doubles Champion
• 2002 Fed Cup Champion (Slovakia)
• 2004 Hopman Cup Finalist (with Karol Kučera)
• 2004 Athens Olympic Games
• 2005 Hopman Cup Champion (with Dominik Hrbatý)
• 2008 Beijing Olympic Games

Special achievements[link]

• 2001 WTA Newcomer of the Year Award
• 2002 WTA Most Improved Player of the Year Award
• 2003 Laureus World Sports Academy Award nominee for World Newcomer of the Year Award

See also[link]

• Slovakia Fed Cup team

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Daniela Hantuchová

• Her official website
• Daniela Hantuchová at the Women's Tennis Association
• Daniela Hantuchová at the International Tennis Federation
• Daniela Hantuchová at the Fed Cup
• Daniela Hantuchova on Twitter

Awards
Preceded by Dája Bedáňová	WTA Newcomer of the Year 2001	Succeeded by Svetlana Kuznetsova
Preceded by Justine Henin-Hardenne	WTA Most Improved Player of the Year 2002	Succeeded by Nadia Petrova

v t e Women's Tennis Association: Top ten Slovak female singles tennis players as of 28 May 2012 1. Dominika Cibulková (16 ) 2. Daniela Hantuchová (18 ) 3. Magdaléna Rybáriková (107 1) 4. Jana Čepelová (183 2) 5. Lenka Juríková (252 ) 6. Romana Tabak (259 4) 7. Lenka Wienerová (262 1) 8. Kristína Kučová (279 4) 9. Zuzana Luknárová (288 4) 10. Zuzana Kučová (296 5)

Justine Henin

Country	Belgium
Residence	Brussels, Belgium
Born	(1982-06-01) 1 June 1982 (age 30) Liège, Belgium
Height	1.67 m (5 ft 6 in)
Weight	57 kg (130 lb; 9.0 st)
Turned pro	1 January 1999
Retired	14 May 2008 Return: 4 January 2010[1] Retirement: 26 January 2011[2]
Plays	Right–handed (one-handed backhand)
Career prize money	US$20,863,335 (7th in all-time rankings)
Singles
Career record	525–115 (82.03%)
Career titles	43 WTA (6th in overall rankings) 7 ITF
Highest ranking	No. 1 (20 October 2003)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	W (2004)
French Open	W (2003, 2005, 2006, 2007)
Wimbledon	F (2001, 2006)
US Open	W (2003, 2007)
Other tournaments
Championships	W (2006, 2007)
Olympic Games	Gold medal (2004)
Doubles
Career record	47–35
Career titles	2 WTA, 2 ITF
Highest ranking	No. 23 (14 January 2002)
Last updated on: 29 August 2011.

Justine Henin (French pronunciation: [ʒys.tin enɛ̃]; born 1 June 1982), known as Justine Henin-Hardenne between 2002 and 2007, is a retired professional Belgian tennis player and former World No. 1.

Henin won 43 WTA singles titles and seven Grand Slam singles titles, including four French Open titles, one Australian Open title, and two US Open titles. She has also won the year-ending Sony Ericsson Championships twice and the singles gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics.

Tennis experts cite her mental toughness, the completeness and variety of her game, her footspeed and footwork, and her one-handed backhand (which John McEnroe has described as the best single-handed backhand in the women's or men's game^[4]) as the principal reasons for her success.^[5][6]

Critics and all-time-great players have made testament to Henin's talent. Upon Henin's first retirement from the WTA in the early part of the 2008 season, Billie Jean King said that "pound for pound, Henin is the best tennis player of her generation",^[7] as well as that "Justine is the best women's athlete I've ever seen."^[8] Andre Agassi said of Henin, "Justine Henin is one of the most talented women ever to have played the game of tennis."^[8] In 2007, 18 time Grand Slam winner Martina Navratilova said that "She is head and shoulders above everyone else right now."^[8] John McEnroe concurred, saying that Henin is "The player I most like to watch."^[8] Henin made a return to the WTA in early 2010, losing the final of the Australian Open in only her 2nd tournament back.^[9]

On 26 January 2011, she announced that she had been forced to retire from professional tennis once again because of an elbow injury.^[10]

In June 2011, she was named one of the "30 Legends of Women's Tennis: Past, Present and Future" by Time.^[11]

Playing style[link]

At the 2007 French Open, Martina Navratilova said that "Henin's offense is just phenomenal ... it's sort of like we've got 'the female Federer', or maybe the guys have 'the male Justine Henin', because she is just head and shoulders above everyone else right now."^[12] Henin's footwork, balance, and court coverage—and she is adept at changing from a defensive style to an aggressive one.^[13]

Despite her relatively small size, Henin has a powerful serve, which has been measured at a top speed of 196 km/h (122 mph) at the 2005 Family Circle Cup.^[14] Henin's single-handed backhand is the most powerful and accurate in the game. She can hit her backhand 'flat', with heavy topspin, or slice [underspin]. Her backhand can also be used to surprise her opponents with dropshots, breaking up the pattern of a groundstroke rally. Her slice backhand is regarded as one of the best of all time.^{[citation needed]} However, Henin's forehand is generally regarded as her most dangerous weapon,^{[citation needed]} and the stroke that she normally uses to dictate the play of a match.

Personal life[link]

Justine Henin was born in Liège. Her father is José Henin; her mother, Françoise Rosière, was a French and history teacher who died when Justine was 12 years old. She has two brothers (David and Thomas) and a sister (Sarah).

When Justine was two, her family moved to a house in Rochefort, situated next to the local tennis club, where she played tennis for the first time.

Henin's mother routinely took the young Henin across the border to France to watch the French Open.^[15] Henin saw the 1992 final involving her idol Steffi Graf and Monica Seles. Although Graf lost, the experience impressed Henin.

In 1995, shortly after her mother's death, Henin met her coach Carlos Rodriguez who guided her career both before her retirement in 2008 and during her 2010 comeback. Following a conflict between Justine and her father^{[clarification needed]} over her tennis career and her relationship with Pierre-Yves Hardenne, Rodriguez soon became not only her trainer but in some ways a second father figure.^[16]

On 16 November 2002, Henin married Pierre-Yves in the Château de Lavaux-Sainte-Anne.^[17][18] On 4 January 2007, Henin withdrew from the upcoming tournaments in Australia, including the Australian Open, due to personal problems. and she also resumed her maiden name, Justine Henin, instead of Justine Henin-Hardenne.

Tennis career[link]

Early career[link]

Henin, known as "Juju" to many of her fans,^[3] was coached by Carlos Rodriguez of Argentina. In 1997, she won the junior girl's singles title at the French Open. Early in her senior career, she regularly reached the late rounds of international competitions and won five International Tennis Federation tournaments by the end of 1998.

She began her professional career on the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) tour in May 1999 as a wild card entry in the Belgian Open clay tournament at Antwerp and became only the fifth player to win her debut WTA Tour event. She defeated three top 50 players on the road to the title.^{[citation needed]} She also won her hometown event, the Liege Challenger, in July 2000.

Henin established herself as a major competitor in 2001 when she reached the women's singles semifinals of the French Open and then upset the reigning Australian Open and French Open champion Jennifer Capriati in the semifinals of Wimbledon, losing to defending champion Venus Williams in three sets in the final. By the end of the year, Henin was ranked seventh in singles, with three titles to her name. Also that year, she reached the French Open women's doubles semifinals with Elena Tatarkova and helped Belgium win the 2001 Fed Cup.

In 2002, she reached four WTA finals, winning two of them, and finished the year ranked World No. 5. Her German Open victory, her first win at a Tier I tournament, was noteworthy as she beat Jennifer Capriati in a semifinal and Serena Williams in the final, the then number two and number five ranked players, respectively.

2003: Ascent to No. 1[link]

Justine Henin prepares to hit a backhand

Henin started the year as the fifth ranked player in the world but lost to Kim Clijsters in the semifinals of the Medibank International in Sydney. In the fourth round of the Australian Open in Melbourne, Henin defeated Lindsay Davenport 7–5, 5–7, 9–7. In a match lasting more than three hours, Henin overcame a 4–1 final set deficit, high temperatures, and muscle cramps to defeat Davenport for the first time in her career.^[19][20] Henin then lost to Venus Williams in the semifinals in straight sets.

Henin then lost to Clijsters in the semifinals of the Proximus Diamond Games in Antwerp. At the Dubai Tennis Championships one week later, Henin defeated former World No. 1 Monica Seles in the final 4–6, 7–6, 7–5 after Seles had a match point at 5–4 in the second set. It was Henin's first victory over Seles.

Henin's next tournament was the Tier I Miami Masters. She lost in the quarterfinals to World No. 10 Chanda Rubin 6–3, 6–2.

At the clay court Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina, Henin defeated World No. 1 Serena Williams in the final. This was Williams' first loss of the year after 22 wins.

The following week, Henin reached the semifinals of the Bausch & Lomb Championships in Amelia Island, Florida, losing to eventual winner Elena Dementieva 3–6, 6–4, 7–5. Henin then helped Belgium defeat Austria 5–0 in a first round tie of the Fed Cup.

In May, Henin successfully defended her Tier I title at the Qatar Telecom German Open in Berlin. In the final, Henin saved three match points in the third set before defeating Clijsters.

At the French Open, Henin was the fourth seeded player. She defeated the defending champion, Serena Williams, in a semifinal 6–2, 4–6, 7–5 after Henin trailed 4–2 in the third set. In the final, Henin defeated Clijsters in straight sets. This was Henin's first Grand Slam title, and she was the first Belgian ever to win a Grand Slam singles title.

Henin then began her preparations for Wimbledon. At the grass court Ordina Open in Rosmalen, Henin lost in the final to Clijsters when Henin was forced to retire from the match after injuring her finger.

At Wimbledon, Henin was the third seeded player. She defeated Mary Pierce in the fourth round and Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarterfinals before losing to Serena Williams in a straight sets semifinal.

Henin's first competition after Wimbledon was the Fed Cup tie against Slovakia. Henin won both her singles matches to help Belgium win the tie 5–0.

Henin then played two tournaments during the North American summer hard court season before the US Open. At the Tier I Acura Classic in San Diego, the third-seeded Henin defeated the top-seeded Clijsters in the final. Two weeks later at the Tier I Rogers Cup in Toronto, Henin defeated Russia's Lina Krasnoroutskaya in the final.

Henin was the second-seeded player at the US Open. She won her first four matches against unseeded players before defeating seventh-seeded Anastasia Myskina in the quarterfinals. Henin then defeated sixth-seeded Jennifer Capriati in the semifinals 4–6, 7–5, 7–6(4) in a match that lasted more than three hours and stretched to midnight. Henin recovered from a 5–3 deficit in the second set and a 5–2 deficit in the final set and was just two points from defeat eleven times. She was treated for muscle cramps and dehydration overnight but returned to play in the final the next day.^[21] In the final, Henin defeated Clijsters in straight sets.^[22] The win raised Henin's ranking to World No. 2, just behind Clijsters.

Henin next played the indoor Sparkassen Cup in Leipzig, Germany where she lost to Myskina in the final. This ended Henin's 22-match winning streak. Two weeks later at the indoor Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Filderstadt, Germany, Henin lost in the final to Clijsters. Had Henin won this match, she would have immediately replaced Clijsters as the World No. 1.

At the Tier I Zurich Open the following week, Henin reached her sixth consecutive final where she defeated Serbia's Jelena Dokić. This win caused Henin to become the thirteenth World No. 1 on the Women's Tennis Association computer on 20 October 2003. Henin, however, held this ranking for only one week as she declined to defend her title at the Generali Ladies Linz tournament in Linz, Austria.

At the WTA Tour Championships in Los Angeles, Henin defeated Myskina and Capriati but lost to Japan's Ai Sugiyama in her round robin matches. In the semifinals, Henin lost to Amélie Mauresmo 7–6(2), 3–6, 6–3.

Henin was named the International Tennis Federation's women's singles World Champion for 2003. She ended the year as the World No. 1.

2004[link]

Henin started 2004 by winning a warm-up tournament in Sydney. She then won the Australian Open in Melbourne, defeating Kim Clijsters in three sets.

By the end of the 2004 spring hard court season, Henin had built a 25-match Tier I winning streak and a 22–1 win-loss record (winning her first 16 matches).

At the start of the 2004 spring clay court season, Henin's health was adversely affected by infection with a strain of cytomegalovirus and an immune system problem. She often slept up to 18 hours a day and barely had the strength to brush her teeth, let alone play competitive tennis.

Although she decided to defend her French Open title and was seeded first in the tournament, she lost her second round match to a much lower-ranked player, Tathiana Garbin of Italy. At the time, the loss marked only the second time in 15 Grand Slam events that she'd lost before the fourth round.

After months of layoff because of a virus, Henin returned to competition in August and won the women's singles gold medal at the Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, defeating Amélie Mauresmo of France in the final 6–3, 6–3. Henin reached the gold medal match by defeating reigning French Open champion Anastasia Myskina in a semifinal 7–5, 5–7, 8–6 after having trailed 1–5 in the final set.^[23][24] Her medal ceremony was attended by fellow countryman and IOC president Jacques Rogge.

In September, she was unsuccessful in her defence of her US Open title, losing to Nadia Petrova in the fourth round. This defeat caused her to lose the World No. 1 ranking, which she had held for 45 non-consecutive weeks. She then withdrew from the 10 remaining tournaments of the year in an effort to recover her health and improve her fitness.

2005[link]

Her plan to rejoin the tour at the beginning of 2005 was delayed when she fractured her kneecap in a December 2004 training session.

On 25 March, after more than six months away from competition, Henin returned to the Women's Tennis Association tour at the Miami Masters. She lost to second ranked Maria Sharapova in a quarterfinal. She rebounded at her next tournament, winning the clay court Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina. She won two more clay court titles before the start of the 2005 French Open. Her victories over top ranked Lindsay Davenport, Sharapova, Elena Dementieva, Svetlana Kuznetsova, and Petrova made her a top contender for the title there.

Henin was seeded tenth at the French Open and defeated the French player Mary Pierce in the final in straight sets to take her second title at Roland Garros. The win marked Henin's 24th consecutive clay court win and her tenth consecutive final win, a streak dating back to Zurich in October 2003. In capturing the title, she defeated Kuznetsova in the fourth round, Sharapova in a quarterfinal, and Petrova in a semifinal. Henin saved two match points to defeat Kuznetsova in the fourth round 7–6(6), 4–6, 7–5 and thus became only the second woman to win the French Open after saving a match point.^[25]

With her French Open victory, Henin moved from World No. 12 to World No. 7 in the women's singles rankings. Henin was a perfect 24–0 on clay this year and joined Monica Seles as the only two currently active (in 2005) players on the WTA Tour to have won the French Open at least twice.

At Wimbledon 2005, Henin's win streak of 24 matches was snapped in the first round by Greek Eleni Daniilidou 7–6, 2–6, 7–5. It was the first time that a reigning French Open champion failed to win a match at Wimbledon.^[26][27] A hamstring injury sustained earlier in the year eventually limited her to playing only 11 more matches for 2005.

Henin next played the Rogers Cup in Toronto, where she reached the final after beating Mauresmo in a semifinal before losing to Clijsters in straight sets.

She lost in the fourth round of the US Open to eventual finalist Mary Pierce 6–3, 6–2.

Following this, she played in Filderstadt, but after losing her first round match to Flavia Pennetta, she decided not to play for the rest of 2005.

In 2005, TENNIS Magazine placed her in 31st place on its list of the 40 Greatest Players for the period 1965 through 2005.

In November, at the 2005 WTA Tour Championships, she was named the inaugural winner of the Whirlpool 6TH SENSE Player of the Year, which honors the player who has demonstrated the most sixth sense intuition, that is to say "heightened intelligence, unbeatable performance and pinpoint precision".

2006[link]

Justine Henin at the 2006 Medibank International in Sydney, Australia.

In January, Henin returned to competitive tennis at the tournament in Sydney, a tune-up for the Australian Open. She was seeded fifth and played former World No. 1 (and newly returned to competitive tennis) Martina Hingis in a much hyped first round match. Henin won 6–3, 6–3. She then defeated former US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in a semifinal before defeating Francesca Schiavone in the final.

At the Australian Open, Henin defeated top ranked Lindsay Davenport and fourth ranked Maria Sharapova in three-set matches to set up a final against third ranked Amélie Mauresmo. While trailing 6–1, 2–0, Henin retired from the match, citing intense stomach pain caused by over-use of anti-inflammatories for a persistent shoulder injury. Henin stated afterwards that she feared possible injury had she continued to play. Henin was criticized by the press^[28][29] because she had stated after her semifinal win against Sharapova that she was at the "peak of her fitness" and was playing the "best tennis of her life". This was only the fourth Grand Slam women's singles final to end by retirement since 1900 and the first in the open era.

Henin captured her second title of the year at a Tier II event in Dubai, defeating Sharapova 7–5, 6–2. This was her third Dubai title, having won previously in 2003 and 2004. At the Tier I Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, Henin lost in the semifinals to fourth-seeded Elena Dementieva 2–6, 7–5, 7–5 after leading 6–2, 5–2 and serving for the match twice. Henin also lost in the second round of the Tier I Miami Masters to Meghann Shaughnessy 7–5, 6–4.

On clay, Henin failed to retain her title at the Tier I Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina, losing in the semifinals to third-seeded Patty Schnyder 2–6, 6–3, 6–2. It was her first career defeat at this tournament and the end of her 27-match winning streak on clay. Henin then helped Belgium defeat defending champion Russia in a Fed Cup quarterfinal. She beat fifth ranked Nadia Petrova 6–7, 6–4, 6–3, and ninth ranked Elena Dementieva 6–2, 6–0. Petrova had come into the tie with two consecutive clay court tournament victories and a 10-match clay court winning streak, while Dementieva had defeated Henin in their last meeting in Indian Wells and defeated second ranked Belgian compatriot Kim Clijsters on the first day of the tie. Three weeks later, Henin played the Tier I Qatar Telecom German Open, defeating Mauresmo in a semifinal 6–1, 6–2 before losing to Petrova in a three-set final.

At the French Open, Henin defeated second seeded Clijsters in the semifinals 6–3, 6–2. She then defeated Kuznetsova in the final to win her third French Open singles title in four years. Henin captured the title without losing a set and became the first French Open champion to defend her title successfully since Steffi Graf in 1996.

At the Eastbourne grass court tournament just before Wimbledon, Henin defeated Anastasia Myskina in the final in three sets.

Henin was the third seed going into Wimbledon and advanced to her third consecutive Grand Slam final without losing a set. She defeated Clijsters (who was seeded second) in a semifinal 6–4, 7–6(4) but lost the final to Mauresmo. The final featured two finesse players who used their all-court games, a break from recent years that featured a succession of power baseliners claiming the title. At almost every point throughout the match, both players approached the net to volley. Tipped as the tournament favorite, Henin won the first set. But Mauresmo recovered to win the next two sets and her second Grand Slam singles title and deny the Belgian a career Grand Slam.^[30][31] This was the only Wimbledon final of the decade that did not involve Venus Williams and/or Serena Williams.

Henin withdrew from Tier I events in San Diego and Montreal because of injury but played the tournament in New Haven, Connecticut. There, she defeated Kuznetsova and Davenport en route to the title. It was her 28th WTA tour title. She returned to the World No. 2 ranking and crossed over US$12 million in career prize money.

At the US Open, Sharapova defeated Henin in the final after Henin had defeated Davenport in the quarterfinals and Jelena Janković in the semifinals 4–6, 6–4, 6–0. Henin became the first woman since Hingis in 1997 to reach the finals of all four Grand Slam singles tournaments in a calendar year.

Henin won both of her singles matches during the Fed Cup final against Italy in Charleroi, Belgium. However, Henin retired from the deciding doubles match because of a knee injury while she and her partner Kirsten Flipkens were trailing 3–6, 6–2, 2–0, giving Italy the championship.

Henin guaranteed her year-end World No. 1 ranking by reaching the final of the Sony Ericsson Championships, defeating Sharapova in the semifinals 6–2, 7–6(5). Henin then defeated Mauresmo and won the tournament for the first time in her career.

Henin was the first player since Hingis in 2000 to win the WTA Tour Championships and end the year as the top ranked player. Henin was the first woman to win at least one Grand Slam singles title in four consecutive years since Graf from 1993 through 1996. Her prize money earnings for the year totaled $4,204,810.^[32]

2007: Dominance[link]

Justine Henin during the 2007 Miami Masters.

On 4 January 2007, Henin withdrew from the Australian Open and the warm-up tournament in Sydney to deal with the break-up of her marriage. Not playing those tournaments caused Henin to lose the World No. 1 ranking to Maria Sharapova.

In Henin's first tournament of the year, she lost in the semifinals of the Open Gaz de France in Paris to Czech Lucie Šafářová 7–6(5), 6–4. She then won two hardcourt tournaments in the Middle East, the Dubai Duty Free Women's Open (for the fourth time in five years) over Amélie Mauresmo and her first Qatar Total Open title in Doha, defeating Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final. She also reached US$14 million in career prize money and on 19 March, regained the World No. 1 ranking.

At the Miami Masters, Henin reached the final for the first time in her career, where she lost to Serena Williams 0–6, 7–5, 6–3 after holding two match points at 6–0, 5–4. Her next tournament was the J&S Cup in Warsaw, Poland, which she won, beating Alona Bondarenko of Ukraine in the final, 6–1, 6–3. Later, at the Qatar Telecom German Open in Berlin, Henin won her quarterfinal against Jelena Janković 3–6, 6–4, 6–4 after being behind 4–0 in the third set, only to lose her semifinal against Kuznetsova 6–4, 5–7, 6–4. The loss was only her second to Kuznetsova in 16 career meetings.

At the French Open, Henin was the two-time defending champion and top seed. In a highly-anticipated quarterfinal match against Serena Williams, Henin won 6–4, 6–3. She then defeated Janković in the semifinals 6–2, 6–2. In the final, Henin defeated Ana Ivanović in straight sets, 6–1, 6–2 to claim her third consecutive French Open title, equalling Seles's open era record. She also surpassed US$15 million in career prize money earnings. Henin won the tournament without dropping a set and had not lost a set at this tournament since the 2005 French Open quarterfinals. She had not lost a match at the French Open since 2004.

The International Women's Open in Eastbourne was Henin's first grass court tournament of the year. She and Mauresmo reached the final, which was the first time in nearly 30 years that the Eastbourne final included both finalists from Wimbledon the previous year. Henin recovered from a breakdown in the final set to win in a third-set tiebreak for the second consecutive year.

At Wimbledon, Henin lost to Marion Bartoli in the semifinals 1–6, 7–5, 6–1, one day after Henin defeated Serena Williams in the quarterfinals. It was Henin's first win over the American on a surface other than clay. In the semifinal, Henin was up a break at 1–0 and 4–3 in the second set, but could not hold the lead.^[33]

In August, Henin won the Tier I Rogers Cup in Toronto, defeating Janković in the final. The tournament championship was Henin's 35th on the WTA tour, moving her past Clijsters who retired with 34 tournament championships.

At the US Open, Henin defeated her first four opponents in straight sets, with a 6–0 set in each match. Henin then faced Serena Williams in the quarterfinals for the third consecutive time in a Grand Slam tournament, and for the third time, Henin won, 7–6(3), 6–1. In the semifinals against Venus Williams, Henin was up a break in the first set but could not hold it. She finally won the set in a tiebreak. In the second set, Henin was ahead 3–0 before Williams leveled the set at 3–3. Williams then had three break points on Henin's service but could not convert and lost the game. Henin then broke Williams's serve and held her own serve to go up 5–3. Williams then broke Henin to pull within 5–4 but Henin broke Williams again in the last game to win the match 7–6(2), 6–4. Henin became only the second player to defeat both Williams sisters in the same Grand Slam tournament (after Martina Hingis at the 2001 Australian Open).^[34] In the final, Henin won her second US Open singles title, defeating Kuznetsova in straight sets, 6–1, 6–3. Henin won the tournament without dropping a set.

Henin won her next tournament, the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, defeating Tatiana Golovin in the final. Two weeks later, Henin won the Zurich Open, her ninth title of the year, by again defeating Golovin in the final.

At the WTA Tour Championships, Henin won all three of her round robin matches, defeating Anna Chakvetadze, Janković, and Bartoli. Going into the match against Bartoli, Henin had won 22 consecutive matches since Bartoli defeated her in the 2007 Wimbledon semifinals. Although Henin had already clinched a spot in the semifinals, both Henin and Bartoli did not know Bartoli had to replace Serena Williams until several hours before the match and lost 6–0, 6–0.^[35] In the semifinals, Henin defeated Ivanović 6–4, 6–4. In the final, Henin overcame Sharapova in three sets^[36] in a match that lasted 3 hours, 24 minutes. Sharapova won the first set on her eighth set point in the 12-minute last game. Henin won the match on her fifth match point in the final game of the match. This was Henin's longest ever match, the longest final in tournament history, and the twelfth longest women's match ever.^[37]

This victory extended Henin's winning streak to 25 matches. She only lost three sets after Wimbledon. This victory made her the sixth player to successfully defend her title at the WTA's season-ending championship and the first player to claim at least 10 tour titles in a year since Hingis won 12 in 1997. She also became the first woman to break the US$5 million barrier in prize money in a year, and by crossing US$19 million, Henin is now ranked fifth on the all time prize money list.

Henin ended the year ranked World No. 1 for the third time in her career, having done so previously in 2003 and 2006. She was the first player since Martina Hingis to end the year ranked World No. 1 consecutively for two years (Hingis was ranked year-end World No. 1 in 1999–2000). She also ended the year with a 63–4 record, having lost to only four players: Lucie Šafářová, Serena Williams, Svetlana Kuznetsova, and Marion Bartoli. She had the best win percentage record in 15 years, since Steffi Graf in 1995.

2008: Retirement[link]

Henin started the year as the World No. 1. 14 January marked Henin's 100th career week as World No. 1, and on 10 March, Henin became only the seventh female player to be ranked World No. 1 for 12 consecutive months.

The Medibank International in Sydney was Henin's first tournament of the year. She defeated Ana Ivanović in the semifinals 6–2, 2–6, 6–4. She then defeated World No. 2 Svetlana Kuznetsova 4–6, 6–2, 6–4, overcoming an 0–3 deficit in the final set.

At the Australian Open in Melbourne, Henin won her 32nd consecutive match in the fourth round, defeating Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan 6–2, 6–2. The winning streak ended in the quarterfinals when Sharapova, the eventual winner, defeated Henin 6–4, 6–0. This was Henin's first 6–0 loss since the 2002 French Open and the first time since the 2005 US Open that Henin had been defeated in a Grand Slam singles tournament before the semifinals.

At the Proximus Diamond Games in Antwerp, Henin defeated Karin Knapp in the final. This was Henin's second singles title in her native Belgium. Two weeks later at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, Henin was the defending champion but lost for the first time in eight meetings to Francesca Schiavone in the quarterfinals 7–6(3), 7–6(4). Henin had struggled for three hours in her first match against Katarina Srebotnik, eventually winning 7–5, 6–7, 6–3.

After taking a four week break, Henin's next tournament was the Tier I Miami Masters. She lost in the quarterfinals to Serena Williams 6–2, 6–0. Henin then withdrew from the Tier I Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina because of an injury to her right knee.

At the Tier I, clay court Qatar Telecom German Open in Berlin, Henin lost in the third round to Dinara Safina 5–7, 6–3, 6–1, in what turned out to be her last match before retirement. In their five previous career matches, Henin had never lost a set to Safina. The day after her defeat, Henin withdrew from the Tier I Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, citing fatigue.

Henin announced her immediate retirement from professional tennis on 14 May 2008, and requested the Women's Tennis Association to remove her name from the rankings immediately. Her announcement was a surprise because Henin was still ranked World No. 1 and was considered the favorite for the 2008 French Open, where she would have been the 3-time defending champion.^[38] She said she felt no sadness about her retirement because she believed it was a release from a game she had focused on for twenty years. She also said that in the future, she will be concentrating on charity and her tennis school.

2010: Comeback[link]

Belgian newspaper, Vers l'Avenir, reported on Tuesday 22 September 2009 that Henin would formally announce her return to competitive tennis after 16 months of retirement. Later that day, Justine Henin confirmed her return to competition.^[39] Henin mentioned seeing Roger Federer finally complete the grand slam of titles by winning the French Open in 2009 had been an inspiration,^[40] as had Kim Clijsters return to the tour and her victory at the US Open.^[41]

Henin made her return to tennis at the 2010 Brisbane International where she was given a wildcard. She defeated No. 2 seed Nadia Petrova, Sesil Karatantcheva, No. 7 seed Melinda Czink and No. 3 seed Ana Ivanović to make it to the final. She then lost to her Belgian compatriot Kim Clijsters in the final, 6–3, 4–6, 7–6(6) in a 2 hour, 23 minute match.

At the 2010 Australian Open, Henin was given a wildcard as an unranked player.^[1][42] Henin started off with a straight sets victory over Belgian Kirsten Flipkens. She set up the most highly anticipated second round match of the tournament with No. 5 seed Elena Dementieva, whom she defeated 7–5, 7–6(5). Lasting two hours and fifty minutes, commentators felt this match was worthy of a final. Henin approached the net forty-three times, winning thirty-five of those points. In the third round, she defeated No. 28 seed Alisa Kleybanova from Russia; where she made a comeback to win 3–6, 6–4, 6–2.^[43] In the fourth round she faced World No. 16 and fellow Belgian, Yanina Wickmayer, defeating her in 3 sets 7–6, 1–6, 6–3. She then defeated No. 19 seed Nadia Petrova from Russia in the quarter-finals. Henin won 7–6, 7–5 after having been down 0–3 in the second set. She then went on to defeat Zheng Jie from China in the semi-finals in convincing fashion 6–1, 6–0, setting up a clash with World No. 1 Serena Williams in the 2010 Australian Open ladies final. This was the first time in their long rivalry that Henin and Serena Williams met in a Grand Slam Final. Henin would eventually fall to Serena Williams in 3 sets 6–4, 3–6, 6–2.

Justine Henin winning the 2010 Stuttgart Porsche Cup

A wildcard was granted for Henin to compete at the 2010 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, a Premier Mandatory tournament. In the first round, Henin defeated Magdaléna Rybáriková 6–2, 6–2 in a little over an hour. Henin then lost to Gisela Dulko, 2–6, 6–1, 4–6, in a 2 hour match. The result gave her a new rank of World No. 33 as of 22 March 2010. She defeated Jill Craybas of USA 6–2,6–2 in the first round of Sony Ericsson Open. In the second round, Henin defeated World No. 6 Elena Dementieva 6–3, 6–2 in 90 minutes. In the third round, Henin defeated Dominika Cibulková in 93 minutes, 6–4, 6–4 advancing to the quarterfinals where Henin thrashed Vera Zvonareva 6–1, 6–4 to set up a meeting in the quarterfinals with World No.2 Caroline Wozniacki. After defeating World No. 2 Wozniacki in a three-set match, she fell to compatriot Kim Clijsters in a semifinal battle, 2–6, 7–6 (3), 6–7 (6). Following her Sony Ericsson Open performance, Henin moved into the top 25 for the first time since her comeback.

Henin's next tournament was the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart. Henin played through this tournament injured, having previously broken her left pinkie during Fed Cup practice. In the first round, Henin saw off German qualifier Julia Görges 7–6 (3), 6–1. In her second round, she defeated World No. 12 and fellow Belgian Yanina Wickmayer, defeating her for the 2nd consecutive time, 6–3, 7–5. In the quarterfinals, she defeated fourth seed and World No. 7 Jelena Janković 3–6, 7–6 (4), 6–3 for the tenth time in her career. She defeated World No. 20 Shahar Pe'er in the semifinals, 6–3, 6–2, and reached her third final in five tournaments this year. She faced World No. 10 Samantha Stosur. Henin won the final 6–4, 2–6, 6–1 in 100 minutes, to procure her first title in 2010 (in her 3rd final). Winning this tournament also sent Henin into the Top 20 for the first time since her comeback.

At the 2010 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open she was defeated in the first round by eventual champion Aravane Rezaï 4–6, 7–5, 6–0. As a result of this shock loss, Henin dropped out of the Top 20 to No.23. Henin then participated at the 2010 French Open, seeded 22nd, the second grand slam of the year where she has won four previous titles. In the 1st round, she defeated Tsvetana Pironkova in 89 minutes, 6–4, 6–3. In the 2nd round, Henin faced Klára Zakopalová and defeated her 6–3, 6–3. In the third round, facing former World No. 1 Maria Sharapova, Henin ended her streak of consecutive sets at 40, losing the 2nd set to Sharapova but going on to win 6–2, 3–6, 6–3. She had then tied the number of consecutive sets won at the French Open with Helen Wills Moody. She lost to World No. 7 Samantha Stosur 2–6, 6–1, 6–4 in the fourth round, her first defeat at Roland Garros since 2004.

Henin began the grass court season at the 2010 UNICEF Open, where she was the top seed for the first time since her return. In the first three rounds she defeated Angelique Kerber, Roberta Vinci, and Kristina Barrois in straight sets. She then demolished No. 5 seed Alexandra Dulgheru in the semifinals, 6–2, 6–2. In the final, she defeated No. 7 seed Andrea Petkovic to win her 43rd career title and second of the year.

At the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, Henin was the No. 17 seed. In the third round, she had a convincing victory over Nadia Petrova, winning 6–1, 6–4. Justine was eventually defeated in the fourth round by Kim Clijsters 2–6, 6–2, 6–3, after claiming a convincing first set win. Midway through the first set, Henin slipped on the court, injuring her right elbow. Further examinations revealed a partial ligament fracture in her elbow, causing her to end her 2010 season prematurely.

2011: Second retirement[link]

Henin started her season at the 2011 Hopman Cup. She did not lose any sets in the competition earning comfortable victories over Alicia Molik from Australia, Sesil Karatantcheva from Kazakhstan, Ana Ivanović of Serbia and Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the USA in the final.

Henin was the 11th seed and a defending finalist at the 2011 Australian Open. Henin defeated Sania Mirza from India in the first round 5–7, 6–3, 6–1 and Elena Baltacha in the second round, 6–1, 6–3. She then fell to 23rd seed Svetlana Kuznetsova in the third round 4–6, 6–7(8).

On 25 January 2011, Henin announced her definitive retirement from professional tennis, due to an exacerbation of the elbow injury she sustained the previous year at Wimbledon.^[10]

Public life and endorsements[link]

In May 2007, Henin and her coach Carlos Rodriguez started the Academy 6th Sense.^[44] At the 2009 US Open – Girls' Doubles the Ukrainian tennis player Maryna Zanevska became the first "6th Sense player" to win a Grand Slam title.^[45]

On 30 November 2007, Henin opened her own tennis academy Club Justine N1^[46] (in French, "N1" is pronounced almost exactly the same as "Henin").

On 14 May 2008, Henin announced her immediate retirement from professional tennis. She was 25 years old and ranked World No. 1 at the time.^[38][47] She announced her return to competitive tennis on 22 September 2009.^[39]

After retiring, Henin became involved in two Belgian reality shows in 2009. In May, she starred in De Twaalf Werken van Justine Henin – Les 12 travaux de Justine Henin (The 12 Labors of Justine Henin). The show followed Henin as she completed 12 personal challenges. In June 2009, she hosted a musical TV show that revolved around Belgian-Italian singer Lara Fabian.^[48]

Career statistics[link]

Records[link]

• These records were attained in the open era of tennis.

• Open era record for most consecutive sets won at the French Open: 40 (2005–2010)^{[citation needed]}. Also tied with Helen Wills Moody for the all-time record for the number of consecutive sets won at the French Open.
• Only female player in decade of 2000 to 2009 to reach title match of all four grand slams at least twice.

Awards and honors[link]

See also[link]

Tennis portal

• List of female tennis players
• List of Grand Slam Women's Singles champions
• Belgium at the 2004 Summer Olympics
• Henin – S. Williams rivalry
• Clijsters–Henin rivalry

References[link]

Notes

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Justine Henin

• Official website
• Justine Henin at the Women's Tennis Association
• Justine Henin at the International Tennis Federation
• Justine Henin at the International Tennis Federation Junior Profile
• Justine Henin at the Fed Cup
• Justine Henin at the Internet Movie Database

Articles and topics related to Justine Henin   Justine Henin (Achievement precedessor & successor) Sporting positions Preceded by Kim Clijsters Kim Clijsters Amélie Mauresmo Maria Sharapova World No. 1 20 October 2003 – 26 October 2003 10 November 2003 – 12 September 2004 13 November 2006 – 22 January 2007 19 March 2007 – 19 May 2008 Succeeded by Kim Clijsters Amélie Mauresmo Maria Sharapova Maria Sharapova Awards and achievements Preceded by Elena Dementieva WTA Most Improved Player 2001 Succeeded by Daniela Hantuchová Preceded by Serena Williams Amélie Mauresmo WTA Player of the Year 2003 2007 Succeeded by Maria Sharapova Serena Williams Preceded by Serena Williams Kim Clijsters ITF World Champion 2003 2006-2007 Succeeded by Anastasia Myskina Jelena Jankovic Preceded by Sven Nys Belgian Sports Personality of the Year 2007 Succeeded by Tia Hellebaut Preceded by Yelena Isinbayeva World Sportswoman of the Year 2008 Succeeded by Yelena Isinbayeva v t e Belgian Sportsperson of the Year Men 1967 Ferdinand Bracke 1968 Serge Reding 1969–1974 Eddy Merckx 1975 Bruno Brokken 1976 Ivo Van Damme 1977 Michel Pollentier 1978 Raymond Ceulemans 1979–1980 Robert Van de Walle 1981 Freddy Maertens 1982 Jacky Ickx 1983 Eddy Annys 1984 Claude Criquielion 1985 Gaston Rahier & Vincent Rousseau 1986 William Van Dijck 1987 Georges Jobé 1988 Eric Geboers 1989 Thierry Boutsen 1990 Rudy Dhaenens 1991 Jean-Michel Saive 1992 Georges Jobé 1993 Vincent Rousseau 1994 Jean-Michel Saive 1995–1996 Fred Deburghgraeve 1997 Luc Van Lierde 1998 Fred Deburghgraeve 1999 Luc Van Lierde 2000 Joël Smets 2001–2004 Stefan Everts 2005 Tom Boonen 2006 Stefan Everts 2007 Tom Boonen 2008 Sven Nys 2009–2011 Philippe Gilbert Women 1975 Carine Verbauwen 1976–1977 Anne-Marie Pira 1978–1979 Carine Verbauwen 1980 Ingrid Berghmans 1981 Annie Lambrechts 1982–1986 Ingrid Berghmans 1987 Ingrid Lempereur 1988–1989 Ingrid Berghmans 1990–1991 Sabine Appelmans 1992 Annelies Bredael 1993 Gella Vandecaveye 1994–1995 Brigitte Becue 1996 Ulla Werbrouck 1997 Gella Vandecaveye 1998 Dominique Monami 1999–2002 Kim Clijsters 2003–2004 Justine Henin-Hardenne 2005 Kim Clijsters 2006–2007 Justine Henin-Hardenne 2008 Tia Hellebaut 2009–2011 Kim Clijsters Team 1997 Noliko Maaseik 1998 Belgian Motorcross team 1999 Davis Cup team 2000 Anderlecht 2001 Fed Cup team 2002 La Villette 2003 Belgian Motorcross team 2004 Women's 4×100 metres relay 2005 Under-21 football team 2006 Fed Cup team 2007–2008 Women's 4×100 metres relay 2009–2011 Men's 4×400 metres relay Talent 1998 Kim Clijsters 1999 Bart Wellens 2000 Bart Aernouts 2001 Jurgen Van Den Broeck 2002 Thomas Buffel 2003 Kirsten Flipkens 2004 Aagje Vanwalleghem 2005 Niels Albert 2006 Yoris Grandjean 2007 Dominique Cornu 2008 Elise Matthysen 2009 Romelu Lukaku 2010 Luca Brecel 2011 Thomas van der Plaetsen Paralimpic 2010 Sven Decaesstecker 2011 Wim Decleir Coach 2011 Jacques Borlée   Justine Henin in the Grand Slam Tournaments v t e Women’s tennis players who won two or more Grand Slam singles titles in one calendar year   Four wins 1953: Maureen Connolly Brinker (AO&FO&WI&US) 1970: Margaret Court (AO&FO&WI&US) 1988: Steffi Graf (AO&FO&WI&US)   Three wins 1928: Helen Wills Moody (FO&WI&US) 1929: Helen Wills Moody (FO&WI&US) 1962: Margaret Court (AO&FO&US) 1965: Margaret Court (AO&WI&US) 1969: Margaret Court (AO&FO&US) 1972: Billie Jean King (FO&WI&US) 1973: Margaret Court (AO&FO&US) 1983: Martina Navratilova (AO&WI&US) 1984: Martina Navratilova (FO&WI&US) 1989: Steffi Graf (AO&WI&US) 1991: Monica Seles (AO&FO&US) 1992: Monica Seles (AO&FO&US) 1993: Steffi Graf (FO&WI&US) 1995: Steffi Graf (FO&WI&US) 1996: Steffi Graf (FO&WI&US) 1997: Martina Hingis (AO&WI&US) 2002: Serena Williams (FO&WI&US)   Two wins 1925: Suzanne Lenglen (FO&WI) 1927: Helen Wills Moody (WI&US) 1930: Helen Wills Moody (FO&WI) 1931: Cilly Aussem (FO&WI) 1932: Helen Wills Moody (FO&WI) 1939: Alice Marble (WI&US) 1946: Pauline Betz Addie (WI&US) 1949: Margaret Osborne duPont (FO&US) 1950: Louise Bough Clapp (AO&WI) 1952: Maureen Connolly Brinker (WI&US) 1954: Maureen Connolly Brinker (FO&WI) 1956: Shirley Fry Irvin (WI&US) 1957: Althea Gibson (WI&US) 1958: Althea Gibson (WI&US) 1959: Maria Bueno (WI&US) 1960: Darlene Hard (FO&US) 1963: Margaret Court (AO&WI) 1964: Margaret Court (AO&FO) 1964: Maria Bueno (WI&US) 1967: Billie Jean King (WI&US) 1968: Billie Jean King (AO&WI) 1971: Evonne Goolagong Cawley (FO&WI) 1974: Chris Evert (FO&WI) 1975: Chris Evert (FO&US) 1976: Chris Evert (WI&US) 1980: Chris Evert (FO&US) 1982: Martina Navratilova (FO&WI) 1982: Chris Evert (AO&US) 1985: Martina Navratilova (AO&WI) 1986: Martina Navratilova (WI&US) 1987: Martina Navratilova (WI&US) 1994: Arantxa Sánchez Vicario (FO&US) 2000: Venus Williams (WI&US) 2001: Jennifer Capriati (AO&FO) 2001: Venus Williams (WI&US) 2003: Serena Williams (AO&WI) 2003: Justine Henin (FO&US) 2006: Amélie Mauresmo (AO&WI) 2007: Justine Henin (FO&US) 2009: Serena Williams (AO&WI) 2010: Serena Williams (AO&WI) AO=Australian Open, FO=French Open, WI=Wimbledon, US=US Open v t e French Open girls’ singles champions 1968 Lesley Hunt 1969 Kazuko Sawamatsu 1970 Veronica Burton 1971 Elena Granatourova 1972 Renáta Tomanová 1973 Mima Jaušovec 1974 Mariana Simionescu 1975 Regina Maršíková 1976 Michele Tyler 1977 Anne Smith 1978 Hana Mandlíková 1979 Lena Sandin 1980 Kathy Horvath 1981 Bonnie Gadusek 1982 Manuela Maleeva 1983 Pascale Paradis 1984 Gabriela Sabatini 1985 Laura Garrone 1986 Patricia Tarabini 1987 Natalia Zvereva 1988 Julie Halard 1989 Jennifer Capriati 1990 Magdalena Maleeva 1991 Anna Smashnova 1992 Rossana de los Ríos 1993 Martina Hingis 1994 Martina Hingis 1995 Amélie Cocheteux 1996 Amélie Mauresmo 1997 Justine Henin 1998 Nadia Petrova 1999 Lourdes Domínguez 2000 Virginie Razzano 2001 Kaia Kanepi 2002 Angelique Widjaja 2003 Anna-Lena Grönefeld 2004 Sesil Karatantcheva 2005 Ágnes Szávay 2006 Agnieszka Radwańska 2007 Alizé Cornet 2008 Simona Halep 2009 Kristina Mladenovic 2010 Elina Svitolina 2011 Ons Jabeur v t e Australian Open women's singles champions (1969) Margaret Court (1970) Margaret Court (1971) Margaret Court (1972) Virginia Wade (1973) Margaret Court (1974) Evonne Goolagong (1975) Evonne Goolagong (1976) Evonne Goolagong (1977 (Jan)) Kerry Reid (1977 (Dec)) Evonne Goolagong (1978) Chris O'Neil (1979) Barbara Jordan (1980) Hana Mandlíková (1981) Martina Navrátilová (1982) Chris Evert (1983) Martina Navrátilová (1984) Chris Evert (1985) Martina Navrátilová (1987) Hana Mandlíková (1988) Steffi Graf (1989) Steffi Graf (1990) Steffi Graf (1991) Monica Seles (1992) Monica Seles (1993) Monica Seles (1994) Steffi Graf (1995) Mary Pierce (1996) Monica Seles (1997) Martina Hingis (1998) Martina Hingis (1999) Martina Hingis (2000) Lindsay Davenport (2001) Jennifer Capriati (2002) Jennifer Capriati (2003) Serena Williams (2004) Justine Henin (2005) Serena Williams (2006) Amélie Mauresmo (2007) Serena Williams (2008) Maria Sharapova (2009) Serena Williams (2010) Serena Williams (2011) Kim Clijsters (2012) Victoria Azarenka v t e French Open women's singles champions (1968) Nancy Richey (1969) Margaret Court (1970) Margaret Court (1971) Evonne Goolagong (1972) Billie Jean King (1973) Margaret Court (1974) Chris Evert (1975) Chris Evert (1976) Sue Barker (1977) Mima Jaušovec (1978) Virginia Ruzici (1979) Chris Evert (1980) Chris Evert (1981) Hana Mandlíková (1982) Martina Navrátilová (1983) Chris Evert (1984) Martina Navrátilová (1985) Chris Evert (1986) Chris Evert (1987) Steffi Graf (1988) Steffi Graf (1989) Arantxa Sánchez (1990) Monica Seles (1991) Monica Seles (1992) Monica Seles (1993) Steffi Graf (1994) Arantxa Sánchez Vicario (1995) Steffi Graf (1996) Steffi Graf (1997) Iva Majoli (1998) Arantxa Sánchez Vicario (1999) Steffi Graf (2000) Mary Pierce (2001) Jennifer Capriati (2002) Serena Williams (2003) Justine Henin (2004) Anastasia Myskina (2005) Justine Henin (2006) Justine Henin (2007) Justine Henin (2008) Ana Ivanovic (2009) Svetlana Kuznetsova (2010) Francesca Schiavone (2011) Li Na v t e US Open women's singles champions (1968) Virginia Wade (1969) Margaret Court (1970) Margaret Court (1971) Billie Jean King (1972) Billie Jean King (1973) Margaret Court (1974) Billie Jean King (1975) Chris Evert (1976) Chris Evert (1977) Chris Evert (1978) Chris Evert (1979) Tracy Austin (1980) Chris Evert (1981) Tracy Austin (1982) Chris Evert (1983) Martina Navrátilová (1984) Martina Navrátilová (1985) Hana Mandlíková (1986) Martina Navrátilová (1987) Martina Navrátilová (1988) Steffi Graf (1989) Steffi Graf (1990) Gabriela Sabatini (1991) Monica Seles (1992) Monica Seles (1993) Steffi Graf (1994) Arantxa Sánchez Vicario (1995) Steffi Graf (1996) Steffi Graf (1997) Martina Hingis (1998) Lindsay Davenport (1999) Serena Williams (2000) Venus Williams (2001) Venus Williams (2002) Serena Williams (2003) Justine Henin (2004) Svetlana Kuznetsova (2005) Kim Clijsters (2006) Maria Sharapova (2007) Justine Henin (2008) Serena Williams (2009) Kim Clijsters (2010) Kim Clijsters (2011) Samantha Stosur   Justine Henin Achievements v t e Women's Tennis Association (WTA) World No. 1 singles players   Chris Evert (1975/1985 – 260 w)   Evonne Goolagong Cawley (1976 – 2 w)   Martina Navratilova (1978/1987 – 331 w)   Tracy Austin (1980 – 22 w)   Steffi Graf (1987/1997 – 377 w)  // Monica Seles (1991/1996 – 178 w)   Arantxa Sánchez Vicario (1995 – 12 w)   Martina Hingis (1997/2001 – 209 w)   Lindsay Davenport (1998/2006 – 98 w)   Jennifer Capriati (2001/2002 – 17 w)   Venus Williams (2002 – 11 w)   Serena Williams (2002/2010 – 123 w)   Kim Clijsters (2003/2011 – 20 w)   Justine Henin (2003/2008 – 117 w)   Amélie Mauresmo (2004/2006 – 39 w)   Maria Sharapova (2005/2008 – 17 w)   Ana Ivanovic (2008 – 12 w)   Jelena Janković (2008/2009 – 18 w)   Dinara Safina (2009 – 26 w)   Caroline Wozniacki (2010/2012 – 67 w)   Victoria Azarenka (2012 – 18 w) WTA rankings began on November 3, 1975 (year first held/year last held – number of weeks (w)) current No. 1 in bold, as of week of May 28, 2012 v t e Tennis at the Summer Olympics • Olympic Champions in women's singles 1900: Charlotte Cooper 1908: Dorothea Chambers, Gwendoline Eastlake-Smith (indoors) 1912: Marguerite Broquedis, Edith Hannam (indoors) 1920: Suzanne Lenglen 1924: Helen Wills 1988: Steffi Graf 1992: Jennifer Capriati 1996: Lindsay Davenport 2000: Venus Williams 2004: Justine Henin-Hardenne 2008: Elena Dementieva v t e WTA Year-end championships winners singles (1971) Billie Jean King (1972) Chris Evert (1973) Chris Evert (1974) Evonne Goolagong (1975) Chris Evert (1976) Evonne Goolagong (1977) Chris Evert (1978) Martina Navrátilová (1979) Martina Navrátilová (1980) Tracy Austin (1981) Martina Navrátilová (1982) Sylvia Hanika (1983) Martina Navrátilová (1984) Martina Navrátilová (1985) Martina Navrátilová (1986-1) Martina Navrátilová (1986-2) Martina Navrátilová (1987) Steffi Graf (1988) Gabriela Sabatini (1989) Steffi Graf (1990) Monica Seles (1991) Monica Seles (1992) Monica Seles (1993) Steffi Graf (1994) Gabriela Sabatini (1995) Steffi Graf (1996) Steffi Graf (1997) Jana Novotná (1998) Martina Hingis (1999) Lindsay Davenport (2000) Martina Hingis (2001) Serena Williams (2002) Kim Clijsters (2003) Kim Clijsters (2004) Maria Sharapova (2005) Amélie Mauresmo (2006) Justine Henin (2007) Justine Henin (2008) Venus Williams (2009) Serena Williams (2010) Kim Clijsters (2011) Petra Kvitová v t e Winners of the Laureus World Sports Award for Sportswoman of the Year 2000: Marion Jones* · 2001: Cathy Freeman · 2002: Jennifer Capriati · 2003: Serena Williams · 2004: Annika Sörenstam · 2005: Kelly Holmes · 2006: Janica Kostelić · 2007: Yelena Isinbayeva · 2008: Justine Henin · 2009: Yelena Isinbayeva · 2010: Serena Williams · 2011: Lindsey Vonn · 2012: Vivian Cheruiyot Since this award, Jones has admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs. Her award is in doubt.